memeorandum: Human rights in Syria; Pelosi's silence (Lebanon Daily Star)

6:55 AM ET, April 7, 2007

Top Items:

When a dilettante takes on Hizbullah — We can thank the US speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, for having informed Syrian President Bashar Assad, from Beirut, that "the road to solving Lebanon's problems passes through Damascus." Now, of course, all we need to do is remind Pelosi …

Discussion: QandO, TigerHawk and Michael P.F. van der Galiën

Greg Sargent / Horses Mouth:

Oh, dear. Guess who's taking the Washington Post's editorial board to task for its editorial stance against Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria? One of the Post's own Op ed columnists, Eugene Robinson. — Check out this appearance by Robinson on Hardball. Robinson defends Pelosi's trip to Syria …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Matthew Yglesias and Norwegianity

Robert F. Turner / Opinion Journal:

Illegal Diplomacy — Did Nancy Pelosi commit a felony when she went to Syria? — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may well have committed a felony in traveling to Damascus this week, against the wishes of the president, to communicate on foreign-policy issues with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Discussion: Hot Air, Redstate, The Mahablog, TIME: Swampland, The Strata-Sphere, Wake up America, Wizbang, Macsmind, Confederate Yankee and Washington Post

Anne Flaherty / Associated Press:
Pelosi: Mideast Trip Strengthened Ties

Discussion: Redstate, Little Green Footballs, Gateway Pundit and TIME

Tom Lantos / USA Today:
Within the bounds — USA TODAY's views distort both the nature …

Discussion: Reuters, The Impolitic, Daily Kos, TalkLeft, Liberal Values, Think Progress, The Carpetbagger Report and Wake up America

Anton Efendi / Across the Bay:
This Week's Geniuszzz Award: Tom Lantos

Discussion: Kesher Talk

Lebanon Daily Star:
Human rights in Syria; Pelosi's silence

Discussion: Reason Magazine and Across the Bay

Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press:

Gonzales aide who asserted Fifth resigns — WASHINGTON - A top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales abruptly quit on Friday, almost two weeks after telling Congress she would not testify about her role in the firings of federal prosecutors. — There was no immediate reason given …

Discussion: Brendan Calling, The Next Hurrah, Crooked Timber, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Think Progress

Associated Press:

Goodling said she would invoke 5th Amendment if called before Congress — WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' top aide, who refusedto testify before Congress about her role in the politically charged firing of eight U.S. attorneys, abruptly quit her job Friday.

Discussion: Firedoglake, PoliBlog (TM) and Middle Earth Journal

David Stout / New York Times:

Gonzales Aide Who Refused to Testify Resigns — Monica Goodling, the Justice Department official who helped coordinate the firings of eight United States attorneys, an episode that has jeopardized the position of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, resigned today.

Discussion: Prairie Weather, DownWithTyranny! and The Rachel Maddow Show

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:

Counselor To Gonzales Announces Resignation — Goodling Had Refused to Testify on Prosecutor Firings — The senior counselor to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales submitted her resignation yesterday, becoming the third high-ranking Justice Department aide to quit in the aftermath of the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.

Guardian:

Americans offered 'aggressive patrols' in Iranian airspace — The US offered to take military action on behalf of the 15 British sailors and marines held by Iran, including buzzing Iranian Revolutionary Guard positions with warplanes, the Guardian has learned.

Discussion: Political Animal, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Daily Kos and New York Times

Cernig / NewsHog:

Brits Told Bush To Back Off — Just when I thought I was finished blogging for the day, I came across an article from tomorrow's Guardian, already online, which claims Bush offered military action on behalf of the 15 British seamen captured by Iran - and Britain told him to back off.

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Tom Kelly / Daily Mail:

Blindfolded Britons tell of the moment the guards' guns clicked — * We were blindfolded and subjected to interrogation — * We were told we faced seven years in prison if we did not 'confess' — * Iranians entered Iraqi waters deliberately to detain us. Fighting back was not an option

Discussion: In From the Cold, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Daily Dish, Wake up America and Wizbang

Alan Cowell / New York Times:

Britons Say They Feared for Lives in Iran Captivity — Their greatest scare, they recalled, came on the second day, when they were flown to Tehran, blindfolded and backed up against a prison wall while their Iranian captors fiddled with weapons, cocking rifles and making them fear for their lives.

Thomas Harding / Telegraph:
Outrage as two female soldiers die in Basra

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: Royal Marine Captain says "fighting back was not an option" …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Sister Toldjah and Pajamas Media

Tariq Panja / Associated Press:
Britons: Iran bound, threatened captives

Discussion: piglipstick and NewsHog

Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:

McCain to Stake Bid On Need to Win in Iraq — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will launch a high-profile effort next week to convince Americans that the Iraq war is winnable, embracing the unpopular conflict with renewed vigor as he attempts to reignite his stalling bid for the presidency.

Discussion: The Osterley Times, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Middle Earth Journal and The Heretik

Farhad Manjoo / Salon:

What was Charlie Crist thinking? — Why did a Republican governor just add tens of thousands of Democrats to the voter rolls in Florida? — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist talks to the media, April, 5, 2007, in Miami, about his felon rights plan. — During his campaign for the Florida governorship …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Attytood and TPMmuckraker

Abby Goodnough / New York Times:
In a Break From the Past, Florida Will Let Felons Vote

Discussion: Sisyphus Shrugged

Tim Sullivan / Associated Press:

India High-Tech Industry Out of Workers — MYSORE, India (AP) - At the heart of the sprawling corporate campus, in a hilltop building overlooking the immaculately shorn lawns, the sports fields and the hypermodern theater complex, young engineers crowd into a classroom.

Discussion: Political Animal and Sirotablog

Associated Press:

FATHER'S COMPLAINT PROMPTS U.S. MILITARY TO CHANGE HOW IT BRINGS FALLEN SOLDIERS HOME — In an about-face by the U.S. government four years into the war in Iraq, America's fallen troops are being brought back to their families aboard charter jets instead of ordinary commercial flights …

Discussion: Little Thom's Blog

El Presidente / Slapstick Politics:

Colorado Statue Honoring Fallen Navy SEAL Opposed, "Glorifies Violence" — **Welcome Michelle Malkin readers—scroll for updates —City of Littleton confirms that statue (based on the last known picture of Dietz) will proceed with the unveiling on July 4, Dietz family speaks as police officers applaud:

Discussion: Sadly, No!, Little Thom's Blog and Michelle Malkin