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Blundering Afghan suicide bomber blows up 6 militants — A would-be suicide bomber accidentally blew himself up on Thursday, killing six other militants as he was bidding them farewell to leave for his intended target, the Interior Ministry said. — “The terrorist was on his way to his destination …
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Obama Plans More Funding For Afghan War — President Obama's new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy will require significantly higher levels of U.S. funding for both countries, with U.S. military expenses in Afghanistan alone, currently about $2 billion a month, increasing by about 60 percent this year.
Discussion:
Defense Tech, Los Angeles Times, On Deadline, Associated Press, The Caucus, abu muqawama and TalkLeft
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The Winnable War — I came to Afghanistan skeptical of American efforts to transform this country. Afghanistan is one of the poorest, least-educated and most-corrupt nations on earth. It is an infinitely complex and fractured society. It has powerful enemies in Pakistan, Iran and the drug networks working hard to foment chaos.
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Pakistani and Afghan Taliban Unify in Face of U.S. Influx — ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After agreeing to bury their differences and unite forces, Taliban leaders based in Pakistan have closed ranks with their Afghan comrades to ready a new offensive in Afghanistan as the United States prepares to send 17,000 more troops there this year.
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MY FAVORITE BUDGET EVER. — If you're having a bad day, I highly encourage you to spend some quality time with the Republican budget proposal. It's reads like what would happen if The Onion put together a budget. “Area Man Releases Proposal for 2010 Federal Spending Priorities.”
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Obsidian Wings, Wonk Room, The Seminal, FiveThirtyEight, AmSpecBlog, The Anonymous Liberal and Hullabaloo
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Bad blood: GOP infighting on budget — House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) raised objections to an abbreviated alternative budget “blueprint” released today — but were told by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) they needed to back the plan, according to several Republican sources.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, AmSpecBlog, CNN, Associated Press, Matthew Yglesias, Reuters, Donklephant, DISSENTING JUSTICE, TPMDC, GOP Leader Blog, Political Machine, MSNBC, The Moderate Voice, The Gun Toting Liberal, Barack Obama's …, The Swamp, MyDD, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mercury Rising, Newshoggers.com, Bark Bark Woof Woof, The Atlantic Politics Channel and Salon
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Behold, Charts! — An anonymous official quoted in Politico's story …
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Welfare for Freed Gitmo Detainees? — Here, from the Associated Press, is a partial account of DNI Dennis Blair's first press conference today (emphasis mine): … Four short questions/comments: — (1) Does this mean that the Obama administration is planning on giving some freed Guantanamo detainees a stipend?
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool
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Obama: Marijuana is not a good strategy to spur economy — (CNN) — In a statement that's sure to disappoint many of those who submitted questions to President Obama's virtual town hall meeting, the president made clear Thursday he does not support legalizing marijuana as a means to spur economic growth.
Discussion:
Donklephant
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Pentagon: ‘War on terror’ not banned — Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell calls to make clear that nobody has banned the phrase “Global War on Terror.” — “I have used and continue to use that term, as do many here in the building. But there are alternatives that are just as fitting,” he said.
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Palin's prayer remark angers former staffers — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Some of Sarah Palin's former campaign aides are frustrated with the Alaska governor for remarking in a lengthy, freewheeling speech that she had refused to pray with them before last October's vice presidential debate.
Discussion:
The Politico, TPMDC, TIME.com, Balloon Juice, Salon, Liberty Street, RedState, The Washington Independent, Political Machine and Hot Air
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As New Lawyer, Senator Defended Big Tobacco — The Philip Morris Company did not like to talk about what went on inside its lab in Cologne, Germany, where researchers secretly conducted experiments exploring the effects of cigarette smoking. — So when the Justice Department tried …
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Exec says Coleman donor ordered $100K payments — Sworn statement backs allegation that Kazeminy directed fees to an insurance firm to benefit the Colemans. — The former finance chief of a Texas company controlled by Nasser Kazeminy, a close friend of former Sen. Norm Coleman …
Discussion:
TIME.com
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The Market Mystique — On Monday, Lawrence Summers, the head of the National Economic Council, responded to criticisms of the Obama administration's plan to subsidize private purchases of toxic assets. “I don't know of any economist,” he declared, “who doesn't believe that better functioning capital markets …
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British Army chief ready to send 2,000 more troops to Afghanistan — The head of the Army is ready to send up to 2,000 extra troops to Afghanistan amid fears that the US-led mission will struggle without significant reinforcements. — General Sir Richard Dannatt told The Times yesterday …
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Brazil's leader blames white people for crisis — Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on “white people with blue eyes” and said it was wrong that black and indigenous people should pay for white people's mistakes.
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Inquiry Asks Why A.I.G. Paid Banks — Members of Congress and the New York State attorney general demanded detailed information Thursday on how tens of billions of taxpayer dollars flowed through the American International Group during its crisis last fall and ended up in the coffers …
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Amid Budget Battle, Americans' Views Hold Steady — Views are more positive than negative but diverge according to party lines — WASHINGTON, D.C. — While lawmakers on Capitol Hill battle back and forth over President Barack Obama's proposed budget plan, Americans' views are holding steady.
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W.H. preserves secrecy option — I think I have a better idea now why the White House was so sensitive about my story Monday questioning the legality and wisdom of secret meetings held by subcommittees of President Obama's economic advisory panel. — It was because officials planned …
Discussion:
HotMES
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We need a better cushion against risk — The extraordinary risk-management discipline that developed out of the writings of the University of Chicago's Harry Markowitz in the 1950s produced insights that won several Nobel prizes in economics. It was widely embraced not only by academia …
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Campaign for Obama's budget is widening — His allies' ads target districts led by conservative Democrats — some of whom question the wisdom of the strategy, suggesting that it's divisive. — Reporting from Washington — A campaign to persuade Republicans to support President Obama's budget …
Discussion:
CapitalBeat
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PORT AUTHORITY DOING AWAY WITH FREEDOM TOWER NAME — Freedom is so passe at Ground Zero. — Once hailed as a beacon of rebirth in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the Freedom Tower's patriotic name has been swapped out for the more marketable One World Trade Center, officials at the Port Authority conceded today.
Discussion:
The Mahablog