A LOOK AT BARACK OBAMA’S FOREIGN POLICY: I think we should try to do more with the porn.

NEWS FLASH: THINGS DON’T SUCK: “A surprising 94 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with their lives – although far fewer in New York and other Eastern states think they’re better off than they were five years ago, according to a new survey.”

It seems regional, though: “But only 42 percent of people in the Eastern U.S. said things had improved since 2002. By contrast, 60 percent of Southerners and 62 percent of Westerners said their lives had improved.”

THE IMMIGRATION ISSUE turns into local politics in northern Virginia.

MORE PROBLEMS FOR CHINA’S BRAND: “Certain vinyl baby bibs sold at Toys “R” Us stores appear to be contaminated with lead, laboratory tests have shown, making the inexpensive bibs another example of a made-in-China product that may be a health hazard to children.”

NOT JUST A MISLABELED PHOTO, but a deliberate deception? We’ve never seen that before . . . . “The picture seems to show common commercial 55-grain civilian ball ammunition patterned after the Vietnam-era M193. With this in mind, I’d state that this ammunition wasn’t even dropped by American forces, as they don’t carry such ammunition. This isn’t just a a photo that just shows ignorance. It appears to show a willful deception using civilian ammunition.” Regardless, it’s one that would never have gotten by had AFP’s photo editors possessed even a smidgen of knowledge or critical faculty, and cared about accuracy.

INSIDE THE NAZIS’ WELFARE STATE: Michael Moynihan reviews Gotz Aly’s new book, Hitler’s Beneficiaries: Plunder, Racial War, and the Nazi Welfare State.

THE MAIL CONTINUES TO POUR IN on last night’s post on kitchen knives. Apparently, InstaPundit readers do a lot of cooking.

HEY, WAIT: I thought all we did in Afghanistan was stage air raids and bomb civilians. And yet: ” Hundreds of US-led troops have launched an offensive against al Qaida and Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan . . . . The offensive involving ground troops and airstrikes in the Tora Bora region of eastern Nangarhar province is targeting ‘hundreds of foreign fighters’ who are using dug-in fighting positions, said coalition spokeswoman Capt Vanessa Bowman.” Ground troops? And we’re bombing “foreign fighters”? What, there were no civilians to target?

GLOBAL WARMING: It started longer ago than I realized!

OBAMA’S SPEECH PROBLEMS: The campaign has been aware of them for a while.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, thinly fictionalized.

NIFONG: “The dog ate my law license.” No, really.

“CLUSTERS” OF HOMEGROWN TERRORISTS? “The report, in its conclusions, asserts that the most significant threat to the homeland is not al Qaeda but the spread of the ideology promulgated by violent extremist Muslims, such as those belonging to al Qaeda, into the United States where it helps to radicalize residents.”

FROM ANATHEMA to hero.

IT’S ALL THE RAGE: Bombings and beheadings — in Russia.

IN THE MAIL: Eric Berlin’s The Puzzling World of Winston Breen.

BOY, YOU CAN’T GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING: “I want to examine as objectively as possible what I consider to be some very suspicious behavior by Glenn Reynolds.”

It’s a fair cop.

CHINA VS. THE TALIBAN: “China and Pakistan have signed a formal agreement covering security arrangements for the 4,000 Chinese citizens working in Pakistan. What this has done is make China a major player in the war against al Qaeda inside Pakistan. . . . All this Chinese counter-terror work is done very quietly, and covertly. That may keep it out of the Western press, but the Chinese are increasingly tagged as major bad guys by the Islamic media, especially the outlets that are pro-radical.”

THIS SEEMS LIKE GOOD IRAQ NEWS: “The top U.S. general there is expected by Bush administration officials to recommend removing American troops soon from several areas where commanders believe security has improved, possibly including Al Anbar province.”

Hmm. Maybe T.M. Lutas was right when he predicted this last April.

Capt. Ed has more thoughts: “Will Congress buy it? Many are heavily invested in withdrawal, and they will likely argue that pullbacks should result in reductions, not redeployments. It’s hard to argue with success, however, and that will be the effect of Petraeus’ report.” And Jules Crittenden has a prediction of his own: “Watch for withdrawal enthusiasts to denounce any partial drawdown on grounds that Iraqi forces aren’t ready, and then go on to proclaim the cause hopeless, and demand total abandonment.” Plus, a recommendation for Congress!

UPDATE: Harry Reid acknowledges the success of the surge. Much more information at the link.

Plus there’sthis: Al Qaeda in Iraq Has Lost 75% of Civilian Leadership. Good riddance.

MORE: Lindsey Graham, armed and dangerous.

STILL MORE: Jay Reding: “Petraeus is looking at the long game now, concerning himself with how we beat al-Qaeda and secure Iraq in the next few months. The big variable is the quality of the Iraqi troops — if they can fight off al-Qaeda, that means that we’re close to the point where we can make a responsible exit from Iraq. If they can’t, we’ll need to continue the surge throughout 2008 and start planning for how best to reduce the strain on our armed forces.”

MICHAEL TOTTEN POSTS another report from Baghdad. And via email, he recommends this piece on Beirut by Lisa Goldman.

TAKING VW’S TOUAREG 2 OFF-ROAD: It’s “hyper-capable,” but how many will ever be driven that way? If you like it, though, I’d hold out for the turbo-diesel powered 2009 model, which promises less-ghastly fuel mileage.

PUTTING COLBERT AND STEWART on the witness stand.

EURO FALLS against the dollar.

TIGERHAWK looks at campaign contributions, special interests, and federal appropriations.

HEH: The AFP photo editor must have been fresh back from happy hour . . . .