Top Items:
New York Times:
Bush Would Veto Any Bill Halting Dubai Port Deal — WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — President Bush, trying to put down a rapidly escalating rebellion among leaders of his own party, said Tuesday that he would veto any legislation blocking a deal for a state-owned company in Dubai to take over the management …
Discussion:
Sisyphus Shrugged, The Huffington Post, TAPPED, Norwegianity, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Think Progress and Jewschool
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Washington Post:
Bush Threatens Veto Against Bid To Stop Port Deal — State-Run Arab Firm Poses No Threat, President Says Amid Bipartisan Criticism — President Bush yesterday strongly defended an Arab company's attempt to take over the operation of seaports in Baltimore and five other cities …
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere, dailykos.com, White House, Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt, INDC Journal, QandO, The Washington Monthly, Legal Fiction, The Next Hurrah, Expose the Left, Leiter Reports, Ezra Klein, Middle Earth Journal, Eschaton, Democratic Veteran, State of the Day, The Moderate Voice, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog and Macsmind
New York Times:
The President and the Ports — If President Bush follows through on his threat, he'll be making a strange choice for his first veto after more than five years in office. After giving a pass to a parade of misbegotten Congressional initiatives and irresponsible budget packages …
Opinion Journal:
Ports of Politics — How to sound like a hawk without being one. — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is the latest Republican to broadcast his "independence" from President Bush on homeland security, yesterday joining Senator Lindsey Graham, Representative Peter King and numerous state politicians …
Ted Bridis / Associated Press:
Bush Shrugs Off Objections to Port Deal — WASHINGTON - Brushing aside objections from Republicans and Democrats alike, President Bush endorsed the takeover of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates.
Squiggler:
Dubai Port deal - good or bad? Everyone needs to calm down and take a deep breath. — Like so many others, when I first heard about the proposed Dubai port deal, my gut reaction was "no way!" I had many of the same questions and reservations as I've been reading on many, many blogs, including some of the most influential.
Monica Davey / New York Times:
Vote Due on South Dakota Bill Banning Nearly All Abortions — PIERRE, S.D., Feb. 21 — Lawmakers here are preparing to vote on a bill that would outlaw nearly all abortions in South Dakota, a measure that could become the most sweeping ban approved by any state in more than a decade, those on both sides of the abortion debate say.
Discussion:
Feministe
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Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:
Justices to Review Federal Ban on Disputed Abortion Method — WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — The Supreme Court, at full strength with Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on the bench for the first time, opened the next chapter in its long-running confrontation with abortion on Tuesday by agreeing to decide whether …
Jane Hamsher / firedoglake:There's No Such Thing As a Pro-Choice Republican (or Lieberman)
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Democrat Taylor Marsh …, Eschaton, Decision '08, feministing.com, PoliBlog and TalkLeft
Edward Wong / New York Times:
Blast Destroys Golden Dome of Sacred Shiite Shrine in Samarra — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 22 - Insurgents dressed as police commandos detonated powerful explosives on Wednesday morning inside one of Shiite Islam's most sacred shrines, destroying most of the building, located in the volatile town of Samarra …
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BBC:
Iraqi blast damages Shia shrine — A bomb attack in Iraq has badly damaged one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, sparking furious protests. — Thousands of Iraqis have gathered at the al-Askari shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad, where two men blew up the famous golden dome in a dawn raid.
Times of London:
Prosecutors say Irving jail term should be longer — Austrian prosecutors have filed an appeal against the three-year prison sentence handed to the British historian David Irving, arguing that he escaped too lightly for the crime of Holocaust denial. — Irving was left stunned and open-mouthed …
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Daniel Finkelsteim / Times of London: The test that David Irving set me: do I really believe in the power of truth?
Elizabeth White / Associated Press:
Hecklers Disrupt Scalia at D.C. Appearance — WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia grew tired of a persistent heckler Tuesday and asked organizers of a legal seminar to do something about the outbursts - gently. — "Don't use force," Scalia told American Enterprise Institute workers …
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New York Times:
President of Harvard Resigns, Ending Stormy 5-Year Tenure — Lawrence H. Summers resigned yesterday as president of Harvard University after a relatively brief and turbulent tenure of five years, nudged by Harvard's governing corporation and facing a vote of no confidence from the influential Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
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New York Times:
Furor Over Cartoons Pits Muslim Against Muslim — AMMAN, Jordan, Feb. 21 — In a direct challenge to the international uproar over cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad, the Jordanian journalist Jihad Momani wrote: "What brings more prejudice against Islam, these caricatures or pictures …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, USS Neverdock, Outside The Beltway, JunkYardBlog and The Big Pharaoh
Liza Porteus / Fox News:
Three Charged in Plan to Attack U.S. Military in Iraq — A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted three Ohio men for their role in assisting terrorism on U.S. targets overseas, specifically American military personnel and their allies in Iraq. — The indictment, which was unsealed Monday …
New York Times:
Force-Feeding at Guantánamo Is Now Acknowledged — WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 — The military commander responsible for the American detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, confirmed Tuesday that officials there last month turned to more aggressive methods to deter prisoners …
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
From 'Connectedness' to Conflict — One of the baseline assumptions of U.S. foreign policy is that "connectedness" is a good thing. Linkage to the global economy fosters the growth of democracy and free markets, the theory goes, and that in turn creates the conditions for stability and security.
Ryan Lenz / Associated Press:
Motorcyclists Roll to Soldier Funerals — FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier's funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters.
Alex Massie / Scotsman:
Neocon architect says: 'Pull it down' — NEOCONSERVATISM has failed the United States and needs to be replaced by a more realistic foreign policy agenda, according to one of its prime architects. — Francis Fukuyama, who wrote the best-selling book The End of History and was a member …
