Israel nearly triples troops in Lebanon  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel staged wide-ranging airstrikes and sent commandos into the Hezbollah heartland Saturday as the United Nations raced to begin enforcing its new cease-fire blueprint and stop the heavy fighting still raging in southern Lebanon.

Bush staff wanted bomb-detect cash moved  —  WASHINGTON - While the British terror suspects were hatching their plot, the Bush administration was quietly seeking permission to divert $6 million that was supposed to be spent this year developing new homeland explosives detection technology.

SHALOM, EHUD, AND GOODBYE  —  Crystal ball on:  —  Ehud Olmert's days are numbered as prime minister.  The slapdash, haphazard and wholly indecisive way he has handled the Hezbollah war has doomed his chances of remaining in office past the end of this year, probably before then and maybe very soon.

Legal surveillance, not illegal eavesdropping, stopped the U.K. terrorist attacks  —  (updated below)  —  As I noted on Thursday, Bush supporters have been attempting to exploit the U.K. terrorist plot to bolster support for an array of extremist and lawless Bush policies …

The Ripple Effect  —  The foiled airline plot boosts President Bush's terror ratings, but the new NEWSWEEK Poll finds a lot for Democrats to cheer as the midterm elections approach.  —  Charles Rex Arbogast / AP  —  Americans awakened to a new day of air travel on Aug. 10.

AP Source Salam Daher Rescues Bodies That Aren't There  —  An AP article white washes a Lebanese Civil Defense worker bloggers suspect of disseminating Hezbollah propaganda.  And they quote a colleague who apparently doesn't have any concerns about sharing information with Hezbollah to back him up.

Joe Lieberman And The Jews  —  Rabbi Marc Gellman, writing in Newsweek, expresses puzzlement about why Joe Lieberman did so poorly among Connecticut's Jews.  Here's part of it: … There's a lot more in his impassioned essay but the answer may be a bit simple:  —  Few groups are totally monolithic anymore.

Conservative group sets sights on Chafee  —  PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Fresh off their first victory over a Republican incumbent, GOP conservatives seeking party purity on taxes and spending are focused on ousting moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island.

I was in Hitler's SS, admits Günter Grass  —  Germany was rocked by the revelations last night that Günter Grass, its greatest living author and doyen of the Left, was a member of Hitler's elite Waffen-SS.  —  The Nobel laureate, who has been the country's moral guide for decades …

Lebanon photos: Take a closer look  —  THE controversy this week over Reuters' distribution of digitally manipulated, falsely labeled and — probably — staged photos of the fighting in Lebanon hasn't been nearly as large as it should have been.  —  Credit for bringing the sordid business …

Expert: Iran Poised To Be 'Mother of All World Threats'  —  WASHINGTON — For anyone who still thinks the Israeli-Lebanon war is just a border scuffle, one Middle East expert shouts a dire warning:  —  "As soon as a cease fire occurs, the 'Hezbollah Blitzkrieg' will crumble the 'Lebanese Republic …

U.S. Ambassador Says Iran Is Inciting Attacks  —  Iran is pressing Shiite militias here to step up attacks against the American-led forces in retaliation for the Israeli assault on Lebanon, the American ambassador to Iraq said Friday.  Iran may foment even more violence as it faces off …

Blue America: Dave Mejias, NY-03  —  (Dave Mejias joins us live in the comments to chat with you about his candidacy.  Please stop by the comments and give Dave a great FDL welcome.  Thanks!  — CHS)  —  When I spoke with Dave Mejias on the phone a couple days ago I mentioned that I grew …

Increasingly, Bush Escapes the Media Pack  —  GREEN BAY, Wis. — On one of the scariest days yet in the five-year battle with terrorists, President Bush prepared to make a speech to reassure the American people.  But the White House press corps was 1,000 miles away in Texas.

Whose Issue Is Terrorism?  —  The Parties Maneuver for Advantage on National Security  —  The aggressive Democratic response to this week's foiled terrorist plot reflects a widely shared view among party strategists that intensified attacks against President Bush represent the best chance …

"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser  —  Coverage of Lamont-Lieberman race: a case study in how anti-Dem narratives dominate political media — even as political threat level for Republicans rises to "severe"  —  In the wake of Connecticut Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont's primary victory …