memeorandum: Harry Reid's strategy: Winning ugly (Manu Raju/The Politico)

4:05 PM ET, August 21, 2010

Top Items:

Sweden withdraws arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder — Issued on rape allegations that Assange calls ‘without basis’ — STOCKHOLM — Swedish prosecutors withdrew an arrest warrant for the founder of WikiLeaks on Saturday, saying less than a day after the document was issued that it was based on an unfounded accusation of rape.

Discussion: The official blog., The Local, Politics Daily, Reuters, The Daily Beast, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, Barcepundit, Mediaite, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, New York Magazine, Liberal Values and American Power, more at Techmeme »

BBC:

Swedish rape warrant for Wikileaks' Assange cancelled — Julian Assange had been cited as saying the release of the allegations was “deeply disturbing” — Sweden has cancelled an arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on accusations of rape and molestation.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, New York Times, TalkLeft, The Confluence, Boing Boing, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and MyDD, more at Techmeme »

CNN:

WikiLeaks founder accused of rape, molestation in Sweden — Stockholm, Sweden (CNN) — The founder and editor of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, is wanted in Sweden after accusations of rape and molestation, a spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor's office told CNN Saturday.

Discussion: Agence France Presse, The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, Sister Toldjah, Riehl World View and LewRockwell.com Blog

David Batty / Guardian:

Rape warrant against Wikileaks founder cancelled — Swedish authorities withdraw an arrest warrant for the founder of the whistleblowers' website on suspicion of rape — Swedish authorities have withdrawn an arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, stating that the accusation of rape against him was unfounded.

Discussion: Sweetness & Light

Jkavcnn / This Just In:
Is Assange the target of a U.S. smear campaign?

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Clusterstock

Colin Freeman / Telegraph:
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange facing arrest over ‘rape’ claim

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway, The Other McCain, Fausta's Blog and JammieWearingFool

The Local:
WikiLeaks founder suspected of rape

Discussion: Hot Air, Macsmind and The Jawa Report

Wall Street Journal:
Prosecutors Eye WikiLeaks Charges

Discussion: The Politico and The Caucus

Debbie Lee / Big Peace:

Code Pink Tells Gold Star Mom: Your Son Deserved to Die — Note: Please join with me and Move America Forward in calling on Jerry Brown to return any money he has received from Jodie Evans and protest at her fundraiser tomorrow: Aug 21st at 4PM PST at the Home of Jodie Evans, 757 Palms Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Right Wing News, BLACKFIVE, Big Hollywood, Gateway Pundit and National Review

John / Power Line:

An Appalling Story — This afternoon at 4 p.m. Pacific, Jodie Evans, co-founder of Code Pink, is hosting a $500-per-person fundraiser for Jerry Brown. John Nolte reports at Big Hollywood: … At Big Peace, a Gold Star Mother recounts her painful experience with Code Pink, a truly vile group.

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and Big Peace

Bruce Feiler / The Huffington Post:

Obama a Muslim! Lincoln a Catholic! FDR a Jew! Why Americans Don't Like Their President's God — In 1860, in the midst of tensions surrounding the Civil War, it was widely believed in the United States that Abraham Lincoln was Catholic. Coming on the heels of decades of anti-Catholic sentiment …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, Open Left and ABCNEWS

Scott Shane / New York Times:

Anti-Islam Protest in U.S. Seen as Lift for Extremists — WASHINGTON — Some counterterrorism experts say the anti-Muslim sentiment that has saturated the airwaves and blogs in the debate over plans for an Islamic center near ground zero in Lower Manhattan is playing into the hands of extremists …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Huffington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Mahablog, NewsReal Blog, Washington Post, Balloon Juice and The Hill

RushLimbaugh.com:
An Example of Why Nobody Trusts Old Media: WaPo's Joel Achenbach

Discussion: theblogprof and sisu

Karen Hughes / Washington Post:
Move the New York City mosque, as a sign of unity

Discussion: JustOneMinute, No More Mister Nice Blog, MyDD, Left Coast Rebel, Scripting News, The Page, National Review, Weasel Zippers, The Reality-Based Community, Beltway Confidential, Don Surber and New York Post

Jordy Yager / The Hill:

Mosque protest loses Gingrich — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) will not be addressing a protest of the proposed mosque in lower Manhattan on the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. — The organizers of the rally, Stop Islamization of America …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Prairie Weather and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:

The New Culture War. — When Andrew Sullivan first wrote “Goodbye to All That,” believing that the candidacy of Barack Obama could be the beginning of a “truce” in the culture war, he was largely placing the blame on the narcissism of the baby-boomers. The culture war as Sullivan was writing …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Clog, Ben Smith's Blog, pandagon.net and Open Left

Manu Raju / The Politico:

Harry Reid's strategy: Winning ugly — RENO — As Republicans tie him to the state's economic tailspin and highlight his penchant for politically damaging gaffes, Harry Reid seems to have conceded he's going to remain the same unpopular figure here between now and Election Day.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

John Fund / Wall Street Journal:

America's Insurgent Pollster — Understanding the tea party is essential to predicting what the country's political scene will look like. — You can tell it's a volatile political year when a balding, middle-aged pollster gets a standing ovation from hundreds of state legislators …

Discussion: protein wisdom and Fraters Libertas

Bridget Johnson / The Hill:

Palestinians warn that U.S.-hosted peace talks could end soon after beginning — The Palestinians are warning that the new round of Middle East peace talks announced Friday by the Obama administration could be over as soon as they begin if Israel continues new construction in the West Bank.

Discussion: Aljazeera, Weasel Zippers and Bloomberg

Ethan Bronner / New York Times:
In Mideast Talks, Scant Hopes From the Beginning

Discussion: Mondoweiss, Outside the Beltway, Israpundit and Washington Post

Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:

Unmosqued: Steve Emerson Unearths Tapes of “Moderate Bridge-Building” Imam Rauf — I saw this coming. Damn, I wish I put it into pixels. You'll just have to take my word for it. — Because it was foreseeable. Having taken a position so completely on the side of this supposed moderate …

Discussion: The Other McCain and Weekly Standard