In Baghdad, a Force Under the Militias' Sway  —  Infiltration of Iraqi Police Could Delay Handover of Control for Years, U.S. Trainers Suggest  —  BAGHDAD — The signs of the militias are everywhere at the Sholeh police station.  —  Posters celebrating Moqtada al-Sadr, head of the Mahdi Army militia, dot the building's walls.

Stabbing Eastward: Lamont, the Netroots and Barack Obama  —  Shortly after Ned Lamont upended Holy Joe Lieberman in the CT SEN primary this summer, I noted a report by TNR's Ryan Lizza arguing that Washington Democrats would steer clear of the race from there on, letting the blue-on-blue rhetorical violence work itself out.

Zawahiri Was Target in U.S. Attack on Religious School in Pakistan  —  Alexis Debat Reports:  —  Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of a Predator missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.  —  ABC News has learned the raid …

Another Wonkette Victory  —  This week's coup: getting a picture of Tennessee Senate candidate Bob Corker's daughter Julia making out with another girl into the Memphis Commercial Appeal.  Now we're just working on getting Pierce Bush and Leslie Cochran into a Frank Rich column.

Poll: Stumping not boosting Bush popularity  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush's popularity has not been buoyed by a series of public events in recent days, a new CNN poll suggests.  —  Bush's approval rating hovers in the high 30s, where it has been throughout October.

Warming Called Threat To Global Economy  —  Failing to curb the impact of climate change could damage the global economy on the scale of the Great Depression or the world wars by spawning environmental devastation that could cost 5 to 20 percent of the world's annual gross domestic product …

CNN hopes blogging is election-night blessing  —  An event aimed at getting instant reaction from online opinion makers is but a part of cable channels' efforts.  —  NEW YORK — Who says the mainstream media don't respect the blogosphere?  —  CNN is trying to incorporate bloggers directly …

Bush Says 'America Loses' Under Democrats  —  White House Talk Heats Up As Polls Show Tight Races  —  President Bush said terrorists will win if Democrats win and impose their policies on Iraq, as he and Vice President Cheney escalated their rhetoric Monday in an effort to turn out Republican voters in next week's midterm elections.

Democrats fear the storm could leave them high and dry  —  Party is worried that the precdicted hurricane will just fizzle out  —  PUNDITS predict that the Republicans will be swept from power on Capitol Hill on November 7 by an elemental force of voter anger aimed at President Bush and Congress.

How the Web Prevents Rape  —  ALL THAT INTERNET PORN REDUCES SEX CRIMES.  REALLY.  —  Does pornography breed rape?  Do violent movies breed violent crime?  Quite the opposite, it seems.  —  First, porn.  What happens when more people view more of it?  The rise of the Internet offers a gigantic natural experiment.

Curry, key Democrats back Steele  —  Former Prince George's County executive Wayne K. Curry, backed by five black members of the Prince George's County Council, today endorsed Republican Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele's campaign for the U.S. Senate.  —  Mr. Curry, a Democrat who became …

Audio: John Kerry on America's lazy, uneducated military  —  People send me these audio clips all the time and I'm never sure whether to run them or not.  Without the audio of the whole speech, I can't tell if the comments were later qualified, retracted, embellished, etc.

The Eid sexual harassment incident  —  I didn't want to write about this.  —  Hell, I didn't even want to know about it.  —  I remember the first time I heard of it while I was in Amman.  Eblis sent me an e-mail titled "Behold the revolution in Egypt" with a link to malek's post …

IF ONLY ALL THE REPUBLICANS...  ...ran campaigns as sharp as Michael Steele's.  Have you ever wondered where the men in the street in "man in the street" campaign ads come from?  This is a Ben Cardin ad called "Real People," in which a series of Marylanders identified only by name praise Cardin:

Budgets Falling in Race to Fight Global Warming  —  DENVER — Cheers fit for a revival meeting swept a hotel ballroom as 1,800 entrepreneurs and experts watched a PowerPoint presentation of the most promising technologies for limiting global warming: solar power, wind, ethanol and other farmed fuels …