Not So Fast  —  Why Barack Obama may not run.  —  Just about everybody seems convinced that Sen. Barack Obama is going to run for president.  The Chicago Sun-Times, his hometown paper, is writing as if his candidacy is an established fact.  Newsweek magazine cites sources close to him who claim that he's …

Former U.S. Detainee in Iraq Recalls Torment  —  One night in mid-April, the steel door clanked shut on detainee No. 200343 at Camp Cropper, the United States military's maximum-security detention site in Baghdad.  —  American guards arrived at the man's cell periodically over the next several days …

After Bankruptcy Filing, Recriminations Fly at Air America  —  In its search for a new chief executive this past summer, Air America Radio interviewed seasoned media executives in an effort to revive the faltering network.  One interview took a bizarre turn, however, when the executive got …

Iranian students hide in fear for lives after venting fury at Ahmadinejad  —  Iranian student activists who staged an angry protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week have gone into hiding in fear for their lives after his supporters threatened them with revenge.

Conservatives' Grip on Key Virginia Court Is at Risk  —  A growing list of vacancies on the federal appeals court in Richmond is heightening concern among Republicans that one of the nation's most conservative and influential courts could soon come under moderate or even liberal control, Republicans and legal scholars say.

Tsunami survivors given the lash  —  Michael Sheridan and Dewi Loveard, Banda Aceh  —  Disaster donations help Islamic vigilante force impose punishments on women  —  WHEN people around the world sent millions of pounds to help the stricken Indonesian province of Aceh after the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 …

Blood and Money  —  In what might be called the mother of all surprises, Iraq's economy is growing strong, even booming in places.  —  Newsweek International  —  It may sound unreal, given the daily images of carnage and chaos.  But for a certain plucky breed of businessmen, there's good money to be made in Iraq.

Litvinenko's killers used polonium worth $10m to give massive overdose  —  British investigators believe that Alexander Litvinenko's killers used more than $10 million of polonium-210 to poison him.  Preliminary findings from the post mortem examination on the former KGB spy suggest …

Pot is called biggest cash crop  —  The $35-billion market value of U.S.-grown cannabis tops that of such heartland staples as corn and hay, a marijuana activist says.  —  SACRAMENTO — For years, activists in the marijuana legalization movement have claimed that cannabis is America's biggest cash crop.

Talk in Class Turns to God, Setting Off Public Debate on Rights  —  KEARNY, N.J. — Before David Paszkiewicz got to teach his accelerated 11th-grade history class about the United States Constitution this fall, he was accused of violating it.  —  Shortly after school began in September …

Murdoch Is Said to Have Ordered Editor's Dismissal  —  Rupert Murdoch personally ordered the dismissal of Judith Regan, the publisher of a widely criticized O. J. Simpson book, after he heard reports of a heated conversation Ms. Regan had with a company lawyer on Friday that included comments …

Powell Says U.S. Losing in Iraq, Calls for Drawdown by Mid-2007  —  Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell said yesterday that the United States is losing what he described as a "civil war" in Iraq and that he is not persuaded that an increase in U.S. troops there would reverse the situation.

MTP Transcript for Dec. 17  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: the president explores new options for Iraq.  —  (Videotape):  —  PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH: I'm not going to be rushed into making a difficult decision.  —  MR. RUSSERT: The tension between the First Amendment and the war on terror.

Saudis report Shi'ite 'state' inside of Iraq  —  Iran has effectively created a Shi'ite "state within a state" in neighboring Iraq, defying both Iraqi Sunnis and neighboring Sunni nations, according to a Saudi security report.  —  Iranian military forces are providing Shi'ite militias …

After surviving 20 million years, China's goddess of the river is driven to extinction  —  For 20 million years, the white-fin dolphin, or baiji, swam China's longest river, the Yangtze.  But a few years of breakneck development, overfishing and a massive increase in shipping have reduced sightings …

Don't Cry for Pinochet  —  Chile succeeded despite him.  —  The death of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte marks the definitive end of his efforts to associate himself with conservatism.  It also marks the ultimate success of his efforts to avoid accountability for his murderous behavior as a leader …

U.S. Sees Growing Threats In Somalia  —  Al-Qaeda's Influence, Possible War With Ethiopia Are Concerns  —  Six months ago, the Bush administration launched a new policy in war-torn Somalia, putting the State Department in charge after secret CIA efforts failed to prevent Islamic fundamentalists from seizing power in Mogadishu.

Wonk'd  —  I suppose it'll be time to shift gears soon.  I've long said on this blog that much public discussion of wonkery was largely wankery, as with Democrats out of power and with the way Republicans treated the minority party, especially in the House, None Of It Was Actually Going To Happen.