memeorandum: Tea 'healthier' drink than water (BBC)

Some in G.O.P. Say Iran Threat Is Played Down — Some senior Bush administration officials and top Republican lawmakers are voicing anger that American spy agencies have not issued more ominous warnings about the threats that they say Iran presents to the United States.

Discussion: The RBC, AMERICAblog, Democrats.com, american footprints, First Draft and Ms Underestimated

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Jerusalem Post:

Report: Iran planning nuclear 'surprise' — A senior official in Teheran said Wednesday that in the next few days, a "surprise" was expected regarding Iran's nuclear program, Al-Jazeera reported. — Teheran's apparent refusal to suspend uranium enrichment set the stage for a showdown at the UN Security Council later this month.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Riehl World View, Liberty and Justice, Wizbang and Blue Crab Boulevard

Richard Cowan / Reuters:

Congress report faults U.S. intelligence on Iran — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. intelligence community is ill-prepared to assess Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities and its intentions for developing weapons of mass destruction, a congressional report said on Wednesday.

Discussion: NewsHog, A Blog For All and Political Animal

Michael Theodoulou / Scotsman:

Israel buys nuclear subs — WITH Iran confidently defying pressure to curb its nuclear programme, Israel has signed a contract with Germany to buy two more submarines capable of firing nuclear missiles, it emerged yesterday. — Israeli security sources said the submarines are needed …

Discussion: Jerusalem Post

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Dueling Nuclear Surprises

Discussion: The Asylum

Minneapolis Star Tribune:

NWA flight disrupted; 12 arrested — A passenger on the India-bound plane — the man who first alerted the FBI to Zacarias Moussaoui five years ago — said the tense situation was handled well. — WASHINGTON - A Northwest Airlines plane flying from the Netherlands to India was escorted …

Discussion: Power Line and Captain's Quarters

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Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
12 Passengers Detained After Plane Turns Back

Discussion: Reuters, BBC, Say Anything, Liberty and Justice, A Blog For All, The Strata-Sphere and The Jawa Report

Peter Baker / Washington Post:

Bush's New Iraq Argument: It Could Be Worse — Of all the words that President Bush used at his news conference this week to defend his policies in Iraq, the one that did not pass his lips was "progress." — For three years, the president tried to reassure Americans that more progress was being made in Iraq than they realized.

Discussion: MyDD, The Peking Duck and The Reaction

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Los Angeles Times:
Anniversary Draws Bush to Gulf Coast

Discussion: The News Blog

Christopher Isham Reports / The Blotter:

Al Qaeda Comes to Gaza? — Christopher Isham Reports: — Terrorism analysts say al Qaeda may have conducted their first operation in Gaza. This after a video was released today of the two Fox News journalists held hostage since August 14 along with an accompanying written statement issued …

Discussion: Hyscience and Associated Press

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Doug Struck / Washington Post: Video of Kidnapped Journalists Released

Reuters:
Gaza group claims kidnapping of Fox journalists

Discussion: A Blog For All, Gateway Pundit and Riehl World View

Think Progress:

FACT CHECK: Ned Lamont Does Not Support 'Immediate Withdrawal' From Iraq — People have the right to disagree about what should be done in Iraq. This is part of a healthy political debate. What isn't healthy is distorting someone's position to score political points.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Democrats.com

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spazeboy: UAW Members Endorse Ned Lamont

New York Times:

A Matter of Appearances — When Judge Anna Diggs Taylor was given the job of deciding whether the Bush administration's wiretapping program was unconstitutional, she certainly understood that she would be ruling on one of the most politically charged cases in recent history.

Discussion: Say Anything

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Jay / Stop The ACLU:
Interview With William A. Donahue

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Charles Q. Choi / LiveScience:

Study: Polar Bear Genitals are Shrinking — The icecap may not be the only thing shrinking in the Arctic. The genitals of polar bears in east Greenland are apparently dwindling in size due to industrial pollutants. — Scientists report this shrinkage could, in the worst case scenario …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Scott Winship / Strategist:

The Uninformed Bloc — I know what you're thinking. I've failed to keep the faith. I've made a mockery of the "daily" in "Daily Strategist". I've been out lollygagging, making the rounds of the D.C. cocktail circuit. But lemme explain. There was a much needed trip to Boston …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, The Huffington Post, Attytood, Seeing the Forest, Talking Points Memo and unfutz

Victor Davis Hanson / Real Clear Politics:

Relearning Lessons in the War on Terror — From the recent Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon to the jihadists in Iraq's Sunni Triangle to the repeated efforts by Islamists across the globe to trump Sept. 11, what old lessons about terrorism are we in the West finding ourselves having to relearn?

Nicholas Wade / New York Times:

In New Method for Stem Cells, Viable Embryos — Biologists have developed a technique for establishing colonies of human embryonic stem cells from an early human embryo without destroying it. This method, if confirmed in other laboratories, would seem to remove the principal objection to the research.

Discussion: Althouse, The Mahablog and The RBC

Reuters:

Lieberman's lead on anti-war rival narrows —Text+HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman's lead over anti-war challenger Ned Lamont has narrowed to a razor-thin margin, two polls showed on Wednesday. — The 2000 vice presidential candidate lost the Democratic primary vote …

Discussion: The Irish Trojan's Blog

Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:

THE LOW POST: Off With Their Heads — The Democrats walk themselves to the gallows — >>Talk back to Taibbi — and see a complete archive of The Low Post. — Q: Are bloggers too powerful? — A: Do I think they're important? Yes. Do I think the [bloggers] and Al Sharpton alone are the future of the Democratic Party?

Discussion: The Sideshow and King of Zembla

Hotline On Call:

Exclusive: McCain's Web Team. And Nicco Mele. — Over the past several months, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has quietly recruited for his presidential campaign some of the most influential online strategists in the country, including one of the main architects of Howard Dean's pioneering website.

Discussion: Jesus' General