US, France agree on cease-fire draft; UNSC vote at 1 am  —  France and the United States reached a deal Friday on a final draft resolution that would authorize the deployment of 15,000 UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon to support a Lebanese force as it takes control of the region and Israel withdraws.

The Pakistan Connection  —  Pakistani police on Thursday arrested a number of UK Muslims within Pakistan who were also suspected of involvement in the "Liquid Bomb Threat."  —  British authorities say that they have been investigating the group behind the airplane bombing plot for "about a year."

Three Middle Eastern Men Found With 1000 Cell Phones  —  (TV5) — Around 1:00am August 11th three men purchased cell phones from the Wal-Mart store on M-81 near the corner of M-24 in Caro.  Wal-Mart places a limit on the number of cell phones that can be purchased at once, that number is three.

BUSH AND CHENEY'S REIGN OF ERROR  —  VEEP SAYS CONN. VOTERS AIDING AL QAEDA.  NOW, THAT'S SCARY.  —  THESE PEOPLE have no shame.  Their contempt for democracy is so great they will stop at nothing to undermine it.  Their adherence to fundamentalist beliefs that blinds them to reality is frightening.

Democrats assail GOP fundraising effort  —  WASHINGTON - Democrats assailed the Republicans Friday for e-mailing a fundraising appeal mentioning the war on terror hours after British authorities disclosed they had disrupted a plot to blow up aircraft headed to the United States.

The War and the Democrats  —  A reader writes: … My only substantive quarrel with this is as follows: the proclaimed Bush policy was not mere deployment of brute force, torture, bombs and swagger as a response to the civil war within Islam.  It was ostensibly to create a beach-head for modernity and democracy in Iraq.

Vital Perspective Exclusive: Leaked Copy of the Security Council Resolution  —  Vital Perspective exclusive: We have obtained a copy of the draft Security Council resolution to be presented for a vote in New York, possibly as early as tonight.  This, to our knowledge, is the first outlet to present it publicly.

Don't Believe What You See in the Papers  —  THE UNTRUSTWORTHINESS OF NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY.  —  There's an old joke about a Southern preacher who's asked by a skeptical congregant if he really believes in infant baptism.  "Believe in it?" the preacher replies.  "Why, I've seen it done!"

LGF Exclusive: How Much Does It Cost to Buy Global TV News?  —  An LGF reader who worked for Associated Press TV News sent me the following article explaining how APTN works, and suggesting a reason why their coverage of the Middle East is so overwhelmingly biased against Israel:

Montana Senate: Burns Bouncing Back  —  Candidates Tied at 47%  —  The most recent Rasmussen Reports election poll in Montana shows incumbent Republican Senator Conrad Burns and Democrat Jon Tester tied at 47% (see crosstabs).  This month's results mark an improvement for Burns …

State Still Checking Lieberman's Petitions  —  U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman is acting like he is a candidate in November's general election, but it won't be known for several days whether his petition drive to gain a spot on the ballot is successful.  —  The morning after his primary defeat to Ned Lamont …