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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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."

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Lawmaker Apologizes To Marines For Remarks  —  A Republican congressman apologized yesterday to the Marines under investigation in the killings of two dozen civilians in Haditha, Iraq, last November, saying that statements he made about the case were taken out of context and that he did not mean …

Multiculturalism is to blame for perverting young Muslims  —  By Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester  —  Islamic radicalism did not begin with Muslim grievances over Western foreign policy in Iraq or Afghanistan.  It has deep roots, going back to the 13th-century reformer Ibn Taimiyya …

Defeat of Bush's judicial nominee traced to S.C.'s Graham  —  WASHINGTON — If the defeat of a high-profile judicial nominee were probed like a homicide investigation, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's fingerprints would be on the gun.  —  After Congress adjourned for its summer recess last week …