Today's edition of quick hits:
* The U.N. mission in Syria is very much in doubt after Russia and China, once again, vetoed a resolution that threatened Syrian authorities with sanctions if they did not stop using heavy weapons against an uprising and withdraw troops from towns and cities. The Security Council vote was 11 to 2.
* Meanwhile, violence that had been limited to isolated areas is becoming more common in Damascus.
* A majority with 56 votes wasn't enough: "Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked the No.1 item on the president's congressional 'to-do-list,' refusing to allow a vote on a bill that would give tax breaks for companies that 'insource' jobs to the U.S. from overseas while eliminating tax deductions for companies that move jobs abroad."
* U.S. official confirmed Israel's assertions that "the suicide bomber who killed five Israelis in an attack ... on Wednesday was a member of a Hezbollah cell operating in Bulgaria."
* Eurozone: "Amid much griping, the German Parliament voted Thursday in favor of a plan to rescue Spanish banks."
* Michele Bachmann is not above literally running away from legitimate reporters' questions.
* If George Zimmerman had it to do over again, he wouldn't have done anything differently.
* Congratulations to Glenn Greenwald as he makes the transition from Salon to The Guardian.
* And a conservative blogger thought he/she had found clear evidence of outrageous media bias when he/she saw a picture of Cleveland Plain-Dealer columnist Connie Schultz hugging Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). What the blogger failed to realize (or check): Schultz and Brown are married.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.