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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

‘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.

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.

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 …

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” …

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 …

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 …

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 …

What The Tax Cut Extension Means for You  —  Unemployment Benefits Get Extended While President Obama Concedes on Tax Cuts for Everyone  —  When President Obama officially extended tax cuts enacted by his predecessor in a Rose Garden ceremony today, he ensured the average American will pay …

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 …

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.

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 …

Republicans embrace ObamaCare, call it Ryan-Rivlin  —  If you're looking for a description of the Ryan/Rivlin Medicare reforms that have gained so many admirers on the right, Matt Yglesias has a good write-up of the idea.  But I'd add another way of explaining the proposal: The Ryan-Rivlin plan basically turns Medicare into Obamacare.