German Suitcase Bombs Were Primed to Go Off, Kill (Update2)  —  Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — Two suitcases containing bottles of gasoline, propane gas and a detonating device that were found abandoned in German regional trains last month were bombs primed to go off and kill a ``high number'' of people, police said.

Officials: U.S. blocked missiles to Hezbollah  —  WASHINGTON — The United States blocked an Iranian cargo plane's flight to Syria last month after intelligence analysts concluded it was carrying sophisticated missiles and launchers to resupply Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, two U.S. intelligence officials say.

Israel alarm at UN force members  —  Israel says it would be "difficult if not inconceivable" to accept nations which do not recognise its right to exist as part of a UN force in Lebanon.  —  Israeli UN envoy Dan Gillerman was speaking after Indonesia and Malaysia, which do not recognise Israel, pledged troops for the UN deployment.

The Post Editorial Board tell us how serious, high-minded people should talk about Presidential law-breaking  —  For the last four years, the Bush administration has deliberately violated multiple laws because it has adopted radical theories which vest law-breaking powers in the President.

Wal-Mart Image-Builder Resigns  —  The civil rights leader Andrew Young, who was hired by Wal-Mart to improve its public image, resigned from that post last night after telling an African-American newspaper that Jewish, Arab and Korean shop owners had "ripped off" urban communities for years …

No JonBenet Apologies Necessary  —  THE PRESS NEEDN'T REGRET ITS COVERAGE OF THE CASE.  —  This morning finds at least four press-hounds baying their apologies to the Ramseys on behalf of their colleagues or society at large.  They beg the family's forgiveness for having ever suspected them of killing JonBenet.

Would Party Forgive Joe?  —  Lieberman Says Democrats Can Count On Him If He Wins; Vice Versa Is Iffy  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman says he'll stick with the Democrats if he wins his third-party re-election bid - but will the Democrats stick with him?

Katherine Harris sees endorsements fizzle  —  ORLANDO, Fla. - Katherine Harris' attempt to boost her campaign with a series of high-profile endorsements wilted Thursday when none of the officials appeared at her campaign rally and one of them said Harris wrongly included him on her list of supporters.

Video provokes questions of Lebanese army  —  Lebanese forces move southward; Beirut airport reopens  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — A video showing Lebanese soldiers cordially offering Israeli troops glasses of tea during the military offensive earlier this month has hit Israeli and Hezbollah airwaves.

Photojournalism in Crisis  —  The Israeli-Hezbollah war has left many dead bodies, ruined towns, and wobbling politicians in its wake, but the media historian of the future may also count as one more victim the profession of photojournalism.  In twenty years of researching and teaching …

New Limits Set Over Marketing for Cigarettes  —  A federal judge ordered strict new limitations on tobacco marketing on Thursday after finding that cigarette makers deserved to be punished for a decades-old conspiracy to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking.

Controversial Muslim group gets VIP airport security tour  —  Feds show CAIR latest screening steps, sensitive counterterrorism procedures  —  The Department of Homeland Security took a Muslim group with known past ties to terror organizations on a VIP tour of security operations …

My future may be bright, but it might not be Orange  —  Perry de Havilland (London) Blogging & Bloggers  Can it be true that UK mobile phone company Orange has suspended an employee, Inigo Wilson, for a non-work related entry on a blog?  What seems to have caused offence is him making jokes in his 'Lefty Lexicon' such as:

Hagel awaits nation's mood  —  In the tenth August of his Senate career, this is a time of reflection for Chuck Hagel.  Decision time comes later, and it can wait.  —  Gliding above the green hills of northeastern Nebraska this week in a King Air bound from Norfolk to Sioux City, the shirtsleeved senator embraces the moment.

TV News Vultures Circling JonBenet's Corpse — Again  —  The top story on TV news last night was not the Iraq war or tentative Lebanon peace, or major court rulings on tobacco and warrantless wiretapping, or oil prices or pension "reform" or any of a dozen stories that affect millions of citizens.

Texas GOP back Houston councilwoman  —  PEARLAND, Texas - Republican agreed Thursday to support a Houston city councilwoman as the write-in candidate on the November ballot in place of former House Majority leader Tom DeLay, who resigned from Congress in June amid allegations of money laundering.