memeorandum: Increasingly Confident Fed Is Set for First Meeting of 2011 (Sewell Chan/New York Times)

8:35 AM ET, January 24, 2011

Top Items:

Jonathan Freedland / Guardian:

Now we know. Israel had a peace partner — The classified documents show Palestinians willing to go to extreme lengths and Israel holding a firm line on any peace deal — Who will be most damaged by this extraordinary glimpse into the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, Associated Press, Politics Daily, Haaretz, Israel Matzav, Harry's Place and The Washington Note

Guardian:

Secret papers reveal slow death of Middle East peace process — • Massive new leak lifts lid on negotiations — • PLO offered up key settlements in East Jerusalem — • Concessions made on refugees and Holy sites — The biggest leak of confidential documents in the history …

Discussion: The Politico, Sky Dancing, Time, Firedoglake, Elder of Ziyon, AMERICAblog News, The Page and The Agonist

Gregg Carlstrom / Aljazeera:

“The biggest Yerushalayim” — PA offered to concede almost all of East Jerusalem, an historic concession for which Israel offered nothing in return. — Ramat Shlomo, Israel - For all the international controversy over construction at this quiet settlement in north Jerusalem, there is little of it in evidence.

Discussion: AOL News, msnbc.com, Guardian, New York Times and Raw Story

Gregg Carlstrom / Aljazeera:
Introducing The Palestine Papers

Discussion: Washington Post and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Seumas Milne / Guardian:
Palestinian leaders weak - and increasingly desperate

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Informed Comment, Ben Smith's Blog and FrumForum

The Caucus:

Speech Will Highlight Obama the Author — The State of the Union address President Obama will deliver on Tuesday was developed during months of deliberations with a small group of White House advisers who helped Mr. Obama channel his instincts as an author.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Carol E. Lee / The Politico:

State of the union forecast: Atmospherics over policy — When President Barack Obama steps into the House chamber Tuesday to deliver his second State of the Union address, ambience will trump substance. — In his speech, the president will talk about jobs, the deficit and the future …

Discussion: Right Wing News, CNN and The Hill

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Obama's transformation culminates in State of the Union — When President Obama delivers his State of the Union address to Congress, it will mark the culmination of a transformation the White House hopes will lead to a second term in 2012. — Obama and his aides began positioning the president …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Michael Whitney / Firedoglake:

Statement of Events: Bradley Manning's Primary Visitor Detained at Quantico — At roughly 1:00 pm, upon driving onto the base at Quantico, David House and blogger Jane Hamsher were detained by military guards. House, who is on the Quantico Brig's visitation list, has been visiting Bradley Manning in confinement since last September.

Discussion: Associated Press, Mother Jones, Informed Comment and Guardian

Michael Whitney / Firedoglake:
BREAKING: Military Harassing David House, Jane Hamsher for Visiting Bradley Manning

Discussion: Pirate's Cove, Raw Story, The Agonist and skippy the bush kangaroo

Glenn Greenwald / Salon: America's treatment of detainees

David Catanese / The Politico:

George Allen to announce Senate bid Monday — Former Sen. George Allen will end weeks of speculation and formally declare his candidacy for U.S. Senate in Virginia on Monday, two Republican advisers tell POLITICO. — Allen, who has been making all the moves of a candidate in recent weeks …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, HotAirPundit and FrumForum

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Competition Myth — Meet the new buzzword, same as the old buzzword. In advance of the State of the Union, President Obama has telegraphed his main theme: competitiveness. The President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board has been renamed the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Daily Kos

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:

George Will rejects SOTU ‘pep rally’: ‘Every president ... tries to stroke every erogenous zone in the electorate’ — We're just days away from President Barack Obama's second State of the Union address and while there is a lot of media attention focused on what direction the president …

ABCNEWS:
‘This Week’ Transcript: Sens Lieberman, Conrad and Hutchison

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Bridget Johnson / The Hill:

The World from The Hill: U.N. funding an early target for House Republicans — A key House Republican is quickly pressing forward with her goals to scale back U.S. funding for the United Nations. — Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and FrumForum

Sewell Chan / New York Times:

Increasingly Confident Fed Is Set for First Meeting of 2011 — WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve will use its first policy meeting of 2011 this week to revisit its economic projections amid a climate of modest but increasing confidence about the recovery. — The statement it will issue on Wednesday …

Discussion: Ezra Klein and The Page

New York Times:

China Grooming Deft Politician as Next Leader — BEIJING — President Hu Jintao of China returned home this weekend after a trip intended to repair relations with the United States. But the next time the White House marches out the honor guard and polishes the crystal for a Chinese leader, it is unlikely to be for Mr. Hu.

Discussion: The Page

Matthew Robertson / Epoch Times:
Chinese Pianist Plays Propaganda Tune at White House

Associated Press:

Top senators seek deal on rules for nominations — WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior senators are negotiating to reduce the 1,400 presidential appointments subject to time-consuming Senate confirmation, hoping to streamline a system that has frustrated administrations of both parties, according to officials familiar with the discussions.

Discussion: Open Congress, The Hill and The Politico

Tom Cohen / CNN:
Date night for Congress?

Discussion: This Just In and The Daily Beast

Myglesias / Yglesias:

Union Power — Kevin Drum says: … That's definitely true. But in large part that's because if you allowed more unionization in exchange for some tax cuts, the stronger unions would just turn around in the future and create a political dynamic that's friendly to tax hikes. Which if you ask me would be great.

Discussion: Mother Jones