WikiLeaks: Cuba banned Sicko for depicting ‘mythical’ healthcare system  —  Authorities feared footage of gleaming hospital in Michael Moore's Oscar-nominated film would provoke a popular backlash  —  Cuba banned Michael Moore's 2007 documentary, Sicko, because it painted such a “mythically” …

GOP Senator to Dems: If you try to pass DADT, Republicans won't pass START  —  UPDATE, 4:11 p.m.: In an interview with me just now, Senator Bob Corker doubled down on his contention that if Dems move on DADT, Republicans will be less likely to support START.

‘MCWEASEL’ BLASTS 9/11 HEALTH BILL.... It's not enough for Senate Republicans to block a vote on the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.  Now, members like John McCain (R-Ariz.) are condemning Democratic efforts to even try to pass the bill. … Let's unpack this a bit, because I think it's important.

Newly Built Ghost Towns Haunt Banks in Spain  —  YEBES, Spain — It is a measure of Spain's giddy construction excesses that 250 row houses carpet a hill near this tiny rural village about an hour by car outside of Madrid.  —  Most of these units have never sold, and though they were finished …

Richardson presents proposals to North Korea aimed at easing crisis  —  Pyongyang, North Korea (CNN) — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson provided North Korea with a series of proposals Saturday in what he described as a “good meeting” with the country's chief nuclear negotiator …

10 days in Sweden: the full allegations against Julian Assange  —  Unseen police documents provide the first complete account of the allegations against the WikiLeaks founder  —  Documents seen by the Guardian reveal for the first time the full details of the allegations of rape and sexual assault …

Lame-duck sessions supposed to be a thing of the past, historians say  —  Here's the funny thing about this month's lame-duck session of Congress, in which frantic lawmakers have pinballed from tax cuts to “don't ask, don't tell” to a nuclear weapons treaty:  —  It's not supposed to exist.

John Bolton eyes 2012 presidential run  —  No, it's not just an attention-getting stunt.  John Bolton is seriously considering running for president.  —  Bolton, the fiery, archconservative former United Nations ambassador, sees an opening in the 2012 Republican field.

Captain Beefheart, a.k.a. Don Van Vliet, dies at 69  —  Avant-garde rock legend and visual artist Don Van Vliet, who performed under the name Captain Beefheart, passed away today at age 69.  A representative of New York City's Michael Werner Gallery, which showed his paintings, confirms the sad news to EW.

Study: Some Viewers Were Misinformed by TV News  —  News organizations can educate voters about public policy and economic conditions, but they can also misinform voters.  As if to prove the point, a study released Friday found that “substantial levels of misinformation” …

House Republicans Block Child Marriage Prevention Act  —  What's Your Reaction: … WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the House took up the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2010.  The bill would ensure that child marriage is recognized as a human rights violation …

Explaining the Crisis With Dogma  —  What was that about?  —  I'm talking about that odd 13-page “report” issued on Wednesday by the four Republican members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.  The F.C.I.C., of course, is the 10-member, supposedly bipartisan panel that was created …

Conservatives Continue to Outnumber Moderates in 2010  —  Long term, Republicans growing more conservative, Democrats more liberal  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The political composition of U.S. adults held fairly steady in 2010 compared with 2009.  Conservatives remained the largest group, followed by moderates and then liberals.

Make Julian Assange irrelevant  —  Julian Assange was insufferable as he left a London courthouse Thursday.  —  “During my time in solitary confinement in the bottom of a Victorian prison, I had time to reflect on the conditions of those people around the world also in solitary confinement …

Napolitano Says DHS to Begin Battling Climate Change as Homeland Security Issue  —  (CNSNews.com) — At an all-day White House conference on “environmental justice,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that her department is creating a new task force to battle the effects …

House GOP: Bills will have to cite Constitution  —  Fulfilling one of their most prominent campaign promises, House Republican leaders have unveiled a new rule to require that each bill filed in the House “cite its specific constitutional authority.”  —  And for those who may have skipped …

CIA chief identified in drone trial  —  Jonathan Banks, station chief In Islamabad, back in US after calls for him to be charged with murder over drone attack  —  The CIA has pulled its station chief from Islamabad, one of America's most important spy posts, after his cover was blown …