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Chávez Bluster Surges Ahead of Referendum — Some Observers Link Talk to Tight Contest — On the eve of a referendum that President Hugo Chávez has cast as a plebiscite on his rule, the populist leader is escalating his verbal assaults on foes real and imagined …
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Chavez Threatens US Oil Supply — Hugo Chavez, facing a potentially embarrassing defeat on his dictatorship referendum this weekend, has declared the opposition a CIA operation. He now says those voting against a potential lifetime presidency for himself will have cast a vote for George Bush …
Discussion:
Fausta's blog

Why I Parted Ways With Chávez — ON Dec. 17, 1982, three of my fellow officers in the Venezuelan Army and I swore our allegiance to the Bolivarian Revolutionary Army 2000. We considered ourselves to be at the birth of a movement that would turn a critical eye on Venezuela's troubled social …

Chavez oil threat raises stakes in Venezuelan referendum
Discussion:
Fausta's blog

Clinton seizes opportunity after crisis — Friday afternoon began with possible tragedy: A hostage crisis at Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign office in Rochester, New Hampshire. — As the incident unfolded Clinton's campaign closed its doors and canceled her public appearances.
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Clinton calm in hostage crisis — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - When the hostages had been released and their alleged captor arrested, a regal-looking Hillary Rodham Clinton strolled out of her Washington home, the picture of calm in the face of crisis. — The image, broadcast just as the network news began …

Did yesterday's hostage crisis teach us anything about Hillary Clinton? — You might think we got a chance to see how she deals with a crisis, but that's not really so. She had no executive authority in the matter. The local police had to handle the situation.


City taxpayers picked up tab for Judith Giuliani's visit to kin in Pennsylvania — In the fall of 2001, city cops chauffeured Rudy Giuliani's then-mistress, Judith Nathan, to her parents' Pennsylvania home 130 miles away on the taxpayers' dime. — Records show that city cops refueled …
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Source: Nathan's Friends, Family Used NYPD Service — Cops Chauffeured Relatives Around Without Her In Car — The revelations continue in the case of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the security detail for Judith Nathan, his one-time mistress who is now his wife.
Discussion:
The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Brilliant at Breakfast, Daily Kos, The Blotter and Hullabaloo

Rove's Version of 2002 War Vote Is Disputed — Former White House aide Karl Rove said yesterday it was Congress, not President Bush, who wanted to rush a vote on the looming war in Iraq in the fall of 2002, a version of events disputed by leading congressional Democrats and even some former Rove colleagues.
Discussion:
Horses Mouth
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FOX News Poll: Clinton Narrowly Leads Democratic Hopefuls in New Hampshire — NEW YORK — Hillary Clinton narrowly leads the pack of Democratic hopefuls in New Hampshire, with Barack Obama coming in a close second. In addition, while Bill Richardson is barely on the radar screen nationally …
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Press Briefing by Dana Perino and Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator — Press Briefing Slide (PDF, 186KB, 1 page) — MS. PERINO: It's been our great pleasure to work with Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News. And today is her last day covering the White House full-time, and so we wish you the very best in your — (applause.)
Discussion:
Flopping Aces
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Give Dana Perino a Raise
Discussion:
Hot Air, Washington Times, The Jawa Report, AMERICAN DIGEST, TigerHawk, The MacRanger Show! and TBogg

Witness Names to Be Withheld From Detainee — Defense lawyers preparing for the war crimes trial of a 21-year-old Guantánamo detainee have been ordered by a military judge not to tell their client — or anyone else — the identity of witnesses against him, newly released documents show.

Jordan's Spy Agency: Holding Cell for the CIA — Foreign Terror Suspects Tell of Torture — AMMAN, Jordan — Over the past seven years, an imposing building on the outskirts of this city has served as a secret holding cell for the CIA. — The building is the headquarters …

Lawmakers Set Deal on Raising Fuel Efficiency — Congressional negotiators reached a deal late Friday on energy legislation that would force American automakers to improve the fuel efficiency of their cars and light trucks by 40 percent by 2020. — The proposal, which would require automakers …

The Price of Annapolis — Lebanese democracy. — WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, Saad al-Hariri's Mostaqbal party agreed to a constitutional amendment that would allow Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Michel Suleiman to be elected president. Up until now, Hariri and his March 14 allies …

late night old friends — Is this thing on? — Hi. I'm Julia, and I'm new (when I get to it, I blog here). Anyway, as long as I have you all here, I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity to put in a bid for my favorite Giuliani scandal, which I think is being unjustly neglected.