Exiled Muslim Cleric Behind London Protest Calling for Pope's Death  —  As suspected, it was followers of exiled cleric Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed who organized a rally yesterday outside of London's Westminster Cathederal calling for the death penalty for the Pope's blasphemy.

Rhode Island Senate: Chafee Trailing By 8  —  Whitehouse (D) 51% Chafee (R) 43%  —  The GOP establishment forcefully backed Republican Lincoln Chafee in the primary over a more conservative and arguably less-electable Republican.  But, perhaps damaged by having to struggle so long for the nomination …

Revealed: the tough interrogation techniques the CIA wants to use  —  Ed Pilkington in New York and Clare Dyer  —  Details emerged yesterday about the seven interrogation techniques the CIA is seeking to be allowed to apply to terror suspects.  Newsweek magazine reported that a New York lawyer …

Head-in-the-Sand Liberals  —  Western civilization really is at risk from Muslim extremists.  —  TWO YEARS AGO I published a book highly critical of religion, "The End of Faith."  In it, I argued that the world's major religions are genuinely incompatible, inevitably cause conflict …

Jew!  —  A Virginia Senate campaign fought largely in Youtube got its newest Youtube moment today — courtesy the unlikeliest of sources, a reporter.  —  9News Now reporter Peggy Fox probably wouldn't have been booed at Nuremberg.  But that's the treatment she got inside the Hilton McLean Ballroom …

Murdered nun asked forgiveness for killers as she lay dying, colleagues say  —  NAIROBI, Kenya Sister Leonella, a nun who devoted her life to helping the sick in volatile regions of Africa, used to joke that there was a bullet with her name engraved on it in Somalia.

Report from the Steak Fry  —  The Tom Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, IA yesterday was Barack Obama's coming out party as a national candidate for higher office.  Whether that campaign is for President or Vice President in 2008 or 2012 is still up in the air — but there's no doubt …

Support for Electronic Filing of Senate Candidates' Campaign-Finance Records Gains Momentum  —  In the next few weeks leading up to Election Day, money will pour into candidates' coffers and voters will be able to see which lobby groups are trying hardest to buy their lawmakers' favor.

What's Really Propping Up The Economy  —  Since 2001, the health-care industry has added 1.7 million jobs.  The rest of the private sector?  None  —  If you really want to understand what makes the U.S. economy tick these days, don't go to Silicon Valley, Wall Street, or Washington.

Does Iran already have a nuclear weapon?  —  Instapundit Glenn Reynolds, commenting on my last post about Iran, wonders if Iran already has a nuclear weapon and the result is policy blackmail.  —  Reynolds writes: … Iran has already implicitly played the "war" card in its diplomatic maneuverings …

Surge in Anti-Muslim Incidents Reported  —  Md., Va. and D.C. Among Top 10 Locations for Harassment  —  A national Muslim advocacy organization yesterday blamed a "negative and politically charged" environment on the Internet and talk radio for the 30 percent jump in anti-Muslim incidents reported to the group last year.

Not a blank check  —  NEW YORK // While the nation has been commemorating the 9/11 attacks, today marks the fifth anniversary of another significant - yet largely overlooked - event in the fight against terrorists.  —  Five years ago today, Congress authorized the president to attack Afghanistan …

BREAKING/Exclusive: Why FBI Raided Largest U.S. Islamic Charity Today  —  I've been writing about LIFE for Relief and Development for years, and I think my columns (especially this one, a shorter version of which appeared in the New York Post), have finally made a difference.

Republicans gain in midterm polls  —  Republicans appear to be gaining on the Democrats in the 2006 midterm campaign because of growing confidence in the economy, falling gas prices and President Bush's sustained political offensive on the terrorist threat, according to pollsters and campaign strategists.

What Did You Get For It, Joe?  —  It seems every time No-Show Joe opens his mouth these days, he is touting the virtues of bipartisanship and decrying Ned Lamont for engaging in partisan politics.  It's a nice sound bite if you can get away with it, and the press have certainly let him do so.

Major State Union Switches To Lamont  —  AFSCME Council 4 Drops Lieberman, Citing Movement Toward Bush Policies  —  One of the state's largest labor unions has dropped its endorsement of U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and switched its support to Democratic primary winner Ned Lamont.

The Trap  —  There is now a clear and live contrast between Bush and the Democrats on an important issue in the war on terror.  —  Too bad.  It will be.  On September 6, 2006, President Bush set the trap.  He spoke in the East Room of the White House on the war on terror.

When Atheists and Secularists Quote Scripture  —  I probably shouldn't wade into this, but it does dovetail with something I've been pondering lately.  Namely, that an essentially post-Christian West comes to the battle with Islamism, Islamofascism, caliphascism, or whatever you want to call …