Top Items:
BBC:
UK troops rushed to Afghan riot — Nato has sent British reinforcements to a riot-hit Afghan town after crowds protesting at cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad attacked peacekeepers. — The UK troops were sent to the airfield at Meymaneh, in the north-west.
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John Byrne / rawstory.com:
Bush 2007 budget quietly omits impact of policies on deficit — President George W. Bush's fiscal year 2007 budget quietly omits a table included in previous years which lays out the impact of the Administration's proposed policies on the deficit, RAW STORY has learned.
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Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Budget Plan Assumes Too Much, Demands Too Little — President Bush's budget blueprint would bring the federal government's budget deficit under control by decade's end. But to do that without raising taxes, the White House would need a sweeping tax reform that it has avoided proposing and a swift end to the war in Iraq.
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Tax Cut Lunacy — The roots of our fiscal madness, on display once again yesterday with the unveiling of President Bush's new budget and its deficit in excess of $350 billion, were planted on Oct. 27, 1990. — Ironically, that's the day when the first President Bush embraced …
John Dickerson / Slate:
Where's My Subpoena? — Valerie Plame, Scooter Libby, and me. — In Washington, the only thing worse than having to testify before a grand jury is not being asked to. I never wanted to go to prison or make hard choices about protecting my sources, but I thought I'd get more out of my bit part …
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John Dickerson / Slate:
Where's My Subpoena? — Valerie Plame, Scooter Libby, and me. … While the president finished his meeting with Museveni, I hung out with a "senior administration official" by an old yellow school bus. This was the first of my two conversations about Wilson. In his letter to Libby, Fitzgerald has the chronology mixed up.
Discussion:
The American Street
Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
Bush Praises King for Changing the Country — President Bush, leading the nation in celebrating the life of Coretta Scott King, praised the civil rights leader for enduring extraordinary pain and loss to give generations of people "a better, more welcoming country."
Discussion:
Expose the Left
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Insight:
Rove counting heads on the Senate Judiciary Committee — The White House has been twisting arms to ensure that no Republican member votes against President Bush in the Senate Judiciary Committee's investigation of the administration's unauthorized wiretapping.
Discussion:
firedoglake, Shakespeare's Sister, TAPPED, The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog, The Carpetbagger Report, IntoxiNation-News …, WTF Is It Now??, TalkLeft, The Heretik, Pam's House Blend, Norwegianity, The American Street, AMERICAblog, War and Piece, Tennessee Guerilla Women, State of the Day, Prairie Weather, Don Surber and Booman Tribune
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Eric Eyre / wvgazette.com:
Soldier pays for armor — Army demanded $700 from city man who was wounded — The last time 1st Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook IV saw his body armor, he was lying on a stretcher in Iraq, his arm shattered and covered in blood. — A field medic tied a tourniquet around Rebrook's right arm …
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John / AMERICAblog:
Please donate to help repay an injured soldier for his lost body armor — UPDATE: We've collected well over $5,000. So, I'm pulling the plug on the links to donate. Thanks so much guys. I'm contacting the service member now, have his phone number, to let him know.
Thomas Sowell / Townhall.com:
Point of no return — Looking back at the history of tragic times often reveals that many — or most — of the people of those times were often preoccupied with things that look trivial, or even pathetic, in view of the catastrophe looming over them. Will later generations looking …
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Reuters:
Exxon: America will always rely on foreign oil — HOUSTON (Reuters) - The United States will always rely on foreign imports of oil to feed its energy needs and should stop trying to become energy independent, a top Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) executive said on Tuesday.
Eli Lake / New York Sun:
Congress's Secret Saddam Tapes — The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is studying 12 hours of audio recordings between Saddam Hussein and his top advisers that may provide clues to the whereabouts of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. — The committee has already confirmed through …
Associated Press:
Duo hogs top prize in pig-squealing contest — Father-son team oinks way to victory in French cult competition — TRIE-SUR-BAISE, France - Yohann and Olivier Roussel's performance climaxed in a cacophony of oinks and grunts, unleashing an explosion of applause.
Antonia Zerbisias / Toronto Star:
Hate behind right-wing blogburst — No need to publish offensive cartoons — Feb. 7, 2006. — Well that didn't take long. — While Muslim religious extremists are rioting in the streets of Beirut, Gaza City and Kabul, Scandinavian embassies are being torched and Jordanians are deprived …
Times of London:
Poll shows voters believe press is right not to publish cartoons — THE alienation of many Muslims from British society remains startling: ranging from attitudes towards Israel to suicide bombing. This has been highlighted by the furore over the publication of cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad.
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Enabling Jihadism — Fouad Ajami is on form today: … Fouad is right, as he often is. And that's why the cartoon controversy, pace Hugh Hewitt, is good for the war on terror. One massive supporting pillar of Jihadism has been the West's refusal to treat the Islamic world as it would any other part of the world.
Editor and Publisher:
Kristof of 'NYT' Starts Pledge Drive to Back Bill O'Reilly Trip — NEW YORK New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof resumed his exchange with TV/radio talkster Bill O'Reilly on Tuesday, asking readers to contribute to a fund to send O'Reilly to Darfur. — Kristof said he would ante up the first $1000.
Media Matters for America:
Robertson: Europe committing "racial suicide" … During the February 6 edition of Christian Broadcasting Network's (CBN) The 700 Club, host Pat Robertson said that "Europe is right now in the midst of racial suicide because of the declining birth rate." Robertson blamed the declining birth rate …
Jeff Dufour / The Hill:
Bliley: Dump the new rules, stat — Former Rep. Tom Bliley (R-Va.), a powerful gavel-swinger at the Commerce Committee in the late 1990s, is no fan of new House rules that prevent lobbyists who were lawmakers from stalking the floor during votes or using the chamber's gym.
Dan / Daniel W. Drezner:
JUST HOW UNPOPULAR IS IRAN? — The BBC World Service commissioned a survey to gauge public attitudes towards different countries in the world. My new favorite web site, worldpublicopinion.org, has a summary of the findings: … Here's a link to the full questionnaire and methodology.
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Process Talk — Via Armando over at Kos I see this statement from Tom Vilsack today: … There are many things about this statement that are bulls**t. I don't have to lay them all out for you. But I would like to expound on one aspect of this statement that drives me crazy: it's a process answer.
obama.senate.gov:
Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain Exchange Letters on Ethics Reform — Dear John: — Thank you for inviting me to participate in the meeting yesterday to discuss lobbying and ethics reform proposals currently before the Senate. I appreciate your willingness to reach out to me and several …
Michelle Malkin:
WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER — ***scroll for updates...Danish ping-pong team cancels trip...Iranian demonstrators stone Norwegian embassy...2nd try to storm Danish mission in 2 days...*** — President Bush phoned the Danish Prime Minister today to express support:
Discussion:
Cato Unbound, Mark in Mexico, Peaktalk, Atlas Shrugs, battlepanda.blogspot.com and Ed Driscoll.com
Richard Beeston / Times of London:
Hawks have warplanes ready if the nuclear diplomacy fails — IT IS the option of last resort with consequences too hideous to contemplate. And yet, with diplomacy nearly exhausted, the use of military force to destroy Iran's nuclear programme is being actively considered by those grappling …
Ralph Peters / New York Post:
THE 'CARTOON RIOTS': BIGOTS ON BOTH SIDES — February 7, 2006 — RIOTS scorch the Islamic world as maddened believers protest Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Embassies burn, demonstrators die, crazed threats resound. Far more Muslims fill the streets than protested the invasion of Iraq.
Nelson Hernandez / Washington Post:
Attacks Rock 'Foundation' That Marines Built in Anbar — HIT, Iraq, Feb. 6 — The troops of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit had every reason to feel a sense of accomplishment. Violence in this ancient town along the western Euphrates River had dropped sharply since their arrival.
