Bank Data Sifted in Secret by U.S. to Block Terror  —  WASHINGTON, June 22 — Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking …

Peace deal offers Iraq insurgents an amnesty  —  From Ned Parker in Baghdad and Tom Baldwin  —  THE Iraqi Government will announce a sweeping peace plan as early as Sunday in a last-ditch effort to end the Sunni insurgency that has taken the country to the brink of civil war.

Senate Report Lists Lobbyist's Payments to Ex-Leader of Christian Coalition  —  WASHINGTON, June 22 — A bipartisan Senate report released on Thursday documented more than $5.3 million in payments to Ralph Reed, the former director of the Christian Coalition and a leading Republican Party strategist …

State of emergency declared in Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraqi government declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew Friday after insurgents set up roadblocks in central Baghdad and fired on U.S. and Iraqi troops outside the heavily fortified Green Zone.

Poll shows Muslims in Britain are the most anti-western in Europe  —  Public opinion in Britain is mostly favourable towards Muslims, but the feeling is not requited by British Muslims, who are among the most embittered in the western world, according to a global poll published yesterday.

Jon Stewart, Enemy of Democracy?  —  This is not funny: Jon Stewart and his hit Comedy Central cable show may be poisoning democracy.  —  Two political scientists found that young people who watch Stewart's faux news program, "The Daily Show," develop cynical views about politics and politicians …

BLOG THIS:  —  In response to Jason Zengerle's most recent post on The Plank—"Hope you're not tired of this Kos stuff"—no, I for one am definitely not tired of Zengerle's artful and honest exposure of someone who, more and more, seems to represent the purest, most classical strain of hypocrisy.

From Wake Up Call: St. Pete Times's Rove/Satan Story  — According to this St. Petersburg Times story, saved here for posterity, "Karl Rove said that he would be plotting the Republican Party's fall election strategy with his longtime comrade-in-arms, Satan."

President's Remarks to the People of Hungary  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.  Yo napote kivanok.  (Applause.)  Thank you for your warm welcome.  I first want to thank the President for his gracious hospitality and the chance to visit Sandor Palace.  It's a beautiful site, and I know you're proud of it.

Hillary and the Candlemakers: Not a Parody  —  One of the most famous documents in the history of free-trade literature is Bastiat's famous "Candlemakers' Petition."  In that parody, the French economist and parliamentarian imagined the makers of candles and street lamps petitioning …

General Reports Spike in Iranian Activity in Iraq  —  Iranian support for extremists inside Iraq has shown a "noticeable increase" this year, with Tehran's special forces providing weapons and bomb training to anti-U.S. groups, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said yesterday.

For Diehards, Search for Iraq's W.M.D. Isn't Over  —  WASHINGTON, June 22 — The United States government abandoned the search for unconventional weapons in Iraq long ago.  But Dave Gaubatz has never given up.  —  Mr. Gaubatz, an earnest, Arabic-speaking investigator who spent the first months …