MoveOn.org Calls Petraeus a Traitor  —  Do Democrats in Congress agree?  —  Tomorrow—as General David Petraeus provides his Iraq assessment to Congress—the antiwar group MoveOn.org is running a full-page advertisement in the New York Times under the headline: "General Petraeus or General Betray us?

US loner helps bin Laden to taunt Bush  —  A Californian heavy metal fan, who converted to Islam and became the first American to be charged with treason in half a century, has been fingered as the author of Osama bin Laden's latest video lecture - which left the terror chief sounding like an anti-globalisation protester.

Study finds left-wing brain, right-wing brain  —  Even in humdrum nonpolitical decisions, liberals and conservatives literally think differently, researchers show.  —  Exploring the neurobiology of politics, scientists have found that liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives because of how their brains work.

Democrats Talk Iraq in Univision Debate  —  CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton insisted Sunday night it's time to start pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq as she and her Democratic presidential rivals debated the war on the eve of a much-awaited assessment by U.S. commanding Gen. David Petraeus.

Most Are Skeptical of Petraeus Report  —  ABC News/Washington Post Poll: Few Think Bush Will Change Course on Iraq War  —  A skeptical public expects little of this week's developments on Iraq: More than half of Americans think the Petraeus report will try to sugar-coat the real situation there …

Anti-war leaders stymied, frustrated  —  A well-known anti-war leader has gone public with the transcript of a private conference call that shows peace activists are exasperated with the Democratic congressional leadership and at a loss for a long-term strategy.

McCain Finds His Footing  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — Two hours before Fred Thompson formally entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination, his old friend John McCain turned in the kind of performance that once would have kept Thompson from running.

Prisons Purging Books on Faith From Libraries  —  Behind the walls of federal prisons nationwide, chaplains have been quietly carrying out a systematic purge of religious books and materials that were once available to prisoners in chapel libraries.  —  The chaplains were directed by the Bureau …

War in Iraq: Wisdom of Crowds  —  As we approach the September reports on Iraq, the public debate over our military presence there has once again intensified.  Both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are ratcheting up the rhetoric about the best course of action, with the president using a pit stop …

Iraqi in Iraq  —  Sitting to a dinner of kabab, hot khubz (Iraqi flat bread) and other niceties, the conversation was flowing.  Our rotating reporter, Chris (a very nice chap of only 23) was showing us the lovely old Iraqi silver pendent and bracelet he had bought his mum from a shop in the al-Rasheed Hotel …

Panic in the press room  —  "Are we going to have audio?"  —  "Vamos a tener audio?"  —  Reporters who didn't speak Spanish were already anxious about the translation devices that didn't quite fit in our ears.  (Porque soy de California, yo hablo un poquito Espanol.)