commencement

The Times has a compendium of excerpts from graduation speeches, from Dick Cheney to Garry Trudeau to Seamus Heaney. ( Read more... )

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The DOJ's Inspector General issued a report on "the treatment of aliens held on immigration charges in connection with the investigation of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks." Apparently mistakes were made. Here are highlights and the full report (PDF)--HTML version coming soon.

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The Washington Post has a fascinating article on Bush's bird's-eye view of the Middle East. Here's an excerpt, but the whole thing is interesting:

Aides said the one leader in the region who has earned Bush's respect is Abdullah, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, who forcefully challenged the president over his handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a visit to Bush's ranch in Crawford, Tex., in April of last year.

In a scene that one senior Bush adviser later likened to "a near-death experience," Abdullah arrived at Crawford with a book showing pictures of Palestinian suffering and a 10-minute videotape of images of children shot and crushed by Israelis that had appeared on Arab television.

The adviser said Abdullah spoke eloquently about what these images meant -- conveying a respect for life rather than a hatred of Israel -- and then laid it on the line for Bush: Was he going to do something about this or not?

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Every time I hear the new Liz Phair song I try to figure out which of the current overproduced major-label teen pop stars it is--not the Britney-era singing heads, obviously, but one of the ones who write or at least co-write the songs they sing and are positioned for the market as a more authentic reaction against the Mickey Mouse Club alumni. Eventually I decide it must be Michelle Branch because I'd recognize Vanessa Carlton's voice or, although it would take me longer to be certain, Avril Lavigne's, but I really have no idea what Michelle Branch sounds like when she's not backed by Santana. Then later a DJ tells me I'm wrong.