• Bush, GOP rebels reach tribunal deal  —  President urges Congress to pass bill on interrogating terror suspects  —  WASHINGTON - The White House and rebellious Senate Republicans announced agreement Thursday on rules for the interrogation and trial of suspects in the war on terror.

Leading Bush critic at home calls Chavez a "thug"  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of President George W. Bush's fiercest political opponents at home took his side on Thursday, calling Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a "thug" for his remark that Bush is like the devil.

PICTURE IDs....Stephen Bainbridge is unhappy over Democratic opposition to voter ID requirements: … But guess what?  Outside of Westwood lots of people don't do these things!  And they overwhelmingly tend to be poor, non-white, elderly, and disabled.  It's funny that a Republican-backed bill …

Iraq torture report by UN angers Washington  —  By Tim Reid of The Times in Washington  —  The Bush Administration angrily rejected a claim by a United Nations official today that more Iraqis are being tortured now than when Saddam Hussein was in power.  —  Manfred Nowak, the UN's chief …

Mahmoun's Style  —  I keep talking about this with people in real life, but it deserves a blog mention as well — Mahmoun Ahmadinejad has a pretty sweet hipster style.  It all starts with a beard not unlike the one I and many of my twentysomething male friends sport.  But it goes deeper.

Fauxtography at the United Nations  —  Salam Daher, also known as "Green Helmet Guy," the corpse-posing ghoul from Qana photographed by discredited Reuters propagandist Adnan Hajj, makes it to the podium of the UN General Assembly via Hizballah's poodle, Emile Lahoud: … UPDATE at 9/21/06 11:05:53 am:

Lawyers call for science to clear AIDS nurses in Libya  —  Lawyers defending six medical workers who risk execution by firing squad in Libya have called for the international scientific community to support a bid to prove the medics' innocence.  The six are charged with deliberately infecting …

Pakistani clerics demand pope's removal  —  LAHORE, Pakistan - About 1,000 Muslim clerics and religious scholars meeting Thursday in eastern Pakistan demanded the removal of Pope Benedict XVI for making what they called "insulting remarks" against Islam.  —  Benedict "should be removed …

Why We Need a National School Test  —  We need to find better and more efficient ways to produce an educated population and close the achievement gaps in our education system.  Americans do ultimately get themselves educated — at work, after school, online, in adulthood — but a lot of time and money are wasted in the process.

U.S. threatened to bomb Pakistan after 9/1: Musharraf  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said that after the September 11 attacks the United States threatened to bomb his country if it did not cooperate with America's campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Bush and GOP Making Gains Among Voters  —  The turnaround is a sign that the election battle in November could be fierce.  But history shows Democrats remain poised to claim seats.  —  WASHINGTON — President Bush's approval rating has reached its highest level since January …

May the Best Man Lose  —  SHOULD ANYONE WANT TO WIN THE NOVEMBER ELECTION?  —  With the 2006 midterm elections less than two months away, a growing number of Republicans are desperately hoping that their party will ... get its head handed back on a plate.  The fashionable conservative theory …

Judge Hands Libby Defense Initial Win  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge handed a victory to the defense Thursday in the Valerie Plame case, siding with Vice President Dick Cheney's indicted former chief of staff in a fight over release of classified information.

Bush vs. Reality  —  On the dominant issue of our time, the president is in denial.  —  By most reliable accounts, three and a half years into the U.S. occupation, Iraq is in chaos — if not in a state of civil war, then awfully close.  But President Bush insists it's not so.

HUD staff told to favor allies  —  Exclusive: Inquiry finds no proof aides heeded Jackson's urgings  —  WASHINGTON - Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson urged top aides to take contractors' politics into account when handing out grants and deals, an internal department review has found …