A STATEMENT ON SCOTT THOMAS BEAUCHAMP:  —  We've talked to military personnel directly involved in the events that Scott Thomas Beauchamp described, and they corroborated his account as detailed in our statement.  When we called Army spokesman Major Steven F. Lamb and asked …

China threatens 'nuclear option' of dollar sales  —  The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.

The Web 2.008 Campaign  —  Web video and social networks are two of the hottest technologies for Campaign '08.  Video is ready for prime time, social networking is a relative unknown.  —  Video arrived in 2006, when George Allen, then a Republican Virginia senator, called a rival staffer the crypto-racist slur "macaca."

Obama brushes back foreign policy critics  —  CHICAGO — Sen. Barack Obama played his trump card against rivals who questioned his ability to run American foreign policy at a debate Tuesday night, reminding other leading presidential candidates that they — unlike him — voted for the Iraq invasion.

Clinton Tonight  —  In response to more than a few answers tonight — on Iraq, on China — I've said, "she sounds reasonable."  If I were a normal America, I think I'd really think that.  —  That's really hard to admit.  I still have both "Clinton Hater" and "Vast-Right-Wing Conspiracy" cards in my wallet.

Okay, this is interesting.  It turns out Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, went to Iraq with Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack.  That is, Cordesman — according to CNN, which just reported this moments ago …

Initial report on potential breaches to biosecurity at the Pirbright site, 2007  —  Background  — An outbreak of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) was confirmed at a farm in Surrey on 3 August 2007.  — Preliminary Defra investigations indicated that the virus may have originated …

Taliban stages brazen attack on U.S. base  —  GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AP) — A group of 75 Taliban militants tried to overrun a U.S.-led coalition base in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a rare frontal attack that left more than 20 militants dead, the coalition said in a statement.

It's a Female Dog, or Worse.  Or Endearing.  And Illegal?  —  The New York City Council, which drew national headlines when it passed a symbolic citywide ban earlier this year on the use of the so-called n-word, has turned its linguistic (and legislative) lance toward a different slur: bitch.

Finally... Proof of John F. Kerry's Useful Idiocy  —  Former KGB spy indicts John Kerry on his 1971 anti-military Senate Committee speech.  —  Video by Mudville Gazette  —  Today in the Opinion Journal, former KGB intelligence officer Ion Mihai Pacepa explained the propaganda tactics of the communists during the Cold War.

Rudy Giuliani: Only I can beat Hillary Clinton  —  Lambasting Democrats for having "embraced defeat" in Iraq, Rudy Giuliani is declaring himself the only Republican who will keep America on the offensive against Islamism and stop Hillary Clinton capturing the White House in 2008.

Fred Phelps Is Coming  —  The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., plans to stage protests at funerals of victims of the 35W bridge collapse to state that God made the bridge fall because he hates America, and especially Minnesota, because of its tolerance of homosexuality.

TIMESSELECT CONTENT FREED  —  The New York Times is poised to stop charging readers for online access to its Op-Ed columnists and other content, The Post has learned.  —  After much internal debate, Times executives - including publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. - made the decision to end …

Cormac Ignatieff's "The Road"  —  Hello everyone!  Personal message to all the New Yorkers out there: Did you read Michael Ignatieff's essay in the the NY Times Magazine?  If so, contact me ASAP to let me know you're OK.  I put your flyer up at Grand Central Station, but have heard no response.