To Save a Revolution  —  You could sense the hurt and anger as Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora pleaded this week to the U.S. ambassador and other diplomats in Beirut for a halt to Israeli attacks on Lebanese targets.  "The country has been torn to shreds," he said.  "I hope you will not let us down."

In Mideast Strife, Bush Sees a Step To Peace  —  President Bush's unwillingness to pressure Israel to halt its military campaign in Lebanon is rooted in a view of the Middle East conflict that is sharply different from that of his predecessors.  —  When hostilities have broken out in the past …

A Secret the Media Kept  —  Toward the end of 1979, hundreds of American and Canadian journalists and news organizations got hold of a dynamite news story that would have made personal reputations and careers and sent circulation or broadcast ratings soaring.  The facts were confirmed, unassailably.

Two N.J. Casinos Sued Schlesinger Over Debts  —  When Alan Schlesinger gave a fake name while playing blackjack at Foxwoods in the early 1990s, he had already been sued over a gambling debt by one Atlantic City casino and was on the way to racking up an even bigger debt that led to a second lawsuit.

Exiled Bakri in SOS plea  —  EXILED preacher of hate Omar Bakri has begged the Royal Navy to rescue him from war-torn Beirut.  —  The Muslim cleric who fled Britain last year, tried to board a ship full of women and children yesterday but was turned away.  —  He also wrote to the British …

Top-Secret World Loses Blogger  —  CIA Contractor Is Fired When Internal Post Crosses the Line  —  Christine Axsmith, a software contractor for the CIA, considered her blog a success within the select circle of people who could actually access it.  —  Only people with top-secret security clearances …

Sen. Reid: Iraq devolves into 'civil war'  —  Democratic leader will try to revive Senate debate on Iraq  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Declaring that he believes the situation in Iraq has devolved into a civil war, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he plans to try to bring the war back up for debate on the Senate floor.

Sources: Negroponte Blocks CIA Analysis of Iraq "Civil War"  —  I reported in May that despite the deteriorating situation in Iraq, no National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) has been produced on that country since the summer of 2004.  The last NIE, a classified document that the CIA describes as …

First arrests in Mumbai bombings  —  Police in India have arrested three men in connection with a series of bombings that killed more than 180 people in the city of Mumbai (Bombay) last week.  —  The police have detained more than 300 suspects but these are the first arrests in the case.

WHERE'S GEORGE?  AND WHERE'S DOUG?  —  My previous post about the much-quoted "George Harleigh" (said to be a SIU political science professor who worked for Nixon and Reagan administrations) has received enough attention that I thought it merited a new post.

Centrist Democrats Ponder How To Counter Netroots  —  At a time when centrism has become a dirty word in some Democratic Party circles, hundreds of the party's avowed moderates are convening in Denver this weekend to discuss their agenda for this fall's election and the presidential contest in 2008.