Media Refuses to Hold Surveillance Story  —  The Bush administration and The New York Times are again at odds over national security, this time with new reports of a broad government effort to track global financial transfers.  —  The newspaper, which in December broke news of an effort …

Indictment: Suspects wanted to 'kill all the devils we can'  —  Terror plot targeted Chicago's Sears Tower  —  MIAMI, Florida (CNN) — A federal indictment against seven men revealed Friday details of what the government said was a plan intended to "kill all the devils we can."

State of emergency declared in Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi government declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew Friday after insurgents set up roadblocks in central Baghdad and fired on U.S. and Iraqi troops outside the heavily fortified Green Zone.

Senate Report Lists Lobbyist's Payments to Ex-Leader of Christian Coalition  —  WASHINGTON, June 22 — A bipartisan Senate report released on Thursday documented more than $5.3 million in payments to Ralph Reed, the former director of the Christian Coalition and a leading Republican Party strategist …

The Great Divide: How Westerners and Muslims View Each Other  —  Europe's Muslims More Moderate  —  Introduction and Summary  —  After a year marked by riots over cartoon portrayals of Muhammad, a major terrorist attack in London, and continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan …

Peace deal offers Iraq insurgents an amnesty  —  From Ned Parker in Baghdad and Tom Baldwin  —  THE Iraqi Government will announce a sweeping peace plan as early as Sunday in a last-ditch effort to end the Sunni insurgency that has taken the country to the brink of civil war.

Jon Stewart, Enemy of Democracy?  —  This is not funny: Jon Stewart and his hit Comedy Central cable show may be poisoning democracy.  —  Two political scientists found that young people who watch Stewart's faux news program, "The Daily Show," develop cynical views about politics and politicians …

From Wake Up Call: St. Pete Times's Rove/Satan Story  — According to this St. Petersburg Times story, saved here for posterity, "Karl Rove said that he would be plotting the Republican Party's fall election strategy with his longtime comrade-in-arms, Satan."

Why I Love Australia  —  WASHINGTON — In the Australian House of Representatives last month, opposition member Julia Gillard interrupted a speech by the minister of health thusly: "I move that that sniveling grub over there be not further heard.''  —  For that, the good woman was ordered removed from the House, if only for a day.

What if You Held a Gitmo Protest & Nobody Came?  —  Sadly, only the 7 Amnesty International activists but not one supporter showed up to protest George W. Bush in Budapest, Hungary, yesterday.  —  But that didn't stop the AP from preaching to the masses.  —  Activists of human rights …

General Reports Spike in Iranian Activity in Iraq  —  Iranian support for extremists inside Iraq has shown a "noticeable increase" this year, with Tehran's special forces providing weapons and bomb training to anti-U.S. groups, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said yesterday.

Consider this post an open letter to Senate Democrats.  —  You're really doing a poor job in the public debate over Iraq.  —  Luckily, unlike what's imagined by the imbeciles who write The Note and others in Washington, reality is not simply a DC media and politics confection.

DEMOCRACY RISING  —  KUWAITIS' VOTE A NEW ARAB MILESTONE  —  June 23, 2006 — KUWAITIS go to the polls next week to elect a new National Assembly, which will in turn approve a new prime minister and Cabinet.  —  The Kuwaitis will be making history for a number of reasons.

Hillary and the Candlemakers: Not a Parody  —  One of the most famous documents in the history of free-trade literature is Bastiat's famous "Candlemakers' Petition."  In that parody, the French economist and parliamentarian imagined the makers of candles and street lamps petitioning …

For Diehards, Search for Iraq's W.M.D. Isn't Over  —  WASHINGTON, June 22 — The United States government abandoned the search for unconventional weapons in Iraq long ago.  But Dave Gaubatz has never given up.  —  Mr. Gaubatz, an earnest, Arabic-speaking investigator who spent the first months …