Top Items:
Aluf Benn / Haaretz:
ANALYSIS: Giving the war an image of victory, not a draw — Borrowing from the world of soccer beloved to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the Israel Defense Forces operation in Lebanon went into overtime on Monday. — Olmert wants to take another stab at a decisive conclusion before the UN Security Council blows the final whistle.
Discussion:
War and Piece
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CNN:
Key Republican breaks with Bush on Mideast — Nebraska's Sen. Hagel calls for immediate cease-fire — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Urging President Bush to turn all U.S. efforts toward "ending this madness," a leading Republican senator Monday broke with the Bush administration and called for an immediate cease-fire in the Mideast.
Lebanon.Profile / Lebanese Political Journal:
When is Israel Wrong? — A Rant. As I've said, what does Israel realistically hope to accomplish? — I'm serious in asking this question. If Israel isn't wrong right now, when will the US, the international community, the rest of the world, and Israelis ever admit that Israel does horribly atrocious things?
David Horowitz / Front Page Magazine:
Jaws of Defeat — The United States and Israel and every sentient being in the path of the Islamist crusade are teetering on the brink of a massive defeat in Lebanon and thus in the war on terror. Lest it be forgotten, this is a war that began with the Ayatollahs' revolution in Iran in 1979 …
Washington Post:
Israel's Olmert Rules Out Cease-Fire — U.N. Postpones Meeting on Multinational Force for Southern Lebanon — Israel rejected the prospect of a cease-fire in the coming days in its war with Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, launching new ground and air operations against the radical Shiite Muslim group …
Haaretz:
Israel ready to swap 2 Lebanese prisoners for IDF soldiers — Israel will release two Lebanese prisoners in return for the two soldiers abducted by Hezbollah, as part of a cease-fire agreement, government and defense officials said on Monday. — The sources added that the UN Security Council …
Discussion:
LiberalOasis
Anita Snow / Associated Press:
Castro relinquishes power before surgery — HAVANA - Fidel Castro temporarily relinquished his presidential powers to his brother Raul on Monday night and told Cubans he underwent surgery. — The Cuban leader said he had suffered gastrointestinal bleeding, apparently due to stress …
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Val Prieto / Babalu Blog:
fidel castro Death Watch, Take 2846 — BREAKING NEWS: — Local news is reporting that fidel castro has "temporarily" handed power of the communist nation over to his brother Raul. Details are sketchy at the moment, but reports are that he was suffering from "intestinal ailments."
Manuel Roig-Franzia / Washington Post:
Ailing Castro Transfers Powers — Cuban Leader Has Surgery, Cedes Interim Control to Brother — Cuban President Fidel Castro, a nemesis of the U. S. government for more than four decades, temporarily relinquished power on Monday for the first time in his long reign, saying he had undergone intestinal surgery.
Discussion:
Decision '08
Bill Brubaker / Washington Post:
Democrats Unite on Iraq Withdrawal Demands — Twelve Democratic leaders of the House and Senate have urged President Bush in a strongly worded letter to begin withdrawing the 130,000 U.S. troops from Iraq by year's end, a sign that Democrats may be uniting on a key election-year issue that has divided the party.
Jamie Holly / Crooks and Liars:
Ned Lamont on the Colbert Report — Stephen Colbert interviewed Ned Lamont tonight about the upcoming Connecticut primary. — Some rough transcript quotes from Ned: … Ned did an outstanding job at handling the tough interviews Stephen Colbert gives. He was quick with the responses and presented his platform very well.
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Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
Mel Gibson's Meltdown — HE IS SICK TO HIS EMPTY CORE WITH JEW-HATRED. — I was just in the middle of writing a long and tedious essay, about how to tell a real anti-Semite from a person who too-loudly rejects the charge of anti-Semitism, when a near-perfect real-life example came to hand.
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Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
The Gibson Affair: A Defining Hollywood Moment — So is Mel Gibson's drunken anti-Semitic spew really headline news — or is it just another celebrity DUI? Another high-profile addition to The Smoking Gun's mug shot gallery (Nick and Glen, meet your new buddy Mel)? Monologue fodder for Leno, Letterman, Conan, and Kimmel?
John Fund / Opinion Journal:
Will the Center Hold? — A moderate senator and a far-left congresswoman face tough Democratic primary challenges. — Two primaries next week will tell a lot about the strength of the hard-left wing of the Democratic party. In Connecticut, moderate Sen. Joe Lieberman faces …
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Ctblogger / ConnecticutBLOG:
Lieberman's shameless race baiting flyer (and a few words)
Lieberman's shameless race baiting flyer (and a few words)
Discussion:
The News Blog, MyDD, My Left Nutmeg RSS Feed, Ned Lamont for Senate, The Horse's Mouth and Daily Kos
Qassim Abdul-Zahra / Associated Press:
Iraq's Vice President Criticizes Israel — Iraq's vice president on Monday accused Israel of carrying out "massacres" in Lebanon, the strongest criticism yet of the Jewish state by a top official of the U.S-backed Iraqi government. — Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite …
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Ronny Sofer / Ynetnews:
Cabinet approves expanding ground operations — Security-political cabinet ministers give IDF green light to widen ground offensive in south Lebanon to banks of Litani River in north at end of four-hour meeting. Motion approved nearly unanimously - only MK Ophir Pines opposes
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Jules Crittenden / Boston Herald:
This war must not end — The war in Lebanon must not end short of its logical conclusion. Its logical conclusion is not the successful use of human shields by Hezbollah to hamstring the Israeli Defense Forces. Its logical conclusion is the destruction of Hezbollah as a military …
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Michael Slackman / New York Times:
Iran Hangs in Suspense as War Offers New Strength, and Sudden Weakness — These should be heady days for Iran's leaders. Hezbollah, widely regarded as its proxy force in Lebanon, continues to rain down rockets on Israel despite 17 days of punishing airstrikes.
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Nasser Karimi / Associated Press:
Hugo Chavez Receives Iran's Highest Honor
Hugo Chavez Receives Iran's Highest Honor
Discussion:
The Reaction, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Blue Crab Boulevard, PoliPundit.com and Slapstick Politics
Claudia Rowe / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Shooting exposes the war at home — Tension simmers here, but rarely reaches the surface — In intellectual Seattle, where even the most fractious political debates can be discussed over coffee, Friday's shooting at the Jewish Federation building left both pro- and anti-Israeli activists struggling …