memeorandum: Hundreds die in clash near Shiite holy city (Los Angeles Times)

10:20 PM ET, January 29, 2007

Top Items:

Libby Live: Ari Fleischer One — Hey, look at the exploding pig in the poke cartoon graphic I found! Or perhaps "pig in the poke to stay out of the pokey"? — If you don't know the reference, Patrick Fitzgerald described the process of offering Ari Fleischer immunity "buying a pig in a poke."

Discussion: Angry Bear and Needlenose

Booman Tribune:

Did Ari Fleischer Commit Perjury Today? — I think I may have found evidence that Ari Fleischer committed perjury today. If Ari Fleischer did not commit perjury today, then former Time Magazine reporter John Dickerson is a big-time liar. First I will introduce the principals …

Discussion: David Corn and The Corner

Washington Post:

Fleischer Tells Jury That Libby Told Him About Plame — Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told a jury today that Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff was the first person to disclose the identity of an undercover CIA officer to him in July 2003.

Discussion: Firedoglake and DownWithTyranny!

Emptywheel / Firedoglake:

Libby Live: Ari Fleischer Two — Standard housekeeping warnings. emptywheel? Not a court reporter (in fact, she's the author of Anatomy of Deceit)-consider this a decent paraphrase, but not a transcript. And updates? Please consider the servers before you update every minute.

Discussion: Needlenose

Kevin Drum / Political Animal:

"PLAME" vs. "WILSON"....I'm not going to blog obsessively about the Scooter Libby trial since so many other people are doing it far better than me, but here's a snippet from Marcy Wheeler's rough transcript of the prosecution's questioning of Ari Fleischer today: … This was on July 7, 2003.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Outside The Beltway, Taylor Marsh, Don Surber and Eschaton

Jeralyn / TalkLeft: Never in His Wildest Dreams

Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:
Fleischer: Plame came up over lunch

Discussion: Mia Culpa

Los Angeles Times:

Hundreds die in clash near Shiite holy city — U.S. and Iraqi forces thwart 500 fighters apparently targeting a Najaf shrine. A helicopter goes down, killing two American troops. — BAGHDAD — Iraqi and American forces killed several hundred gunmen apparently planning to attack …

Discussion: The Belmont Club, toohotfortnr and Healing Iraq

Washington Post:

Iraqis Raid Insurgents Near Shiite Holy City — More Than 300 Reported Dead in Ongoing Battle in Najaf — Iraqi soldiers, backed by U.S. helicopters, stormed an encampment of hundreds of insurgents hiding among date palm orchards in southern Iraq in an operation Sunday that set off fierce …

Discussion: In the Bullpen and Talking Points Memo

Bill Roggio / The Fourth Rail:
Iraqi Army battles Shia cult, Sunni insurgents in Najaf

Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Associated Press, iraqupdates.com, Gateway Pundit, Reuters, Outside The Beltway, The Political Pit Bull and Pajamas Media

Stephen J. Hadley / Washington Post:
Baghdad Is Key — The Baker-Hamilton report explained …

Discussion: Think Progress, The Carpetbagger Report, Daily Kos, Larisa Alexandrovna's …, Wake up America, AMERICAblog and New York Times

Khaled Farhan / Reuters:
Iraqi cult leader killed in Najaf battle

Discussion: CNN, Power Line, Jules Crittenden and Captain's Quarters

David S. Broder / Washington Post:

Clinton's Presidential Posturing — When Lt. Gen. David Petraeus went before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week in open session, its members understandably had many questions for the new commander of American forces in Iraq. — They knew of his reputation as a battlefield leader …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Swampland, The Sideshow, Booman Tribune and Democracy Project

Ian Bishop / New York Post:
HILL'S 'EVIL' JOKE ON HUBBY BUBBA

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Huffington Post, Outside The Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Caucus, Washington Post, IMAO, QandO, Eschaton, The Moderate Voice, Washington Times, Scared Monkeys, CNN Political Ticker, Tennessee Guerilla Women and Hot Air

Huffington Post:

EXCLUSIVE: AIR AMERICA RESCUED — Air America Radio, in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings since October, will be rescued at the 11th hour by Manhattan real estate developer Stephen L. Green. — Al Franken, the best-known host of the liberal network, will announce his expected departure …

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG, The Carpetbagger Report, NewsBusters.org, Sister Toldjah, The Corner and Middle Earth Journal

Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer: Air America Radio Buyout, Stephen L Green

Jon Keller / CBS4Boston:

Exclusive Survey Shows Tight Race In N.H. — (CBS4) With the field of candidates growing every week, the New Hampshire primary is shaping up to be a political free-for-all. And exclusive new WBZ-TV Fast Track survey results show tight races in both parties.

Discussion: The Corner

Reuters:

Survey shows 13 pct of Americans never heard of global warming — OSLO (Reuters) - Thirteen percent of Americans have never heard of global warming even though their country is the world's top source of greenhouse gases, a 46-country survey showed on Monday.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Reaction and On Deadline

Noam Cohen / New York Times:

Courts Turn to Wikipedia, but Selectively — When a court-appointed special master last year rejected the claim of an Alabama couple that their daughter had suffered seizures after a vaccination, she explained her decision in part by referring to material from articles in Wikipedia, the collaborative online encyclopedia.

Discussion: Pajamas Media

Heraclitus / The Reaction:

This is what a racist looks like — Some of you might remember my ridicule of a Townhall "columnist" named Burt Prelutsky, and in particular his assinine speculations on gender essentialism. Well, this time Burt has felt the need to unbossom himself of his hatred of ni**ers. No, seriously.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Feministe

Mark Kleiman / The RBC:

Mushrooms and mystical experience — There's now good scientific support for the claim that psilocybin, the active agent in "magic" mushrooms, has a better-than-even chance of generating a full-blown mystical experience in properly selected and prepared subjects. — Now what?

Discussion: Ezra Klein

Ben Smith / The Politico:

What She Meant — Hillary's odd, non-verbal joke that's getting all the attention today was a revealing moment. — But it wasn't revealing because she was suggesting her husband is "evil and bad." — It was revealing because — asked about dealing with evil men like Osama bin Laden …

Discussion: TAPPED, Penguins on the Equator and Tennessee Guerilla Women