Top Items:
David Leppard / Times of London:
Al-Qaeda tells British cells to carry out wave of beheadings — ISLAMIC terror cells in Britain have been instructed to carry out a series of kidnappings and beheadings of the kind allegedly planned by the nine terrorist suspects arrested in Birmingham last week.
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Jules Crittenden:
Battlefield Shifts Westward — The war with extremist Islam has just entered a new phase. Times of London: Al Qaeda leadership in Pakistan and Iraq have issued orders for British cells to conduct a "low-tech" campaign of abductions and beheadings. … In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, I was puzzled by the lack of follow-on.
Discussion:
protein wisdom
Observer:
MI5, police and SAS practise for a 'Beslan' siege — The intelligence services fear that Britain could be subject to a Beslan-style siege, with multiple hostages forced to plead for their lives on camera. — Whitehall sources have said that the threat is considered so credible that MI5 …
Tim Rutten / Los Angeles Times:
Breeding ground for a new cynicism? — IF Samuel Beckett had glossed "Alice in Wonderland," the result might have been something like the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. — On any given day, it's possible to read the courtroom drama as either farce or tragedy, though those who care …
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Washington Post:
Vice President's Shadow Hangs Over Trial — Testimony Points Out Cheney's Role in Trying to Dampen Joseph Wilson's Criticism — Vice President Cheney's press officer, Cathie Martin, approached his chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on Air Force Two on July 12, 2003 …
Discussion:
Middle Earth Journal
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Democrats Split on How to End the War — Those Who Aren't In Congress Press Clinton and Obama — The war in Iraq is shaping the opening stages of the contest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, just as it did in the 2004 campaign. — After 10 candidates' speeches over two days …
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!, The Democratic Daily, The Impolitic, Liberal Values and Associated Press
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Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Edwards continues swipes at Senate White House rivals — Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards continued to move to the left of his leading presidential rivals Friday, saying Senate Democrats' efforts at passing a non-binding resolution are "not enough." — Saying repeatedly that …
Discussion:
workingforchange.com …
Rick Perlstein / New York Times:
The Operator — I was standing there having a casual conversation …
The Operator — I was standing there having a casual conversation …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Reuters:
Suicide bomber kills at least 135 in Baghdad market — A suicide bomber killed at least 135 people overnight in the deadliest single bomb blast in Baghdad since the 2003 war, driving a truck laden with one tonne of explosives into a busy market in a mainly Shiite area.
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Ann Althouse / Althouse:
The polar-bears-on-the-melting-ice- cap photo. — You've all seen it. This photo atop all the articles about the new report on global warming. — (Go to the article to see the larger size.) — Here's my question. How many people look at that picture and think the polar bears were living …
Sarah Baxter / Times of London:
Iranian nuclear scientist 'assassinated by Mossad' — A PRIZE-WINNING Iranian nuclear scientist has died in mysterious circumstances, according to Radio Farda, which is funded by the US State Department and broadcasts to Iran. — An intelligence source suggested that Ardeshire Hassanpour …
Lynne Duke / Washington Post:
No I-Told-You-Sos — Opponents of the Iraq War Voice Pain, Not Vindication, At Predictions They Could Only Hope Would Be Wrong — Sweet vindication. Who wouldn't want it? To be right. To be free of criticism and upheld by evidence, by actual proof, that one's predictions about a controversial war were correct.
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Doubts Run Deep on Reforms Crucial to Bush's Iraq Strategy — Even Plan's Authors Say Political, Economic Changes May Fail — The success of the Bush administration's new Iraq strategy depends on a series of rapid and dramatic political and economic reforms that even the plan's authors have little confidence will work.
Mark Steyn / Associated Press:
What's so hot about fickle science? — From the "Environmental News Network": "Science Is Solid on Climate Change, Congress Told." "The science is solid," says Louise Frechette, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations. — "The science is solid," says Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
New York Times:
In Washington, Contractors Take on Biggest Role Ever — In June, short of people to process cases of incompetence and fraud by federal contractors, officials at the General Services Administration responded with what has become the government's reflexive answer to almost every problem.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Balloon Juice, NewsHog, Prairie Weather, The Heretik, Beat the Press, DownWithTyranny! and Gun Toting Liberal ™
New York Times:
Op-Chart: 31 Days in Iraq — By ADRIANA LINS de ALBUQUERQUE and ALICIA CHENG — In January more than 1,900 people — soldiers, security officers and civilians — were killed in the insurgency in Iraq, up from 800 in January 2006. Many corpses showed signs of torture …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Reuters:
U.S. adjusting tactics in Iraq after copters downed — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military is adjusting its tactics in Iraq after four helicopters were shot down over the past two weeks, U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said on Sunday.