Bush's Troubles Weigh Heavily as Republicans Meet to Showcase Candidates  —  MEMPHIS, March 11 — Republicans gathered here this weekend acutely concerned with the elections ahead and distressed by the White House's performance since President Bush's re-election.

Milosevic: Architect of Balkans carnage  —  Serb leader presided over ethnic cleansing in Bosnia  —  (CNN) — Former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic was regarded as the chief architect of the carnage unleashed during the breakup of Yugoslavia.  —  Milosevic, who died at the age …

Virginian Taken Hostage in Iraq Is Found Dead  —  Peace Activist Was Missing From Video That Showed Fellow Captives This Week  —  Tom Fox, the Virginia peace activist who was taken hostage last year in Iraq, has been found dead, a State Department spokesman said last night.

Even as U.S. Invaded, Hussein Saw Iraqi Unrest as Top Threat  —  As American warplanes streaked overhead two weeks after the invasion began, Lt. Gen. Raad Majid al-Hamdani drove to Baghdad for a crucial meeting with Iraqi leaders.  He pleaded for reinforcements to stiffen the capital's defenses …

Why Not To Expect Any Changes In The White House Style  —  If you've been holding your breath for the battering of recent events since Hurricane Katrina to lead to some changes in White House staffing or style, then you're going to turn blue: … The most damning quote in the New York Times piece come at the end:

Kerry takes another look at presidency  —  Says loss in 2004 made him tougher  —  Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy were in Boston yesterday at an event promoting a construction job training program for veterans.  (AP Photo)  —  WASHINGTON — As Senator John F. Kerry prepared …

Internet blows CIA cover  —  It's easy to track America's covert operatives.  All you need to know is how to navigate the Internet.  —  WASHINGTON — She is 52 years old, married, grew up in the Kansas City suburbs and now lives in Virginia, in a new three-bedroom house.

Respect Must Be Earned  —  One of the recurring themes of the Great Cartoon Caper is exemplified by this article in today's Daily Telegraph of Australia: … The keyword here is "respect" (or the antonym, "disrespect").  Other examples of the theme can be found here, here, and here.

Muslims Express Anger and Hope at Danish Conference  —  COPENHAGEN, March 10 — Denmark sought Friday to tamp down the fierce Muslim protests over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad at a conference with Muslim preachers and scholars that produced calls for dialogue but also fresh protests …

Michelman Drops Potential Indie Bid in PA-Sen  —  Last week, rumors began to swirl surrounding the possibility that long time pro-choice activist Kate Michelman would enter the Pennsylvania Senate race as an independent, potentially making Democrat Bob Casey's challenge to GOP Sen. Rick Santorum more difficult.

Faces  —  I hate cameras.  I don't think I have more than a dozen pictures of myself taken in the past twenty years, and not many more before that, because I hate posing, and hate looking at myself.  So I sympathize with Bettie Page, the old pinup, who is stretching her '50s fame …

Cantankerous Conservatism  —  PATRICK BUCHANAN, COMMENTATOR AND former presidential candidate, looked over the issues on the political agenda in 2006 and liked what he saw.  It was a paleoconservative's delight.  There was the Dubai ports deal, rejected by a congressional uprising part nationalistic, part isolationist.

The accelerator has jammed, the brakes have burned out and I'm trapped in my BMW doing 130mph  —  A motorist was trapped in his car driving at almost 130mph for 60 miles after the accelerator jammed.  —  Kevin Nicolle, 25, was unable to stop the automatic BMW going at top speed after the malfunction on the A1.