Lebanon's 'real' soldiers are put in their place  —  TODAY was supposed to be the day when the muchmaligned army of Lebanon took control of its borders and policed the UN ceasefire.  —  Instead, its military commanders were left humiliated and its troops stranded as Hezbollah told them not to try to disarm its fighters.

Plot Shows Rise of Extremism in Europe  —  Britain's struggle to contain Muslim extremism points up a chilling trend across Europe: the rise of radical Islam, and with it, a willingness among a small but dangerous minority of young people to answer the call to jihad.

Iranian Censors Clamp Down on Bloggers  —  Categories: Global / world / Middle East / economy, business and finance / religion and belief / Islamic politics, banking and law / islam / online media / media / punishment / crime, law and justice / law and the judiciary (system of justice) …

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, A Saint For Our Times  —  Today is the feast day of my favorite saint (yes, I know, Catholic alert!), Father Maximilian Kolbe.  The patron saint of journalists, families, and prisoners died in Auschwitz in 1941, taking the place of another selected for death.

Poll: Americans Back Air Restrictions  —  CBS Survey: 75% Say Ban On Liquids And Gels Is Necessary  —  (CBS) Americans are signaling strong support for air travel restrictions in the wake of last week's foiled terror plot in Britain, a CBS News poll finds.

Which Travelers Have 'Hostile Intent'?  Biometric Device May Have the Answer  —  At airport security checkpoints in Knoxville, Tenn. this summer, scores of departing passengers were chosen to step behind a curtain, sit in a metallic oval booth and don headphones.

Dean Defends Lamont, Slams Lieberman  —  Today on NBC's Meet the Press, David Gregory asked DNC Chairman Howard Dean, about his support for Ned Lamont vs. Joe Lieberman.  —  MR. GREGORY: Let me ask you about the big political news of the week, that of course related to Senator Joe Lieberman.

Hizbullah 'victory' boosts extremists  —  RAMALLAH  —  At least 50 newborn babies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been named after Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah over the past month, sources in the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

IRAN'S PRES.  AHMADINEJAD LAUNCHES HIS OWN BLOG  —  Not satisfied with the Tehran regime's attacks on websites and bloggers — a number of whom have been jailed — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (photo left) has now started his own blog.  Reuters reported yesterday that Ahmadinejad …

Donors say Lieberman will be well-funded  —  Supporters of Israel from both parties will be crucial to senator's effort  —  Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., campaigning last Thursday in Waterbury, Conn., a city he won with 60 percent of the vote in last week's primary.  —  WASHINGTON -

Passport photograph of girl's bare shoulders rejected 'as it may offend'  —  A five-year-old girl's passport application was rejected because her photograph showed her bare shoulders.  —  Hannah Edwards's mother, Jane, was told that the exposed skin might be considered offensive in a Muslim country.

All missing Egyptian students in custody  —  WASHINGTON - The last two of the 11 Egyptian exchange students who failed to show up at their college program were apprehended Sunday in Richmond, Va., customs officials said.  —  Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Maray …

For GOP, Bad Gets Worse in Northeast  —  Incumbents Shy From Party and President  —  PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. — When it comes to President Bush and the Republican Congress, Rep. Jim Gerlach says voters in his suburban Philadelphia district are in a "sour mood."  —  That's why when it comes …

The case for neglecting global warming  —  In the July 30 edition of The New York Times, Gina Kolata reports on recent research findings on the health of modern citizens of industrialized countries.  You might expect that this research reveals us denizens of early 21st-century capitalist economies …

Fauxtography?  Amazing new IAF missiles mimic sledgehammer damage  —  We've been down this road before.  Remember?  —  That photo, purporting to depict a car hit by Israeli missiles whose windshield nonetheless remained intact, was taken on August 6 by Nasser Nasser — who was also one of the photographers at Qana.

Part 1: The kidnapping  —  An interview with an Iraqi politician turns deadly.  —  My chief captor had an idea about how to prod the US government into action: another video.  —  He said this one would be different, and left.  —  I turned to the two guards sitting on cushions a few feet away and started to panic.

Gender Gap Worries Educators  —  Girls Outperform Boys In Reading, Writing  —  While black, Hispanic and low-income children again lagged far behind others on statewide mastery test scores, another group of students also remained mired in a chronic - though often less noticed - achievement gap.

'The voter registration you currently hold...may be cancelled'  —  NOTE: Make sure you see Grebner's latest comments down at the bottom.  —  Remember a few weeks ago when my ex-boss and political list kingpin Mark Grebner (D) called attention to the massive statewide mailing Secretary …