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DEBKAfile:
DEBKAfile reports: Iran's national security adviser Ali Larijani flies to Damascus aboard special military plane Wednesday night as war tension builds up around Hizballah kidnap of 2 Israeli soldiers — Larijani is also Iran's senior nuclear negotiator. He will remain in Damascus …
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Nick Wadhams / Associated Press:
U.S. vetoes U.N. condemnation of Israel — UNITED NATIONS - The United States blocked an Arab-backed resolution Thursday that would have demanded Israel halt its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, the first U.N. Security Council veto in nearly two years.
Haaretz:
Iran warns of 'fierce response' should Israel strike at Syria — By Haaretz Service and News Agencies — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday an Israeli strike on Syria would be considered an attack on the whole Islamic world that would bring a "fierce response", state television reported.
Yaakov Katz / Jerusalem Post:
Hizbullah wants soldiers moved to Iran
Hizbullah wants soldiers moved to Iran
Discussion:
Associated Press, BBC, Washington Post, Haaretz, The Agonist, Euphoric Reality, Blogcritics.org, Captain's Quarters, Assorted Babble, Power Line, Thomas Joscelyn, Seraphic Secret, Liberty and Justice, The Dumb Ox, Andrew Sullivan, Counterterrorism Blog, Seeing the Forest, Blogs for Bush, Fox News and Blogs of War
Business Wire:
Valerie Plame Wilson and Ambassador Joseph Wilson Initiate a Civil Action Against Vice President Cheney, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby for Violations of their Constitutional and Other Legal Rights — WASHINGTON—(BUSINESS WIRE)—July 13, 2006—Former CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Ankle Biting Pundits, The Next Hurrah, TalkLeft, Crooks and Liars, NO QUARTER, Wonkette, MyDD, TBogg, Daily Kos, Needlenose and Wizbang
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Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
A Wilson Civil Suit? — ABC News tells us that Joe and Valerie Wilson have filed a civil suit against Cheney, Libby, Rove, and others in the Bush Administration over the Plame leak: … Joe Wilson had hinted at this lawsuit when we learned that Rove would not be indicted …
Toni Locy / Associated Press:
Former CIA officer sues Cheney over leak — WASHINGTON - The CIA officer whose identity was leaked to reporters sued Vice President Dick Cheney, his former top aide and presidential adviser Karl Rove on Thursday, accusing them and other White House officials of conspiring to destroy her career.
Hillel Italie / Associated Press:
Ex-CIA officer finds new memoir publisher — NEW YORK - Former CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose outing led to the indictment of a White House official, has agreed to write her memoirs for Simon & Schuster, weeks after a reported seven-figure deal with the Crown Publishing Group fell through.
Discussion:
JOSHUAPUNDIT
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
14:59: Wilson/Plame sue Cheney, Rove, Libby, pretty much everyone, really
14:59: Wilson/Plame sue Cheney, Rove, Libby, pretty much everyone, really
Discussion:
Media Blog on National …, Wizbang, Gateway Pundit, protein wisdom and Outside The Beltway
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Bush Would Let Secret Court Sift Wiretap Process — WASHINGTON, July 13 — After months of resistance, the White House agreed Thursday to allow a secret intelligence court to review the legality of the National Security Agency's program to conduct wiretaps without warrants on Americans suspected of having ties to terrorists.
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Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
House Rejects Changes to Voting Rights Act — WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act, rejecting efforts by Southern conservatives to relax federal oversight of their states in a debate haunted by the ghosts of the civil rights movement.
David Sirota:
The Chutzpah & Lies of Joe Lieberman — "Desperate politicians do desperate things" should be written on the political gravestone of Sen. Joe Lieberman (D) come this election season when he finally loses his job. Lieberman is so desperate, he's now dispatching his top political consultant to create a blog …
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Dana Blanton / Fox News:
07/13/06 FOX News Poll: Democrats Favored On Most Issues; Bush Approval Down — NEW YORK — Less than four months before Election Day, the latest FOX News Poll finds that voters strongly favor the Democrats on key issues such as the economy and gas prices, and give the minority party …
Kirkus Reviews / Editor and Publisher:
Preview of Upcoming Book That Roasts Rudy Giuliani — Over 9/11 — NEW YORK A long-awaited re-appraisal of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's much-hailed actions surrounding the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be published in September to mark the fifth anniversary of the tragedy.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Horse's Mouth, Eschaton, No More Mister Nice Blog, Shakespeare's Sister and The RCP Blog
Steve Clemons / The Washington Note:
Rumor: Israel Tells Condi Rice to "Back Off" — Headlines throughout the American media read: — MAJOR ESCALATION — as Israel has intensified its bombing campaign of the Beirut Airport and highways. — 45 Lebanese civilians are reported dead. — Although I do not have independent …
Hindustan Times:
Pak's ISI masterminded 11/7, says intelligence — Forty-eight hours after bombs ripped through Mumbai, the needle pointed to Pakistan. Intelligence agencies on Thursday confirmed that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was the "mastermind" of the blasts that killed about 200 people.
White House:
President Bush and German Chancellor Merkel Participate in Press Availability — President's Trip to Germany and Russia — CHANCELLOR MERKEL: (As translated.) Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be able to welcome the President of the United States here to Stralsund yet again.