Newsweek has now basically said “Never mind!” in what is essentially a retraction of a report claiming that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had desecrated the holy Koran — a report that led to angry riots in Afghanistan and more than a dozen deaths. Here’s the key quote from the Newsweek in what is effectively a retraction: Although other major news organizations had aired charges of Qur’an desecration based only on the testimony of detainees, we believed our story...

It’s somewhat comforting to know that Iraq’s homegrown reporters provoke just as much irritation from the locals as they do, well, everywhere else with government of, by and for the people. It’s a sign of progress when ordinary people aren’t afraid to criticize the media (usually because it’s not state-controlled anymore). But it’s not limited to claims of bias and oversimplification in Iraq – if this incident with a taxi driver is indicative, reporters...

I attended the Free Muslims Against Terrorism rally in Washington, DC yesterday. See my photos and narrative on the event’s success here. Other pictures – some from speakers I missed, as I arrived late – are here.

Egads, I’ve been hit with a sea of spams — from Germany. I can’t read many of them (they’re mostly links to various articles but one is English and I may post it on Dean’s World) since most are in German. But I thought I detected a sentence in there that said something about sending me to the showers. So here’s a hint to spammers: if you spam in foreign language it’ll be deleted even faster than if you know how to write gooder English like I am. PS: I detected...

If you remember, it was just a year ago when Michael Moore’s highly controversial film was big news on TV, cable newscasts, radio and TV talk shows and — where the verbal battled raged the loudest — on weblogs. But now, a year later, a new constroversial film is surfacing at the Cannes Film Festival that seems to be made in the same spirit as Moore’s, with an equally blunt message. And this time American and British policymakers are in the cinematic hotseat.

at Huffington’s Toast, a spoof of Arianna Huffington’s site The Huffington Post. This is a truly funny satire of the heavily-hyped blog Huffington unveiled this week. Huffington’s blog took the usual hits from salaried (mainstream media) and nonsalaried (blogger) critics who probably had their reviews of it written in their minds (if not their computers in some cases) before it even came out. The bottom line is: her blog is a based on an interesting concept (big name journalism...

Political turmoil continues in Uzbekistan — and as the death count rises the government there has received moral support from a neighbor: Russian President Vladimir Putin. Over the past two days government security forces facing angry mobs have opened fire on demonstrators, killing scores of civilians in demonstrations the country’s President has blamed on “criminals” and “Islamic extremists.” And, according to the Washington Post, as the U.S. expresses cautious...

Anyone who has tried to stop smoking knows it’s an ordeal that studies show may mean several failed attempts before final success — but now a new anti-nicotine vaccine offers hopes that QUICK help may be on the way. Initial studies of the vaccine by Swiss pharmaceutical company Cytos Biotechnology suggests it may be just what the puffing-world has been waiting for. The results from phase two of the clinical trial were presented at American Society of Clinical Oncology in Florida. And,...

The LITERAL power of the press is now on display in Afghanistan, where a Newsweek report claiming desecration of the Koran at Guantanamo has sparked fierce demonstrations in which at least 16 Afghanis have died and 100 have been injured. At issue is a Newsweek story that has unleased a fire storm of protests not seen in Afghanistan in years. Details from Reuters: Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged the United States on Saturday to prosecute and punish anyone found guilt of desecrating the Koran...

NO Day — Nuclear Option Day — is almost upon the U.S. Senate. And now the question becomes: does the GOP have the votes to ban the filibuster for judicial nominees and overcome stiff Democratic resistance? Or are there some Republicans who will join with the Democrats on this highly controversial issue? According to the AP, Majority Leader Bill Frist’s effort to jettison filibusters over judicial nominees may be dependent on what some of the 7 undecided GOP Senators decide: Seven...

A new weapon may be developed soon to find it out and weed it out.

Rush Limbaugh told his listeners Starr does. But Slate’s Mickey Kaus, in an article here titled Sorry, Rush! Guess who’s guilty of ‘Dowdification,’ says that’s flatly wrong — and does a bit of investigation to show readers what Starr really said, and how Limbaugh presented it to his listeners. Interesting (and perhaps this kind accuracy is part of the reason why Limbaugh’s ratings are reportedly down).

…this certainly didn’t take very long: Swastika drawn on new Holocaust memorial Vandalism came shortly after Germany dedicated site The Associated Press Updated: 5:03 p.m. ET May 13, 2005 BERLIN – Within hours of the opening of Germany’s national Holocaust memorial to the public, a vandal scratched a swastika into one of the 2,711 gray slabs, a spokesman for the memorial said Friday. The small swastika was spotted by security guards and quickly removed, though the vandal...

Now police know but the restaurant chain still faces some challenges.

Due to a VERY LATE arrival and travel all day we’re a bit tardy on our postings…but we WILL be posting this weekend. Weekends we guest blog on Dean’s World but will still do a few originals here, some links to our posts there and Guest Bloggers may be posting a few things. So stay tuned..and keep checking back!

Scientists recently excited the world by showing a restoration of mummy King Tutankhamun’s face — but it might be time to ask if political scientists will one day soon have to do the same thing to see what the GOP’s one-time power daddies called Republican moderates once looked like. The ostensible issue is the controversial nomination of John Bolton for U.S. Ambassador to the UN. But the real issue is the diminishing influence of GOP moderates — and not just elected ones...

The first Pew survey on political typology since 9/11 shows some interesting trends in the two major political parties and unaffiliated voters. The most interesting results, in my view: the shift of the unaffiliated toward one party’s side…

Pope Benedict XVI today made the announcement many had been hoping for but had predicted might not happen in the timeframe they wanted: he announced that he has sped up the period of time needed to attain sainthood for Pope John Paul II. There’s usually a five-year waiting period but the new Pope, a friend of John Paul II who many now acknowledge was one of the greatest and most popular Popes who ever lived, is putting his former boss’s sainthood on the fast track. The AP: The pope made...

“Hey, Jon Stewart must have seen TMV on MNBC’s Connected last month!!” Slate has an item about must-watch Stewart’s bit poking fun at how several cable shows are trying to cover blogs and writer Dana Stevens agrees with him that it doesn’t make compelling TV. Stevens first criticizes the concept of news anchors reading blogs on the air or reviewing them, then says of the bloggers themselves: Other news segments, in which bloggers themselves are interviewed — their...

Due to a very late arrival here last night (from Ohio back to Michigan) TMV may be a little tardy today with his posts. In the meantime be SURE to read Jonathan Singer’s original interview below — then go the link to read his complete interview. We may post a bit today but most of the day will be spent going back to San Diego. Keep checking back because our guest contributors could be posting here today. We will be doing a post on the John Bolton nomination before leaving this city...

This morning I had the opportunity to speak with California State Treasurer Phil Angelides for an interview for my blog, Basie!. Angelides happens to be a leading contender to take on Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, and had some choice things to say about the Governator. Jonathan Singer: There’s a cover story in the Washington Monthly by Mark Barabak called “Is Arnold Losing It?� Barabak’s contention is that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a lot less of a Ronald Reagan figure and...

If you want to look at both sides of the Iraq war there are two opposing visions readily available with the click of your mouse. Arthur Chrenkoff offers once again his meticulously pieced together, distilled and linked collection of hopeful news from Iraq. Chrenkoff’s work — this is Part 27 — is the kind of documentation political scientists do. Very detailed. Totally attributed. An opposing view comes from Seymour Hersh who contends Iraq is on the verge of civil war. Hersh is...

We’ll have a post on John Bolton posted on here tomorrow (unless one of our contributors does one today). TMV is still in Lansing, Michigan and has to visit some people in Toledo, Ohio tonight. So keep checking back today and tomorrow.

The Bull Moose questions the current priorities in Washington, especially regarding judicial nominations: Under any circumstances, this partisan confrontation would be annoying and unnecessary. But, it is particularly distressing that our political leaders could not find a way to resolve their differences while the nation is at war. We have returned to a pre-9/11 politics with a vengeance. Forget about national unity, partisan advantage is job #1. If we had a President who was truly “a uniter...

CNBC is dumping the Dennis Miller Show, which was an attempt at a combination humor/talk show by the once-hot Saturday Night Live and cable network comic. CNBC is canceling “Dennis Miller” in an attempt to revive the network’s struggling primetime, according to Variety. “Dennis Miller” will be replaced with a second airing of “Mad Money With Jim Cramer” at 9 p.m. ET. That show will be MUCH funnier. MORE: The network will also replace “Late Night...