Lieberman may back Republican in '08 race  —  HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent who supports Democrats in Congress despite his backing of the Iraq war, said on Thursday he was not ruling out endorsing a Republican in the White House race.

DOUBLE STANDARDS WATCH:  —  Alan Dershowitz has a regular column in the Jerusalem Post called "Double Standard Watch."  But double standards are not only evident in arguments about the ongoing disputes between the Israelis and Palestinians and among the Arabs.

Bombing plots 'were carried out with bin Laden's blessing'  —  Deborah Haynes in Baghdad, Jeremy Page in Delhi and Martin Fletcher  —  The London and Glasgow bomb plots were carried out with the approval of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, a top foreign intelligence source said last night.

Stop Wexler's Censure Wrist-slap  —  Robert Wexler is a great Congressman - and one of my heroes from his outstanding efforts to count every vote in Palm Beach in 2000 - but this is a terrible move: … In other words, this is barely a slap on the wrist.  It's more like the sound of one hand clapping.

The tragic collapse of America's standing in the world  —  (updated below)  —  One of the very few arguments one can make which will prompt virtually identical objections from both standard right-wing neoconservative fanatics as well as a small, unrepresentative cluster on the Left concerns …

More Rimbaud and less Rambo, critics tell sweaty jogger Sarkozy  —  Read Charles Bremner's weblog  —  President Sarkozy has fallen foul of intellectuals and critics who see his passion for jogging as un-French, right-wing and even a ploy to brainwash his citizens.

Cool Reception for Conservative Radio  —  Many Popular Talk Shows Find Washington Just Isn't Listening  —  After conservative radio pundits encouraged opposition last month to the immigration bill that was before the Senate, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) was moved to declare, "Talk radio is running America."

De Villepin likely to face conspiracy charges  —  Police searched the home of Dominique de Villepin, the former French Prime Minister, yesterday as judges appeared close to charging him with conspiring to implicate Nicolas Sarkozy, now the President, in a corruption scandal.

'Supporting the troops' means withdrawing them  —  Gen. William Odom writes that opponents of the war should focus public attention on the fact that Bush's obstinate refusal to admit defeat is causing the troops enormous psychological as well as physical harm.

Iran's Proxy War  —  Tehran is on the offensive against us throughout the Middle East.  Will Congress respond?  —  Earlier this week, the U.S. military made public new and disturbing information about the proxy war that Iran is waging against American soldiers and our allies in Iraq.

China blames social unrest on pollution  —  The head of China's environmental agency has blamed the rising number of riots, demonstrations and petitions across the country on public anger at pollution.  —  Echoing the language of the Cultural Revolution, Zhou Shengxian called for a "struggle" …

Clinton Signs Gephardt as Key Adviser  —  Collapse of Support Seen for Free Trade  —  Signaling the collapse of support for free trade in the Democratic Party, Senator Clinton's presidential campaign has signed up as an economic adviser a former House leader who staunchly opposed major trade deals, Richard Gephardt of Missouri.

Will NBC ask Todd about prediction that Bush approval would top 50 percent by July 4?  —  Before the November 2006 midterm elections, NBC News political director Chuck Todd predicted several times that if the Democrats won "control of Congress" and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) became speaker of the House …