Deadly Attack Kills at Least 144 in Baghdad  —  In the deadliest sectarian attack since the ouster of Saddam Hussein, explosions from five powerful car bombs and a mortar shell tore through teeming intersections in the Shiite district of Sadr City on Thursday afternoon, killing at least 144 people and wounding 206, the authorities said.

Ex-Russian spy dies in hospital  —  Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko has died in hospital three weeks after apparently being poisoned in London.  —  University College Hospital, London, said Mr Litvinenko had died at 2121 GMT on Thursday and the cause of his condition was still being investigated.

So how does 'engaging with Syria' look now?  —  In recent weeks the idea that the United States and the UK should "engage" Syria, but also Iran, to stabilise Iraq has been all the rage.  On Tuesday, in an east Beirut suburb, Lebanon's industry minister, Pierre Gemayel, showed what the cost of engagement might be.

Breaking News: Small Riots in Beirut and Gunfire in Tripoli - Updated!  —  Update:  —  Apart from a few isolated fist fights throughout Beirut, the demonstrations appear to have not resulted in any damage or injuries.  Reports coming in of deployment of security forces and a peaceful disperion of rioters.

Grandmother in first Hamas suicide attack in two years  —  A Palestinian grandmother blew herself up in the Gaza Strip, lightly wounding three Israeli soldiers, in the first suicide attack claimed by Hamas in almost two years.  —  The mother of nine and grandmother of 41 became …

Genetic breakthrough that reveals the differences between humans  —  Scientists hail genetic discovery that will change human understanding  —  Scientists have discovered a dramatic variation in the genetic make-up of humans that could lead to a fundamental reappraisal of what causes incurable diseases …

A Thanksgiving Prayer for Dick Cheney's Heart — and a Few Other Favorite Things  —  I give thanks O Lord for Dick Cheney's Heart, that brave organ which has done its darn-tootin' best on four separate occasions to do what we can only dream about.  —  O Lord, give Dick Cheney's Heart …

Balko Distorts the Facts In a Lengthy Screed About How He Doesn't Distort the Facts  —  Radley Balko has a lengthy screed about me today, which misstates my position in several respects regarding the Atlanta shooting involving the 92-year-old lady.  —  The nonsense starts right from the beginning:

A Profiling In Courage  —  Homeland Security: Kudos to US Airways.  Risking fines and a boycott, it did the right thing this week by removing a group of Muslim men from a flight to protect its crew and passengers.  —  By most accounts, the six bearded men were behaving suspiciously …

Dobson: I Want To Cure Ted Haggard of Being Gay But Don't Have Time, It 'Could Take Four or Five Years'  —  Ted Haggard was one of the most prominent evangelical leaders in the nation until he admitted to having a sexual relationship with a male prostitute and buying meth.

Oh, Come ON, People  —  There is a principled, intellectually honest case to be made for increasing the security of America's borders.  Part of it is pretty obvious to those of us aware of the simple need to keep terrorists, criminals, and drugs out.  And, um, the freakin' Mexican Army.

Shove Your Civil War  —  Hezbollah called off today's scheduled "festivities" in downtown Beirut as Lebanon mourns the latest victim of assassination, Pierre Gemayel.  —  Lebanon's hostility to the Syrian-Iranian-Hezbollah axis has been re-energized.  March 14 is still a force to be reckoned with.

On John McCain and 'Adults'  —  Steve Clemons, though he takes some needless and inaccurate swipes at the progressive left, has a pretty good take on Lieberman's Marshall Wittman hiring.  In particular Clemons is worried about a McCain-Lieberman ticket in 2008 occupying the 'center …