MYSTERY FROM THE DEEP Everyone likes a good sea monster story, and the question Chilean scientists are grappling with this week is a doozy -- is the recently discovered carcass an Octopus Giganteus, or just a badly decomposed whale?

"We didn't see many tentacles, but from looking at pictures and descriptions of the 1896 animal and this one, the skin color and shape seem to match -- a bit gray with bits of pink," [director of the Center for Cetacean Conservation in Santiago] Elsa Cabrera said. "We're all very impressed by its size, but it's going to take further study to know for certain what it is."

The animal, which was discovered June 23 washed up on a Chilean beach, was described as a 40-foot-long (12-meter) mass of rotting grey flesh that scientists estimated to weigh about 13 tons.

"I had only heard about things like this in Jules Verne," Cabrera said, referring to the author of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," a classic novel full of exotic creatures and vivid descriptions of the sea.

MASTER PHOTOGRAPHER This NPR feature on Henri Cartier-Bresson boasts a delightful interview, and some excellent online resources on one of the most amazing photographers on the last century.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, a founding father of photojournalism and one of the great photographers of all time, put down his Leica professionally in 1975 after a 45-year career behind the camera. "I never think about photography," he told NPR's Susan Stamberg during a recent visit to his Paris apartment. "It doesn't interest me."

"It's instant drawing," he says of photography. In fact, Cartier-Bresson, 94, began as a painter and he now draws rather than shoots. Not a single photograph is to be found on the walls of his apartment. "Only some drawings and paintings -- and on a far wall -- a large oil by Matisse," whom he knew, Stamberg says.

LUCINDA ON NPR Bob Edwards chats with Lucinda Williams about her newest release. The page also has links to myriad other sites and features related to the singer/songwriter.

LIGHTS OUT Militants, Baath Party holdouts, Arab terrorists, common criminals -- whoever continues to attack Iraq's electric grid and power infrastructure knows what they're doing. The single most important issue in Baghdad today, according to friends working there, is the lack of electricity. Most Iraqis are astounded that the United States is unable to restore power to the city, and rumors are flying that the Americans are keeping electricity from people as a form of punishment. If we hope to make any progress at stablizing the country, we'd better figure out how to get their lights back on.

In Baghdad, a vast city of high-rise buildings, bustling markets and scorching summer temperatures, most residents received more than 20 hours of electricity a day before the war -- enough to run elevators, air conditioners and other staples of modern life. Today, the capital got about eight hours of power. On Tuesday, it was even less. And for a few days last week, there was none.

The persistent blackouts -- U.S. and Iraqi specialists blame sabotage, looting, war damage and the failure of old equipment -- have transformed a city that once was regarded as the most advanced in the Arab world to a place of pre-industrial privation where shopkeepers hawk their wares on the sidewalk, housewives store food in iceboxes and families sleep outdoors.

The lack of steady electricity is regarded by several U.S. and Iraqi officials as the most significant obstacle in the reconstruction of this city and country.

"Power is the central issue," a senior U.S. official here said. "Without it, you don't have security. You don't have an economy. You don't have trust in what we're doing. What you do have is more anger, more frustration, more violence. We're not going to solve anything here until we first find a way to get more electricity to the people."

On Baghdad's streets, the blackouts are fueling a growing nostalgia for former president Saddam Hussein among people who only weeks ago cheered the fall of his government and welcomed the arrival of U.S. troops. "We figured the Americans, who are a superpower, would at least give us electricity," said Mehdi Abdulwahid, an unemployed oil engineer who now helps a friend sell drinks on a busy sidewalk. "Now we wish we had the old times back."

WELCOME TO DODGE CITY Not since President Reagan misspoke into a live microphone about bombing the Soviet Union have I openly gaped at a presidential statement. But President Bush's retort to those attacking American troops in Iraq -- "Bring 'em on." -- is just plain nuts. That's the sort of thing a 10-year-old bully or a rum-runner cornered in a bayou shack by the Treasury Department would say.

THE QUEST FOR THE OILY GRAIL Too Stupid To Be President does it again with this Monty Python send-up, crafted with excellent illustrations in Flash. The beginning drags a bit, but the Rumsfeld-Dixie Chicks piece midway through makes this another Bush-bashing classic.

A WHALE OF A TALE Set in New Zealand, "Whale Rider" is exploding with messages, lush scenery and unpretentious acting. Unlike most of the films hitting theatres this summer.

For a movie as serene and gentle as "Whale Rider," a lot of battles are taking place -- between tradition and change, youth and old age, nature and technology, male tradition and female empowerment. Those battles lie, as the whales do, just below the surface for most of the movie, creating a richly realized and emotionally powerful drama.

WHAT SUMMER BRINGS If summer is a time of thick paperbacks of dubious quality, it also is a season of surprises. Last summer, one of those surprises was Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones." This summer's is Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner."

Hosseini's first novel - and said to be the first Afghan novel to be written originally in English - "The Kite Runner" tells a heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between Amir, the son of a wealthy Afghan businessman, and Hassan, the son of his father's servant. Amir is Sunni; Hassan is Shi'a. One is born to a privileged class; the other to a loathed minority. One to a father of enormous presence; the other to a crippled man. One is a voracious reader; the other illiterate ...

... This isn't a "foreign" book. Unlike Boris Pasternak's "Dr. Zhivago," Hosseini's narrative resonates with familiar rhythms and accessible ideas, all in prose that equals or exceeds the typical American story form. While exotic Afghan customs and Farsi words pop up occasionally, they are so well-defined for the reader that the book is enlightening and fascinating, not at all tedious ...

... "The Kite Runner" is a song in a new key. Hosseini is an exhilaratingly original writer with a gift for irony and a gentle, perceptive heart. His canvas might be a place and time Americans are only beginning to understand, but he paints his art on the page, where it is intimate and poignant.

IS IT STILL SELF-EVIDENT? David Broder opines on Independence Day this morning, and on the Declaration of Independence which was written with the sort of collaborative effort we often seem to lack in politics today -- it was "a much-revised text, prepared first by Jefferson and then edited by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman. The entire Philadelphia assemblage spent two days trimming and revising the Declaration." And Broder wonders how true the core of the text rings today:

"A decent respect to the opinions of mankind." Do we still have it? Or has this once marginal assemblage of colonies, out on the edge of the known world, become so captivated with its own power that we no longer feel the need to justify our actions to anyone?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Is our belief in equality truly self-evident? How does it jibe with the growing inequality of income and wealth and opportunity in this country? And is the pursuit of happiness, as now understood, wedded to the same sense of duty and responsibility that animated the men in Philadelphia?

"And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." Are we privileged Americans, enjoying all the blessings the vision of the Founders provided, willing to pledge something of equal value to our society and our fellow citizens in our time? Are we worthy of the gift we have been given?

NON-WESTERN EXPOSURE SPIN Magazine takes a trip south and east with their list of essential music from the rest of the world, from the punk sounds of Shoukichi Kina and Champloose to the godfather of Nigerian soul, Fela Kuti.

INVESTIGATION STUMBLES FORWARD Despite being handicapped by poor leadership (or effective leadership, depending on whether you want the investigation to succeed or not), the commission looking into the September 11 terrorism attacks is stumbling ever so slowly forward. Months after being named, the commissioners have held just two public hearings and only recently gained access to confidential records.

Although the commission now has access to the information it needs, time is of the essence, [The Nation's David] Corn argues. The law permitting the committee to investigate the attack expires in June, 2004. Thus, the commission now has less than a year to investigate and analyze nine separate issues: Al Qaeda and terrorism, the intelligence community, U.S. counterterrorism policy, terrorist financing, border control and terrorist watchlists, domestic law enforcement and intelligence, aviation and transportation security, the emergency responses to the attacks, and the White House’s and federal government’s reaction to the strikes. Each topic on its own, Corn points out, “Could occupy a single commission for a year.”

AFRICAN REALITY TV One thing about reality television in Africa is that it is very eclectic. "Big Brother Africa," in which hipsters from across the continent live together in a house, has captured the imagination of TV viewers from South Africa to Nigeria. Like its American counterparts, the program draws on a more educated, urbane, attractive Africans for its cast, but at least they're not all blond.

SURVEY SAYS A new Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans have mixed feelings about the war in Iraq, but generally remain supportive of remaining there to stabilize the country.

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans are more divided over the merits of the Iraq war than they have been since January of this year, long before President Bush aggressively pushed the case for invading Iraq. Currently, 56% of Americans say the situation in Iraq was "worth going to war over," while 42% disagree. In mid-April, just after the United States took control of Baghdad, Americans said the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over by a 73% to 23% margin. Earlier this year, a Jan. 3-5 poll found opinion about as it is today -- 53% saying the situation was worth going to war over, and 42% saying it was not.

IMAGING HEPBURN The Post's CameraWorks section presents a poignant photo retrospective of Katherine Hepburn.

WHAT IT MEANS TO 'STICK IT OUT' Reflecting on a conversation with a Syrian-born friend, David Ignatius senses that Americans may learn more from our engagement in Iraq than we expected. And more than we wanted to learn. Sticking it out in Iraq will mean accepting continued death, mixed messages and a confusing lack of linear progress. Sticking it out in Iraq will mean being honest about our intentions, and accepting that we don't have all of the answers. Sticking it out in Iraq will mean publicly deciding that we're sticking it out, and accepting the consequences.

The worst possible outcome in Iraq would be for the United States to cut and run, leaving behind a California-size version of Lebanon. In that sense, Sidawi is right. Americans will have to develop a tragic sensibility to survive.

Perhaps the best way to begin is for President Bush to level with the American people about why we went to war -- and why we must remain. Evidence of weapons of mass destruction may ultimately be found, but the case was never persuasive. And the supposed intelligence about Iraqi links to al Qaeda was worse -- some of it close to bald propaganda. Even key allies in such countries as Jordan and Britain thought it was, as one top official delicately put it, "exaggerated."

In truth, America went to war to topple Saddam Hussein's regime. It's tragic to see how ill-prepared we were for building a new Iraq, but there is still time. America will lose some of its innocence as it descends into the Iraqi inferno. But in the process, Americans may develop a mature appreciation of their country's power, and its limits.

FROM BAD TO WORSE IN BAGHDAD The stories from Baghdad continue to be mixed, but as the heat rises and the infrastructure sputters along, tempers, suspicions and frustrations are mounting. Anthony Shadid provides another excellent glimpse into the street life of Baghdad -- this time contrasting the perspectives and attitudes of American soldiers and Iraqi police officers who man the same station. The distrust and lack of respect exhibited by both sides is another discouraging sign that we're losing the peace.

THE DEBATE OVER STATE Last month, Newt Gingrich took a swipe at the Department of State, questioning, in effect, both the loyalty and competency of America's foreign service team. Dick Holbrooke deconstructs Gingrich's complaints in the Washington Post today, and wonders if Gingrich has done his homework. Like all government agencies, State has a deeply rooted culture which often creates frustrations for those within it, as well as those observing it. And like many government agencies, State needs reform. But Gingrich's interpretation of the problem -- and his solution -- are way off the mark.

RICHMOND'S CREATIVE HUB Here's one view of Richmond's creative juice. There are a slew of more creative, vibrant forces at work, but these are some dependable anchors and a few up-and-comers.

IRAQ'S PROBLEM WITH ISLAM G. wandered out into the desert recently to visit a U.S. military hospital, where he had a curious exchange with a Syrian who had come to Iraq to free it from the Western oppressors. Yet another indication that the coming months for the American forces could continue to be rocky.

ONE OF THE GREATS Katherine Hepburn's legacy was compounded in three ways -- her talent as an actress (13 Academy Award nominations), her staying power (she was 96 when she died) and her approach to her real life (she dedicated herself to caring for her partner Spencer Tracy when he was dying, and set her career aside). "Life's what's important," she once said. "Walking, houses, family. Birth and pain and joy -- and then death. Acting's just waiting for the custard pie. That's all." It's hard to imagine an actress as wonderfully three-dimensional as Hepburn.

STORMY RATIONALE The Brookings Institute's Kenneth Pollack wrote "The Threatening Storm," which probably pulled more people off the fence in 2002 to support military action against Iraq than any misinformation offered up by the Bush administration. In this NYTimes commentary (login: buttermilk.com password: buttermilk), Pollack argues that the post-war issue isn't whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction but where they went. And that the debate over pre-war intelligence is valid, but needs to be kept in perspective -- Pollack argues that it isn't a case of the Bush administration lying about Iraq, but there was a serious case of distortion of the facts:

Which raises the real crux of the slanted-intelligence debate: the timing of the war. Why was it necessary to put aside all of our other foreign policy priorities to go to war with Iraq in the spring of 2003? It was always the hardest part of the Bush administration's argument to square with the evidence. And, distressingly, there seems to be more than a little truth to claims that some members of the administration skewed, exaggerated and even distorted raw intelligence to coax the American people and reluctant allies into going to war against Iraq this year.

Before the war, some administration officials clearly tended to emphasize in public only the most dire aspects of the intelligence agencies' predictions. For example, of greatest importance were the estimates of how close Iraq was to obtaining a nuclear weapon. The major Western intelligence services essentially agreed that Iraq could acquire one or more nuclear bombs within about four to six years. However, all also indicated that it was possible Baghdad might be able to do so in as few as one or two years if, and only if, it were able to acquire fissile material on the black market...

...Moreover, before the war I heard many complaints from friends still in government that some Bush officials were mounting a ruthless campaign over intelligence estimates. I was told that when government analysts wrote cautious assessments of Iraq's capabilities, they were grilled and forced to go to unusual lengths to defend their judgments, and some were chastized for failing to come to more alarming conclusions. None of this is illegal, but it was perceived as an attempt to browbeat analysts into either changing their estimates or shutting up and ceding the field to their more hawkish colleagues.

More damning than the claims of my former colleagues has been some of the investigative reporting done since the war. Particularly troubling are reports that the administration knew its contention that Iraq tried to purchase uranium from Niger was based on forged documents. If true, it would be a serious indictment of the administration's handling of the war.

THE REAL STRUGGLE FOR POWER IN IRAQ While the headlines focus on tensions and continued conflict between American soldiers and former Baath loyalists in Iraq, another struggle for the country's future is taking place within the Shiite community. Anthony Shadid reports on a growing rift among Shiite leaders in Sadr City (the Shiite power center in Baghdad) and in Najaf (the spiritual center south of Baghdad).

ART OVER BAGHDAD I had read a month or so back about the Najeen Group, which staged one of the first plays in Iraq after the fall of the Hussein government, but I didn't connect it with what my friend in Baghdad was writing at first. "I don't know if you have seen pictures of it," she wrote, "but this arts group helped erect a new statue in the place of the one the mob pulled down in Firdaws Square on April 9. The new one is called the Survivors Statue, by Basim Hamad, and it is really lovely. It is made of some blue-green oxidized bronze I think, and a group of soft, elongated figures are holding aloft a huge crescent in a triumphant pose that evokes both the Iwojima memorial and Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. Tidy, printed graffiti on the base of the statue says: All Donne, Go Home." Here's a piece in National Geographic about the Najeen Group's efforts.