left wing, right wing

* Troops on the streets of Italy "to quell crime"

* Hugo Chavez seizes more powers, including ones denied him by the voters last December. Nationalization, "civilian militias", opposition candidates barred from running.

* Intercepting temporary mail files judged to not be wiretapping.

* Malaysia's opposition leader charged with sodomy
* EPA refuses to waive ethanol in fuel requirement.

In less grim links:
* diet with a little bit of meat may be more efficient land use.
* Another libertarian endorses welfare. Goes as far as conditional negative income tax, which isn't as far as Milton Friedman, and seems hard to work, but hey.
* Spaghetti-thin snake?!
* Newt Gingrich endorses health insurance mandate
* New McCain ad says we're worse off than we were four years ago.
* Beets