A Dictator's Double Standard  —  Augusto Pinochet tortured and murdered.  His legacy is Latin America's most successful country.  —  AUGUSTO PINOCHET, who died Sunday at the age of 91, has been vilified for three decades in and outside of Chile, the South American country he ruled for 17 years.

USA more pessimistic on Iraq war  —  WASHINGTON — As President Bush weighs changing course in Iraq, Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war and want most U.S. troops withdrawn within a year, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday says.

Saudi Ambassador Abruptly Resigns, Leaves Washington  —  Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, flew out of Washington yesterday after informing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and his staff that he would be leaving the post after only 15 months on the job …

Car Bombing Kills at Least 59 in Baghdad  —  A powerful car bomb exploded in central Baghdad early Tuesday morning near a crowd of mostly Shiite day laborers, killing 59 people and wounding 149, Lt. Col. Mahmoud Abdul Aziz of the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

Dems to Wipe Out Pet Projects in Bills  —  Democrats tidying up a cluster of unfinished spending bills dumped on them by departing Republican leaders in Congress will start by removing billions of dollars in lawmakers' pet projects next month.  —  The move, orchestrated by the incoming chairmen …

A devil food is turning our kids into homosexuals  —  There's a slow poison out there that's severely damaging our children and threatening to tear apart our culture.  The ironic part is, it's a "health food," one of our most popular.  —  Now, I'm a health-food guy, a fanatic …

THE SITUATION ROOM  —  President Bush Stops At State Department To Show He's Listening To New Ideas About Iraq; Rumors Say There May Be Some Effort To Get Rid Of Nouri Al-Maliki; Space Shuttle Discovery Docking With International Space Station In Series Of Dangerous Maneuvers …

Trees Being Returned to SeaTac Airport  —  SEATAC, Wash. (AP) - Christmas trees are going back up at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.  —  Pat Davis, president of the Port of Seattle commission, which directs airport operations, said late Monday that maintenance staff would restore …

BARACKGROUND INFO  —  ULTRA-LIB RECORD & LAND-BUY FLAP  —  Barack Hussein Obama is a soaring political superstar right now - but he also sports one of the most liberal voting records in the Senate and has a shady land deal in his recent past.  —  Democratic activists are swooning over Obama …

Gore chases Oscar nod, possible 2008 bid  —  NEW YORK - Al Gore is waging a fierce campaign for recognition and an Oscar statuette for his global warming documentary, while reviving talk that he's pursuing a bigger prize: the presidency.  —  His recent itinerary has been the ultimate in high profile.

Why It's Dangerous For the Maverick To Be the...Front Runner  —  John McCain was a straight-talking upstart in the 2000 presidential election.  Now he's poised to be the G.O.P. favorite for 2008, but at what cost?  —  As a rallying cry.  "Common sense conservatism" doesn't have quite the ring of "Straight Talk Express."

Why Is It So Important That American Students Learn a Foreign Language?  —  I ask this after reading the summary of the new Time magazine cover story, "How to Build a Student for the 21st Century."  In quoting the chairman of UPS it says that country needs:

To Stem Iraqi Violence, U.S. Aims to Create Jobs  —  As Iraq descends further into violence and disarray, the Pentagon is turning to a weapon some believe should have been used years ago: jobs.  —  Members of a small Pentagon task force have gone to the most dangerous areas of Iraq …

Kofi Annan's Farewell Speech  —  (Please put on your headphones if you wish to hear this speech translated from the original Bulls**t)  —  In Missouri today, departing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan delivered these thoughtful reflections on 10 years of learning:

It's Not Apartheid  —  JIMMY CARTER'S MORONIC NEW BOOK ABOUT ISRAEL.  —  In the six decades since the founding of Israel, there have been about one and a half new ideas for solving the most intractable problem on the map of the world.  In fact, ever since Britain's Balfour Declaration …

Israel Nuke Comment Sparks Controversy  —  JERUSALEM (AP) - A slip of the tongue by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about Israel's nuclear policy ballooned into a domestic crisis Tuesday for the Israeli leader, who came under criticism from across the political spectrum.

Just Ask: Kucinich Answers, 'Yes, I Am'  —  In the midst of a brief chat in his office last week, Representative Dennis J. Kucinich mentioned that, oh, by the way, he planned to run for president again in 2008.  —  "Yes, I am," Mr. Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, said in response to a reporter's question …

The value of a pro-war blogger's reports from Iraq  —  Bill Roggio's accounts bring home a feel for what US troops are facing in Iraq.  —  WASHINGTON - In recent months, the gruesome images and stories emanating from Iraq have hardened the public's perception about the conflict there.