Top Items:
New York Times:
Bush Expresses Caution on Key Points in Iraq Panel's Report — President Bush moved quickly on Thursday to distance himself from the central recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group: pulling back all combat brigades over the next 15 months and direct talks with Iran and Syria.
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Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
Senators Challenge Feasibility of Iraq Plans — Study Group Concedes Some Risks But Calls Its Proposal 'Worth a Try' — Members of Congress yesterday questioned the practicability of recommendations from the Iraq Study Group about how to reverse the chaos in Iraq, but they praised the panel's stark assessment of conditions there.
Discussion:
Informed Comment
Greg Miller / Los Angeles Times:
Return fire from the right — The idea of talks with Iran and Syria riles many conservatives. Some say the focus was on an exit, not a victory. — WASHINGTON — Right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh called it "The Iraq Surrender Group." — The conservative New York Post tabloid doctored …
Frederick W. Kagan / NY Daily News:
Asking for chaos — Iraq Study Group fails the big test: how to quell the violence
Asking for chaos — Iraq Study Group fails the big test: how to quell the violence
Discussion:
Andrew Sullivan
Ralph Peters / New York Post:
FRANKLY INCENSED: UNWISE MEN BEAR GIFTS FOR BUTCHERS
FRANKLY INCENSED: UNWISE MEN BEAR GIFTS FOR BUTCHERS
Discussion:
reliefweb.int, Argghhh!, Hyscience, Joust The Facts, Fausta's blog, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Wizbang
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: Steyn slams the AP and Iraq Study Group on O'Reilly — Our subject is bias: anti-Bush in the case of the American press and anti-American in the case of too many Iraqi stringers. No mention of Jamilgate specifically, alas, but he does refer to Bilal Hussein, whose scandal is sexier anyway.
Fox News:
NEW MEXICO GOV. BILL RICHARDSON: 'I AM RUNNING' IN 2008 — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is expected to formally file papers to form a presidential exploratory committee in January. But today he told FOX News "I am running," as he described the professional and personal experiences that he believes have prepared him for the job.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Donklephant, Macsmind, The Democratic Daily, JustOneMinute, Decision '08 and PrestoPundit
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Jennifer Talhelm / Associated Press:
Richardson Speaks Against Border Fence — WASHINGTON — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson says a fence at the Mexican border authorized by Congress this fall "gets in the way" of U.S.-Mexico relations, and he wants the new Democratic Congress to reverse the legislation.
Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Cheney Pregnancy Stirs Debate on Gay Rights — Mary Cheney, a daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, is expecting a baby with her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, Mr. Cheney's office said Wednesday. — Lea Anne McBride, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cheney, said the vice president and his wife …
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Spymania: Everything you think you know is might be wrong — Well, not quite everything. Just where, when, and how Litvinenko was poisoned. — First things first, though. Did he really convert to Islam? Sounds like it, but doubt lingers. … The service at the burial site was nondenominational.
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New York Times:
Long a Laggard, Wages Start to Outpace Prices — After four years in which pay failed to keep pace with price increases, wages for most American workers have begun rising significantly faster than inflation. — With energy prices now sharply lower than a few months ago …
Chris Bowers / MyDD:
On Impeachment — I'm not really sure why I am writing this piece, because I haven't seen much talk about it on MyDD. Also, I can't imagine people on either side of this issue changing their minds even a little bit based upon what I write. However, I would like to say a few things …
Discussion:
The Agonist
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Reuters:
European Socialists eager to work with U.S. Democrats — OPORTO, Portugal (Reuters) - European Socialists promised on Thursday to work to rebuild Europe's strategic alliance with the United States now that the Democrats control Congress after last month's elections.
Discussion:
Tammy Bruce
Salah Nasrawi / Associated Press:
Saudis reportedly funding Iraqi Sunnis — CAIRO, Egypt - Private Saudi citizens are giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, according to key Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash.
Discussion:
Reuters, Hot Air, The Reaction, The Moderate Voice, Bill's Bites and Middle Earth Journal
Peta Thornycroft / Telegraph:
Mugabe joins massive diamond rush — A British-listed mining company, the first to invest in bankrupt Zimbabwe since the political crisis began, was ordered off its valuable diamond claim yesterday. — While President Robert Mugabe has seized thousands of white-owned farms since 2000 he has, up until now, left mining property alone.
St. Petersburg Times:
Dean: Dems should keep out Buchanan — WASHINGTON - Republican Vern Buchanan might be the official winner in a messy Sarasota-area congressional race, but Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean says the Democratic-controlled Congress should not seat Buchanan without another election.
cpj.org:
Internet fuels rise in number of jailed journalists — CPJ census also finds more held without charge or due process … CPJ believes that journalists should not be imprisoned for doing their jobs. The organization has sent letters expressing its serious concerns to each country that has imprisoned a journalist.
minneapolisfed.org:
Interview with David Card — David Card seems like a pretty mild-mannered guy. True, he speaks with conviction, but it is confidence backed by meticulous research and tempered with open acknowledgment of the limits of that research. Card, an economist — at the University of California, Berkeley, is the antithesis of a zealot.