Iran Curtails Freedom In Throwback to 1979  —  Iran is in the midst of a sweeping crackdown that both Iranians and U.S. analysts compare to a cultural revolution in its attempt to steer the oil-rich theocracy back to the rigid strictures of the 1979 revolution.

Nifong Trial, Day Four  —  Highlights from Day Four of the Nifong trial: … Yesterday's hearing featured a teary-eyed Nifong reading into the record a resignation statement.  He was proud of his son, the disgraced DA stated, and hoped that his son was equally proud of him.

Timmeh  —  Could The Nation team up with Air America and offer to sponsor a Republican debate please?  We'll even let Lionel be involved.  —  Though, this bit of punditing from the patron saint of  —  Buffalo was even better:

Inside the Ring  —  China arming terrorists  —  New intelligence reveals China is covertly supplying large quantities of small arms and weapons to insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban militia in Afghanistan, through Iran.  —  U.S. government appeals to China to check some of the arms shipments …

Iraq Contractors Face Growing Parallel War  —  As Security Work Increases, So Do Casualties  —  BAGHDAD — Private security companies, funded by billions of dollars in U.S. military and State Department contracts, are fighting insurgents on a widening scale in Iraq, enduring daily attacks …

'Hamas was forced to take over Gaza'  —  Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Mashaal said Friday evening that Hamas recognizes Mahmoud Abbas as the head of the Palestinian Authority, and that his group wants to cooperate with him for the sake of the Palestinian people.

Another Justice Dept. Official Resigns  —  Another Justice Department official involved in last year's dismissals of federal prosecutors is resigning, department officials said on Friday.  —  In this case, the departure of Michael J. Elston, chief of staff to the outgoing deputy attorney general …

An Also-Ran in the GOP Polls, Ron Paul Is Huge on the Web  —  On Technorati, which offers a real-time glimpse of the blogosphere, the most frequently searched term this week was "YouTube."  —  Then comes "Ron Paul."  —  The presence of the obscure Republican congressman from Texas on a list …

Conservative bloggers revolt over immigration … WASHINGTON (CNN) — Different conservative blogs have different pet issues — government transparency, federal judges, Fred Thompson, to name a few.  —  But no issue in recent memory has united conservative bloggers like the debate over immigration.

The Saturday Cartoons  —  We have an added treat today: Another animation from our friend, Nick Anderson.  This time, Nick gives us a fun game to play called Bush Administration Missile Defense and it's a takeoff on the old arcade game.  It's certainly a challenge to make this defense system work — give it a try.

Guest Voice: Obama's (and America's) Generation Problem  —  NOTE: The Moderate Voice runs Guest Voice posts from time to time by readers who don't have their own websites, or people who have websites but would like to post something for TMV's diverse and thoughtful readership.

Mental Illness In The Military On The Rise  —  Troops Returning From Iraq And Afghanistan Tours With Post-Traumatic Stress  —  (CBS) Mental health disorders are snowballing as more and more soldiers and Marines are sent back for repeat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

Contingency?  Irony?  Solidarity!  —  Young Ezra observes that "One could easily imagine a left win that's closer to the Dobbsian/Christian Democrat compromise of social conservatism with economic progressivism."  And, as he says, it's easy to imagine a situation in which politics takes place …

The Upward Moving Middle Class  —  Everybody else may know this, but each time I reflect upon these Census Bureau numbers (2006), they surprise me.  Anyone who has an annual household income above $92,000 is in the top quintile of the population—with all the other "rich."

Ah-nuld holds forth on the dangers of knowing Spanish  —  I know the Governator didn't quite mean to encourage the idea that knowing two languages somehow makes you stupider than knowing one, but that's the impression he left with his speech before a convention of Hispanic journalists.

Instahoglets June 15th 2007  —  Something for the weekend?  —  Another one bites the dust.  The fifth one.  For something that the White House and its cheerleading squad have described as a non-scandal brewed up for purely political purposes, there's been an awful lot of DoJ people bailing out because of Attorney-Gate.