Al-Qaeda tells British cells to carry out wave of beheadings  —  ISLAMIC terror cells in Britain have been instructed to carry out a series of kidnappings and beheadings of the kind allegedly planned by the nine terrorist suspects arrested in Birmingham last week.

Iranian nuclear scientist 'assassinated by Mossad'  —  A PRIZE-WINNING Iranian nuclear scientist has died in mysterious circumstances, according to Radio Farda, which is funded by the US State Department and broadcasts to Iran.  —  An intelligence source suggested that Ardeshire Hassanpour …

Iceland fears bears that go with the floe  —  The oceans may be warming and air temperatures rising, but in recent days Iceland has bucked the global climate trend.  —  Thick pack ice, the like of which has not been seen for decades, stretched into the western fjords as temperatures plummeted and a bitter wind blew in from -Greenland.

A Fourth Branch?  —  We have all discussed the unprecedented power of Dick Cheney in this administration ad nauseum, but this post from David Kurtz at TPM introduced a whole new element I hadn't been aware of.  —  I assumed that Cheney believed the power of the Vice President (such as it is) derived from the executive branch.

McCain Flip-Flops In 47 Seconds: Claims Success Is Not Realistic In 'A Few Months,' Then Says It Is  —  On ABC's This Week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said it is unrealistic to expect the escalation strategy to change the situation in Iraq in "a few months":

Kristol: Iraq Chaos Shows That Insurgents Are 'Worried,' Recent News Is 'Slightly Optimistic'  —  Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said on Fox News this morning that the recent surge in Iraqi violence is a sign that the extremists are "worried."  Kristol said, "If I were a Sunni extremist and was worried …

Arkin Was Right - We Do Have a Mercenary Army and They Do Owe Us!  —  All hell has broken loose on the right wing Milblogs concerning an article William Arkin wrote at the Washington Post.  In this article, Arkin dared to cross the line and say that the Military is out of line when it criticizes …

What's so hot about fickle science?  —  From the "Environmental News Network": "Science Is Solid on Climate Change, Congress Told."  "The science is solid," says Louise Frechette, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations.  —  "The science is solid," says Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Michael Yon from Camp Victory  —  Michael Yon is back in Iraq, where he's been for over a month now.  We caught up to him via satellite phone this afternoon and got his views on the surge (it will be "unlike anything we've seen before"), the status of Iraqi security forces …

The Trouble With Contracting  —  The trouble with government work, as opposed to the private sector is that there's a lack of efficiency.  It's important to understand, however, that there's nothing intrinsically efficient about private sector work.  No magical "it's the free market" …

Irresolution  —  The Congressional Democrats' misstep.  —  Giddy with joy at their sudden good fortune, the Democrats have set out to embarrass the president, pushing resolutions of less-than-no-confidence, clubbing his Iraq surge plan as it lies in its cradle, and declaring defeat in advance.

When life without parole is worse than death  —  Analysis finds more than 100 murderers who might one day go free would face certainty of dying in prison  —  When a state commission recommended last month that New Jersey abolish the death penalty in favor of life imprisonment without parole …

No I-Told-You-Sos  —  Opponents of the Iraq War Voice Pain, Not Vindication, At Predictions They Could Only Hope Would Be Wrong  —  Sweet vindication.  Who wouldn't want it?  To be right.  To be free of criticism and upheld by evidence, by actual proof, that one's predictions about a controversial war were correct.