Believe it this time, buster  —  My friend Fred Kaplan can't bring himself to believe that the Cheney administration is, pick your adjective (sufficiently crazy, irresponsible, evil, uncaring about human life, happy to encourage terrorism against the United States, whatever) to launch a pre-emptive nuclear war against Iran.

Iran Hits Milestone in Nuclear Technology  —  Iran has successfully enriched uranium for the first time, a landmark in its quest to develop nuclear fuel, hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday.  He insisted, however, that his country does not aim to develop nuclear weapons.

Cheney booed loudly, throws out first pitch  —  Vice president throws out first pitch after visiting Mets, Nats locker rooms  —  WASHINGTON - Greeted with loud boos and some cheers, Vice President Dick Cheney threw out the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday at the Washington Nationals' home opener.

Mutually Assured Dementia  —  Maybe it's just me, but I've been at least a little bit surprised by the relatively muted reaction to the news that the Cheney Administration and its Pentagon underlings are racing to put the finishing touches on plans for attacking Iran - plans which may include …

Opposition Leader Claims Win in Italy  —  ROME, April 11 — After a long night of uncertainty, Romano Prodi today declared himself the winner of the Italian elections, though supporters of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the whisker-thin margin demanded a recount.

Rubber Stamp Republican Congress Video Goes Live  —  UPDATE: I'm pulling the video links up to the top so everyone can find them more easily:  —  **You can watch the video of our stamp delivery to Sen. Arlen Specter at Crooks and Liars and at PoliticsTV.  Our first Rubber Stamp Republican Congress stamp delivery went well.

Gingrich at USD: Pull out of Iraq (video)  —  Ex-House speaker says U.S. should scale back  —  VERMILLION - Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House, told students and faculty at the University of South Dakota Monday that the United States should pull out of Iraq and leave …

Death Toll Up to 40 in Pakistan Bombing  —  KARACHI, Pakistan - A bomb exploded during evening prayers at a park in this southern Pakistani city Tuesday, killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens.  An angry mob burned cars and threw stones at police, who fired into the air to disperse the crowd, a witness said.

The Two-Minute Haggadah  —  A Passover service for the impatient.  —  Opening prayers:  —  Thanks, God, for creating wine.  (Drink wine.)  —  Thanks for creating produce.  (Eat parsley.)  —  Overview: Once we were slaves in Egypt.  Now we're free.  That's why we're doing this.

In Iraq, brave troops and a noble cause  —  I have seen many incredible sights living and flying in Iraq the last two months.  Two things, the bravery of our soldiers and the importance of completing our mission and building a free Iraq, prompt me to write today.

Security lapse reveals secrets of Air Force One  —  Air Force One, the presidential jet, is a near-mythical symbol of US power, shrouded in so much secrecy that even foreign leaders invited on board are forbidden from seeing every corner.  But the aircraft just became rather less mysterious …

IRAQ: Doctors, NGOs warn of high infant mortality in Basra  —  BASRA, 11 April (IRIN) - As a result of water-borne diseases and a lack of medical supplies, infants born in the southern city of Basra are subject to abnormally high mortality rates, say officials of an international NGO devoted to child health issues.

The State of Brotherly Love: Will Chris Matthews plunge into the Pa. Senate race?  —  Blogs are good for many thing, but nothing better than spreading a political rumor.  And this morning, the uber-popular Huffington Post does just that in a most unusual way — with a headline and zero text backing it up.

Google and the Problem with al-Manar  —  UPDATE, 5:03 P.M.: I just learned that, in refusing to list a website called Alain's Newsletter as a Google News source, the Google team explained: "We've reviewed your site and cannot include it in Google News at this time.