Lebanon prime minister condemns Israel  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon - Standing in the midst of the rubble of south Beirut, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora called the Israeli bombing campaign "a crime against humanity," and Lebanon's defense minister warned any group that breaks the Middle East cease-fire will be dealt with harshly.

Pundits Renounce The President  —  For 10 minutes, the talk show host grilled his guests about whether "George Bush's mental weakness is damaging America's credibility at home and abroad."  For 10 minutes, the caption across the bottom of the television screen read, "IS BUSH AN 'IDIOT'?"

Hamas plea over seized deputy PM  —  Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has appealed to the international community for help to secure the release of his deputy.  —  Nasser al-Shaer was detained by the Israeli army early on Saturday.  —  The Israeli army said it had detained Mr Shaer …

What Next?  —  The debate is over: By any definition, Iraq is in a state of civil war.  Indeed, the only thing standing between Iraq and a descent into total Bosnia-like devastation is 135,000 U.S. troops — and even they are merely slowing the fall.  The internecine conflict could easily spiral …

Arab media slam Syrian president  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon  —  Syria's president sparked a wave of anger after he knocked Mideast leaders as "half men" in a televised speech, underlining the divisions as Arab nations try to form a unified front in the wake of the Lebanon crisis.

Kerry Calls Lieberman the New Cheney  —  Senator Labels Bush Iraq Policy 'Disaster,' Lieberman Bid 'Huge Mistake'  —  Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., blasted fellow a Democrat, Sen. Joe Lieberman, for continuing his bid in the Connecticut Senate race despite a narrow loss to newcomer Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary earlier this month.

The Rise of Shrinking-Vacation Syndrome  —  In August, when much of the world is hard at work trying to do nothing, Jeff Hopkins and his wife, Denise, usually take a week to chase fish in Olympic National Park — a ferry ride and two tanks of gas from here with a boat in tow.

Hezbollah night-vision gear was from Britain, Israel says  —  It's believed to be an export to Iran in drug-fighting effort  —  (08-20) 04:00 PDT Kiryat Shemona, Israel — Israeli intelligence officials have complained to Britain and the United States that sensitive night-vision equipment recovered …

It's News, Right?  —  Thank God for the JonBenet story.  We may not be getting any closer to solving the disaster in the Middle East, but at least we didn't have to hear much about it last week.  Hezbollah, Hamas, Sunnis, Shiites, Iran, Iraq, it's all so complicated, such — as Bush says — "hard work."

With doublespeaking France, honor gets lost in translation  —  French is the traditional language of diplomacy.  Diplomacy is the art of saying one thing while doing another.  —  In recent weeks, France stepped forward to act as a broker of peace in Lebanon.

And Now, Islamism Trumps Arabism  —  SHE grew up in Cairo with the privileges that go to the daughter of a military officer, attended a university and landed a job in marketing.  He grew up in a poor village of dusty unpaved roads, where young men work long hours in a brick factory while dreaming …

The Culture Of Corruption Redux  —  When the Democrats adopted the "culture of corruption" meme as their campaign theme earlier this year, we noted that the culture hardly respected party lines.  The leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, Harry Reid, took contributions from clients …

Mark Steyn: It's breeding obvious, mate  —  Australia and the US can avoid the bleak future awaiting dying old Europe  —  I'M honored to be asked to give the C D Kemp lecture before members of the Institute he founded and which lives on after him.  I've been in Australia for a couple …