Milking it?  —  For an update on this post, see here.  —  Certainly, the photographs are distressing, and indeed they are meant to be.  As this piece tells us: … But the photographers, it seems, are not too fussy about how they go about "adding to the shock value".

France says Iran is respected, stabilizing force in Middle East  —  Iran is a significant, respected player in the Middle East which is playing a stabilizing role, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Monday, during a visit to Lebanon.  —  "It was clear that we could never accept …

Ned Lamont's First Video Blog: Let's Talk About Iraq  —  Over the weekend Ned filmed his first video blog.  Since Joe Lieberman doesn't want to talk about his war in Iraq, I guess it's up to the rest of us.  —  If you think there is more to be said on the topic and things aren't going quite …

Men Not Working, and Not Wanting Just Any Job  —  ROCK FALLS, Ill. — Alan Beggerow has stopped looking for work.  Laid off as a steelworker at 48, he taught math for a while at a community college.  But when that ended, he could not find a job that, in his view, was neither demeaning nor underpaid.

Schumer Says Bolton Won't Face Filibuster  —  A Democratic filibuster of John Bolton's nomination as United Nations ambassador is "unlikely," Senator Schumer said yesterday.  —  Mr. Schumer supported an effort last year to block Mr. Bolton's nomination from gaining a full Senate vote …

'The Putting of First Things First'  —  The revival of the romance of the antiwar left is a potential disaster for the Democrats.  It's what gave the world Richard Nixon in 1968.  —  To the consternation of my children, I once spent an afternoon with Monica Lewinsky.

And Now, The Good News  —  The world seems aswirl.  Where do we stand today?  —  Let's use the analysis of bestselling author Thomas Barnett, who divides the world into a functioning "Core" (North America, Europe, East Asia, rising China and India) and a nonfunctional "Gap" (the Middle East …

Statewide poll: Without key exceptions, more South Dakotans oppose abortion ban  —  Amid the often hostile rhetoric that pierces South Dakota's closely watched abortion debate, a new survey shows that more residents of the largely conservative state oppose a ban on the pregnancy-ending procedure …

Romney apologizes for use of expression  —  To some, `tar baby' is racial pejorative  —  Governor Mitt Romney yesterday apologized for using the expression ``tar baby" — a phrase some consider a racial epithet — among comments he made at a political gathering in Iowa over the weekend.

The Next Steps With Iran  —  Negotiations Must Go Beyond the Nuclear Threat to Broader Issues  —  The world's attention is focused on the fighting in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, but the context leads inevitably back to Iran.  Unfortunately, the diplomacy dealing with that issue is constantly outstripped by events.