Top Items:
New York Times:
Sectarian Fury Turns Violent in Wake of Iraq Shrine Blast — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 23 - At least 95 people, some of them prominent Sunni Arab clerics, were killed in revenge in Baghdad and the surrounding areas in the chaotic 24 hours following the bombing Wednesday morning …
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Mohammed / IRAQ THE MODEL:
In the aftermath of the shrine attack... Today is a day off in Iraq, emergency situation now officially declared with extended curfews 8pm-6am. — Sistani has been calling for restraint and calm but it seems that some Shia factions are not listening to him but instead they are listening …
Washington Post:
Sectarian Violence Surges After Shrine Bombing — Curfews Extended; Popular Arab Journalist Kidnapped and Killed — BAGHDAD, Feb. 23 — A wave of sectarian strife and recrimination swept Iraq Thursday after Wednesday's bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in the city of Samarra.
Bill Roggio / The Fourth Rail:
Looking for Signs of Civil War in Iraq — Reviewing the leading indicators that Iraq is sliding into a full scale civil war. — After the destruction of the dome of the Golden Mosque Samarra, the fashionable meme in the media is to declare Iraq is on the verge of a full civil war - if not already in the midst of one.
Alexandra Zavis / Associated Press:
Dozens Slain in Iraq Sectarian Violence — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen shot dead 47 civilians and left their bodies in a ditch near Baghdad Thursday as militia battles and sectarian reprisals followed the bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine. Sunni Arabs suspended their participation in talks on a new government.
River / riverbendblog.blogspot.com:
Tensions... Things are not good in Baghdad. — There was an explosion this morning in a mosque in Samarra, a largely Sunni town. While the mosque is sacred to both Sunnis and Shia, it is considered one of the most important Shia visiting places in Iraq.
Agence France Presse:
US military denies Iraq on brink of civil war — BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US military rejected the idea that a civil war is brewing in Iraq, saying it had confirmed only seven major attacks on mosques across the country. — Major General Rick Lynch, spokesman for the coalition forces in Iraq …
Ziad Khalaf / Associated Press:Mosque Attack Pushes Iraq Toward Civil War
Discussion:
Blogs for Bush, Telegraph, Argghhh!, Loaded Mouth, Associated Press, GOP Bloggers, Michelle Malkin and The Political Pit Bull
Patrick Cockburn / Independent:Destruction of holiest Shia shrine brings Iraq to the brink of civil war
Discussion:
Adloyada, Healing Iraq, Outside The Beltway, The Glittering Eye, Today in Iraq, The Talent Show and liberal catnip
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Big Problem, Dubai Deal or Not — WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 — In the political collision between the White House and Congress over the $6.8 billion deal that would give a Dubai company management of six American ports, most experts seem to agree on only one major point: The gaping holes in security …
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Ted Bridis / Associated Press:
Arab Co., White House Had Secret Agreement — WASHINGTON - The Bush administration secretly required a company in the United Arab Emirates to cooperate with future U.S. investigations before approving its takeover of operations at six American ports, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Discussion:
New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Outside The Beltway, The Hotline's Blogometer, PoliBlog, The Washington Monthly, The Mahablog, Unfogged, Daily Kos, TKS on National Review Online, OxBlog, Shakespeare's Sister, Six Meat Buffet, Democrat Taylor Marsh …, California Conservative, CorrenteWire, Iowa Voice, Wizbang, Instapundit.com, NewsHog, Running Scared, outragedmoderates.org, The Left Coaster, WTF Is It Now??, News Blog, Jihad Watch and The American Mind
New York Times:
Panel Saw No Security Issue in Port Contract, Officials Say — WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 — The Bush administration decided last month that a deal to hand over operations at major American ports to a government-owned company in Dubai did not involve national security and so did not require a more lengthy review …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Washington Monthly, The Left Coaster, The Moderate Voice, AMERICAblog and BrothersJudd Blog
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:Dubai Ports Company Hires Bob Dole As Lobbyist
Discussion:
Right Wing News, Dean's World, aaron, Thoughts from Kansas, AMERICAblog, Think Progress and In Search Of Utopia
Washington Post:
A Failure of the Press — There was a time when the press was the strongest guardian of free expression in this democracy. Stories and celebrations of intrepid and courageous reporters are many within the press corps. Cases such as New York Times v. Sullivan in the 1960s were litigated …
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Evelyn Nieves / Washington Post:
S.D. Abortion Bill Takes Aim at 'Roe' — Senate Ban Does Not Except Rape, Incest — South Dakota lawmakers yesterday approved the nation's most far-reaching ban on abortion, setting the stage for new legal challenges that its supporters say they hope lead to an overturning of Roe v. Wade .
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister, State of the Day, Loaded Mouth, Bring it On!, Bark Bark Woof Woof and Air America Radio
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Monica Davey / New York Times:
Ban on Most Abortions Advances in South Dakota — PIERRE, S.D., Feb. 22 — Setting up South Dakota to become the first state in 14 years to start a direct legal attack on Roe v. Wade, lawmakers voted on Wednesday to outlaw nearly all abortions. — Across the country, abortion rights advocates reacted with outrage and dismay.
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
Hillary Goes Off The Rails On Vouchers … Schools of Jihad? Church of the White Supremacist? "Cain was marked, therefore I believe in white supremacy?" Did someone slip some bourbon in her coffee before she went on stage or something? There are already voucher programs in parts of the US.
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George F. Will / Washington Post:
Smile if (and Only if) You're Conservative — To bemused conservatives, it looks like yet another example of analytic overkill by the intelligentsia — a jobs program for the (mostly liberal) academic boys (and girls) in the social sciences, whose quantitative tools have been brought to bear to prove the obvious.
