Top Items:

Did the President Declare "Secret War" Against Syria and Iran? — Washington intelligence, military and foreign policy circles are abuzz today with speculation that the President, yesterday or in recent days, sent a secret Executive Order to the Secretary of Defense and to the Director …
Discussion:
The Agonist, The Reaction, Majikthise, Macsmind, Counterterrorism Blog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Ace of Spades HQ, toohotfortnr, Taylor Marsh, MyDD, DownWithTyranny!, Iowa Voice, Talking Points Memo, Whiskey Fire, jules crittenden, Right Voices, Larisa Alexandrovna's …, Hullabaloo, Prairie Weather, American Thinker, If I Ran the Zoo and Shakespeare's Sister
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We're In Trouble — We're in big trouble. — Have a look at The Washington Note, whose latest begins like this: … If this is true, we're in very big trouble. Or, if the rumor was sparked by an order 'only' authorizing clandestine operations (or, worse, bombardment) as a form of provocation, this is serious stuff.

Iranian officials detained in Iraq, U.S. official says
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard, BBC, Majikthise, The Reaction, Discourse.net, skippy the bush kangaroo and Taylor Marsh


Senate opposition to Bush plan grows — Republican Hagel calls it 'blunder'; Democrats expect to pass resolution — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defends U.S. policy in Iraq at a Senate hearing on Thursday. — NBC VIDEO — Jan. 11: Congressional reaction to President Bush's Iraq plan …
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Lawmakers Demand Answers on New Iraq Plan — Top Bush administration officials, pushing the president's case for sending more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq, faced tough grilling on Capitol Hill today as both Republican and Democratic lawmakers demanded specific answers on how the new plan will lead to victory in Iraq.


Poll: Americans oppose Iraq troop surge — WASHINGTON - Seventy percent of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq, according to a new poll that provides a devastatingly blunt response to President Bush's plan to bolster military forces there. — All sides in the Iraq debate …


Condi Gets Grilled on Escalation
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Carpetbagger Report, Los Angeles Times and skippy the bush kangaroo


Attackers fire rocket at U.S. embassy in Athens — ATHENS (Reuters) - Attackers fired a rocket at the U.S. embassy in Athens on Friday but no one was hurt, police and the U.S. embassy said. — Greek anti-terrorist officers were on the scene. — "This was a rocket attack launched from a building across the street.
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Blast hits U.S. Embassy compound in Athens — ATHENS, Greece (CNN) — An explosion shook the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece, on Friday morning, an embassy staff member told CNN. No injuries were initially reported. — State-run NET television, quoting police, first reported …


Report: Nuclear Explosion in Iran (UPDATE: 3 explosions) — A major explosion is being reported in the Iranian desert. It said to be a nuclear explosion. In the general area of one of Iran's nuclear testing sitees. — The alternative theory is that a UFO crashed.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Reuters, Gateway Pundit, jules crittenden, American Thinker, Euphoric Reality and Suitably Flip
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High Political Drama in the Senate — The Senate is boiling with excitement right now. For background, the Senate is proposing very weak earmark reform rules. In contrast, Speaker Pelosi and the House Democrats implemented some very strong earmark rules in the lower chamber last week.
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Georgia Democrat likes what he hears — Marshall praises Bush speech for emphasis on patience in Iraq — WASHINGTON - President Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both need Jim Marshall. — He's a House Democrat who represents the kind of Republican-leaning district in the South …
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Video: Bombshell charge — "There are Klingons in the White House" — Not just any Klingons, either. Faux Klingons. The worst kind. — Bush. Must. Answer. — Thanks to Martin for the tip. And to Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) for taking the war hella seriously.
Discussion:
Ace of Spades HQ


Pentagon abandons active-duty time limit — WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty, officials said Thursday, a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq.

Kingston: Americans Should 'Marry and Work Longer Hours' To Escape Poverty — Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) made headlines last month after complaining about Congress' new schedule that requires members to work five days a week: … Yet, last night, Kingston offered this advice to Americans living in poverty: work longer hours.

Report: Lies involved in no-knock warrant — An Atlanta police narcotics officer has told federal investigators at least one member of his unit lied about making a drug buy at the home of an elderly woman killed in a subsequent raid, according to a person close to the investigation.

Mass Resignation at Carter Center — Quite a blow to America's worst former president today, as 14 members of the advisory board of the Carter Center resign en masse: Carter Center Board Members Resign Over Palestine Book. (Hat tip: Rednek.) … UPDATE at 1/11/07 9:18:47 am:


Federal Way schools restrict Gore film — 'Inconvenient Truth' called too controversial — This week in Federal Way schools, it got a lot more inconvenient to show one of the top-grossing documentaries in U.S. history, the global-warming alert "An Inconvenient Truth."


Oil Prices Fall Below $52 a Barrel — NEW YORK (AP) — Oil plunged below $52 a barrel Thursday to its lowest price since May extending a sharp decline that has been led by dampened heating oil demand, but which could save consumers money on a more widely used fuel: gasoline.
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys