Top Items:
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
A terrorist war Obama has denied — Janet Napolitano — former Arizona governor, now overmatched secretary of homeland security — will forever be remembered for having said of the attempt to bring down an airliner over Detroit: “The system worked.” The attacker's concerned father …
Discussion:
TPMCafe
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Michael Chertoff / Washington Post:
Former homeland security chief argues for whole-body imaging — Since the uncomfortably close attempted attack on Northwest Flight 253 last week, many have focused on why the alleged terrorist, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was not placed on a watch list that would have prevented him from flying …
Kimberly Kindy / Washington Post:
Ex-Homeland Security chief head said to abuse public trust by touting body scanners — Since the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, former Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff has given dozens of media interviews touting the need for the federal government to buy more full-body scanners for airports.
Timothy Williams / New York Times:
Iraqis Angered as Blackwater Charges Are Dropped — BAGHDAD — Iraqis on Friday reacted with disbelief, anger and bitter resignation to news that criminal charges in the United States had been dismissed against Blackwater Worldwide security guards who opened fire on unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007.
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David Olmos / Bloomberg:
Mayo Clinic in Arizona to Stop Treating Some Medicare Patients — Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) — The Mayo Clinic, praised by President Barack Obama as a national model for efficient health care, will stop accepting Medicare patients as of tomorrow at one of its primary-care clinics in Arizona, saying the U.S. government pays too little.
Discussion:
TigerHawk, NO QUARTER, naked capitalism, Weasel Zippers, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Stop The ACLU
Associated Press:
Obama Palin Shoe Shining Email Could Get Colorado State Worker In Trouble — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — DENVER (AP) — A Colorado state employee could be disciplined for sending an e-mail showing President Barack Obama shining the shoes of former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
David Brooks / New York Times:
The God That Fails — During the middle third of the 20th century, Americans had impressive faith in their own institutions. It was not because these institutions always worked well. The Congress and the Federal Reserve exacerbated the Great Depression.
Robert O'Harrow Jr / Washington Post:
TSA nominee misled Congress about accessing confidential records — The White House nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration gave Congress misleading information about incidents in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database, possibly in violation of privacy laws …
Persian2English's Blog:
A Note about the Armoured Vehicles from China to Iran // Available in 3 languages: ENGLISH, FARSI, CHINESE — (the information about the armoured vehicles in this text has been confirmed by multiple sources): — Finally, with the arrival of the first shipment of armoured vehicles …
David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Napolitano's ‘no drama’ competence shows her potential — Most Americans got their first prolonged look at Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, last weekend. After a passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam ignited a concealed fuse as the plane approached Detroit …
Discussion:
The Corner on National …
Ben Macintyre / Times of London:
CIA caught in dirty and secretive war against al-Qaeda on Afghan border — The deaths of seven CIA agents in Khost province have brought into the limelight the secretive and dirty war being fought by America's intelligence agencies — and the Taleban and al-Qaeda — in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Sarah Wheaton / New York Times:
Crowds in Times Square Celebrate 2010 — Hundreds of thousands of revelers welcomed the new year in New York City's Times Square, despite the rain, slushy streets and heightened security, capping worldwide celebrations that often emphasized the hopes for a more peaceful tomorrow.