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:

Power-Sipping Bulbs Get Backing From Wal-Mart  —  As a way to cut energy use, it could not be simpler.  Unscrew a light bulb that uses a lot of electricity and replace it with one that uses much less.  —  While it sounds like a promising idea, it turns out that the long-lasting …

Hard Choices Over Video of Execution  —  Confronted with a second, unofficial and more graphic video account of the moments leading up to the execution of Saddam Hussein, and the hanging itself, executives at television news organizations made a series of what one executive …

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"?

Democrats To Start Without GOP Input  —  As they prepare to take control of Congress this week and face up to campaign pledges to restore bipartisanship and openness, Democrats are planning to largely sideline Republicans from the first burst of lawmaking.  —  House Democrats intend to pass …

Muslims shout at Jesus' home: 'Islam will dominate the world'  —  March through town of Nazareth 'meant to intimidate Christians'  —  NAZARETH - Islamic groups held a large militant march down the main streets of Nazareth this weekend, highlighting for some here the plight of Christians …

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.

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 …

Chaos Overran Iraq Plan in '06, Bush Team Says  —  WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 — President Bush began 2006 assuring the country that he had a "strategy for victory in Iraq."  He ended the year closeted with his war cabinet on his ranch trying to devise a new strategy, because the existing one had collapsed.

The Eid Festival Around The World - Graphic Photos  —  The beauty of the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival as it is celebrated around the world:  —  Of course people have to eat.  —  But maybe the celebration of this and similarly grisly rituals feeds their blood-thirstiness.

From Father to Son, Last Words to Live By  —  He drew pictures of himself with angel wings.  He left a set of his dog tags on a nightstand in my Manhattan apartment.  He bought a tiny blue sweat suit for our baby to wear home from the hospital.  —  Then he began to write what would become …