About That Graphic...  I sincerely apologize to anyone who was genuinely offended by the choice of images accompanying my blog post today on the Huffington Post.  It's also important to note that I do not, nor have I ever worked for Ned Lamont's campaign.  However, at their request, I removed the image earlier today.

Israel arrests 5, kills 10 in hospital raid  —  Israeli military: Video proves hospital was Hezbollah HQ  —  JERUSALEM (CNN) — Israel's military released video Wednesday that it said proved a hospital it raided overnight in Lebanon was a Hezbollah headquarters.  Hezbollah disputed the account.

Decades of Cheering Castro's Communism  —  As news organizations update their obituaries of ailing Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, it's worth recalling how many liberal journalists have fallen under Castro's spell over the years, sounding like paid Cuban government propagandists as they touted the …

Court Hands New York Times a Setback in Miller Case  —  The New York Times suffered a legal setback yesterday in its battle to keep a federal prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, from obtaining the phone records of its former reporter, Judith Miller.  —  A federal appeals court yesterday granted …

Settler reservists: Won't go to Lebanon if aim is to advance pullout  —  Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday predicted that the outcome of the Israel Defense Forces' fighting in Lebanon would create "new momentum" for Israel's plan to separate from the Palestinians by withdrawing from much of the West Bank.

GOP Donors Funded Entire PA Green Party Drive  —  OK, we've done it.  We've nailed it down: Every single contributor to the Pennsylvania Green Party Senate candidate is actually a conservative — except for the candidate himself.  —  The Luzerne County Green Party raised $66,000 in the month …

Rome: Jewish shops defaced with swastikas  —  About 20 shops owned by Jews vandalized in apparent neo-fascist attack linked to fighting in Middle East.  Flyers signed by group calling itself Armed Revolutionary Fascists left at the shops denouncing 'Zionist economy,' including pro-Hizbullah slogans

Blasts hit Baghdad football game  —  At least 12 people, many of them children, have been killed in bomb attacks while they were playing football in west Baghdad, police say.  —  Two blasts hit a makeshift pitch on waste ground in a mainly Shia district.  About a dozen other people were hurt.

Evolution Opponents Lose Kansas Board Majority  —  Kansas voters on Tuesday handed power back to moderates on the State Board of Education, setting the stage for a return of science teaching that broadly accepts the theory of evolution, according to preliminary election results.

Iran frees bin Laden son: newspaper  —  Iran has freed a son of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from house arrest, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday.  —  Die Welt said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard released Saad bin Laden on July 28 with the aim of sending him to the Syria-Lebanon border.

Bush Grants Self Permission To Grant More Power To Self  —  WASHINGTON, DC—In a decisive 1-0 decision Monday, President Bush voted to grant the president the constitutional power to grant himself additional powers.  —  "As president, I strongly believe that my first duty as president …

Nearly Complete Haditha Probe Supports Accusations Against Marines  —  WASHINGTON — Evidence collected on the deaths of 24 Iraqis in Haditha supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot the civilians, including unarmed women and children, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.

DCCC's $51.5M ad blitz  —  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has reserved $51.5 million of television advertising in 32 congressional districts.  —  The allocation reveals an aggressive posture toward the midterm elections, with 27 Republican-held districts targeted …

Lebanon: A Primer  —  To understand the current conflict, one must understand the way Lebanese think about this situation.  —  I'll note historical events alive in the minds of Lebanese, and note why Lebanese aren't "infantile" (the preferred Israeli term at the moment) for blaming Syria and Iran.