One of the minidramas developing in the newly minted Democratic House is who will chair the House Intelligence Committee. Here is a sample of the teeth gnashing going on:

If Democrats win control of the House next week, Nancy Pelosi's first test as speaker will arrive long before the 110th Congress convenes. Her choice to head the House intelligence committee -- unlike other House committees, this one is left entirely up to the party leadership -- will speak volumes about whether a Speaker Pelosi will be able to resist a return to paint-by-numbers Democratic Party interest-group politics as usual. Pelosi is in a box of her own devising. The panel's ranking Democrat is her fellow Californian Jane Harman -- smart and hardworking but also abrasive, ambitious and, in Pelosi's estimation, insufficiently partisan on the committee. So Pelosi, once the intelligence panel's ranking Democrat herself, has made clear that she doesn't intend to name Harman to the chairmanship.

The wrong decision, in my view, but one that's magnified by the unfortunate fact that next in line is Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings. In 1989, after being acquitted in a criminal trial, Hastings was stripped of his position as a federal judge -- impeached by the House in which he now serves and convicted by the Senate -- for conspiring to extort a $150,000 bribe . . .

Of course Hastings was acquitted in his criminal trial but let's consider the issue on the flip.

This is just too strange not to write about. Can you imagine the I.R.S. going this route?

One cash-strapped Indian city has launched a unique collection service to dislodge payment from tax deadbeats: Door-to-door eunuchs.

Eunuchs--a term used in India to describe transvestites, postoperative transsexuals and hermaphrodites--traditionally make a living on tips for dancing at weddings or for blessing newborns. They frequently refuse to leave until they are given money.

Patna, the capital of Bihar state in eastern India, hired scores of them Wednesday to compel shop owners to pay their back taxes. "We are confident that their reputation and persuasive skills will come in handy for the municipal authorities to collect taxes from defaulters," said Bharat Sharma, a revenue officer.

At least they are an equal opportunity employer.

Primative beyond belief: A Saudi court has sentenced the victim of a gang rape to 90 lashes because she was alone in a car with a man not her spouse.

The man she was with was not one of the rapists. She and her friend were proceeding to their car when they were kidnapped by the rapists and driven to a farm where they raped her. The court also ordered her male friend to get 90 lashes.

What happened to the rapists:

The four, all married, were sentenced respectively to five years and 1,000 lashes, four years and 800 lashes, four years and 350 lashes, and one year and 80 lashes.

A fifth, married, man who was stated to have filmed the rape on his mobile phone still faces investigation. Two others alleged to have taken part in the rape evaded capture.

The Washington Times reports:

The Pentagon has stepped up planning for attacks against North Korea's nuclear program and is bolstering nuclear forces in Asia, said defense officials familiar with the highly secret process.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the accelerated military planning includes detailed programs for striking a North Korean plutonium-reprocessing facility at Yongbyon with special operations commando raids or strikes with Tomahawk cruise missiles or other precision-guided weapons.

How much war will be enough for this Administration? Who will fight all these wars? Your kids? Mine?

It's been a while since we checked in with Schapelle Corby who is doing 20 years in a hellhole of an Indonesian prison.

Schapelle describes her conditions in a new book to be published in two weeks. Australia's Women's Weekly pubished an excerpt today. The article is not online, but quotes from it appear in the news.

Via the Guardian:

North Korea is threatening war against the United States for its ``hostile attitude.'' As North Korea warned of physical retaliation for increased U.S. pressure over its reported atomic test, South Korea discussed preparations for a nuclear attack that could include an expanded conventional arsenal. North Korea said in its first formal statement since the test that it could respond to U.S. pressure with ``physical'' measures.

``If the U.S. keeps pestering us and increases pressure, we will regard it as a declaration of war and will take a series of physical corresponding measures,'' the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The statement didn't specify what those measures could be.

[Hat tip Patriot Daily.]

by TChris

Heck of a job there, Bushy.

Nearly five years after President Bush introduced the concept of an "axis of evil" comprising Iraq, Iran and North Korea, the administration has reached a crisis point with each nation: North Korea has claimed it conducted its first nuclear test, Iran refuses to halt its uranium-enrichment program, and Iraq appears to be tipping into a civil war 3 1/2 years after the U.S.-led invasion.

Isn't it about time for the president to award himself a medal?

Australian news reports that North Korea seems to be preparing for a second nuclear weapon test.

Kim Seung-Gyu, head of South Korea's spy agency, told parliament that activity involving vehicles and as many as 40 people was under way at Punggyeri in the north-eastern county of Kilju, Yonhap news agency reported.

"From 4pm (AEST) today, there have been some unusual movements under way at Punggyeri where we had thought the first nuclear test would be carried out," Mr Kim was quoted as saying. "We have been closely following developments there to find out whether North Korea is moving to conduct a series of tests as India and Pakistan did," he said.

What we should do about Korea is far beyond my expertise, but Matt Yglesias and Brad Plumer have some thoughts.

by TChris

As if the world hadn't exceeded its quota of serious trouble:

North Korea Says Nuclear Test a Success

A plane with 155 aboard went down in the Amazon jungle in Brazil yesterday. Today, the wreckage was spotted, and authorities in Brazil say it's impossible anyone survived.

The plane was en route from Manaus to Rio. I took that flight in the late 70's, spending a week in Manaus after a week in Rio. Manaus is a top tourist destination. It has a fascinating history. I remember staying at the Tropical Hotel Manaus which reminded me of the Taj Mahal (which I've never seen, only imagined) with hallway floors that were all marble and huge ceilings. The outdoor zoo was incredible. [Click on the "Manaus" section under destinations.]

(Guest Post by Big Tent Democrat)

Democratic leaders did not appreciate Hugh Chavez's little show:

Two of President Bush's staunchest domestic critics leapt to his defense Thursday, a day after one of his fiercest foreign foes called him "the devil" in a scorching speech before the United Nations. "You don't come into my country; you don't come into my congressional district and you don't condemn my president," Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, was blunt in her criticism of the Venezuelan leader. "He is an everyday thug," she said.

Good show and smart show by Leader Pelosi and Congressman Rangel.

by TChris

You'll have a year to bid farewell to Tony Blair, whose popularity plummeted because of his cozy relationship with President Bush and his support for the war in Iraq.

He became a close ally of President Bush first in Afghanistan then in Iraq -- a war that was deeply unpopular among many Britons, including Muslims who argued that the vision of British troops fighting in Islamic countries as allies of the United States exposed the country to terrorist attack. His handling of the Iraq invasion, moreover, cost him the trust of many Britons.

Blair will cede his position as prime minister to his finance minister, Gordon Brown, "some time around or before next summer."