Hussein Video Grips Iraq; Attacks Go On  —  Saddam Hussein never bowed his head, until his neck snapped.  —  His last words were equally defiant.  —  "Down with the traitors, the Americans, the spies and the Persians."  —  The former ruler of Iraq's final hour began about 5 a.m. …

THE 10 MOST OUTRAGEOUS CIVIL LIBERTIES VIOLATIONS OF 2006.  —  I love those year-end roundups—ubiquitous annual lists of greatest films and albums and lip glosses and tractors.  It's reassuring that all human information can be wrestled into bundles of 10.

Down on the war  —  Poll: More troops unhappy with Bush's course in Iraq  —  The American military — once a staunch supporter of President Bush and the Iraq war — has grown in creasingly pessimistic about chances for victory.  —  For the first time, more troops disapprove of the president's han dling of the war than approve of it.

Hunt for Al-Qaeda men in Mogadishu  —  SOMALIA's prime minister has asked clan elders in Mogadishu to surrender Al-Qaeda suspects who are believed to be sheltering in the city after his forces, with Ethiopian military support, drove out Islamic militias which controlled the capital.

Huge ice shelf breaks free in Canada's far north  —  Source: Reuters  —  CALGARY, Alberta, Dec 29 (Reuters) - A chunk of ice bigger than the area of Manhattan broke from an ice shelf in Canada's far north and could wreak havoc if it starts to float westward toward oil-drilling regions …

Ford's Long Shadow  —  An unlikely president, Gerald Ford steadied America and, in an unpublished interview, mused about her fate.  —  Vice President Gerald Ford and wife Betty escort First Lady Pat Nixon and President Richard Nixon across the South Lawn to Marine 1 following Nixon's farewell statement on Aug. 9, 1974.

While You Were at War . . .  In every administration, there are usually only about a dozen barons who can really initiate and manage meaningful changes in national security policy.  For most of 2006, some of these critical slots in the Bush administration have been vacant …

U.S. Official Overseeing Oil Program Faces Inquiry  —  The Justice Department is investigating whether the director of a multibillion-dollar oil-trading program at the Interior Department has been paid as a consultant for oil companies hoping for contracts.  —  The director of the program …

ROCK OF AGES, AGES OF ROCKS.... An interesting controversy at the Grand Canyon has been percolating for three years now, and the issue, unfortunately, remains unresolved.  —  First, a little background.  In August 2003, the National Park Service approved a creationist text, "Grand Canyon …

CAR BOMB explodes in Madrid airport following a phone warning; it has the hallmark of ETA all over the place.  —  Spanish media reports there were two people slightly injured; the car blew off 30 minutes before the time the called announced it would.  Again, this is the modus operandi of ETA …

Celebrating Justice...  Saddam drew his path to hell long time ago...he chose this fate the day he chose cruelty and oppression as a way to deal with his people.  He built his reign with blood and terror and vowed to make death the fate of anyone who dared say no to him.