Cursor's Media Patrol - 12/27/05

The U.S. embassy in London was forced to correct a claim by ambassador Robert Holmes Tuttle, that there is "no evidence ... that there have been any renditions carried out in the country of Syria."

It's the second misstatement in less than two months by the "new and clearly under-briefed" ambassador, who was also a major donor to President Bush's re-election campaign.

Citing "Two former NSA officials familiar with the agency's campaign to spy on U.N. members," Raw Story reports that "then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice authorized the plan at the request of President Bush, who wanted to know how delegates were going to vote."

As the Rational Enquirer decides to hold its powder, "at least until the next war," Editor & Publisher tracks down 16 original "embeds" from the current one, finding that "the vast majority expected a quick resolution to the war," including one who says that "It surprises me that every time I have gone back, it has gotten worse."

E. J. Dionne calls the recent budget bill "a road map of insider dealing," which "shows that when choices have to be made, the interests of the poor and the middle class fall before the wishes of interest groups with powerful lobbies and awesome piles of campaign money to distribute.