China may back coup against Kim  —  THE Chinese are openly debating "regime change" in Pyongyang after last week's nuclear test by their confrontational neighbour.  —  Diplomats in Beijing said at the weekend that China and all the major US allies believed North Korea's claim that it had detonated a nuclear device.

Schlesinger Steals The Show  —  The ghost of Crazy Eddie was channeled Monday by a man who would be Connecticut's next senator — and whose name is neither Lieberman nor Lamont.  —  This candidate's name is Alan Schlesinger (pictured in top photo).  He is the official candidate nominated …

Agents raid homes of Rep. Curt Weldon's daughter, close friend  —  Federal agents raided the home of the daughter of U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R., Pa.) and his longtime friend Charlie Sexton this morning.  —  The agents departed Karen Weldon's three-story brick home on Queen Street in Philadelphia with arms loaded with boxes.

Saddam prosecutor's brother shot dead in Iraq  —  Gunmen ambush kin in front of his wife; Saddam verdict to be read Nov. 5  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The brother of the chief prosecutor in Saddam Hussein's second trial was shot dead in front of his wife at his home in the capital Monday …

Civil rights lawyer sentenced to prison  —  NEW YORK - A firebrand civil rights lawyer who has defended Black Panthers and anti-war radicals was sentenced Monday to nearly 2 1/2 years in prison — far less than the 30 years prosecutors wanted — for helping an imprisoned terrorist sheik communicate with his followers on the outside.

Reality checks: some responses to the latest Lancet estimates  —  Hamit Dardagan, John Sloboda, and Josh Dougherty  —  Summary … - On average, a thousand Iraqis have been violently killed every single day in the first half of 2006, with less than a tenth of them being noticed by any public surveillance mechanisms;

What's That Smell?  —  The GOP is stinking up the joint.  —  LIKE OTHER DEEP-THINKING people, I'm full of principled, idealistic, high-minded indignation at the GOP.  What a stampede of sleaze.  Jack Abramoff is the world's best lobbyist—for the Federal Penitentiary System.

Congressman Defends Provision That Would Cut Oil Shale Royalties  —  Tucked into a massive energy bill that would open the outer continental shelf to oil drilling are provisions that would slash future royalties owed to the federal government by companies prospecting in Rocky Mountain oil shale deposits.

Jihadists and Jews  —  Democratic strategist and former Michael Dukakis campaign manager Susan Estrich, and the former American Civil Liberties Union president in Massachusetts, Harvey Silvergate, recently joined the attorneys representing two alleged Boston al Qaeda funders.

Hastert's Team Mentality to Be Tested as Foley Scandal Unfolds  —  On a table near the desk of the speaker of the House, nine bears sit in a wooden rowboat, eight with oars and one in charge.  But the boat can't move unless the oars all row in the same direction.  That's why House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) bought it.

Reuters opens virtual news bureau in Second Life  —  SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Reuters is opening a news bureau in the simulation game Second Life this week, joining a race by corporate name brands to take part in the hottest virtual world on the Internet.

Boycott Indonesia—Stop Murdering Christians Now!  —  Civil war is in the air in Indonesia.  Christians are daily being slaughtered and the government does little to protect them.  —  Two of our longtime blog-friends, Stan the Infidel and Big White Infidel, are furious over the treatment of Christians in Indonesia.

Maryland Senate: Cardin Maintains 7-Point Lead  —  Steele (R) 43% Cardin (D) 50%  —  Despite a late and bitter Democratic primary, Democratic Congressman Benjamin L. Cardin is maintaining a moderate lead of 50% to 43% over Lieutenant Governor Michael S. Steele (R) (see crosstabs).

Case Narrative  —  In light of last night's 60 Minutes broadcast, it's worth reviewing how a case virtually devoid of evidence, constructed upon a tissue of procedural irregularities, could have reached this stage.  The case has thus far divided into five periods; with each new stage, the miscarriage of justice has intensified.