MY EARLIER POST ON GLOBAL WARMING AND THE NEED FOR A BAN ON PRIVATE JETS led one reader to ask me for some constructive thoughts, as opposed to snark.  Fair enough, though if things are as bad as they say, a ban on private jets would be constructive, no?  Or, if not, it's probably …

At Least 130 Die as Blast Levels Baghdad Market  —  A mammoth truck bomb obliterated a popular central Baghdad market on Saturday, ripping through scores of shops and flattening apartment buildings, killing at least 130 people and wounding more than 300 in the worst of a series of horrific attacks against Shiites in recent weeks.

A FAN OBAMA DOESN'T NEED  —  SEN. Barack Obama might want to tell George Soros to shut up, now that the Hungarian-born billionaire has equated the George W. Bush administration with the Third Reich.  Soros, who spent $26 million trying to beat Bush two years ago, is a key supporter …

At Democrats' Meeting, Bush Appeals for Cooperation  —  President Bush, forced by circumstance to reach out to some of his strongest adversaries, appealed directly to House Democrats on Saturday to work with him to reform the immigration system, limit the cost of Social Security …

In Washington, Contractors Take on Biggest Role Ever  —  In June, short of people to process cases of incompetence and fraud by federal contractors, officials at the General Services Administration responded with what has become the government's reflexive answer to almost every problem.

The Operator  —  I was standing there having a casual conversation with King Juan Carlos, my occasional hunting partner, when we were joined by Blair and his charming, outspoken wife, Cherie, and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi," Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee …

Where Congress Can Draw the Line  —  D eciding what to do next about Iraq is hard — on the merits, and in the politics.  It's hard on the merits because whatever comes next, from "surge" to "get out now" and everything in between, will involve suffering, misery, and dishonor.

New McCain Team Made Attack Ads He Once Faulted  —  Senator John McCain, intent on succeeding where his freewheeling presidential campaign of 2000 failed, is assembling a team of political bruisers for 2008.  And it includes advisers who once sought to skewer him and whose work he has criticized as stepping over the line in the past.

Candidates Pick Tunes at DNC Meeting  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Everyone needs a soundtrack - even politicians.  —  The presidential candidates who addressed the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting Friday got to choose their tunes, and it was an eclectic mix that reflected personal favorites and not-so-subtle messages.

How to become a leading Democrat's blogmaster  —  Amanda Marcotte: A bleepin' embarrassment  —  Last week, far left-wing blogger Amanda Marcotte began her stint as Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards' "blogmaster:" … The question is: How long will the Edwards campaign want the …

Muslim unrest as police carry out new raids  —  Police raided three more addresses in Birmingham yesterday as they continued to question nine men over their involvement in the alleged plot to kidnap and behead a serving British Muslim soldier.  —  No further arrests were made but West Midlands Police …

Iraq's Shadow Widens Sunni-Shiite Split in U.S.  —  DEARBORN, Mich. — Twice recently, vandals have shattered windows at three mosques and a dozen businesses popular among Shiite Muslims along Warren Avenue, the spine of the Arab community here.  —  Although the police have arrested no one …

Deadly Bird Flu Virus Found in Britain  —  LONDON — Officials confirmed Saturday that the H5N1 strain of bird flu had been found in turkeys on a commercial farm _ Britain's first mass outbreak of the disease that has ravaged Asia's poultry stocks and killed more than 160 people worldwide.

EDWARDS AND IRAN....Here is John Edwards two weeks ago, speaking about Iran to the Herzliya Conference in Israel: … Italics mine.  And I'm left wondering: I don't think the American people have any real problem with economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure against Iran.

Top secret army cell breaks terrorists  —  Deep inside the heart of the "Green Zone", the heavily fortified administrative compound in Baghdad, lies one of the most carefully guarded secrets of the war in Iraq.  It is a cell from a small and anonymous British Army unit that goes …