Top Items:
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.
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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:
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 …
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Pope Apologizes For Being Prophetic — Pope Benedict XVI apologized more clearly for any offense taken from his speech by Muslims that decried violence in relgious proselytization, as Muslims burnt two churches in the West Bank. Benedict now says that he hoped Muslims would understand …
Ynetnews:
Arab op-ed: Pope's remarks may lead to war — Muslim world newspapers filled with articles slamming pope's remarks; 'it is clear that such remarks only contribute to the fueling of the fire raging between Islam and the West,' op-ed published in al-Sharq al-Awsat says — Roee Nahmias
Agence France Presse:
Palestinians open fire inside Nablus church — GAZA CITY (AFP) - Assailants angry at Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam targeted several churches across the Palestinian territories on the second day of attacks directed at the Christian church. — In Gaza City, a group calling itself …
Discussion:
Whiskey Bar
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Pope to Muslims: Sorry if you're offended Update: British Muslim papers threaten
Pope to Muslims: Sorry if you're offended Update: British Muslim papers threaten
Anthony Shadid / Washington Post:
Remarks by Pope Prompt Muslim Outrage, Protests
Remarks by Pope Prompt Muslim Outrage, Protests
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, The Gun Toting Liberal, Atlas Shrugs, Norwegianity and Abu Aardvark
Jacob T. Levy / The New Republic:
THOSE WHO TAKE THEIR THEOLOGY SERIOUSLY CONTINUED:
THOSE WHO TAKE THEIR THEOLOGY SERIOUSLY CONTINUED:
Discussion:
Unfogged
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 …
Discussion:
Andrew Sullivan, Balkinization, The Left Coaster, New York Times, Booman Tribune, Bradford Plumer and The Democratic Daily
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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.
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
Ali Eteraz / Eteraz:
URGENT: TIME TO PRESSURE MUSHARRAF — This is a call for action, read on for details. — I am sitting in a half empty taxi stand where the owner has let me use the computer for free because I have some urgent breaking news on the Women's Protection Bill. Popes and Mullahs keep fighting.
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
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 …
Lauran Neergaard / ABCNEWS:
WHO Calls for More DDT Use Vs. Malaria — World Health Organization Urges Developing Countries to Use DDT More-Outdoors-In Malaria Fight — The World Health Organization on Friday called on more developing countries, particularly in Africa, to begin spraying the controversial pesticide DDT to fight malaria.
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).
Discussion:
Legal Fiction
Matthew Yglesias:
Commitment — As the President readies himself to go to the map for his right to order torture in violation of America's laws and international commitments, it's worth putting this in some context. It's extremely rare for the Bush administration to pick big fights with congress.
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