Colbert is no stranger to the comedic potential of the nation's capital. He has interviewed more than a dozen unsuspecting members of Congress for his show's weekly "Better Know a District" segment. A selection of some of Colbert's finer exchanges ...

The Colbert Rapport

It is, in fact, possible for a man with a ponytail to become the CEO of a major publicly traded corporation.

Maybe the future of Sun, he has suggested more than once, lies in the company's ability to sell services rather than software or hardware.

For Sun Microsystems, a Leader With Little Taste for Convention

It isn't easy to create a real downtown district, vibrant and intense, in a city as sprawling and diffuse as Los Angeles, Frank Gehry admits. But that's what he has set out to do with his design for Grand Avenue, unveiled in preliminary form yesterday.

Los Angeles With a Downtown? Gehry's Vision

Jane Jacobs, the writer and thinker who brought penetrating eyes and ingenious insight to the sidewalk ballet of her own Greenwich Village street and came up with a book that challenged and changed the way people view cities, died yesterday in Toronto, where she moved in 1968. She was 89.

Jane Jacobs, Social Critic Who Redefined and Championed Cities, Is Dead at 89

Did yoiu read that NYRB article, The Truth About The Drug Companies?

Xenical, sold by Roche in the United States since 1999, has had only moderate success as a prescription drug in this country.

Part of the problem has been what Mr. Burton refers to as the "oops" factor — the drug's potentially embarrassing side effects. They can include diarrhea, flatulence and episodes of incontinence.

Emphasizing that the drug is not a magic pill, Mr. Burton said the company would look for committed consumers — those who are ready to make long term changes in the way they eat and exercise.

Mr. Burton also said the campaign would very clearly warn consumers about the drug's side effects, like flatulence and diarrhea, that become worse when the drug is taken along with a high-fat meal.

A diet devoid of fat, though, would make the pill largely superfluous.

"That's part of the honesty, the bluntness, the candor that we're going to put into our communications."

Hoping for a Blockbuster

If it is authentic, the video would be the first time that Mr. Zarqawi had willingly shown his face to the world.

You have to ask, why?

Many experts believe that there are elements of a rivalry between Mr. Zarqawi and Mr. bin Laden.

Several other explanations for releasing the video also suggested themselves, including the possibility that the timing was meant to coincide with the first steps toward a new Iraqi government.

The video could have been intended to dispel any notion that Mr. Zarqawi is dead or unable to lead his movement.

Qaeda Video Vows Iraq Defeat for 'Crusader' US

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, seeking to put past differences behind them, paid a surprise joint visit to Iraq today to mobilize diplomatic and security forces and bolster the new government of Prime Minister Jawad al-Maliki.

This trip is clearly an engineered photo-op. I can see Bush ordering this trip at a principals meeting after Rice and Rumsfeld publicly disagreed about whether "errors" were made and whether they were strategic or tactical.

The George Packer story in the New Yorker is a good counterpoint to the Secretaries' spin in this news coverage.

Rumsfeld and Rice Visit Baghdad

In the Tom Cruise sci-fi thriller "Minority Report," a subway passenger scans an issue of USA Today that is a plastic video screen, thin, foldable and wireless, with constantly changing text.

The scene is no longer science fiction. This month, De Tijd, a Belgian financial newspaper, started testing versions of electronic paper, a device with low-power digital screens embedded with digital ink — millions of microscopic capsules the width of a human hair made with organic material that display light or dark images in response to electrical charges.

One Day Soon, Straphangers May Turn Pages With a Button

Do you remember the recent thread about treating waiters well, and how it relates to character?

Well, when USA Today ran the article, they provided Bill Swanson's list of management truisms.

Turns out they're not his, after all.

William H. Swanson has become something of a management guru thanks to "Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management." It is a compilation of folksy business advice from Mr. Swanson, the chief executive of Raytheon, that the company distributes as a free booklet. No. 3 in his list of 33 rules begins: "Look for what is missing."

What is missing from Mr. Swanson's 76-page booklet, as an engineer discovered last week, is any reference to what appears to be the source of many of his rules: the 1944 book "The Unwritten Laws of Engineering" by W. J. King, an engineering professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Swanson's Rules" are provided below. You'll notice several also appear in Rumsfeld's Rules.

1: Learn to say, "I don't know." If used when appropriate, it will be used often.
2: It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
3: If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much
4: Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there.
5: Presentation rule: When something appears on a slide presentation, assume the world knows about it and deal with it accordingly.
6. Work for a boss to whom you can tell it like it is. Remember, you can't pick your family, but you can pick your boss.
7: Constantly review developments to make sure that the actual benefits are what they were supposed to be. Avoid Newton's Law.
8: However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best effort.
9: Persistence or tenacity is the disposition to persevere in spite of difficulties, discouragement or indifference. Don't be known as a good starter but a poor finisher!
10: In doing your project, don't wait for others; go after them and make sure it gets done.
11: Confirm the instructions you give others, and their commitments, in writing. Don't assume it will get done.
12: Don't be timid: Speak up, express yourself and promote your ideas.
13: Practice shows that those who speak the most knowingly and confidently often end up with the assignment to get the job done.
14: Strive for brevity and clarity in oral and written reports.
15: Be extremely careful in the accuracy of your statements.
16: Don't overlook the fact that you are working for a boss. Keep him or her informed. Whatever the boss wants, within the bounds of integrity, takes top priority.
17: Promises, schedules and estimates are ... [ Read More (0.2k in body) ]

Raytheon Chief's Management Rules Have a Familiar Ring

The Central Intelligence Agency has dismissed a senior career officer for disclosing classified information to reporters, including material for Pulitzer Prize-winning articles in The Washington Post about the agency's secret overseas prisons for terror suspects, intelligence officials said Friday.

C.I.A. Fires Senior Officer Over Leaks