France Surrenders!  —  It was only a matter of time...  The kids did not care for the new plan...  It had to go.  They were forced to take their fight to the streets.  (France-Echos)  —  After putting up a brave fight, France surrendered today to the young socialist thugs on the street.

Berlusconi Overtakes Prodi in Italian Election (Update1)  —  April 10 (Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi overtook former European Commission President Romano Prodi in Italian elections and now leads in voting for both houses of parliament, projected results showed.

Dallas Protest AAR: No pics, I'm afraid, since the prostestors smashed my camera.  —  I decided last night to sleep on it before writing this.  If I had written about yesterday last night, my post would have been filled with epithets and not very coherent.  —  My camera is now scattered bits …

Bush: Talk of Iran attack 'wild speculation'  —  Reports suggest U.S. contemplating nuclear strike against Tehran  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush on Monday dismissed as "wild speculation" reports that his administration has considered nuclear strikes against sites in Iran to prevent the nation from building nuclear weapons.

Lawyer: No DNA Match in Duke Gang Rape Case  —  DURHAM, N.C. — DNA testing failed to connect any members of the Duke University lacrosse team to the alleged rape of a stripper, attorneys for the athletes said Monday.  —  Citing DNA test results delivered by the state crime lab to police …

Immigration Advocates Rally Across U.S.  —  Crowds of immigrants and their supporters predicted to total in the hundreds of thousands marched today in more than 100 cities throughout the country, casting off the old fears of their illegal status to assert that they have a right to a humane life in this country.

Phone-Jamming Records Point to White House  —  WASHINGTON - Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show.

Wowie Zahawie  —  Sorry everyone, but Iraq did go uranium shopping in Niger.  —  In the late 1980s, the Iraqi representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency—Iraq's senior public envoy for nuclear matters, in effect—was a man named Wissam al-Zahawie.

Surprise!  Fox News Ignores Page Six Extortion Story  —  Proving once again that the "News" in Fox News is not meant to be taken literally, the Rupert Murdoch-owned news channel has all but ignored the stunning story of the New York City gossip columnist who tried to extort nearly $250K …

Christians Sue for Right Not to Tolerate Policies  —  Many codes intended to protect gays from harassment are illegal, conservatives argue.  —  ATLANTA — Ruth Malhotra went to court last month for the right to be intolerant.  —  Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality.

Show Your Teeth  —  WHEN CHIDED for a sharp or acerbic remark, Pat Moynihan used to invoke an old aphorism: "This animal is vicious; when he's attacked, he bites back."  Moynihan would quote the French verse, which made the point seem more elegant (cet animal est très méchant; quand on l'attaque, il se défend).

Army surpassing year's retention goal by 15%  —  WASHINGTON — Two of every three eligible soldiers continue to re-enlist, putting the Army, which has endured most of the fighting in Iraq, ahead of its annual goal.  —  The Army was 15% ahead of its re-enlistment goal of 34,668 …

Bush's Job Approval Rating Continues to Swoon  —  Forty-Seven Percent of Americans 'Strongly' Disapprove of Handling of the Presidency  —  Political reversals at home and continued bad news from Iraq have dragged President Bush's standing with the public to a new low and boosted Democratic chances …

Balkin on Wills on JC  —  An interesting post by Jack Balkin today, itself referring to an op-ed by Garry Wills in the New York Times.  Wills argues against the institutionalization of Jesus in politics — against the tendency to recruit him as "a campaign aide."

Back to Iraq - Part One  —  GALLIPOLI PENNINSULA, WESTERN TURKEY - My recent trip to Turkey wasn't my first, but my friend Sean LaFreniere - whom I flew from Beirut to Istanbul to meet - had never been there before.  So I let him decide our itinerary.  He wanted to see Gallipoli and Troy, even though Izmir has better ruins than Troy.