WEDNESDAY'S MINI-REPORT.... Today's edition of quick hits:

* Watch this closely: "The Obama administration is seeking to use the killing of Osama bin Laden to accelerate a negotiated settlement with the Taliban and hasten the end of the Afghanistan war, according to U.S. officials involved in war policy. Administration officials think it could now be easier for the reclusive leader of the largest Taliban faction, Mohammad Omar, to break his group's alliance with al-Qaeda, a key U.S. requirement for any peace deal."

* On a related note: "Osama bin Laden's death is likely to revive a debate within the Afghan Taliban about their ties to al-Qaida -- a union the U.S. insists must end if the insurgents want to talk peace."

* Seeking an explanation from Pakistan: "Obama administration officials here and in Islamabad are demanding that Pakistan quickly provide answers to specific questions about Osama bin Laden and his years-long residence in a bustling Pakistani city surrounded by military installations."

* In the latest New York Times/CBS News poll released this morning, President Obama's approval rating jumped 11 points, from 46% to 57%. Support for his handling of the economy, however, reached the lowest point of his presidency.

* Despite the fact that his remarks came very late on a Sunday night, President Obama's speech announcing the killing of bin Laden was watched by 56.5 million Americans. That's 8 million more viewers than watched his State of the Union address.

* Any lingering doubts on whether Obama's call to raid the compound in Abbottabad was gutsy? Consider this piece on "the debacle that didn't happen."

* Scandalous: "U.S. mining regulators found multiple safety violations at a West Virginia mine owned by Massey Energy Co., saying Tuesday that the conditions were 'nothing short of outrageous' and accusing the company of failing to clean up its act after the 2010 explosion at its Upper Big Branch mine."

* Paul Krugman 1, Casey Mulligan 0.

* The company formerly known as Blackwater has a new ethics chief. It's former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

* Conor Friedersdorf put together his top 100 pieces of journalism from the last year, and it's good to see a couple of pieces from the Washington Monthly print edition in there.

* On the lookout for the next economic bubble? Is higher education on the list?

* Virginia's truly bizarre, hyper-conservative state attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, published one of the strangest tweets I've ever seen this morning: "How much would I give to be one of the 72 Virginans Osama is 'hanging out' with since Sunday?" I suppose there's supposed to be some kind of pun in there about "Virgins" and "Virginians," but he spelled the latter wrong and the whole message was just a distasteful mess.

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.

—Steve Benen 5:30 PM May 4, 2011

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_05/029294.php

THURSDAY'S MINI-REPORT.... Today's edition of quick hits:

* At Ground Zero: "President Obama laid a wreath of red, white, and blue flowers at ground zero on Thursday, honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed in the September 2001 terrorist attacks and marking the death of its perpetrator, Osama bin Laden."

* This is cause for genuine concern: "The number of people applying for unemployment benefits surged last week to the highest level in eight months, a sign the job market may be weakening. The Labor Department says applications rose by 43,000 to 474,000 in the week ended April 30, the third increase in four weeks."

* Pakistani officials tell the U.S. not to make a habit of raiding their country without permission.

* POTUS to meet Team 6: "President Obama will meet members of the Navy SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden when he visits a military base Friday in Kentucky. The Associated Press, citing an anonymous source, reported the meeting will occur during Obama's previously announced visit to Fort Campbell in Kentucky."

* Syria: "Backed by tanks, Syrian security forces raided a restive Damascus suburb Thursday morning, arresting scores of people in a broad campaign that targeted men between the ages of 18 and 50, human rights groups and activists said."

* White House budget talks: "Vice President Joe Biden said talks on a long-term budget deal will resume next week, following an initial meeting Thursday to set up the group. The first meeting included a general discussion of rival proposals, Democrats leaving the meeting said, and the only agreement made was to meet again Tuesday."

* Agreed: "Too many of today's conservatives are unable to celebrate a pure victory for America because of who was at the helm when it happened. That's disturbing."

* Judge Jack McConnell was confirmed late yesterday on a party-line vote, 50 to 44. The vote came soon after a GOP filibuster was defeated.

* Right-wing pseudo-historian David Barton was on "The Daily Show" last night, spewing a lot of nonsense. It just wasn't possible for Jon Stewart to fact-check every claim during their discussion, but Right Wing Watch detailed Barton's most glaring errors (Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV).

* Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has a new definition for the GOP: "Get Old People."

* Daniel Luzer: "A few colleges are now starting to treat binge drinking like a public health problem, rather than just a campus discipline problem."

* America's Worst Sheriff: Joe Arpaio faces a new corruption scandal.

* Fox host Eric Bolling seemed to endorse the idea of torturing a variety of public officials, including President Obama.

* And as disgusting as it is that this incident occurred, I'm glad the district acted: "A Southeast Texas school has put a teacher on leave pending an investigation into an allegation that he asked an American-born Muslim student if she was grieving because her 'uncle' had died, referring to Osama bin Laden, a school district spokeswoman said Wednesday."

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.

—Steve Benen 5:30 PM May 5, 2011

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_05/029315.php

FRIDAY'S MINI-REPORT…. Today's edition of quick hits:

* I guess the conspiracy theorists will think the terrorists are in on the hoax: “Al-Qaida confirmed the killing of Osama bin Laden and vowed revenge, saying Friday that Americans' “happiness will turn to sadness.â€

May 09, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Monday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen 

Today's edition of quick hits:

* This isn't going to help: “Stung by criticism at home and in the United States following a U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a city north of the capital, Pakistan's intelligence service may have leaked the name of the CIA station chief in retaliation, U.S. officials said Monday.â€

May 10, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Tuesday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen 

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Syria is likely to get worse: “Syria's ruling elite, a tight-knit circle at the nexus of absolute power, loyalty to family and a visceral instinct for survival, will fight to the end in a struggle that could cast the Middle East into turmoil and even war, warned Syria's most powerful businessman, a confidant and cousin of President Bashar al-Assad.â€

May 11, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Wednesday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen 

Today's edition of quick hits:

* More interesting intelligence: “U.S. officials say that Osama bin Laden kept a hand-written journal filled with planning ideas and details of operations. The journal was seized in the dramatic US raid.â€

May 12, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Thursday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Syria: “Syrian forces carried out raids in towns on the outskirts of Damascus and a besieged city on the coast on Thursday, as the number of detainees surged in a government campaign so sweeping that human rights groups said many neighborhoods were subjected to repeated raids and some detainees picked up multiple times by competing security agencies.â€

May 13, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Friday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen 

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Pakistan: “Senior police officials said on Friday that a suicide attack that killed more than 80 cadets from a government paramilitary force was most likely retaliation for an army offensive in Pakistan's tribal areas, and not for the death of Osama bin Laden, as the Pakistani Taliban claimed.â€

May 16, 2011 5:30 PM
Monday's Mini-Report
By Steve Benen

* Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest: “The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was taken off an Air France plane at Kennedy International Airport minutes before it was to depart for Paris on Saturday, in connection with the sexual attack of a maid at a Midtown Manhattan hotel, the authorities said.â€

May 17, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Tuesday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen 

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Afghanistan: “The administration has accelerated direct talks with the Taliban, initiated several months ago, that U.S. officials say they hope will enable President Obama to report progress toward a settlement of the Afghanistan war when he announces troop withdrawals in July.â€

May 18, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Wednesday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Sanctions on Syria: “President Obama imposed sanctions on Syria's leader, President Bashar al-Assad, and six other senior Syrian officials on Wednesday, ratcheting up American pressure in the wake of a bloody crackdown on political protests in the country.â€

May 19, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Thursday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen

Today's edition of quick hits:

* President Obama's big speech on the Middle East: “Seeking to harness the seismic political change still unfolding in the Arab world, President Obama on Thursday publicly called for the borders prevailing before the 1967 Israeli-Arab war to be the starting point for talks to settle the conflict there, the first time an American president has explicitly taken that position. He also said that a new Palestinian state should be demilitarized.â€

[i]* President Obama's big speech on the Middle East: “Seeking to harness the seismic political change still unfolding in the Arab world, President Obama on Thursday publicly called for the borders prevailing before the 1967 Israeli-Arab war to be the starting point for talks to settle the conflict there, the first time an American president has explicitly taken that position. He also said that a new Palestinian state should be demilitarized.â€

May 20, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Friday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Syria: “Syrian troops opened fire on protesters after prayers on Friday, killing at least 23 people, as the regime led by President Bashar al-Assad defied mounting U.S. pressure to ease its military crackdown and implement reforms.â€

* What happens to a doomsday cult when the world doesn't end? I've often wondered about this.

Start a new donation drive to collect a few more million so they can buy a fancier abacus to re-calculate the date.

[quote="oskar576"][i]* President Obama's big speech on the Middle East: “Seeking to harness the seismic political change still unfolding in the Arab world, President Obama on Thursday publicly called for the borders prevailing before the 1967 Israeli-Arab war to be the starting point for talks to settle the conflict there, the first time an American president has explicitly taken that position. He also said that a new Palestinian state should be demilitarized.â€

[quote="Cannalee2"][quote="oskar576"][i]* President Obama's big speech on the Middle East: “Seeking to harness the seismic political change still unfolding in the Arab world, President Obama on Thursday publicly called for the borders prevailing before the 1967 Israeli-Arab war to be the starting point for talks to settle the conflict there, the first time an American president has explicitly taken that position. He also said that a new Palestinian state should be demilitarized.â€

I'll have to read up on the 6 Day War, but i understood the occupation was legal, a result of the war...there is no way I consider Israel a terrorist or rogue state...she is a small country standing alone with enemies on every side and her security should be the number 1 consideration in any peace talks.

Egypt and Jordan made a pact--an alliance against Israel...President Johnson wishy washed around the growing threats against Israel, pleading for diplomacy but coming up empty handed...the Arabs cut off water supplies to Israel and blockaded canals, an act which is considered causa bella in the international scene; then the Arabs flew "reconnaisance" over Israel's nuclear reactor...the following are statements of the Arabs, threatening Israel:

"Our aim is the full restoration of the rights of the Palestinian people. In other words, we aim at the destruction of the State of Israel. The immediate aim: perfection of Arab military might. The national aim: the eradication of Israel." – President Nasser of Egypt, November 18, 1965 

"Brothers, it is our duty to prepare for the final battle in Palestine." – Nasser, Palestine Day, 1967 

"Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight . . . The mining of Sharm el Sheikh is a confrontation with Israel. Adopting this measure obligates us to be ready to embark on a general war with Israel." – Nasser, May 27, 1967 

"We will not accept any ... coexistence with Israel. ... Today the issue is not the establishment of peace between the Arab states and Israel .... The war with Israel is in effect since 1948." – Nasser, May 28, 1967 

"The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are poised on the borders of Israel . . . . to face the challenge, while standing behind us are the armies of Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation. This act will astound the world. Today they will know that the Arabs are arranged for battle, the critical hour has arrived. We have reached the stage of serious action and not declarations." – Nasser, May, 30, 1967 after signing a defense pact with Jordan's King Hussein 

"We are now ready to confront Israel .... The issue now at hand is not the Gulf of Aqaba, the Straits of Tiran, or the withdrawal of UNEF, but the ... aggression which took place in Palestine ... with the collaboration of Britain and the United States." – Nasser, June 2, 1967 

"Under terms of the military agreement signed with Jordan, Jordanian artillery co-ordinated with the forces of Egypt and Syria is in a position to cut Israel in two at Kalkilya, where Israeli territory between the Jordan armistice line and the Mediterranean Sea is only twelve kilometers wide ... ." – El Akhbar newspaper, Cairo, May 31, 1967 

Israel had no choice but to fight--and they did kick ass...

Before you make such positive statements, Cannalee, you should read up on the treatment of the Palestinians living in the West Bank by Israel.  If any other country was doing it, the U.S. would be up on it's moral high horse imposing sanctions and threatening military action.  Even the former Prime Minister of Israel, while he was in power, called Israeli attacks on Palestinians "pogroms". 

Something that really chokes my chicken, is the suggestion by so many posters that any criticism of Israel makes you a terrorist lover or anti-Semitic.  That is pure B.S. and serves only to give Israel a pass on human rights violations that any right thinking human being should be appalled at. 

To be frank, I don't think Israel actually wants a peace agreement in the area.  The downside to them is too great and, in fact, could more surely lead to Jews actually becoming a minority in Israel itself - something that is likely to happen within the next twenty to fifty years regardless of any peace agreement simply due to the growth of its indiginous Arab population.

  

Of course, Sooz.  It's a topic I like to discuss because, believe it or not, I'm a fervent supporter of Israel but think its approach to the Palestinian issue simply exasperates the situation and endangers Israel's continuing existence.

May 24, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Tuesday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Joplin, Missouri: “About 1,500 people are unaccounted for in this battered city, a Fire Department official said Tuesday, as rescue workers took advantage of a few hours of sunny weather to continue searching for survivors in buildings leveled by the country's deadliest tornado in more than 60 years. At least 117 people have died.â€

May 25, 2011 5:30 PM
[url=#]Wednesday's Mini-Report[/url]
By Steve Benen

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Rumor has it the Senate will be voting any minute now on the House Republican budget plan. I'll have a full report in the morning.

* More deadly storms slam the central U.S.: “Several tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma City and its suburbs, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 70 others, authorities said. Among those killed was a 15-month-old boy, and searchers were looking for his missing 3-year-old brother. The storms killed two people in Kansas and four in Arkansas, and may have killed a man in Texas whose burned body was found near a downed power line.â€