Iran tells Talabani that US-led forces must leave Iraq  —  Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei told visiting Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that US-led forces had to leave Iraq if security was to be restored in the violence-riven country.  —  "The first step to solve the security issue in Iraq …

Bush Blames Al Qaeda for Wave of Iraq Violence  —  President Bush today said Al Qaeda was to blame for the rising wave of sectarian violence in Iraq, which he refused to label a civil war.  Mr. Bush said he would press Iraq's prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, during meetings in Jordan later …

Back to the Future  —  The sin of George W. Bush, to hear his critics tell it, is that he unleashed the forces of freedom in Arab-Islamic lands only to beget a terrible storm.  In Iraq and in Lebanon, the furies of sectarianism are on the loose; and in that greater Middle East stretching …

How the imams terrorized an airliner  —  Muslim religious leaders removed from a Minneapolis flight last week exhibited behavior associated with a security probe by terrorists and were not merely engaged in prayers, according to witnesses, police reports and aviation security officials.

Pilot of crashed U.S. fighter jet missing in Iraq … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The U.S. military said Tuesday it has not found the pilot of an Air Force fighter jet a day after it crashed in Iraq.  —  The pilot, who officials have not named, has been classified as "duty status and whereabouts unknown …

Like I Care  —  The first person I knew who had a Web site of his own was a fellow Washington journalist.  This was when many journalists were still just getting into e-mail, but the URL for this Web site quickly circulated around town and around the world.  Why?  Well, we were all impressed by the technological savvy.

Congressman calls Miami a `Third World country'  —  WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo, the leader of the anti-illegal immigration faction in the U.S. House, spent a recent weekend at The Breakers in Palm Beach.  —  Ninety miles to the south, he found a symbol to bolster his belief …

Women talk three times as much as men, says study  —  It is something one half of the population has long suspected - and the other half always vocally denied.  Women really do talk more than men.  —  In fact, women talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking …

American Legion to Congressman Rangel: Apologize Now  —  The National Commander of The American Legion called on Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) to apologize for suggesting that American troops would not choose to fight in Iraq if they had other employment options.

Is 'Cronkite Moment' Just a Media Myth?  —  Amid all of the media excitement of NBC's choice to grandly pronounce the ongoing violence in Iraq a "civil war," some (like MSNBC's Keith Olbermann) are gleefully touting NBC's editorializing as a "Walter Cronkite moment," referring …

Christmas, As Sponsored By Secularists  —  One would expect that the new movie coming out this holiday season, The Nativity Story, to spend quite a bit of money on advertisements.  Where might we see these ads?  Television viewers will probably notice them on holiday specials and perhaps news shows …

Video: Carter blames Israel for failure of roadmap, denies he's anti-Israel  —  As usual when the sage of Plains turns up on TV, it's an embarrassment of outraged riches.  Here you'll find him bestowing the Carter seal of approval to James Baker and the "peace at any price" gang …

'Civil' Disobedience Spreads — 'NYT' Adjusts Language on Iraq  —  NEW YORK In the wake of the highly-publicized NBC and MSNBC decision to start referring to the conflict in Iraq as a "civil war," other media outlets, which have long used phrases such as "sectarian violence," are re-considering their language in this regard.

Officials don't need to detail cash gifts  —  Ethics panel is criticized for ruling any sum can simply be called 'currency'  —  AUSTIN — A Texas official who receives any sum of cash as a gift can satisfy state disclosure laws by reporting the money simply as "currency," without specifying the amount …

UC ethnic shift revives Proposition 209 debate  —  Asian-Americans gain while blacks, Latinos aren't keeping pace  —  Will Asian-Americans one day make up a majority of students at the University of California?  —  If the trend of the past decade continues, it just might happen.

Ad Blitz Satirizes Lebanon's Divides  —  Provocative Signs Target Pervasive Sectarianism  —  The evening was tense, as most are these days in Beirut, its Maronite Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Sunni and Shiite Muslims and Druze perched imprecisely between war and peace.