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Michelle Malkin:
Pope Rage on the Internet; church bombings in Gaza — My friend Lorenzo Vidino, counterterrorism expert and author of al Qaeda in Europe, sent the above photo and this note: … The script in red calls for the Pope's beheading. The rest of the translation:
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Macsmind, Ace of Spades HQ, small dead animals and The Political Pit Bull
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New York Times:
The Pope's Words — There is more than enough religious anger in the world. So it is particularly disturbing that Pope Benedict XVI has insulted Muslims, quoting a 14th-century description of Islam as "evil and inhuman." — In the most provocative part of a speech this week on …
TigerHawk:
Infantilizing Muslim "rage" — Just about the entire world knows that that Pope Benedict XVI gave a speech on Tuesday condemning religious conversion by violence. The Muslim "street" did not respond until Friday, when the leaders of the Muslim religion called for their faithful to surge …
BBC:
Pope 'sorry' for offence to Islam — Pope Benedict XVI has said he is sorry that a speech in which he referred to Islam has offended Muslims. — In a statement read out by a senior Vatican official, the Pope said he respected Islam and hoped Muslims would understand the true sense of his words.
Hindrocket / Power Line:
MUSLIMS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST POPE — All around the world, Musliims are taking to the streets to demonstrate against the Pope's quotation of a fictional dialogue between a fourteenth-century Byzantine emperor and a Persian scholar which included a criticism of Islam.
Times of London:
Muslims vent fury at Pope's speech — From Richard Owen in Rome and Suna Erdem in Istanbul — THE Pope's visit to Turkey, which many hoped would herald a new era of improved relations between Islam and the West, was in doubt yesterday amid condemnation of remarks by the pontiff that appeared to link Islam and violence.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog
R. Jeffrey Smith / Washington Post:
Behind the Debate, Controversial CIA Techniques — President Bush's push this week for legislation that narrowly defines U.S. obligations under the Geneva Conventions is motivated by his aides' conviction that the CIA must continue using a small number of highly controversial interrogation techniques …
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wbal.com:
Cardin Staffer Sacked In Blog Flap — WBAL Radio as reported by Leonard Roberts and Robert Lang — A blog has apparently led to the firing of a staffer in the Ben Cardin for Senate campaign. — According to the Washington Times Insider Politics blog, a person labeling herself …
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Rajiv Chandrasekaran / Washington Post:
Best-Connected Were Sent to Rebuild Iraq — After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-led effort to reconstruct Iraq attracted all manner of Americans — restless professionals, Arabic-speaking academics, development specialists and war-zone adventurers.
Brian Faler / Bloomberg:
Republican Voters Dismayed by Biggest Spending Rise Since 1990 — Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) — Republican voters are angry, not for the first time, at big-spending politicians in Washington. This year, their wrath is aimed at their own party. — The Republican-controlled Congress heads …
Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:
Security Ring for Baghdad Underway — Massive Effort Aims To Block Insurgents — U.S. military and Iraqi security forces have begun a massive effort to seal off Baghdad with a ring of reinforced checkpoints, berms, trenches, barriers and fences in an attempt to clamp down on insurgents, officials said Friday.
Washington Post:
Congress Ducks — We know that you know that there is an entitlement problem. But the message hasn't reached Capitol Hill. — THERE'S NO great mystery about how to address Medicare's financial crisis. Either you contain the rate at which the program's costs rise, or you raise more money to pay for it.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Bush VS Republicans, The Press And Lawyers On Torture — The controversy continues to grow over President George Bush's push for legislation that narrowly defines the Geneva Convention — a move that is being opposed by some in the military and some key GOPers (most interestingly, high profile Republicans who served in the military).
Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:
How Bad Is the Senate Intelligence Report? — Very bad. — According to a report released September 8 by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Saddam Hussein "was resistant to cooperating with al Qaeda or any other Islamist groups." It's an odd claim.
Discussion:
Security Watchtower
National Journal:
Know Thy Voter — A sophisticated and previously unrevealed experiment by Democratic interest groups could provide Democratic candidates in as many as nine states with an unanticipated edge in the November elections. — America Votes, a roundtable of the nation's top liberal membership groups …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Associated Press:
Intruder killed by nurse was hit man, police say — PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — When Susan Kuhnhausen returned home from work one day earlier this month, she encountered an intruder wielding a claw hammer. After a struggle, the 51-year-old nurse fended off her attacker by strangling him with her bare hands.