A Continent Adrift  —  I'm concerned about Europe.  Actually, I'm concerned about the whole world — there are no safe havens from the global economic storm.  But the situation in Europe worries me even more than the situation in America.  —  Just to be clear, I'm not about to rehash …

Bracing for a Bailout Backlash  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is increasingly concerned about a populist backlash against banks and Wall Street, worried that anger at financial institutions could also end up being directed at Congress and the White House and could complicate President Obama's agenda.

To Urge Passage of Budget, Obama E-Mails His Campaign Army  —  President Obama will kick off an all-out grass-roots effort today urging Congress to pass his $3.55 trillion budget, activating the extensive campaign apparatus he built during his successful 2008 candidacy for the first time since taking office.

Greatest threat to Obama spending plan?  Moderate Dems  —  WASHINGTON — Government spending on most domestic programs is growing at its fastest pace in nearly 30 years, and a lot of worried Democrats are seeking ways to rewrite and reduce the size of President Barack Obama's budget proposals.

RON SILVER DEAD  —  SUCCUMBS TO CANCER AT AGE 62  —  Actor and longtime political activist Ron Silver died Sunday morning, succumbing to a long battle with cancer, friends of the liberal Democrat-turned-GOP stalwart told The Post.  —  “Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around …

U.S. to Toughen Finance Rules  —  The Obama administration, moving with increasing speed, has inked the main contours of its plan to revamp financial-market oversight — changes that will ripple through the economy, affecting everything from the operations of international banks to consumer protection.

My imam father came after me with an axe  —  Hannah Shah had been raped by her father and faced a forced marriage.  She fled, became a Christian and now fears for her life  —  We are all too familiar with the persecution of Christians in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Dramatic Advances Sweep Iraq, Boosting Support for Democracy  —  ABC News/BBC/NHK National Survey of Iraq  —  Dramatic advances in public attitudes are sweeping Iraq, with declining violence, rising economic well-being and improved services lifting optimism, fueling confidence in public institutions …

A.I.G. Lists the Banks to Which It Paid Rescue Funds  —  Amid rising pressure from Congress and taxpayers, the American International Group on Sunday released the names of dozens of financial institutions that benefited from the Federal Reserve's decision last fall to save the giant insurer from collapse with a huge rescue loan.

Thousands of girls mutilated in Britain  —  The NHS is offering to reverse female circumcision amid concerns that there are 500 victims a year with no prosecutions  —  The NHS is to advertise free operations to reverse female circumcisions, with experts warning that each year more than 500 British girls have their genitals mutilated.

Cheney, Bush Strongly Disagreed on Libby  —  Former vice president Richard B. Cheney said yesterday that he strongly disagreed with President Bush's decision not to pardon I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, saying his former chief of staff had been left “hanging in the wind.”

Red Cross Described ‘Torture’ at CIA Jails  —  Secret Report Implies That U.S. Violated International Law  —  The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al-Qaeda captives “constituted torture,” a finding that strongly implied …

Poll: Unemployment is Americans' top concern  —  CNN Deputy Political Director  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national poll indicates that worries about unemployment have tripled over the past year.  —  Thirty-six percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Monday morning …

Frayed Thread in a Free Society  —  BOSTON — The biggest challenge facing America's struggling newspaper industry may not be the high cost of newsprint or lost ad revenue, but ignorance stoked by drive-by punditry.  —  Yes, Dittoheads, you heard it right.

A Counterinsurgency Primer  —  From The Wall Street Journal Asia  —  Almost everyone, even if otherwise ignorant of military affairs, has heard of Karl von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu.  Very few people, though, have heard of C.E. Callwell, David Galula or Robert Thompson.

Obama's No Socialist.  I Should Know.  —  It took a massive global financial crisis, a failed military adventure and a popular repudiation of the Republican Party to make my national television debut possible.  After 15 years of socialist political organizing — everything from licking envelopes …