Entries for May 25, 2007

The federal prosecutor who indicted former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby has recommended that Libby, who was convicted in March, receive 30 to 37 months in prison. His 18-page recommendation, is available here.

"Mr. Libby, a high-ranking public official and experienced lawyer, lied repeatedly and blatantly about matters at the heart of a criminal investigation concerning the disclosure of a covert intelligence officer's identity," Fitzgerald writes in the memorandum. "He has shown no regret for his actions, which significantly impeded the investigation."

Today's news that the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is back in the spotlight after a four-month absence throws another monkey wrench into the U.S.-led efforts to secure Baghdad.

In a fiery sermon today, Sadr instructed his followers not to engage Iraqi troops but was expressly anti-American.

Here are three stories from the U.S.News & World Report archives about Sadr and his powerful militia:

• Clerical Error: Having Overestimated His Support, al-Sadr Backs Down, May 30, 2004
• Moqtada al-Sadr's Deadly Game of Chicken, Aug. 22, 2004
• Men in Black: Why Iraq's Shiite Militias Are So Brutally Effective, Dec. 10, 2006

Of the many weird but enlightening barometers of the national mood that one can glean from the blogosphere, try this one on for size: President Bush versus Harry Potter.

A list of the most-blogged-about people compiled daily by the website BlogPulse.com, run by Nielsen BuzzMetrics technology, consistently places Bush and Potter in the top two spots, where the president and the fictional hero of Hogwarts joust for the lead from day to day. The president surged ahead of Potter on Wednesday after a 12-day drought in which Potter outbuzzed him on the blogosphere, largely riding the reactions to his commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, according to a head-to-head buzz-off between the two icons on BlogPulse.

This morning's top stories:

• American aid to Lebanon in their fight against Islamic militants in the north of the country began arriving this morning, the AP reports.
• The computer manufacturer Dell will begin selling computers at Wal-Mart in an effort to boost sails, moving away from its direct buy program.
• The CEO of General Electric Co. said the company's "ecoimagination" line of environmental products will "blow away" its target of $20 billion in sales by 2010 due to demand.
• A Canadian study has found that babies can tell the difference between languages simply by picking up on facial cues, HealthDay reports.