That NIE, made public Dec. 3, embarrassed the administration by concluding that Tehran had halted its weapons program in 2003, which seemed to undermine years of bellicose rhetoric from Bush and other senior officials about Iran's nuclear ambitions. But in private conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week, the president all but disowned the document, said a senior administration official who accompanied Bush on his six-nation trip to the Mideast. "He told the Israelis that he can't control what the intelligence community says, but that [the NIE's] conclusions don't reflect his own views" about Iran's nuclear-weapons program, said the official, who would discuss intelligence matters only on the condition of anonymity.

That same intelligence structure that was privately saying Iraq didn't have WMD in 2002 but was overruled by the White House is now saying Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapons program now, and what's the White House saying? Yes they do.

We've been down this road before, and it goes to Candy Mountain.

Bothersome Intel on Iran | Newsweek Periscope | Newsweek.com

I peered out from the side of the desk as a man, dressed as a member of the Afghan security forces with a long beard came from the men's locker area, firing an AK-47. He turned his head, saw me crouched behind the desk, looked directly at me and then fired into the chest of the other woman. She fell to the ground and he ran out, stepping over her body.

Scary as hell.

Lisa Gans: Eyewitness To Terror At Kabul Hotel

Some officials assert that in the push to complete the long-delayed project, potentially life-threatening problems have been left untouched. "This is serious enough to get someone killed," said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared retaliation. "The fire systems are the tip of the iceberg. That is the most visible. But no one has ever inspected the electrical system, the power plant" and other parts of the embassy complex, which will house more than 1,000 people and is vulnerable to mortar attacks.

Now that's quality construction!

(Why is this in Politics and Law? Because as John Dean points out in the new book, this is the kind of work Republicans get done.)

Baghdad Embassy Is Called A Fire Risk - washingtonpost.com

Merrill Lynch is expected to suffer $15 billion in losses stemming from soured mortgage investments, almost double its original estimate, prompting the firm to raise additional capital from an outside investor.

That's Billion, with a B. 1-800-RUN.

Giant Write-Down Is Seen for Merrill - New York Times

"There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967. The agreement must establish Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people, just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people. These negotiations must ensure that Israel has secure, recognized, and defensible borders. And they must ensure that the state of Palestine is viable, contiguous, sovereign, and independent."

Well this is a stunner. I wonder how long it will take before this gets spun into something completely different from that statement. If he actually sticks with it and pushes it hard, W could get something in the plus column. Unfortunately given his history, that's about as likely as Nixon coming back from the grave and saying what was really in those lost 18 1/2 minutes of tape.

Bush Offers Peacemaking Checklist

The former deputy legal counsel to Gov. Matt Blunt sued the governor and four of his top aides Wednesday, alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy to cover up the administration’s activities.

The suit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court, describes schemes within the governor’s office to destroy public documents, to evade the state Sunshine law by sending text messages on personal Blackberrys and to fire a long-time state employee for political reasons.

Ah the joys of state politics. The governor is also the son of minority whip Roy Blunt. Whoops.

Blunt, four staffers sued, accused of plot to destroy public records and hide activities from the public | KansasCity.com Prime Buzz

“We noticed that one of them was hovering right over the intersection in front of our checkpoint,” he wrote. “There was a small amount of white smoke coming up from the intersection. I grabbed my radio and asked one of the guard towers what the smoke was. He answered that it looked like one of the helicopters dropped a smoke grenade on the cars in the intersection. I asked him why were they doing that, was there something going on in the intersection that would cause them to do this. He said, nope, couldn’t see anything. Then I said, well what kind of smoke is it?

“Before he could say anything, I got my answer. My eyes started watering, my nose started burning and my face started to heat up. CS! I heard the lieutenant say, “Sir that’s not smoke, it’s CS gas.”

Just plain out of control.

2005 Use of Gas by Blackwater Leaves Questions - New York Times

Apparently that meant repeating the falsehood with added detail: the "fact" that I had been on a conference call the previous day with the Hillary high command. Again, false. My worry is that if this is what one of Fox's best and most respected reporters is doing, what are the hacks up to?

Way to go FOX News! Keep hitting that story and maybe it'll be true! Sort of like the surge is working (if at best a 50/50 shot is working) or Alberto Gonzales is great (at what? Canasta?).

(Sorry about actually linking to those idiots with the Gonzo bit, but lets get real, when Arlen Spector [R-PA] said Gonzo was "no doubt, bad for the Justice Department." ON FOX, that pretty much cashed the deal in.)

Paul Begala: Fox News: We Report -- Even if We Know It's False - Media on The Huffington Post

Which candidates is the computer industry giving to? What are the patterns in tobacco contributions over the last ten years? Where is the political money coming from within the agribusiness industries? You can answer this kind of question effortlessly here, with this one-of-a-kind resource.

This is just damn cool.

Industries

A court commissioner gave sole physical and legal custody of Britney Spears' two little boys Friday to ex-husband Kevin Federline and suspended the troubled pop star's visitation rights.

When K-Fed is so much better with the kids that he gets sole custody and visitation is revoked, there's something SERIOUSLY wrong with Brit's brain.

Court awards Spears' kids to K-Fed - omg! news on Yahoo!