Hizbullah likely to retain weapons  —  Hizbullah will not hand over its weapons to the Lebanese government but rather refrain from exhibiting them publicly, according to a new compromise that is reportedly brewing between Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Seniora and Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Democrats See Security as Key Issue for Fall  —  After being outmaneuvered in the politics of national security in the last two elections, Democrats say they are determined not to cede the issue this year and are working to cast President Bush as having diminished the nation's safety.

The New Pork Database  —  A while back, several groups including the Club for Growth, were able to get their hands on the 2007 Labor-HHS appropriations bill that was introduced in the House (but has not yet passed), along with the committee report.  What we found were 1,867 pork projects hidden in the bill.

George Allen's America  —  "MY FRIENDS, we're going to run this campaign on positive, constructive ideas," Sen. George F. Allen told a rally of Republican supporters in Southwest Virginia last week.  "And it's important that we motivate and inspire people for something."

Link between British suspect and 9/11 conspirator explored  —  THE German authorities are investigating contacts between a Briton being questioned over the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airlines and a key figure in the September 11, 2001, terrorist cell.

Clinton Sounds Off on Terror, Republicans  —  Taking a break from his work at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto on Monday, former President Clinton warned Republicans not to politicize the London terror arrests, slammed Sen. Joe Lieberman, whom he campaigned for just a couple weeks ago …

Muslims face extra checks in new travel crackdown  —  THE Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk.  —  The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people …

The Triumph of Unrealism  —  Five weeks have passed since the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers provoked Israel to launch its most unsatisfactory military operation in 58 years.  What problem has been solved, or even ameliorated?  —  Hezbollah, often using World War II-vintage rockets …

Israel humbled by arms from Iran  —  Abandoned Hizbollah positions in Lebanon yesterday revealed conclusive evidence that Syria - and almost certainly Iran - provided the anti-tank missiles that have blunted the power of Israel's once invincible armour.  —  After one of the fiercest confrontations …

New National Poll Finds: More Americans Know Snow White's Dwarfs Than Supreme Court Judges, Homer Simpson Than Homer's Odyssey, and Harry Potter Than Tony Blair  —  DULLES, Va. & UTICA, N.Y.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Aug. 14, 2006—  Gold Rush Pop Culture Poll from AOL and Mark Burnett …

From TPM Reader DN ...  I have mixed feelings about what DN has to say.  But I do recognize a lot in it I identify with.  TPM has always been pretty aggressive and pugilistic in its politics.  The site, after all, started during the 2000 recount, the founding political bad act from which, you might say, everything else followed.

Our World: The Olmert government must go  —  From all sides of the political spectrum calls are being raised for the establishment of an official commission of inquiry to investigate the Olmert government's incompetent management of the war in Lebanon.  These calls are misguided.

A Life on Hold in California Prison  —  Sara Jane Olson has gone from SLA fugitive to suburban mother to low-key inmate.  Now, in 'enforced idleness,' she awaits her 2009 release.  —  CHOWCHILLA, Calif. — Shortly after 8 each weekday morning, Inmate W94197 reports for work on the prison yard.

Men held in Michigan suspected of plan to attack Mackinac Bridge  —  Federal authorities helped with the investigation into a possible terror threat to the Mackinac Bridge.  The FBI office in Detroit worked with local law enforcement authorities before the police arrested three men in Caro on Friday.

President Discusses Foreign Policy During Visit to State Department  —  Washington, D.C.  —  In Focus: Global Diplomacy  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon.  Today I met with members of my national security team, both here at the State Department and at the Pentagon.

Don't Trust If They Won't Verify  —  Once again, fake news is in the news, as it turns out that many moving stories of carnage in Lebanon were not only moving, but, well, fake.  This raises major questions about the future of the news business, and offers a significant threat to free expression.

Stranger and Stranger  —  WHY IS GEORGE BUSH READING CAMUS?  —  On his summer vacation in Crawford, Texas, George Bush read Albert Camus' novel The Stranger.  I'm not sure what to make of this.  It's usually college freshmen who suddenly take up the French existentialist's slim volume …