More lazy blogging

* Rami G. Khouri explains the "ramifications of Hariri's assassination" in the Daily Star of Beirut, while Jim Lobe notes that the assassination is reviving the dreams of the Syrian "regime changers." Meanwhile, partly in response to recent developments, Syria has announced it is teaming up with Iran to form a "united front due to numerous challenges," aka US bellicosity and sanctions.

* As four former security contractors tell NBC News that "heavily armed private security contractors in Iraq are brutalizing Iraqi civilians," MSNBC's Tom Curry probes why Americans don't seem to care about the abuse and torture that the US government and its surrogates now regularly employ.

* Atrios has a round up of Gannon-related opinion pieces worth reading. I'd also add Michelangelo Signorile and Joe Conason to the list.

* Elaine Cassel addresses some of the issues at the heart of the Lynne Stewart verdict.