Top Items:
Associated Press:
Bush unaware of port deal until after approval — White House: President only learned recently of handover to Arab firm … Today show — WASHINGTON - President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, RuminateThis, The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta, Shakespeare's Sister and Reuters
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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 …
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
firedoglake, The Mahablog, AMERICAN FUTURE, Bring it On!, Alternate Brain and The Democratic Daily Blog
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 Reaction, Daniel W. Drezner, The Strata-Sphere, Hugh Hewitt, Michelle Malkin, INDC Journal, Eschaton, The Washington Monthly, Legal Fiction, The Next Hurrah, State of the Day, Expose the Left, QandO, Leiter Reports, Ezra Klein, Gateway Pundit, dailykos.com, New York Times, Democratic Veteran and Middle Earth Journal
Squiggler:Dubai Port deal - good or bad?
Discussion:
portland.indymedia.org, All The News That Fits My Whim, Daily Pundit, JunkYardBlog, All Things Beautiful, Instapundit.com, Betsy's Page, Cold Fury, Blogs for Bush, The Strata-Sphere, The American Mind, Big Brass Blog, A Blog For All, The Counterterrorism Blog, The Glittering Eye, Confederate Yankee and Hyscience
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:
Shakespeare's Sister, The Washington Monthly, Feministe, Running Scared, TalkLeft, feministing.com and Martini Republic
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Jane Hamsher / firedoglake:
There's No Such Thing As a Pro-Choice Republican (or Lieberman) — We knew it would happen sooner or later, and I guess it's going to be sooner: … Everybody who didn't seen this coming raise their hand. Oh, is that you, Planned Parenthood? … Well, you might have f**king thought …
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.
Discussion:
Mark in Mexico
CNN:
Shiite 'Golden Mosque' heavily damaged — Prime minister calls attack an effort to incite sectarian violence — BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Attackers dressed as Iraqi police commandos bombed the Al-Askariya "Golden Mosque" in Samarra Wednesday morning, heavily damaging the Shiite holy site …
Omar / IRAQ THE MODEL:
Holy Shia shrine bombed in Samarra. — As if we didn't have enough problems already! — The quality of the target and the timing of the attack were chosen in a way that can possibly bring very serious consequences over the country. — The situation in Baghdad is so tense now …
Associated Press:
Poll: Youths Back N. Korea if Attacked — Nearly half of South Korean youths who will be old enough to vote in the country's next elections say Seoul should side with North Korea if the United States attacks the communist nation, according to a poll released Wednesday.
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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 …
RELATED ITEM:
Daniel Finkelsteim / Times of London: The test that David Irving set me: do I really believe in the power of truth?
Fox News:
The Media Fallout Continues Over VP Cheney's Hunting Accident — This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," February 20, 2006, that has been edited for clarity. — ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: The media fallout continues over Vice President Cheney's accidental shooting during a hunting trip over a week ago.
Elana Schor / The Hill:
GOP Senator eyes public financing bill — Sen. George Voinovich, Ethics Committee chairman and a sometime gadfly to Republican leadership, is warming to Democratic-backed proposals for public financing of federal elections. — Voinovich (R-Ohio) told The Hill that he has met …
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 …
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
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 …
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
GOP Achievers Want to Compile $5 Million for Libby Defense — A Who's Who of Republican heavy hitters and Bush administration supporters are lending their names to help raise $5 million for the defense of Vice President Cheney's former top aide in his criminal trial.
