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29 Die in Insurgent Ambush of Iraq Police [NY Newsday, article no longer posted]

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents lured police to a house in west Baghdad with an anonymous tip about a rebel hideout, then set off explosives, killing at least 29 people and wounding 18 in the latest in a series of deadly strikes against Iraqi security forces, police said Wednesday.

Suicide Attacker Behind Riyadh Explosions [Yahoo News, article no longer posted]

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A suicide attacker tried to drive his bomb-laden car into the Interior Ministry complex, and militants set off another bomb and exchanged fire with police late Wednesday in Riyadh, capital of a kingdom at war with Muslim extremists.

C.I.A. Deputy for Analysis Is Being Removed

By DOUGLAS JEHL

The head of the Central Intelligence Agency's analytical branch is being forced to step down, former intelligence officials say, opening a major new chapter in a shakeup under Porter J. Goss, the agency's chief.

The official, Jami Miscik, the agency's deputy director for intelligence, told her subordinates on Tuesday afternoon of her plan to step down on Feb. 4. A former intelligence official said that Ms. Miscik was told before Christmas that Mr. Goss wanted to make a change and that "the decision to depart was not hers."

Blair and Miller [Steve Gilliard]

Two new books on the New York Times relive its recent crises. But while the Jayson Blair scandal made for splashy headlines, the real question is how the country's leading newspaper will recover from spreading lies about Iraq's WMD.

...Blair was a slimy little troll who asskissed and backstabbed his way to the Times and his departure, like Jack Kelley and Bob Greene, will hardly be missed. Miller, OTOH, is a vastly different story. She promoted a fake story and screwed people to get it, as the Washington Post was kind enough to inform us. You really can't stop nutjobs, but Miller, unlike Blair, isn't crazy or a drunk. She does, however, have an agenda. There can be no change at the Times as long as she draws a paycheck.

The War On MLK Day [Darrel Plant]

January 17, 2005 is the third Monday of January, a day nationally-recognized as the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday ...Don't let the bigots and neo-segregationists pretend it's just a second-rate holiday; another day off for federal workers; or a bone thrown to African-Americans to keep them quiet. Make sure people know why MLK deserved this type of recognition.

Via The American Street:

Susan Madrak of Suburban Guerrilla passes on the story of the Homeland Security Inspector General discussing the major security loopholes that still exist:

Am I the only one to wonder exactly what Tom Ridge actually did? I mean, I liked his pretty color Crayola alerts, which proved especially effective at keeping folks focused on invisible terrorists with superhuman powers who kept not attacking, just because they were afraid of crayons.

Wingnut of the Year 2004! [link disabled]

I've been in two major earthquakes, one in 89' and the other in 94': I know the terror caused by natural disasters. The LA quake hit with such force that the building almost came down on my head. It felt like a giant hand grabbed my neck and throttled me with a jack hammer. I barely got away unscathed. Telling the tale is nothing like seeing it. Our hearts go out to the victims of this latest natural disaster.

Those who crave Starbucks can step over to a kiosk at Grace Capital Church in Pembroke, N.H. At True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo, N.Y., the spot where the choir once sang now sells Subway sandwiches. And in more than a few picturesque meeting houses, hymns and prayers ascend through a steeple that doubles as a leased-out cellphone tower....read on

DEBKAfile’s

Chinese deputy prime minister, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, flew in to Israel secretly Saturday night, December 25. His mission: to recover an unspecified number of Israel-built Harpy unmanned aerial attack vehicles sent back for overhaul or upgrade and held back by Israel at Washington’s insistence. US officials claim Israeli never asked permission or notified the administration about the Chinese sale. However, since no American-developed technology is present in the Harpy, Israel was under no compulsion to check with Washington on the sale. The transaction only came to light in Washington when the UAVs were returned to Israel for overhaul or upgrading – and even then the information came not from Israel but US intelligence. In actual fact, Washington was informed by Taiwan, which recently also purchased Harpy drones from Israel.