One imagines that this didn't make Dick Cheney too happy: According to The New York Times, last year President Bush denied a secret request by Israel for specialized bunker-busting bombs that it wanted to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. He also denied Israel's request for permission to fly over Iraq in order to strike at Iran. The Times reports that "while Mr. Bush was extensively briefed on options for an overt American attack on Iran's facilities, he never instructed the Pentagon to move beyond contingency planning." It credits this to the influence of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who advocated covert activities instead. "The covert American program, started in early 2008, includes renewed American efforts to penetrate Iran's nuclear supply chain abroad, along with new efforts, some of them experimental, to undermine electrical systems, computer systems, and other networks on which Iran relies."

Does this qualify as a funeral? The Detroit Auto Show begins this week, but no one seems very excited. It may very well be the last showing for Chrysler, which could go under later this year. The Big Three plan to highlight new energy-efficient cars, but Reuters notes "economic uncertainty and a fight to survive will take center stage." Some automakers, like Nissan and Mitsubishi, are skipping the show altogether, while the rest have scaled back their displays. (Sorry, no GM fashion show this year). "When you have your hand out to the government and when you're operating at this point on government funds, it is a little inappropriate to give a big party," one industry analyst tells Reuters.

Could this be the final audition? Caroline Kennedy met with New York Gov. David Paterson yesterday at around 2 p.m. to talk about Hillary Clinton’s vacated U.S. Senate seat. As The Times notes, it was an important summit for Kennedy, “whose uneven public audition for the job—including a campaign-style swing through upstate New York and a series of difficult interviews with reporters—punctured [her] early air of inevitability.” Paterson has already had formal sit-downs with a half dozen candidates, including Steve Israel and Carolyn Maloney, but had yet to meet Kennedy face to face.

Clint Eastwood’s latest film drubbed the competition this weekend at the box office. His star turn in Gran Torino—which he’s hinted may be his last in front of the camera—earned $29 million in its first weekend of wide release, his best opening ever. The drama, about an embittered Korean War vet, beat out Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson’s rom-com Bride Wars, which took in $21.5 million, and the horror flick The Unborn, at $21.1 million. While Gran Torino, which Eastwood also directed, was largely overlooked at tonight’s Golden Globes, its big box office haul could boost its chances at the Oscars. Eastwood could still pick up an award tonight for his song from the movie, also called Gran Torino.

It gets worse: According to the New York Post, the financial carnage from Bernie Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme has extended to his own family. Madoff’s sister, Sondra Wiener, lost millions, the paper reports, and is selling her Palm Beach home. “Yes, my family's a victim. More so than anybody else. It's very painful," Wiener’s son said in a statement. To be sure, she should be able to get something for the home: a 3,400-square feet beauty with a pool, spa, and nightly sunset views. Wiener was one of the family members who recieved Cartier and Tiffany watches in Madoff’s impromptu show of benevolence last week; prosecutors will ask for his bail to be revoked in a hearing on Monday.

Kate Winslet took home a statue for Best Supporting Actress at tonight's Golden Globe Awards, followed quickly by Bruce Springsteen winning Best Original Song for The Wrestler. Winslet was recognized for her role as a Nazi prison guard in Stephen Daldry's The Reader. Slumdog Millionaire ran away with Best Motion Picture Drama.

Prince Harry's reign as the royal family's black sheep continues: The 24-year-old apologized last night for a video from 2006 that was leaked of him calling an Asian soldier that he serves with "our little Paki friend" and telling another soldier that he looks like a "raghead." The video also shows Harry mocking his grandmother the Queen, pretending to end a phone call with her by saying "I've got to go, got to go. Send my love to the corgis. Send my love to the corgis and grandpa," adding "God Save You . . ."

Say this for Bono: He’s no Bill Kristol. The singer-songwriter’s first offering for the New York Times op-ed page (where he’ll contribute an irregular column) eschews pet causes like debt relief and instead salutes Frank Sinatra. Yes, Sinatra, whom Bono caroused with back in the 1990s. (Frank: “I don’t usually hang with men who wear earrings.”) Bono describes the strange sensation of listening to two different recordings of “My Way.” One was recorded in 1969, when Sinatra was fed up with the music business and used the song as a taunt; another “My Way,” made when Sinatra was 78, was “a heart-stopping, heartbreaking song of defeat…an apology.” It takes quite a singer to find two contradictory ideas in a single song. And Bono, who knows that his job as a political columnist mandates making all of this into a metaphor for our political present, asks: “This is our moment. What do we hear?”

In a fascinating piece for the Los Angeles Times, Paul Watson catches up with a group of Taliban fighters in Ghazni, Afghanistan. Though they were kicked out of power seven years ago and have been waging an insurgent war ever since, the Taliban ride through “enemy territory” like they own the place, their guns and long knives hidden under their heavy woolen cloaks, as government troops look the other way. They live comfortably in farming villages, training recruits, and follow the Pashtun code that demands a host protect the life of a guest before his own. And during their down time, they watch Al-Jazeera—where images of Israeli bombing in Gaza makes them more determined than ever to fight. As for Obama, he’s “just another infidel” to them.

Something to consider before the next time you go digging online for trivia: A Harvard University physicist has calculated that two Google searches uses up the same amount of energy as boiling a cup of water. According to Alex Wissner-Gross, a single Google search emits about two grams of carbon dioxide, while using a webpage emits about .02 grams per second (and a webpage with video emits about .2 grams per second). Google is secretive about its carbon footprint, and doesn't even disclose the locations of its data centers, but a recent report by industry analysts suggests that IT has the same carbon footprint as the airline industries. Part of the reason for Google's large footprint is that it sends searches to several competing servers, rather than to just one.

What were the Obamas like in love, before the political spotlight was shown on them? Judging from an interview now published in Le Monde from 1996 (the same year that Obama would run for state senate), not so different than they are now. According to Barack, "I think that in a certain way we complement each other, we represent two common models of family life in this country. One very stable and strong, another that frees itself from the constraint of a traditional family, travels, separates, is very mobile." He then has these kind words for Michelle: "if you look deep into her eyes, there’s a certain vulnerability. In any case, I see it even if most don’t realize it: she goes through life tall, beautiful, confident, very able…There’s a part of her that is fragile, young, sometimes scared, and I think these are contradictions that attracted me to her."  Michelle, at one point, notes "there's a strong possibility that Barack will pursue a career in politics, although it's not very clear yet."

No one believed that Barack Obama was going to be able to tackle his campaign promises immediately, not with the looming recession. But the list of promises being delayed, recounted in this morning’s Times, is quite stout: “renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, overhauling immigration laws, restricting carbon emissions, raising taxes on the wealthy, and allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military.” In an interview airing today on This Week, Obama says, “Not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace we had hoped.” Most of the interest-group types who talked to the paper are patient, though they’re not willing to wait forever. “I am suggesting this is very doable in 2009,” says the head of a group that represents gay soldiers who were forced out of the military.

Might Clint Eastwood be like a fine wine? The 78-year-old director's latest film, Gran Torino, took top spot at the box office on Friday and had the best ever opening day for an Eastwood film. Gran Torino grossed $9.6 million on Friday night, easily beating Eastwood's previous record of $5.4 million for 2002's Space Cowboys. Coming in behind Gran Torino on Friday were Unborn and Bride Wars, with respective takes of $8.2 and $8.1 million.