What is the headline today?

Tailrank highlights yesterday's rant by Hugo Chavez. Personally, I thought Chavez's gesture of signing the cross when he cautioned against "el Diablo" was pretty funny. The Financial Times ledes that this speech will go down in UN lore.

The Boston Globe notes that a New England congressman close to Chavez does not approve of Venezuelan's remarks.

Ronald Brownstein, in the Los Angeles Times, notes positive momentum for the GOP and the president in recent polls. The New York Times shows terrible numbers for the Congress. (Does the Congress ever have great numbers?)

The Los Angeles Times reports on a grim UN assessment on Iraq -- thousands killed in July and August, torture in detention centers. US generals believe that violence will increase at the start of Ramadan this weekend, AP.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has a story on the progress of the Afghan National Army (this quote is stunning):

The Americans said the performance by their allies, the Afghan National Army (ANA), was not uncommon.

"The ANA has no concept that it's their country and their job to defend it," complained Army Capt. Robert Stanton, the U.S. company commander who ordered his troops to fill the abandoned post. "Some units are good. But most are crap."

Five years after the defeat of the Taliban, the international project to build a multiethnic Afghan National Army moves ahead fitfully. So far, 30,000 troops out of an authorized force of 50,000 have been trained. But the ANA, whose troops fight alongside coalition forces, still cannot stand on its own.