memeorandum: Iran defiant as anger mounts over Holocaust forum (Agence France Presse)

8:50 AM ET, December 13, 2006

Top Items:

KKK'S DAVID DUKE TELLS IRAN HOLOCAUST CONFERENCE THAT GAS CHAMBERS NOT USED TO KILL JEWS — Dec. 12: David Duke, former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and former state representative in Louisiana, attends a conference on the Holocaust in Tehran. — TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, jules crittenden, Gateway Pundit, Reuters, Don Surber, Daimnation!, Wizbang and The Corner

Nazila Fathi / New York Times:

Israel Fading, Iran's Leader Tells Deniers of Holocaust — A two-day gathering of Holocaust deniers and white supremacists ended Tuesday with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcoming participants in his office and telling them Israel would not survive long. — "The Zionist regime …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Haaretz:

Iran grows strong, the world yawns — It is possible to make fun of the conference of Holocaust deniers in Tehran, as the historian Prof. Moshe Zimmerman proposes. It is also possible to view this reaction as yet another symptom of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that has afflicted the West in the face of rising Islamic extremism.

Christine Hauser / New York Times:
Holocaust Conference in Iran Provokes Outrage

Discussion: Donklephant

Bryan / Hot Air: How al-Reuters works within tyrannies Updated

Agence France Presse:
Iran defiant as anger mounts over Holocaust forum

Discussion: Redstate and Roger L. Simon

Helene Cooper / New York Times:

Saudis Give a Grim What If Should U.S. Opt to Leave Iraq — Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq's Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.

Discussion: The Washington Note, ParaPundit, All Spin Zone, AMERICAblog, Discourse.net, It Shines For All, Political Animal and Secular Blasphemy

Joseph / CANNONFIRE:
More thoughts on Prince Turki al-Faisal and the Iraq war

Discussion: Rasheed's World and TigerHawk

Juan / Informed Comment:
The New Middle East Cold War: Saudi/Israel/Lebanon versus Iran/Syria/Iraq/Hizbullah

Discussion: CNN and TPMCafe blogs

Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:

Army, Marine Corps To Ask for More Troops — The Army and Marine Corps are planning to ask incoming Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Congress to approve permanent increases in personnel, as senior officials in both services assert that the nation's global military strategy has outstripped their resources.

Discussion: Suburban Guerrilla

Associated Press:

White House: Bush's new Iraq policy largely decided … WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Tuesday put off until early next month announcing a new approach to the Iraq war, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Bush should take whatever time necessary to decide his next steps.

Discussion: Riehl World View and Brad DeLong's Semi …

Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:
Bush Delays Speech on Iraq Strategy

Discussion: LiberalOasis, The Horse's Mouth and Redstate

Nico / Think Progress:
CNN: Bush Is 'Very Seriously' Considering Sending More Troops To Iraq

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Eschaton

Greg Jefferson / MySanAntonio.com:

Rodriguez defeats Bonilla — U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla conceded defeat to former congressman Ciro Rodriguez in a stunning upset that completed the Democratic takeover of Congress. — The Republican incumbent lost Bexar County for the first time in his political career Tuesday night …

Discussion: Burnt Orange Report, Off the Kuff, The Agonist and Sirotablog

David Burge / iowahawk:

KOFI TALK — [ed. note - found in a remodeling dumpster at 48th and FDR Drive: first draft of Kofi Annan's valediction] — Nearly 50 years ago, when I arrived in Minnesota as a student fresh from Africa, I had much to learn. For example, the concept of "connecting flights," …

CNN:
Annan chides U.S. in farewell speech

Discussion: BBC, Cox & Forkum, The Moderate Voice, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog and The Indepundit

Washington Post:

Illegal Workers Arrested In Identity Theft Sweep — Federal agents targeting illegal immigrants raided meatpacking plants in six states yesterday, arresting hundreds of workers on the uncommon charge of identity theft and shutting down the world's second-largest meat processing company for much of the day.

Discussion: La Shawn Barber's Corner, TalkLeft, Blogs for Bush, Gun Toting Liberal, Michelle Malkin, The Democratic Daily and Iowa Voice

Ilene Lelchuk / San Francisco Chronicle:

'Convert or die' game divides Christians — Some ask Wal-Mart to drop Left Behind — Liberal and progressive Christian groups say a new computer game in which players must either convert or kill non-Christians is the wrong gift to give this holiday season and that Wal-Mart …

Discussion: AMERICAblog, Donklephant, Hot Air, JunkYardBlog, CANNONFIRE and Pandagon

Tom Baldwin / Times of London:

Dumb answers of intelligence chief — He is expected to have an acute understanding of terrorist groups and their threats to American interests. But the incoming chairman of a congressional intelligence committee was yesterday struggling to explain his ignorance of al-Qaeda and Hezbollah.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Dean Barnett / Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog:
FAQ - The Shiites and the Sunnis

Discussion: Big Lizards and The Political Pit Bull

Chicago Boyz:

The Allende Myth, by Vladimir Dorta — My friend Val Dorta originally published this outstanding historical essay on his blog in 2003. With the death of Augusto Pinochet, much attention is again being given to the Allende period, the military coup and the dictatorship that followed.

Val Prieto / Babalu Blog:

fidel castro Is Dead? (Updated) — Been getting quite a bit of traffic via searches with "castro death" and "is castro dead" and "castro death rumors" the past couple of days so I thought I'd go ahead and clear that whole mess up right now. — Barring any unforeseen actions such as …

Discussion: english.yonhapnews.co.kr, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog, Associated Press and Blogs for Bush

Katharine Houreld / Associated Press:

Nigeria considers same-sex marriage ban — LAGOS, Nigeria — Lawmakers in Nigeria are debating a bill that would ban same-sex marriage and any form of association among gays, even sharing a meal at a restaurant. — Few in Nigeria's deeply closeted gay community have publicly opposed the legislation …

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and AMERICAblog

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Bush Delays Speech on Iraq Until January — President Bush will wait until after the holidays to speak to the nation about a new strategy in Iraq, a strategy he said today will be designed to establish a free and self-sufficient country that will be an ally in the battle against extremists.

Discussion: The News Blog, AMERICAblog, The Democratic Daily and TalkLeft