Bush's Approval Rating Falls to New Low  —  WASHINGTON - More and more people, particularly Republicans, disapprove of President Bush's performance, question his character and no longer consider him a strong leader against terrorism, according to an AP-Ipsos poll documenting one of the bleakest points of his presidency.

Burning Allies — and Ourselves  —  DUBAI — Officials here heard late Thursday that Karl Rove had decided to pull the plug.  President Bush's political adviser was said to have conveyed to a top manager of Dubai Ports World in Washington that the White House couldn't hold out any longer …

$25,000 to Lobby Group Is Tied to Access to Bush  —  WASHINGTON, March 9 — The chief of an Indian tribe represented by the lobbyist Jack Abramoff was admitted to a meeting with President Bush in 2001 days after the tribe paid a prominent conservative lobbying group $25,000 at Mr. Abramoff's direction …

They Mean It  —  It's pretty clear that the assault on women's reproductive rights is in full swing.  I suspect that many Republicans know that their legislative majority days may be numbered and they are trying to deliver for their constituents before they lose their perch.  —  This one's a twofer.

The Pie Strategy  —  You bastards already hate me.  Probably. … This is not only depressing, it's boring.  We're playing out everyone's favorite dynamic of suspicion vs. grievance.  Right-wingers like to pretend that they're the only ones who dare say that we were attacked by MUSLIMS!

The Critical Questions  —  The entire NSA spy scandal boils down to personal questions that each American ought to be asking themselves and their members of Congress:  — Most importantly - is it legal for the NSA to be spying on me?  — What are the minimum requirements to meet for the NSA to spy on me?

Weakling Republican Liddy Dole Fully Embraces Racism  —  I often receive resistance on the point of whether the Republican Party profits from a deeply racist institutional nature.  I don't think all Republicans are racist, but it is undeniable that racism plays a part in the voting habits of a substantial part of the Republican base.

Bush Facing Rancor Over U.S. Port Security  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush still faces bipartisan rancor in Congress over terrorism vulnerabilities at American ports even though an election-year veto battle over a Dubai-owned company's U.S. port plans has been defused.

Pakistan arrests 1,000 kite-flyers under terror laws  —  LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) - Pakistan has detained 1,000 people for flying kites and warned they could be tried as terrorists after 10 people were killed in a week by strings coated with glass or made from metal.

Exporting Censorship  —  AMERICAN technology firms are taking heat from the public and Congress for helping China's government police the Internet.  But this controversy extends well beyond China and the so-called Internet Gang of Four: Google, Yahoo, Cisco and Microsoft.

No room at the inn for New Orleans dog search team  —  NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) — One of three canine search-and-rescue teams trained to look for bodies left by Hurricane Katrina plans to leave New Orleans after just a few days on the job, because there won't be a hotel room to stay in, the men said Wednesday.

Frist turns back on Reporters over the Dubai port deal  —  Frist turns back on Reporters over the Dubai port deal  —  There's a big split happening in the GOP (primarily over political positioning) and it was magnified by Hastert's view of the "port deal" who did take questions from reporters …

North American opinion Research Inc. replies to Vcrisis  —  Julio Makarem and Ricardo Valbuena have published today a two page communiqué in Venezuela's most read newspaper Ultimas Noticias (see below).  In it they accuse me, among other things, of being part, together with Gustavo Coronel …

The New Protectionists  —  How to create a real security crisis.  —  Dubai Ports World finally threw in the kaffiyah on its American operations yesterday, agreeing to sell them "to a U.S. entity."  We hope that entity turns out to be Halliburton, if only for the torment that would cause certain eminences on Capitol Hill.

Unexpected Rise in Jobless Claims  —  WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) — The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week, to 303,000, the highest level this year, a government report showed on Thursday.  —  The increase of 8,000 took the number …