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

7:35 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: 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, AMERICAblog News, Elder of Ziyon, 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: msnbc.com, Guardian, New York Times and Raw Story

Gregg Carlstrom / Aljazeera:

Introducing The Palestine Papers — Al Jazeera has obtained more than 1,600 internal documents from a decade of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. — Over the last several months, Al Jazeera has been given unhindered access to the largest-ever leak of confidential documents related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Discussion: Firedoglake, 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

Mark Landler / New York Times:
Trying to Break Logjam, Scholar Floats an Idea for a Palestinian Map

Discussion: Commentary, Israel Matzav, The Washington Note and Yglesias

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: Mother Jones, Associated Press, Guardian and Informed Comment

Michael Whitney / Firedoglake:

BREAKING: Military Harassing David House, Jane Hamsher for Visiting Bradley Manning — Jane Hamsher is with David House who is trying to visit Pvt. Bradley Manning at Quantico today while carrying a petition with 42,000 signatures requesting humane treatment for Manning.

Discussion: Guardian, 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

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

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

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

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

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

Erik Wasson / The Hill:
McConnell: I'll sit ‘where I usually sit’

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Post and CNN

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: The Page

The Auditor:

Gov. Chris Christie declines to counter State of the Union speech — In 1995, Christie Whitman, a New Jersey governor who was a rising Republican Party star, delivered the GOP's response to President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address in front of a cheering crowd in the Assembly chamber.

Discussion: The Fix, Fox Nation and Ben Smith's Blog

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