ONE LAST PUSH....Guess what?  Our commanders on the ground have met with their superiors and decided that we do need more troops in Iraq after all.  They're now backing the "surge" plan: … So we're not quite sure what we're going to do with them, but after meeting with the new SecDef we're suddenly quite sure we need them.

Man sets self aflame in Calif. protest  —  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.

U.N. unanimously approves Iran sanctions  —  Tehran immediately rejects Security Council resolution on nuke activity  —  UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to impose economic sanctions on Iran for refusing to end a uranium enrichment program that the United States …

Islamic Group Has Mastered Victimization Game, Critic Says  —  (CNSNews.com) - The Republican lawmaker who sparked a storm with comments about Muslims and the need to tighten immigration laws is the latest target of an Islamic advocacy group's "victimization game," a political analyst said Thursday.

Bold Prediction - Duke Case To Be Dropped On/By Feb 5  —  Having read through the NY Times account of their interview with DA Mike Nifong, I Boldly predict that Mr. Nifong is planning to drop the remaining charges against the Duke Three at the Feb 5 hearing, or before.  Here is the key excerpt:

How Free Trade Hurts  —  Fewer and fewer Americans support our government's trade policy.  They see a shrinking middle class, lost jobs and exploding trade deficits.  —  Yet supporters of free trade continue to push for more of the same — more job-killing trade agreements …

Shiite Cleric Won't Support Coalition  —  Iraq's Most Revered Shiite Cleric Withholds Support for Plan to Construct Broad Coalition  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq Dec 23, 2006 (AP)— Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric withheld support Saturday for a U.S.-backed plan to build a coalition across sectarian lines …

When Resolve Turns Reckless  —  There's something much worse than being accused of "flip-flopping": refusing to flip when it's obvious that your course of action is a flop.  —  I say this to President Bush as someone who learned the hard way how embracing the world's complexity can be twisted into a crude political shorthand.

Christians suffer for Iraq, says archbishop  —  Christians in the Middle East are being put at unprecedented risk by the Government's "shortsighted" and "ignorant" policy in Iraq, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, says today.  —  In an extraordinary attack …

Wars of the Worlds  —  When an emerging science-fiction writer's work earns him comparisons to Robert A. Heinlein, should he take them as a compliment?  Don't misunderstand me: I have no reason to doubt that the old master's classic novels "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" …

Che Guevara CD case pulled from shelves  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Target Corp said on Friday it had pulled a CD carrying case bearing Ernesto "Che" Guevara's image after an outcry by critics who label the Marxist revolutionary a murderer and totalitarian symbol.

Independent Appeal: 'What would happen if the Virgin Mary came to Bethlehem today?'  —  Johann Hari on the plight of pregnant women in the West Bank, where babies are dying needlessly  —  In two days, a third of humanity will gather to celebrate the birth pains of a Palestinian refugee in Bethlehem …

THE MULLAHS AT WAR  —  Yesterday Michael Ledeen posted another installment of his continuing comments on the Iranian war against the West in general and the United States in particular: "The mask comes off the mullahs. … This installment is based on Con Coughlin's Telegraph column: "War on two fronts in Afghanistan."