KKK'S DAVID DUKE TELLS IRAN HOLOCAUST CONFERENCE THAT GAS CHAMBERS NOT USED TO KILL JEWS  —  Dec. 12: David Duke, former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and former state representative in Louisiana, attends a conference on the Holocaust in Tehran.  —  TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud …

Army, Marine Corps To Ask for More Troops  —  The Army and Marine Corps are planning to ask incoming Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Congress to approve permanent increases in personnel, as senior officials in both services assert that the nation's global military strategy has outstripped their resources.

Saudis Give a Grim What If Should U.S. Opt to Leave Iraq  —  Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq's Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.

Rodriguez defeats Bonilla  —  U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla conceded defeat to former congressman Ciro Rodriguez in a stunning upset that completed the Democratic takeover of Congress.  —  The Republican incumbent lost Bexar County for the first time in his political career Tuesday night …

Clinton hires faith guru  —  Burns Strider, one of the Democratic Party's leading strategists on winning over evangelicals and other values-driven voters, will join Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as she prepares to launch her 2008 presidential campaign.

Illegal Workers Arrested In Identity Theft Sweep  —  Federal agents targeting illegal immigrants raided meatpacking plants in six states yesterday, arresting hundreds of workers on the uncommon charge of identity theft and shutting down the world's second-largest meat processing company for much of the day.

'Convert or die' game divides Christians  —  Some ask Wal-Mart to drop Left Behind  —  Liberal and progressive Christian groups say a new computer game in which players must either convert or kill non-Christians is the wrong gift to give this holiday season and that Wal-Mart …

KOFI TALK  —  [ed. note - found in a remodeling dumpster at 48th and FDR Drive: first draft of Kofi Annan's valediction]  —  Nearly 50 years ago, when I arrived in Minnesota as a student fresh from Africa, I had much to learn.  For example, the concept of "connecting flights," …

The Allende Myth, by Vladimir Dorta  —  My friend Val Dorta originally published this outstanding historical essay on his blog in 2003.  With the death of Augusto Pinochet, much attention is again being given to the Allende period, the military coup and the dictatorship that followed.

fidel castro Is Dead?  (Updated)  —  Been getting quite a bit of traffic via searches with "castro death" and "is castro dead" and "castro death rumors" the past couple of days so I thought I'd go ahead and clear that whole mess up right now.  —  Barring any unforeseen actions such as …

Nigeria considers same-sex marriage ban  —  LAGOS, Nigeria — Lawmakers in Nigeria are debating a bill that would ban same-sex marriage and any form of association among gays, even sharing a meal at a restaurant.  —  Few in Nigeria's deeply closeted gay community have publicly opposed the legislation …