16, 273 Deaths Reported in Iraq in 2006  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — As enraged crowds protested the hanging of Saddam Hussein across Iraq's Sunni heartland Monday, government officials reported that 16,273 Iraqi civilians, soldiers and police died violent deaths in 2006, a figure larger …

The Brilliant 20 of 2006  —  I'm a bit perturbed that the only woman on this list is behind the scenes of a nascent radio network.  It isn't that there weren't accomplished women out there, but when I had to narrow down the list to those people whom I thought really accomplished something this year.

'Israel-Palestinian conflict key to Mideast problems'  —  Ban Ki-Moon, the new secretary-general of the United Nations, said on Monday that the Israeli-Palestinian issue was at the core of solving all the problems in the Middle East.  —  In an interview with the South Korean Hankyoreh newspaper …

Generation of Thugs  —  In response to Paul Krugman's op-ed piece in the NYT on our busted health care system, Matt Stoller has a compelling post entitled "Universal Health Care Run By Psychotics," which I would retitle "Universal Health Care Run by Hoodlums."

The AP Changing It's Ways?  —  Here we go again with the AP.  Coalition forces had a firefight today in Baghdad in which they killed six of the enemy.  During the fight two buildings caught fire: … But the AP, using a "anonymous" police source now (cough), print how the police say it was a airstrike:

Somali troops capture Islamic stronghold  —  KISMAYO, Somalia - Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and fighter jets captured the last major stronghold of a militant Islamic movement Monday, while hundreds of Islamic fighters — many of them Arabs and South Asians — fled the town.

Hello, Grisham — So Long, Hemingway?  —  With Shelf Space Prized, Fairfax Libraries Cull Collections  —  You can't find "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" at the Fairfax City Regional Library anymore.  Or "The Education of Henry Adams" at Sherwood Regional.  Want Emily Dickinson's "Final Harvest"?

Rose Parade Features 'Star Wars' Tribute  —  Nature's grandeur was on full display at the 118th Rose Parade on Monday, featuring a bounty of floral creations that included a fire- breathing dragon protecting a castle, hummingbirds hovering over blossoms and a frog trying to lap up some water.

Chief Justice Advocates Higher Pay for Judiciary  —  WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. made judicial pay the sole topic of his second annual report, issued on Sunday, declaring that the failure by Congress to raise federal judges' salaries in recent years has become a …

Middle Stance Emerges in Debate Over Climate  —  Amid the shouting lately about whether global warming is a human-caused catastrophe or a hoax, some usually staid climate scientists in the usually invisible middle are speaking up.  —  The discourse over the issue has been feverish since Hurricane Katrina.

In Silicon Valley, the Race Is On to Trump Google  —  SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 29 — In brand-new offices with a still-empty game room and enough space to triple their staff of nearly 30, a trio of entrepreneurs is leading an Internet start-up with an improbable mission: to out- Google Google.

Labelling cheese as junk food 'unfair'  —  New advertising rules that will officially label cheese as "junk food" were condemned yesterday by the dairy industry as unfair, misleading and counter-productive.  —  Under regulations coming into force this month, broadcasters will be banned …