Hitchens Gives the Finger to Maher's Audience for 'Frivolous' Jeering of Bush  —  Writer/author Christopher Hitchens on Friday night gave the finger to the Los Angeles audience of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher.  As he laid out the case for how it's Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad …

Lieberman's Independent Run Not Looking So Independent To Many  —  Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman would have had to walk a political tightrope to mount what would have been seen as a truly independent re-election bid after losing the primary to challenger Ned Lamont.

Russia Says It Opposes U.N. Sanctions on Iran  —  Russia's defense minister said Friday that it was premature to consider punitive actions against Iran despite its refusal so far to suspend its efforts to enrich uranium as the United Nations Security Council has demanded.

Iran nuclear project forges ahead  —  Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has inaugurated a new phase of a heavy water reactor project despite Western fears about its nuclear programme.  —  He said Iran posed no threat to other states, not even its "enemy" Israel.

Katherine Harris says failure to elect Christians will `legislate sin'  —  ORLANDO, Fla. _Rep.  Katherine Harris said this week that God did not intend for the United States to be a "nation of secular laws" and that a failure to elect Christians to political office will allow lawmaking bodies to "legislate sin."

Global warming boost to glaciers  —  Global warming could be causing some glaciers to grow, a new study claims.  —  Researchers at Newcastle University looked at temperature trends in the western Himalaya over the past century.  —  They found warmer winters and cooler summers …

Issues Await if Democrats Retake House  —  As the start of the fall campaign looms and House Democrats remain within realistic reach of reclaiming the majority, party leaders are beginning to explore the delicate question of what happens if they win.  —  Rusty from being out of power for 12 years …

The More Things Change...  Acting on a tip yesterday from Jon Ham, I wrote this post, ripping into Editor & Publisher editor Greg Mitchell for his guilty history of staging the news.  —  The story was quickly picked up in the blogosphere, including NRO's Media Blog, Instapundit, and Ace of Spades HQ.

Service in Iraq: Just How Risky?  —  The consequences of Operation Iraqi Freedom for U.S. forces are being documented by the Defense Department with an exceptional degree of openness and transparency.  Its daily and cumulative counts of deaths receive a great deal of publicity.

China cracks down on striptease funerals  —  BEIJING (AFP) - China may be giving striptease funerals the last rites after officials arrested five people and ordered an end to the practise, state media said.  —  Strip shows have been commonly used to attract more mourners to funerals …

New Print Edition: House Outlook for 2006  —  The new August 25, 2006 print edition of the Rothenberg Political Report is on its way to subscribers.  (Click here for subscription information.)  —  House Outlook For 2006  —  By Stuart Rothenberg  —  That's a recipe for a GOP disaster …

The Power Joe Rosenthal Knew  —  "Correspondents have a job in war as essential as the military personnel," wrote Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in a memorandum drafted in the worrisome days before the Normandy invasion.  "Fundamentally, public opinion wins wars."

Allen, dogged by protest, dodges downtown  —  4:35 p.m. STAUNTON — Sen. George Allen gave the slip to protesters, supporters and city officials today, bypassing an afternoon stop in downtown Staunton for an unannounced lunch break at a local drive-in restaurant.

Europe Offering Bulk of U.N. Force  —  European countries agreed Friday to provide about half the troops for a new 15,000-member U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, with a significant contingent expected to arrive within a week, officials announced after an emergency meeting here.

63% of Israelis say Olmert must go  —  Call it a meme-crusher.  If Israel really did win the war, word of the victory is, shall we say, slow to reach home.  Fully 63% want Olmert out compared to 29% who want him to stay.  Likud will be the likely beneficiary of the disaffection, which means Ariel Sharon might actually outlive Kadima.