memeorandum: Shocked Italy seeks execution ban (Reuters)

12:30 PM ET, January 3, 2007

Top Items:

Iraq to Review Abusive Acts at Hussein's Execution — Iraq's Shiite-led government said Tuesday that it had ordered an investigation into the abusive behavior at the execution of Saddam Hussein, who was subjected to a battery of taunts by official Shiite witnesses and guards as he awaited his hanging.

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Huffington Post, Attytood, LiberalOasis, AMERICAblog, Eschaton, Brilliant at Breakfast and Rising Hegemon

Reuters:

Shocked Italy seeks execution ban — ROME, Italy (Reuters) — Italy will campaign at the United Nations for a global ban on the death penalty, Prime Minister Romano Prodi said on Tuesday, after graphic images of Saddam Hussein's hanging shocked people around the world.

Discussion: Washington Post, Captain's Quarters, DownWithTyranny!, New York Times and Power Line

BBC:

Iraq's PM longs to leave office — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has made clear he dislikes being the country's leader and would prefer to leave the job before his term ends. — In an extensive interview with a US newspaper, Mr Maliki said he would certainly not be seeking a second term.

Discussion: Think Progress

George W. Bush / Opinion Journal:

What the Congress Can Do for America — Let them say of these next two years: We used our time well. — Tomorrow, members of the 110th Congress will take their oaths of office here in Washington. I will have the privilege of working with them for the next two years—one quarter of my presidency …

Discussion: Guardian, Firedoglake, Captain's Quarters, Angry Bear, The Moderate Voice, AMERICAblog, Economist's View, Matthew Yglesias, TBogg, Right Voices, The Heretik, Patrick Ruffini, The Caucus, Middle Earth Journal, jules crittenden, Althouse, Brendan Nyhan and Sister Toldjah

Associated Press:
Bush seeks cooperation from new Congress

Discussion: CorrenteWire and Happy Furry Puppy Story …

The Hill:

Dems finalize new rules — House Democrats hurried yesterday to put the finishing touches on ethics reforms that would ban lawmakers and staffers from accepting trips, gifts and meals from lobbyists and prevent the new majority from holding votes open to change the outcome.

Discussion: New York Times and Sirotablog

Washington Post:

A Fairer House — THE NEW Democratic House majority has an ambitious plan for its first 100 hours in power, from increasing the minimum wage to strengthening ethics rules to having the federal government negotiate prescription drug prices. Unfortunately, its plans don't include getting …

Discussion: CorrenteWire, The Strata-Sphere, PrairiePundit, Cold Fury and Blue Crab Boulevard

Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press: Lobbyists hired to align with Congress

New York Post:
JOHN CONYERS — Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has been licking …

Discussion: Daled Amos and Macsmind

Lois Romano / Washington Post:

Effect of Obama's Candor Remains to Be Seen — Senator Admitted Trying Cocaine in a Memoir Written 11 Years Ago — Long before the national media spotlight began to shine on every twist and turn of his life's journey, Barack Obama had this to say about himself: "Junkie. Pothead.

Discussion: The Heretik, CorrenteWire, Decision '08, The Caucus, Althouse and Oliver Willis

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:

The Nature Of Youthful Indiscretions — ... is that they should be handled discreetly. However, the tabloidesque nature of national politics over the last generation has eliminated discretion, and it appears the next example of this will be Barack Obama. The Washington Post manages …

Discussion: Ankle Biting Pundits, Polimom Says and shotinthedark.info

Mathew / Centerfield:
Obama's Past — The Washington Post reports that Barack Obama's …

Discussion: Dean's World and Booker Rising

David Saltonstalland Ben Smith / NY Daily News:

'This is clearly a dirty trick' — Giuliani camp says dossier was taken, copied & returned — The fledgling Giuliani presidential campaign charged yesterday that it was the victim of a mysterious "dirty trick" in the theft of the former mayor's political road map for 2008.

Discussion: Demagogue, Ankle Biting Pundits and The News Blog

Patrick Healy / New York Times:
Political Paper Stolen, Giuliani Camp Says

Discussion: Feministe, PrairiePundit and Roger Ailes

Maggie Haberman / New York Post:
RUDY'S TRAITORS — 'LEAKER' AIDES TO GOV HE HELPED

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker

Associated Press:

Pat Robertson: God told me of 'mass killing' in 2007 … VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (AP) — Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday that God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would cause a "mass killing" late in 2007. — "I'm not necessarily saying it's …

Discussion: Big Brass Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, The Gadflyer, TAPPED, The World Wide Rant, Outside The Beltway, BluegrassReport.org and The New Editor

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:

FBI Reports Duct-Taping, 'Baptizing' at Guantanamo — FBI agents witnessed possible mistreatment of the Koran at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including at least one instance in which an interrogator squatted over Islam's holy text in an apparent attempt to offend a captive …

Discussion: Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Firedoglake, TalkLeft, toohotfortnr, Prairie Weather, The Heretik, The Moderate Voice and the talking dog

CNN:
FBI: Workers saw prisoner abuse at Guantanamo

Discussion: Clarity & Resolve

Washington Post:

But It's Thomas Jefferson's Koran! — Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he'd take his oath of office on the Koran — especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values.

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Think Progress, Riehl World View, Hot Air, shotinthedark.info, skippy the bush kangaroo, CNN Political Ticker and Reason Magazine

Michelle Malkin:

Going to Iraq — My blogging has been lighter than usual the past few weeks due to family time, Fox News duties, holiday chaos, holiday illness—and, yes, planning for a trip to Iraq. As you know, ex-CNN newsman Eason Jordan extended an invitation to me three weeks ago to go to Iraq …

Discussion: RichardMiniter.com, Gay Patriot, Confederate Yankee, Wizbang, Ace of Spades HQ, The Political Pit Bull and The Jawa Report

Michael Calderone / New York Observer:

Will Bill Keller End 'Public Editor' Slot at The Times? — Dan Okrent Protests; Faithful Barney Calame Sputters Weary Defense — The New York Times will soon decide whether it will do away with its public editor. — The two-year term of the current public editor, Byron (Barney) Calame, will conclude in May.

Discussion: Hot Air, Redstate, The Sideshow, A Blog For All, Michelle Malkin, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Corner and Brendan Nyhan

Cara Buckley / New York Times:

A Man Down, a Train Arriving, and a Stranger Makes a Choice — It was every subway rider's nightmare, times two. — Who has ridden along New York's 656 miles of subway lines and not wondered: "What if I fell to the tracks as a train came in? What would I do?" — And who has not thought: "What if someone else fell?

Discussion: The Right Coast and PrairiePundit

Gina Kolata / New York Times:

A Surprising Secret to a Long Life: Stay in School — James Smith, a health economist at the RAND Corporation, has heard a variety of hypotheses about what it takes to live a long life — money, lack of stress, a loving family, lots of friends. But he has been a skeptic.

Discussion: Instapundit.com, Marginal Revolution and On Deadline

Eli Lake / New York Sun:

Iran's Secret Plan For Mayhem — WASHINGTON — Iran is supporting both Sunni and Shiite terrorists in the Iraqi civil war, according to secret Iranian documents captured by Americans in Iraq. — The news that American forces had captured Iranians in Iraq was widely reported last month …

Discussion: Security Watchtower and RichardMiniter.com