Top Items:
Thom Shanker / New York Times:
Young Officers Leaving Army at a High Rate — WASHINGTON, April 9 — Young Army officers, including growing numbers of captains who leave as soon as their initial commitment is fulfilled, are bailing out of active-duty service at rates that have alarmed senior officers.
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USA Today:
Army surpassing year's retention goal by 15% — WASHINGTON — Two of every three eligible soldiers continue to re-enlist, putting the Army, which has endured most of the fighting in Iraq, ahead of its annual goal. — The Army was 15% ahead of its re-enlistment goal of 34,668 …
BBC:
France to replace youth job law — French President Jacques Chirac has announced that the new youth employment law that sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests will be scrapped. — He said it would be replaced by other measures to tackle youth unemployment.
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Gateway Pundit:
France Surrenders! — It was only a matter of time... The kids did not care for the new plan... It had to go. They were forced to take their fight to the streets. (France-Echos) — After putting up a brave fight, France surrendered today to the young socialist thugs on the street.
Elizabeth Pineau / Reuters:
France to scrap disputed youth job contract
France to scrap disputed youth job contract
Discussion:
Riehl World View
New York Times:
Bush Ordered Declassification, Official Says — WASHINGTON, April 9 — A senior administration official confirmed for the first time on Sunday that President Bush had ordered the declassification of parts of a prewar intelligence report on Iraq in an effort to rebut critics who said the administration …
Discussion:
Editor and Publisher, TPM Muckraker, The Left Coaster, protein wisdom, Unclaimed Territory, AMERICAblog, The Carpetbagger Report, Firedoglake, Media Blog on National …, JustOneMinute, TalkLeft, SEIXON, State of the Day, Think Progress, ConnecticutBLOG, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Wonkette, The Washington Monthly and skippy the bush kangaroo
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Jason Leopold / truthout.org:
Bush and Cheney Discussed Plame Prior to Leak — In early June 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney met with President Bush and told him that CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson was the wife of Iraq war critic Joseph Wilson and that she was responsible for sending him on a fact-finding mission …
The Big Trunk / Power Line:
THREE YEARS LATER: IT'S STILL NEWS!
THREE YEARS LATER: IT'S STILL NEWS!
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, The Real Ugly American.com, PoliPundit.com, The Weekly Standard and protein wisdom
Lieut. General Greg Newbold / Time:
Why Iraq Was a Mistake — A military insider sounds off against the war and the "zealots" who pushed it — Two senior military officers are known to have challenged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the planning of the Iraq war. Army General Eric Shinseki publicly dissented and found himself marginalized.
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Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi — Jordanian Painted As Foreign Threat To Iraq's Stability — The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program.
Thom Shanker / New York Times:
Third Retired General Wants Rumsfeld Out — WASHINGTON, April 9 — The three-star Marine Corps general who was the military's top operations officer before the invasion of Iraq expressed regret, in an essay published Sunday, that he did not more energetically question those who had ordered the nation to war.
MSNBC:
Polls: Berlusconi trailing challenger in Italy vote — Conservative premier is seeking third term; leftist Prodi is ex-ECU president — ROME - Center-left leader Romano Prodi looks set to beat Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy's general election, winning a majority in both houses of parliament …
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Richard Morin / Washington Post:
Bush's Job Approval Rating Continues to Swoon — Forty-Seven Percent of Americans 'Strongly' Disapprove of Handling of the Presidency — Political reversals at home and continued bad news from Iraq have dragged President Bush's standing with the public to a new low and boosted Democratic chances …
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Washington Post:
Christian Coalition Shrinks as Debt Grows — In an era when conservative Christians enjoy access and influence throughout the federal government, the organization that fueled their rise has fallen on hard times. — The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson …
Discussion:
State of the Day, The Green Knight, Bring it On!, Pam's House Blend and HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE
USA Today:
CEO pay soars in 2005 as a select group break the $100 million mark — Even after a decade of sharply rising CEO pay, 2005 proved a watershed for a select group of executives. Their paydays — or potential paydays — broke $100 million. — Led by Capital One Financial's Richard Fairbank …
Discussion:
Mercury Rising
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Neil Munro / nationaljournal.com:
Real Or Fake? … Thanks to digital technology, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the most photographed in history. Photographers with digital cameras have provided, almost instantaneously, an enormous flood of accurate, dramatic, and even shocking images to people around the world.
Matt Stoller / MyDD:
The Path Forward for Lieberman — Lieberman is considering running as an independent. Because of CT election law, it will be very hard for Lieberman to compete in the primary and get on the ballot as an independent. The likeliest path forward for him is to test his strength at the convention …
Sebastian Mallaby:
Political Crackups — What Happens When Governments Don't Work — In the fall of 1992, when a different Bush administration was unraveling, Shin Kanemaru ran into a little trouble. Kanemaru was the Tom DeLay of politics in Japan; he was the gruff son of a rural sake maker who became …
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Michelle Malkin:
HERE WE GO AGAIN — ***scroll for updates*** — They're baaack. Illegal alien public relations experts are advising their followers to put aside the Mexican flags and tone down their radicalism, but many reconquistadors and their friends can't help themselves. Hat tip to John A. for the protest photos today from Dallas:
Discussion:
PoliBlog, Hyscience, Dallas Morning News, Crooks and Liars, TBogg, Freedom Folks and The Shape of Days
Stephanie Simon / Los Angeles Times:
Christians Sue for Right Not to Tolerate Policies — Many codes intended to protect gays from harassment are illegal, conservatives argue. — ATLANTA — Ruth Malhotra went to court last month for the right to be intolerant. — Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality.