DIXIE CHICKS PLAY NICE AT GRAMMYS  —  While waiting for Battlestar Galactica I've been watching some of the Grammys.  The Dixie Chicks won Song of the Year.  I see the voters needed a way to strike out at the Bush administration and conservative America.  Surprisingly none …

UPDATE: 'Wash Post' Joins 'NYT' in Trumpeting 'Anonymous' Claims on Iranian Weapons in Iraq  —  NEW YORK First it was Michael Gordon in The New York Times on Saturday.  Now The Washington Post and others media outlets have joined in suggesting a slam dunk case for Iranian weapons killing Americans in Iraq.

At least 90 killed on day marking Golden Mosque attack … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Three explosions ripped through central Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 90 people, amid memorials marking last year's attack on a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra, police said.

Iraq war debate shifts to the House  —  GOP lawmakers will be in a tough position as Democrats push a resolution that dissents from Bush's strategy.  —  WASHINGTON — As the House this week launches its first major debate over the Iraq war since the November elections …

Obama Plan Has a Critic in Australia  —  On his first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, found himself responding to an unexpected critic: John Howard, Australia's prime minister.  —  Mr. Howard, a conservative leader who is a close ally of the White House …

'America's mayor' praises Bush in state GOP speech  —  (02-11) 04:00 PST Sacramento — Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, arguing that America is in desperate need of a Ronald Reagan-style optimistic vision, told California Republicans on Saturday that he wants to be a president who will …

Cheney Testimony in Libby Trial Would Carry High Risk  —  One figure has dominated the trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr. without even showing up in the courtroom.  Day after day, the jury has heard accounts of the actions of Vice President Dick Cheney, watched as his handwritten notes were displayed …

Entrepreneurial Culture  —  Why European economies lag behind the U.S.  —  The nations of Continental Western Europe, in the reforms they make to try to raise their economic performance, may prove to be a testing ground for the view that culture matters for a society's economic results.

A menace to science  —  For years, 'Dr' Gillian McKeith has used her title to sell TV shows, diet books and herbal sex pills.  Now the Advertising Standards Authority has stepped in.  Yet the real problem is not what she calls herself, but the mumbo-jumbo she dresses up as scientific fact, says Ben Goldacre

Iran Softens Tone, Declares Readiness To Resume Talks  —  President and Top Negotiator Reject U.N. Call to Freeze Nuclear Program  —  Facing the prospect of broader international sanctions, Iran's president and national security chief on Sunday offered to resume negotiations …

Israel Bumbles Into War  —  Today Israel's leaders claim that Saudi Arabia is our new best friend.  The Wahhabis will protect us from Iran and its proxies they promise.  It's difficult to see how this view jibes with reality.  —  Indeed today, in a manner eerily reminiscent of last spring …