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by Mark Finkelstein July 21, 2006 - 16:09 Alison Stewart is the too-cool host of MSNBC's 'The Most,' which as its promo page explains: "Give[s] viewers a look at 'the most' sought-after stories of the day. Every day, 'The Most' will report on the most searched stories on the Internet, the most viewed stories from a multitude of news sources, the most e-mailed stories or photo images, the most downloaded music or blogged-about subject matter and the most viewed television programs or movies." Ending her show this afternoon, Stewart focused on the brief, joshing back rub Pres. Bush administered to...

NEW YORK - An impromptu back rub that President Bush gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now massaging millions of funny bones. A 5-second video and series of photographs recently posted on YouTube.com and various blogs show Bush surprising Merkel at the G-8 Summit by quickly rubbing the back of her neck and shoulders. The chancellor immediately hunches her shoulders, throws her arms up and grimaces, though she appears to smile as Bush walks away. The video has been one of the most popular clips on the Web and spawned countless remarks on the particulars of etiquette for world leaders....

SHOCKING PHOTOS AND VIDEO HERE!!!!! I used to get in debates during my blog hiatus with some of Goldstein’s commenters about whether it’s worth trying to engage the left. For all the antagonism between him and the five or six douchebags he’s always arguing with, Jeff adamantly believes that it is. He’s written posts about women’s issues, of all things, inviting feminist bloggers by name to respond to his points. Not in a nasty “got somethin’ to say?” way, either. Just trying to start dialogue. As I’ve told him each and every time he’s done it: he’s nuts. And the...

It's not exactly "Presidents Gone Wild!" but for the normally staid Group of Eight Summit, a video of President George W. Bush sidling behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel and delivering an impromptu neck rub is, well, as wild as it gets. The scene, captured by a Russian TV camera, hit the Internet like a summer wildfire Tuesday, and it may be most memorable for the German chancellor's reaction. Bush applies his hands to Merkel's shoulders and neck while she's speaking with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi; the chancellor hunches her shoulders, then throws her hands up to stop the unexpected...

<p>Mr. President, you’re gonna love this. Kofi Annan has called for a Summit Teleconference of some world leaders, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Bashar al-Assad and Ehud Olmert. And it starts in 15 minutes!</p> <p>He’s already called several members of Congress and a select few political and media figures to participate in a dialog to resolve the Middle East crisis and they’re meeting at the Capitol.</p>

Al AP is reporting that Bush was overheard expressing his frustration with Kofi Annan and liberal world leaders during the G8 summit. He was unaware that the microphone was still on when he told Tony Blair, "see the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this (expletive) and it's over." Bush also said that he felt like telling Annan to get on the phone with Assad instead of calling for a "cease fire". This clearly proves that it was Bush's hand that turned the tide of world opinion at the...

Pope backs G8 Middle East declaration 18/07/2006 - 20:17:38 Pope Benedict XVI tonight lent his support to the G8 summit declaration on the Middle East, which blamed the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah for the escalation in fighting and which urged Israel to exercise restraint. “I fully agree with the G8 communique,” the Pope said when he returned to his Alpine holiday retreat after an excursion in the mountains. “It seems to me that this indicates the road” to take, the pontiff said of the declaration issued by the Group of Eight leaders at their summit, which ended on Monday...

Wouldnbprudent explains: This is a series of photos from the G8 conference with some "body language" expert telling you what they mean. Check it out!

The President and the first lady spent the weekend in in Russian where the President was attending the G8 Conference which concluded today. Today the President attended the sumit and also had some side line meetings. They arrived back in Washington this afternoon The Vice President attended a Fund Raiser on Friday for state Sen, Ray Meier, in Utica, N.Y. Today the Vice President spoke at a luncheon fund raiser for Jeff Lamberti, GOP candidate in the 3rd Congressional District, at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa. Today the Vice President also spoke to and met National Guard troops...

It wasn't meant to be overheard. Private luncheon conversations among world leaders, picked up by a microphone, provided a rare window into both banter and substance - including President Bush cursing Hezbollah's attacks against Israel. Bush expressed his frustration with the United Nations and his disgust with the militant Islamic group and its backers in Syria as he talked to British Prime Minister Tony Blair during the closing lunch at the Group of Eight summit. "See the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this (expletive) and it's over," Bush...

ST. PETERSBURG -- President Bush and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, yesterday agreed in principle on contentious issues such as the Middle East, Iran and North Korea, but the leaders failed to clinch a key trade deal and clashed over democracy, with Mr. Putin declaring he does not want "the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq." During a 30-minute press conference, notable for the chilly body language between the two presidents, the leaders acknowledged that they do not see eye to eye on a host of issues, but said they agreed that Iran should not acquire nuclear...

Bush caught out by open microphone US President George W. Bush has been caught out making candid comments on the Middle East crisis by an open microphone at a summit in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. Mr Bush was caught saying that a key to defusing the Middle East crisis was for "Hezbollah to stop doing this s**t". "What they need to do is get Syria to get Hizbollah to stop doing this s**t, and it's over," Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a leaders' lunch at the Group of Eight industrial countries gathering here. The president...

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan call for deployment of international forces to stop bombardment of Israel.

The US president, in St Petersburg for the G8 summit, has insisted Israel is defending itself against terror and Hezbollah is the root of the crisis. George W Bush added that the Israelis had to be mindful of the consequences of their actions, as fresh air strikes and rocket attacks were reported. French President Jacques Chirac spoke out in defence of Lebanon. The leaders of the world's eight top economic powers have begun working meetings focusing on energy supplies. With global energy use likely to increase by 50% in the next 25 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to...

SAINT PETERSBURG (AFX) - Russia President Vladimir Putin said he would raise questions about UK Labour Party fund raiser Lord Levy if Prime Minister Tony Blair brings up Russia's democracy record when the two men meet today. Putin was asked what he would say to Blair after the British ambassador to Moscow attacked Putin's governance last week. 'We carefully hear out all our partners. We take into consideration their views on such issues but we take our decisions ourselves,' Putin told journalists at the G8 summit. 'There are also other questions,' he told a British journalist. 'Questions, let's say, about...

SAINT PETERSBURG (AFX) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the first time accused Iran and Syria of causing the latest crisis in the Middle East. Speaking after a bilateral meeting with US President George Bush, Blair said the two states wanted to 'inflate' tensions in the region. 'The fact is, there are those in that region, notably Iran and Syria, who don't want this process of democratisation and peace and negotiations to succeed,' he said. All week Blair has been refusing to get into what he calls the 'blame game' while Bush has been openly critical of the links...

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A dispute over access for U.S. meat to the Russian market helped frustrate U.S.-Russian talks on a deal for Russia to join the World Trade Organization, America's top trade negotiator said on Saturday. After intense, late-night negotiations this week, U.S. and Russian officials failed to reach a trade deal in time for the Group of Eight summit this weekend in St. Petersburg, where Russia had hoped to sign a trade accord with the United States. But officials on both sides said they hoped a deal could be struck in the next few months. While progress...

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — In a chilly summit prelude, President Bush blocked Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization on Saturday and President Vladimir Putin mockingly said Moscow doesn't want the kind of violence-plagued democracy the United States has fostered in Iraq. Alternately joking and poking at each other, the two also showed differences at a news conference on the explosion of violence in the Mideast. Bush held Israel blameless for its punishing attacks in Lebanon and said it was up to the militant group Hezbollah to lay down its arms. Putin was critical of Israel's use of force and...

Harper touts Canada as 'energy superpower' in pre-G8 speech to business crowd Bruce Cheadle Canadian Press Saturday, July 15, 2006 LONDON (CP) - Canada is an emerging "energy superpower" that's the most attractive investment opportunity in the world, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a London business audience Friday. On the eve of a G8 conference in St. Petersburg, Harper used his address to the Canada-U.K. Chamber of Commerce to establish Canada's bona fides on the oil and gas front. Energy security is supposed to be one of the key themes as Russia, for the first time, plays host to...