How Petraeus Moved The Debate, Literally  —  How far has General David Petraeus moved the debate on Iraq?  His testimony on the surge, and the effects of the surge itself, has made it much more difficult for Democrats to argue for withdrawal and defeat.  In fact, at last night's debate …

Verizon Rejects Messages of Abortion Rights Group  —  Saying it had the right to block "controversial or unsavory" text messages, Verizon Wireless has rejected a request from Naral Pro-Choice America, the abortion rights group, to make Verizon's mobile network available for a text-message program.

Blackwater Tops All Firms in Iraq in Shooting Rate  —  The American security contractor Blackwater USA has been involved in a far higher rate of shootings while guarding American diplomats in Iraq than other security firms providing similar services to the State Department …

2 Patriot Act Provisions Ruled Unlawful  —  PORTLAND, Ore. — Two provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional because they allow search warrants to be issued without a showing of probable cause, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.  —  U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled …

Myanmar Forces Fire on Protesters  —  Government security forces in Myanmar cracked down for a second day today on nationwide protests, firing shots and tear gas, and raiding at least two Buddhist monasteries, where they beat and arrested dozens of monks, according to reports from the city of Yangon.

Gorbachev warns Russians against rise of Stalinism  —  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev warned Russians on Wednesday of the risk of a rebirth of Stalinism, saying their country was in danger of forgetting its tragic past.  —  "We should remember those who suffered …

Senate temporarily sidelines immigration legalization bill  —  Democrats vow to pass measure aiding 1 million youths  —  WASHINGTON — The prospects for immediate Senate action on the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants, disappeared Wednesday amid Republican opposition.

Scientists Feel Miscast in Film on Life's Origin  —  A few months ago, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins received an e-mail message from a producer at Rampant Films inviting him to be interviewed for a documentary called "Crossroads."  —  The film, with Ben Stein, the actor …

What are 'Hollywood values'?  —  If it's all about free love and hating America, how come there aren't many openly gay stars or pro-jihadi movies?  If it's all about the almighty dollar, how come Hollyweirdos disproportionately back the party that wants to tax them more?

The Era of Big Government  —  Bill Clinton, at the opening ceremony for his meeting, defined the purpose of the Clinton global initiative as to tackle problems that "government won't solve, or that government alone can't solve."  A worthy purpose, indeed, for a charity.

'A Coup Has Occurred'  —  September 26, 2007 (Text of a speech delivered September 20, 2007)  —  Below is an edited transcript of Ellsberg's remarkable speech:  —  I think nothing has higher priority than averting an attack on Iran, which I think will be accompanied by a further change …

Save Burma  —  BURMA' S BRAVE monks and the thousands of people who support them have been chanting a simple demand to the country's military rulers: dialogue.  Instead, the peaceful protesters in Rangoon were attacked yesterday with tear gas, water cannons and gunfire.

MUCH IS BEING MADE of the scoop by pro-Zapatero's daily El País, in Madrid, of the transcript of the memo of a conversation between Bush and Spain's former PM Aznar in Crawford in March 2003 as the Iraq war was about to start.  Editor and Publisher has a machine translation, which is quite atrocious.

Saudi Arabia: Friend Or Foe?  —  War On Terror: A new movie called "The Kingdom" shows Saudis fighting terrorism alongside FBI agents.  That's certainly what we'd like to see.  But like the flick, it's pure fiction.  —  Global War On Terror  —  There's new evidence the Saudis …

19,000 insurgents killed in Iraq since '03  —  More than 19,000 militants have been killed in fighting with coalition forces since the insurgency began more than four years ago, according to military statistics released for the first time.  —  The statistics show that 4,882 militants …