Giuliani's Mistress Used N.Y. Police as Taxi Service  —  Richard Esposito Reports:  —  Well before it was publicly known he was seeing her, then-married New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani provided a police driver and city car for his mistress Judith Nathan, former senior city officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

WORST PRETENSE TO AN IMPARTIAL NEWS ORGANIZATION: CNN, PART 2  —  Jim Vicevich alerts us to a few more Democratic plants at the CNN YouTube Republican candidates forum last night.  Adam Florzak asked a question on Social Security.  It turns out that Florzak quit his job with Caterpillar …

Murtha finds military progress in trip to Iraq  —  Warns that Iraqis must do more for their own security  —  WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Murtha today said he saw signs of military progress during a brief trip to Iraq last week, but he warned that Iraqis need to play a larger role in providing …

Bin Laden: Europeans should end US help  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden called on the Europeans to stop helping the United States in the war in Afghanistan, according to excerpts of a new audiotape broadcast Thursday on Al-Jazeera television.

The Chicago Tribune vs. Time magazine  —  (updated below: Klein's GOP source outs himself  —  As I noted yesterday, The Chicago Tribune reprinted factually false excerpts from Joe Klein's Time column.  But unlike Time — which disgracefully continues to stand behind Klein's falsehoods …

Study: Canadian Beer Drinkers Threaten Planet  —  Scientists have found a new threat to the planet: Canadian beer drinkers.  —  The government-commissioned study says the old, inefficient "beer fridges" that one in three Canadian households use to store their Molson and Labatt's contribute significantly …

2008: The Year of the Upset?  —  I see my good friend, the distinguished neo-Jacobin Monsieur Kristol, has broken into his ample wine supply again and insulted the monarchy.  A weekend chained to the cheap seats at an Alabama tractor pull would seem fitting punishment for my rabble loving friend's imprudence …

BREAKING: RUDY'S NEW SHAG FUND EXPLANATION!  —  Seems he was doing it for the men in blue.  From the AP ...  We're a little unclear on this, though.  The first hints of this story came when the city comptroller found that Rudy's administration had hidden money for "non-local travel" in the budget's of various obscure city agencies.

Hamas demands UN rescind '47 partition  —  Hamas on Thursday called on the UN to rescind the 1947 decision to partition Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs.  —  The group said in a statement, released on the 60th anniversary of the UN vote, that "Palestine is Arab Islamic land …