'A Different Understanding With the President' … Just past the Oval Office, in the private dining room overlooking the South Lawn, Vice President Cheney joined President Bush at a round parquet table they shared once a week.  Cheney brought a four-page text, written in strict secrecy by his lawyer.

The Only Way  —  A little Instapundit post like this one can cause such a reaction from my little blog bitch Olliver Willis and Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly......is......there must be some truth to it.  Stuff just doesn't get that kind of reaction unless you feel guilty about err something …

Iran Cracks Down on Dissent, Parading Examples in Streets  —  Iran is in the throes of one of its most ferocious crackdowns on dissent in years, with the government focusing on labor leaders, universities, the press, women's rights advocates, a former nuclear negotiator and Iranian-Americans …

A Tale of Two Hedge Funds  —  We begin to get some backstory on the Great Bear Hedge Fund Meltdown of 2007, courtesy of the New York Times.  The leitmotif, which I prophesy will become the Unshakable Story That Everyone Will Stick To, is that this is all directly and apparently unproblematically related to subprime mortgage loans:

My Time as a Hostage, and I'm a Business Reporter  —  AS an American journalist based in China, I knew there was a good chance that at some point I'd be detained for pursuing a story.  I just never thought I'd be held hostage by a toy factory.  —  That's what happened last Monday …

HuffPost Exclusive: More Lobbyists On McCain Staff Than Any Other 08 Candidate  —  John McCain, who made his name attacking special interests, has more lobbyists working on his staff or as advisers than any of his competitors, Republican or Democrat.  —  A Huffington Post examination …

Judge criticizes warrantless wiretaps  —  WASHINGTON - A federal judge who used to authorize wiretaps in terrorist and espionage cases criticized President Bush's decision to order warrantless surveillance after the Sept. 11 attacks.  —  Royce Lamberth, a district court judge in Washington …

Obama says some have 'hijacked' faith  —  HARTFORD, Conn. - Sen. Barack Obama told a church convention Saturday that some right-wing evangelical leaders have exploited and politicized religious beliefs in an effort to sow division.  —  "Somehow, somewhere along the way …

Romney objects to campaign attacks  —  SALT LAKE CITY - Mitt Romney said Saturday that criticism of his Mormon religion by rival GOP presidential campaigns is happening too frequently.  —  "Clearly, any derogatory comments about anyone's faith — those comments are troubling.

Where is the West's outcry?  —  FOR a writer, Salman Rushdie has had a rather turbulent career.  —  Even by his standards, however, this has been quite a week for the Indian-born, British-educated Booker Prize-winning novelist, now a resident of New York:  —  Queen Elizabeth II knighted …