Israel, Hamas, and moral idiocy  —  Much of the world's response is a false moral equivalence that simply encourages the terrorists.  —  Israel's decision to take military action against Hamas rocket attacks targeting its civilian population has been long in coming.

Cabinet rejects French proposal to hold 48-hour cease fire  —  The Security Cabinet on Wednesday rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour suspension of the IDF offensive against Hamas to allow Paris the opportunity to mediate a cease-fire, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the proposal …

Roland Burris Almost Certain To Be Seated, Legal Scholars Say  —  Rod Blagojevich's decision to appoint Roland Burris to Illinois' vacant Senate seat, even as the governor faces intense criminal scrutiny, is being treated as a crazy political power grab.  It also seems very likely to be permanent.

Moving Day for the Obamas  —  Even in a town where the hotels are swamped for the inauguration, it turns out to be easy to get a room if you're the one being inaugurated.  —  President-elect Barack Obama and his family will move to Washington this weekend in time for his daughters to start school, aides said Tuesday.

Pyrrhic Torture Trials  —  Should Bush administration officials be put on trial for crimes such as authorizing torture?  —  Personally, I'm just relieved to have this crowd heading out of office and its policies — on torture, on indefinite detention, on warrantless wiretapping …

Gonzales Defends Role in Antiterror Policies  —  WASHINGTON — Alberto Gonzales, who has kept a low profile since resigning as attorney general nearly 16 months ago, said he is writing a book to set the record straight about his controversial tenure as a senior official in the Bush administration.

Lobbyist Sues Times, Citing Report of McCain Ties  —  WASHINGTON — A Washington lobbyist sued The New York Times and several of its reporters and editors Tuesday, charging that the newspaper had falsely created an impression that she had engaged in an improper romantic relationship with Senator John McCain.

Influx of black renters raises tension in Bay Area  —  ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) - As more and more black renters began moving into this mostly white San Francisco Bay Area suburb a few years ago, neighbors started complaining about loud parties, mean pit bulls, blaring car radios, prostitution, drug dealing and muggings of schoolchildren.

Village Voice Lays Off Nat Hentoff and 2 Others  —  The troubled Village Voice laid off three employees Tuesday, including Nat Hentoff, the prominent columnist who has worked for the paper since 1958, contributing opinionated columns about jazz, civil liberties and politics.

For Kennedy, Self-Promotion Is Unfamiliar  —  In her bid to be appointed the next senator from New York, Caroline Kennedy has zigzagged across the state and talked with dozens of officials and community leaders.  She has aired views on topics from the Iraq war to the auto industry bailout and submitted to a round of press interviews.

Downgrades And Downfall  —  How could a single unit of AIG cause the giant company's near-ruin and become a fulcrum of the global financial crisis?  By straying from its own rules for managing risk and then failing to anticipate the consequences.  —  Third of three parts

For Some Culprits In Financial Meltdown, Life Is Still Pretty Good  —  This probably won't come as a surprise.  But some of the major culprits in the financial crash — former CEOs or top execs at banks whose billion-dollar losses helped precipitate the turmoil — don't seem to be paying …