General Defends Army Chief Who Spoke Out  —  WASHINGTON, April 16 — Gen. Richard B. Myers, who retired six months ago as the nation's top military officer, said today that senior administration officials had been wrong to publicly criticize the former Army chief just before the invasion …

Hiltzik of the LA Times - Unethical Or Just Ignorant?  —  I've had fun reading Michael Hiltzik in the past, mostly because he's an interesting case of a major newspaper trying on the blog form.  He manages, I think to combine the worst of both - the overweening arrogance of the MSM and the casual …

Iran pledges $50m Palestinian aid  —  Iran will donate $50m (£28m) to help fund the Palestinian Authority, after the withdrawal of aid from the West, the Iranian government has announced.  —  The US and EU cut funding after Hamas - which they consider a terrorist group - won Palestinian elections in January.

'Speak softly, don't argue and slow down'  —  Loud and brash, in gawdy garb and baseball caps, more than three million of them flock to our shores every year.  Shuffling between tourist sites or preparing to negotiate a business deal, they bemoan the failings of the world outside the United States.

FEMA deemed these homes habitable  —  Labeling Katrina homes as livable makes owners ineligible for more aid, but officials here call structures unfit  —  A New Orleans house flattened but for a concrete staircase on a crumbling facade was among many storm-ravaged structures …

More enemies of the enemy  —  Regular readers should feel free to tune out.  Yes, it's time to remind people that Arabs and other Muslims are essential to victory over the jihad.  —  Since we can't sort the jihadis from the innocents even when we can reach across jurisdictional lines, we need Arabs and Muslims to do it.

Nuclear: no alternatives?  —  Kevin Drum, whose judgment and writing I very much admire, has made a rare lapse.  —  He points to this Washington Post editorial from Patrick Moore — deceptively described only as a "co-founder of Greenpeace" — and sighs that although he struggled with the decision …

Aravosis vs Goldberg  —  Aravosis vs Goldberg  —  John Aravosis debated Jonah Goldberg on "Reliable Sources," today about Iran, the Biolabs and the Presidential leaker in chief..  —  I had never seen Goldberg before so it was interesting indeed.  —  (transcript from CNN)

In Candor From China, Efforts to Ease Anxiety  —  BEIJING, April 16 — China and the United States have engaged in public disputes about trade, human rights, military spending and energy security, but for just a moment late last year, their leaders put briefing books aside and agreed to talk privately.

New Worry Rises After Iran Claims Nuclear Steps  —  Of all the claims that Iran made last week about its nuclear program, a one-sentence assertion by its president has provoked such surprise and concern among international nuclear inspectors they are planning to confront Tehran about it this week.

Joe Klein: Nukes should be on the table  —  Joe Klein: "Nukes should be on the table"  —  Joe Klein started off today on "THIS WEEK," sounding fairly reasonable in the discussion about Iran and then veered off into neocon, kool-aid drinking lunacy.  George Stephanopoulos was even caught off guard by Klein's statements.

Why Newt Is So Much Fun to Watch  —  He's older and wiser, but as refreshingly unorthodox as ever  —  "How many of you have ever used an automatic bank machine overseas?"  Newt Gingrich asks, and since this is a pretty affluent New Hampshire audience, a fair number of people raise their hand.

Redefining Property Values  —  By Design, Status Seekers and Tree-Huggers Don't Have to Commune  —  The survey went to thousands of people who'd called a number on highway billboards announcing that Ladera Ranch, a new planned community in Orange County, Calif., was coming soon.

By any name, it's civil war, Iraqis admit  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The conflict in Iraq is not marked by front lines or raging battles between warring Iraqi factions.  There is no Green Line separating sectarian militias, as in Beirut in the 1970s and 1980s, nor are there clearly defined armies and commanders.

Ah, It Was A Bad Leak  —  The NY Times responds to last week's controversial WaPo editorial titled "A Good Leak" with their own "A Bad Leak".  [And we see that the WaPo ombudsman tackles this as well.]  The topic is the news that Bush chose to declassify a portion of the NIE so that Libby …

Bill Cosby's sermon: Stand for something  —  Welcome to the First Reformed Interdenominational Methobyterian Bapti-Catholic Church of Truth That Sets You Free.  The Most Honorary Rev. Bill Cosby is in the pulpit with a message for Easter.  —  "We're letting Jesus drag that cross and we're standing there saying 'Isn't it terrible?

Academic Studies Starbucks Cultural Impact  —  LONDON - A cup of coffee is just a drink.  But a frappuccino is an experience.  So believes Bryant Simon, a historian who is searching for the meaning of modern life amid the round tables and comfy sofas of Starbucks coffee shops.

Liberal Bloggers Who Need To Laying On A Psychologist's Couch  —  One of the hot topics around the blogosphere this week-end was a WAPO piece on an extremely angry, liberal blogger by the name of Maryscott O'Connor — and did I say angry?  I meant enraged, furious, a regular little, glowing ball 'o' hate 'n' rage:

Are We There Yet?  —  Following up on my post from Friday highlighting Colonel Sam Gardiner's statement on CNN that the US already has troops in iran, I see (via robelicit at kos) that Dennis Kucinich has sent a letter to the president asking if such reports are true.  He says: