10,000 Get Grant Letters on Rebuilding in Louisiana

The spate of “award calculations,” as the rebuilding program calls them, represents a big increase from early last month, when fewer than 2,000 families had been told how much they were eligible to receive.

New Citizens Will Need Deeper Knowledge

The federal government rolled out a new citizenship test to replace an exam that critics say has encouraged prospective Americans to simply memorize facts.

Pope Prays in Turkey With Muslim and Orthodox Leaders

Pope Benedict showed that many of his basic concerns about the relationship between Christianity and Islam, as well as between West and East, had not vanished.

Radioactive Trail Is Found in Case of Poisoned Spy

British officials said radiation was detected in 12 locations around London, and that it was likely to be found in more.

Iowa Governor Is First Democrat to Start Presidential Run

Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa billed himself as the not-from-Washington candidate who would strive to renew a forgotten sense of community across America.

World Briefing | Europe: The Netherlands: Crackdown in Red Light District

Amsterdam said it would close nearly one-third of the 350 windows that prostitutes use in the city’s notorious Red Light District, invoking a 2003 law that allows it to revoke the licenses of brothels when it suspects that they are being used for money laundering or other illegal financial activities. “We’re not knights on a morality crusade, and this is intended to target financial crime, not prostitution per se,” the city spokesman, Martien Maten, told The Associated Press. The Netherlands legalized prostitution in 2000, but even before then, the Red Light District was tolerated and had become a tourist attraction.

World Briefing | Europe: Britain: Terror Extradition to U.S. Wins Approval

The High Court ruled that two British men, Babar Ahmad and Haroon Rashid Aswat, may be extradited to the United States to face terrorism charges. The two men had argued that they did not trust United States assurances about how they were likely to be treated and that they feared that they would be designated as “enemy combatants.” But Lord Justice John Laws said he believed that the United States would honor diplomatic commitments. Mr. Ahmad is accused of running Web sites supporting terrorism and fund-raising. Mr. Aswat is accused of planning to set up a terror training camp in Bly, Ore. Similar charges have been made against Abu Hamza al-Masri, a radical cleric serving a seven-year jail term. The two men may still appeal to the House of Lords, Britain’s highest court.

Free speech, failed speakers, delusions of grandeur

Nov. 30: At a First Amendment event this week, Newt Gingrich suggested limiting certain free speech. Keith Olbermann responds in this special comment. (Countdown)Tonight, as promised, a special comment about free speech, failed speakers  and the delusion of grandeur.


Rice steps up Mideast peace push

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice listens to the questions during  joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (not seen) in the West Bank city of Jericho, November 30, 2006.     REUTERS/Oleg Popov  (WEST BANK)Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Israelis and Palestinians on Thursday to step up efforts to achieve a long-stalled peace accord, saying neither side should take actions that would prejudge a final deal.


More Radiation Traces Found in Britain

In the latest discoveries after the poisoning of an ex- K.G.B. agent, radiation was found at 12 sites in Britain.

Pope Visits Blue Mosque

Pope Benedict XVI stood in silent meditation in one of Turkey’s most famous mosques Thursday in a dramatic gesture of outreach to Muslims after outrage from the pontiff’s remarks linking violence and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed.

Software Bypasses Internet Firewalls

Canadian university researchers have developed software that will let users hop over governments’ Internet firewalls, raising the prospect of unfettered Internet access in countries that have long tried to control how residents use the Web.

White House showcases holiday decorations

Nov. 30: President Bush and the first lady will host nearly 10,000 guests for holiday receptions over the next few weeks. NBC's Norah O'Donnell visits with the first lady for a preview of the festivities. (Today Show)A year after experimenting with fresh flower decorations, the White House is returning to a more traditional Christmas look for its 24 holiday parties.


Sen. Obama, rapper Ludacris meet for a chat

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and rapper Ludacris leave the senator's Chicago offices after a meeting, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. Ludacris was in Chicago to launch Youthaide "Kick Me" campaign to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)Barack Obama is coming for that Number One Spot. The senator, contemplating a run for president, met privately with Ludacris on Wednesday. “We talked about empowering the youth,” said the rapper, whose real name is Chris Bridges.


Dem Win All About Complacency

Here we go again. The (D) win was all about

complacency
, because everyone knows we Dems are just
complacent, wimpy bin-Laden-servants:

In the most affluent, and leisured age in the history of Western
civilization–never more powerful in its military reach, never more
prosperous in our material bounty–we have become complacent, and then
scared of the most recent face of barbarism from the primordial
extremists of the Middle East.

He must’ve missed the bits about half the new Dems in power coming
from Indiana and other red states, and about Murtha being defeated for
House leadership. Maybe he should be less complacent about
paying attention to what Ds are actually doing instead of just lumping
us all in as antiwar.

And, if Western Civilization depended solely on the Republican Party,
then why were they so, er, complacent? I mean, isn’t that why
y’all lost?

A partial list of GOP complacency:

  • Failing to show more than token interest in keeping militias from
    carrying out ethnic cleansing in Iraq.

  • Failing to have a military occupation plan ready when it was time to,
    well, occupy.

  • Failing to hold the powerful accountable for torture in the Army.
  • WMD.
  • Failing to show the slightest interest in balancing the budget or
    holding down spending (except to causes seen as Democratic).

  • Failing to show the slightest interest in holding down the big
    no-bid war contracts.

  • Disinterest in thinking much about WoT prisoners.
  • Disinterest in keeping to limits on torture.
  • Disinterest in privacy rights or habeas corpus rights, even to the
    risk of losing allied support for key efforts.

  • Disinterest in keeping the Hammer from Hammering, or in looking
    much at corruption atall.

    The President and other GOP leaders could have prevented any of those
    from becoming big issues by acknowledging and working to fix mistakes
    when they were seen. That didn’t happen, because, well, I guess they
    must’ve been complacent. Oh, my, Western Civ will fall.
    Women, better buy burkhas.

    And wouldn’t voters’ve been TRULY complacent not to give the GOP a
    check on its power?

  • Will Obama force Clinton’s early entry?

    United States Senator Barack Obama (L) shares a laugh with Iraq War veteran and Democratic Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth during a campaign stop in Elmhurst, Illinois November 6, 2006. Duckworth was co-piloting a Black Hawk helicopter north of Baghdad on November 12, 2004, when a rocket-propelled grenade struck the cockpit of her aircraft and exploded. Ten days later, when she woke up at Walter Reed Memorial Hospital in Maryland, she learned that the explosion would cost her both of her legs and had shattered her right arm. REUTERS/John Gress (UNITED STATES)If voter excitement is any indication, Sen. Barack Obama may be transforming the 2008 Democratic presidential race to Hillary Clinton’s disadvantage.


    Al-Maliki and Bush: The odd couple

    The relationship between the U.S. president and the Iraqi prime minister is now the single most important one of the Bush era. But where’s the heat?

    Vilsack officially seeks 2008 Dem. nomination

    Democratic presidential hopeful Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack ponders a question during a news conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in this Friday, Nov. 10, 2006 file photo, before announcing his run for the Oval Office just hours after news of his party's midterm election gains. Vilsack chose the small town where his political career began to open his long-shot presidential campaign, pledging to make the U.S. "a beacon of hope" for all the world.  Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack chose the small town where his political career began to open his long-shot presidential campaign, pledging to make the U.S. “a beacon of hope” for all the world.


    Republicans want vote on abortion bill

    While they still can, House Republicans are looking at scheduling a vote next week on a fetal pain abortion bill in a parting shot at incoming majority Democrats and a last bid for loyalty from the GOP’s base of social conservatives. [!]

    Famed pastor defends invitation to Obama

    Sen. Barack Obama, D-Chicago, speaks to members of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police in this July 24, 2004 file photo taken in Springfield, Ill. Obama, who is mulling a presidential bid, will travel to New Hampshire next month, where he will join Democrats on Dec. 10 for a belated celebration of their big win in the midterm election. It will be one of Obama's first forays into an early voting state. Famed pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren on Wednesday defended his invitation to Sen. Barack Obama to speak at his church despite objections from some evangelicals who oppose the Democrat’s support for abortion rights. [!]


    Midterm elections get mixed report card

    The midterm elections were either a resounding victory for voters or a spectacular fiasco, a study released Wednesday concluded simultaneously. [!]

    Kerry says it’s time to move past ‘The Joke’

    Enough with ‘The Joke’, John Kerry says. The Massachusetts senator and former Democratic presidential nominee said Wednesday night that it’s time to move on from his botched attempt at humor before the midterm election.

    Iraqi PM: Forces will be ready by June ’07

    Amman, JORDAN:  US President George W. Bush (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki arrive at a joint press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman, Jordan, 30 November 2006. Bush praised Iraq's embattled premier as the "right guy" for the job and said US forces would stay in Iraq "to get the job done".      AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN  (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)President Bush pledged Thursday that U.S. troops will remain in Iraq to strengthen the authority of embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and said the two agreed to speed a turnover of security responsibility to Iraqi forces. [!]


    Group targets convicted lawmakers’ pensions

    More than 20 citizen groups are urging the new Democratic leaders in Congress to include in any ethics reform the denial of pensions to lawmakers convicted of felonies.

    Baker panel, Bush trip unlikely to uplift public

    How grim is the public’s mood about Iraq? It’s come to this: Even his critics wish President Bush well. “It is sad when you consider that if we had a breakthrough – a possibility of peace in Iraq followed by a period of re-construction – a lot of us would gladly give (the president) credit,” said Badger38, a frequent critic of president at HOTSOUP.com .

    Next Page »