memeorandum: Muslim haj pilgrims perform devil-stoning ritual (Souhail Karam/Reuters)

3:34 AM ET, January 1, 2007

Top Items:

U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 3,000 — BAGHDAD, Iraq - The death of a Texas soldier, announced Sunday by the Pentagon, raised the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000 since the war began, according to an Associated Press count. — The grim milestone was crossed …

Discussion: TPMCafe blogs, The Agonist, jules crittenden, Middle Earth Journal and BobGeiger.com

MSNBC:

U.S. sustains 3,000th fatality in Iraq — Texas soldier's death raises toll to new milestone; Bush weighs his options — BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Pentagon announced the death of a Texas soldier on Sunday, raising the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000 since the war began, according to an Associated Press count.

Discussion: Macsmind, The Reaction and THE CUNNING REALIST

Nancy Trejos / Washington Post:

U.S. Toll In Iraq Reaches 3,000 — The number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003 reached 3,000 on Sunday, a symbolic milestone at a time when the Bush administration is rethinking its strategy for the increasingly violent conflict.

Discussion: skippy the bush kangaroo

Gateway Pundit:
A Couple Other Grim Milestones Missed by the Media Today

Discussion: PrairiePundit

Dan / Riehl World View: 63,000 - Yes, That's Some Number

Bill Faith / Bill's Bites:
Party time for the left! … Moonbat 1: Bummer 'bout Saddam, man.

Discussion: The Democratic Daily

Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:

Islamists, Cornered in Somalia, Lose Local Support — As fighting began to flare up today around Kismayo, the final redoubt for Somalia's diminished Islamic movement, elders within the city demanded that the Islamists leave. — Mohammed Arab, a leader of the Ogaden sub-clan …

Discussion: Hot Air, Riehl World View and Times of London

Observer:
Not a shot was fired yet the Somali jihad was suddenly over...

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and Crooks and Liars

Liz Fedor / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Area Somalis want peace for homeland

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Jihad Watch, Little Green Footballs and Clarity & Resolve

River / Baghdad Burning:

A Lynching... It's official. Maliki and his people are psychopaths. This really is a new low. It's outrageous- an execution during Eid. Muslims all over the world (with the exception of Iran) are outraged. Eid is a time of peace, of putting aside quarrels and anger- at least for the duration of Eid.

Discussion: CorrenteWire and Sentencing Law and Policy

Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:

Bush Has Quietly Tripled Aid to Africa — Increase in Funding to Impoverished Continent Is Viewed as Altruistic or Pragmatic — President Bush's legacy is sure to be defined by his wielding of U.S. military power in Afghanistan and Iraq, but there is another, much softer and less-noticed effort …

Discussion: Grasping Reality …, Wake up America, Angry Bear, Beat the Press, Blue Crab Boulevard and Don Surber

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
An Overlooked Legacy? — The Washington Post notes …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Little Green Footballs:

Palestinians Mourn Dead Tyrant — The wires services' Arab propagandists are working overtime to let us know that the Palestinian death cult society is distraught about the execution of the monster Saddam Hussein.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and The Jawa Report

Gateway Pundit:
Palestinians Missing Saddam and His Fat Checks for Terror

Discussion: Wake up America and Captain's Quarters

jules crittenden:
Next Order of Business

Discussion: Boston Herald, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Hyscience

Stephen Braun / Los Angeles Times:

This Clinton machine is a tighter ship — The New York senator has a seasoned political team that is ready to act — if she decides to run for president. — WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent much of the last month behind closed doors, putting the final touches on a presidential campaign-in-waiting.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Times of London:
Hillary falls to earth in poll race

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Gun Toting Liberal ™ and Decision '08

Souhail Karam / Reuters:

Muslim haj pilgrims perform devil-stoning ritual — Source: Reuters — MENA, Saudi Arabia, Dec 31 (Reuters) - More than 2.5 million Muslim haj pilgrims performed devil-stoning rites on Sunday, amid tight security to prevent overcrowding and protests following the execution of Saddam Hussein.

Discussion: Jihad Watch

Scott Helman / Boston Globe:

Romney connecting quickly with bloggers — Taps into the Web for early support — Bill Hobbs of Tennessee is among the bloggers that Mitt Romney has been courting. (Alan Poizner/ Getty Images/ For the Boston Globe) — Over cold cuts, cookies, and soft drinks, Governor Mitt Romney …

Discussion: Power Line, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Ankle Biting Pundits

Michael Coleman / Latest ABQjournal News:

Wilson Opposes Troop Increase — WASHINGTON— Rep. Heather Wilson— initially a staunch supporter of the war in Iraq— said Saturday she opposes sending additional U.S. troops to the violence-torn nation and that the situation in Baghdad is "not improving."

Discussion: DownWithTyranny! and Talking Points Memo

Washington Times:

Senators should have shown them the money — Entering the post-primary presidential campaign of 2004, political strategists, commentators and journalists believed that if any single state would represent the difference between victory and defeat in the general election, Ohio would be that state.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and The News Buckit

Hindrocket / Power Line:

HAPPY NEW YEAR... ...to all of our readers. — May 2007 be a happy, safe and prosperous year. — UPDATE: By the way, I hadn't seen Ed Morrissey for a while, and wondered where he was spending the holidays. Now, I think we know. Marcia, better check up on Ed's whereabouts!

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Michael Sheridan / Times of London:

China chokes on a coal-fired boom — Toxic cloud of progress can be seen from space — A GREAT coal rush is under way across China on a scale not seen anywhere since the 19th century. — Its consequences have been detected half a world away in toxic clouds so big that they can seen from space …

Discussion: The Peking Duck and The Glittering Eye

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:

Poll: Americans see gloom, doom in 2007 — WASHINGTON - Another terrorist attack, a warmer planet, death and destruction from a natural disaster. These are among Americans' grim predictions for the United States in 2007. — Only a minority of people think the U.S. will go to war with Iran …

Discussion: StephenBainbridge.com, Associated Press, The American Street, The Democratic Daily, Inactivist and Preemptive Karma

New York Times:

A Grim Milestone in Iraq: 3,000 American Deaths — Jordan W. Hess was the unlikeliest of soldiers. — He could bench-press 300 pounds and then go home and write poetry. He learned the art of glass blowing because it seemed interesting and built a computer with only a magazine as his guide.

Discussion: Political Animal