LONDON - There are 1.6 million Muslims in Britain and since last summer's London suicide bombings they've been living under an intense spotlight. Now with the arrests in the alleged airline bombing plot there's been a lot of talk about what can be done to combat extremism. The problem: There is no one voice that speaks for the very diverse Muslim community here. People can't seem to agree on what's the best course of action.   

Hoping to hear some of the voices, we took a camera Tuesday into East London, which is one of the city's most established Muslim communities. (Click to read the story that aired on Nightly News.) We talked with two young women. They're both 18 years old. With no hesitation, they denounced the violence and told us they've joined a community youth group that's working to speak out against extremist views. We also talked with the man who heads up the community youth group. He told us his biggest obstacle is in reaching the young people in the community. Finally, we spoke with a man who's studying to become an Islamic cleric, or imam. He talked to us about his frustration and how religious leaders like himself are having almost no success in swaying people away from extremists. You can watch the video as cut for Nightly News, plus extended interviews with the teens, the youth leader and the student, here.

Photo caption: Eklima Begum and Navida Quadi during their interivew with Rehema.

800,000 of Britain's Muslims are 25 and under. This is the population that radicals are eagerly trying to recruit, because they feel they are most susceptible to their message.

One of the things that I found striking is how the young people here, albeit a small number, are very vocal and are so angry about U.S. and British foreign policy in the Middle East that it is easy to see how they could be swayed to engage in a violent act. They openly tell you they understand how someone could be motivated to become a suicide bomber and they go so far as to insist "their" interpretation of Islam supports such acts.

Talking with them, you quickly discover there is almost no room to see things a different way. They insist that it's the foreign policy that's fueling extremist acts. And for them the ONLY way to stop the extremism is for America and Great Britain to change.

What I came to see up close was the great divide that exists in the Muslim community. There is a huge debate here about who practices true Islam. The majority of Muslims I talked with and various polls reveal that an overwhelming number of Muslims abhor violence. They all will insist that Islam is a religion of peace. But they are up against a very formidable group that expresses a completely different view. It is a powerful struggle for the hearts and minds of the youngest Muslims.

The party line apparently ends at the Connecticut border. The predictably loyal Bush White House will not endorse the Republican Senate candidate in the general election. 

You heard a great deal about the race because the incumbent Democrat, Sen. Joe Lieberman lost the primary to an anti-war newcomer, Ned Lamont. Alan Schlesinger is the Republican on the ballot. But he's getting no help from the RNC and none from the White House. I asked the president's spokesman Tony Snow about this and he said, "We are not making any endorsement in Connecticut. The Republican Party of Connecticut has suggested that we not make an endorsement in that race and so we are not." Really? The president, who is the head of the party, and has predicted Republicans will hold the House and Senate, is not weighing in during one of the most visible races? Snow says he believes it has happened before that a White House has withheld an endorsement and members of the press corps quickly asked for examples.  A list has not yet been provided, though we offered a friendly reminder that our request is still pending. When we get examples, we'll let you know.

Snow explained all this a couple of hours after Vice President Cheney appeared at a campaign event in Arizona and gave what amounted to a political hug to Sen. Lieberman. I say hug because much has been made of the president's embrace of the three-term senator after the State of the Union address and what looked to some like a kiss. A photo of that moment was used by Lieberman's opposition to paint Lieberman as too Bush cozy. It's a sentiment the vice president only reinforced when he spoke of Lieberman with a kind of praise rarely bestowed upon Democrats: "Senator Lieberman was my opponent in 2000 -- Al Gore's running, a long time senator, and one of the most loyal and distinguished Democrats of his generation. Joe is also an unapologetic supporter of the fight against terror." And then the vice president delivered his political blow to Democrats. "And now Mr. Dean's party has turned its back on Senator Joe Lieberman....the Dean Democrats have defeated Joe Lieberman. Their choice instead is a candidate whose explicit goal is to give up the fight against the terrorists in Iraq -- never mind that Iraq is a fellow democracy."

The inference here is that the GOP gets more bang out of talking about Joe Lieberman's credentials on the war on terror than it does dealing with a lesser-known Republican who has had questions raised about his gambling habit. What happened in that one primary has allowed GOP strategists to game out a plan with one stunning outcome: they can choose to ignore one Republican to talk about the war on terror.

Campbell Brown anchors the broadcast again tonight and offers an early preview of the stories under consideration. Click the link to the right (below the advertisement) to watch.

Tonight, we report on the latest study of what has become one of the most complex choices many men face: what to do after a prostate cancer diagnosis. Because of the widespread use of the PSA blood test, 234,000 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed this year with prostate cancer. Huge numbers get surgery or radiation even though most leading doctors in the field think a lot of them can get by with either no treatment (so called "watchful waiting") or hormone therapy whose side effects, unlike surgery or radiation, are reversible. 

You can see a summary of the study we report on. 

For men and their loved ones facing the wrenching decisions involved with prostate cancer there are now a wealth of support groups. I think one of the best is Us Too.   

I would also point to the American Cancer Society's information section on the disease.

Prostate cancer is clearly an area where many men and their families, armed with the best information, have to make their own decisions.

Read Robert's complete report and find more helpful links here.

Much of what I told you about this morning on the Early Nightly holds for tonight's broadcast... but a few new developments to fill you in on. Lisa Myers has a number of new details on the terror investigation including an al-Qaida connection. Lisa reports that there is growing evidence the alleged ringleader of the plot had contact with senior al-Qaida leaders. Plus, new video of a key player for this cell in London... and another arrest to report. She will have a full wrap from Scotland Yard.  Also, Pete Williams reports tonight on Homeland Security, with aviation security officials defending the new order that all passengers must remove their shoes.  As you can see... the terror plot still dominating our news coverage. See you tonight.

Special Commentary:

Nothing like a good dose of reality among so many dreamy initiatives.

According to some House Republicans, you erect a big, long, scary wall and the problems at the border with Mexico will be solved. Right.

First of all, the border is 2,000 miles long. They are talking about a wall that will cover several hundred miles. Answer: The immigrants will change their path, but will not stop coming. There`s a powerful reason. You can easily make $50 or $60 a day north of the Rio Grande. In Mexico, millions live with the equivalent of $2 a day. Wouldn't you try to cross the river?

If you don't have food for your kids, wouldn't you risk being arrested and sent back?

According to the U.S. Border Patrol, they arrested almost 1 million people from Oct. 30, 2005 to Aug. 13. Recently, several veteran officers told me that for every arrrest they make, at least one person manages to enter the country without papers.

Some people in Congress think that you can tell them to go back and look for a visa and, magically, they will obey. Well, they won't.

At this point the estimates are upwards of 12 million people living without the proper papers in this wonderful country. If there's no legal alternative, some politicians say deport them. Can you imagine that? 30,000 plane trips and 100,000 bus trips won't be enough.

Besides, there is the point of the brutal social injuries that something like that will generate that must be considered.

Today the Census Bureau is reporting that the number of immigrants all over the country is rising. At some point in history the slogan was "Go west, young man!" Those who did helped this country to become the greatest in the world. Now immigrants are going everywhere. Minnesota, Delaware, South Dakota (South Dakota!) are getting them in big numbers.

At the some time, the economy keeps pushing ahead, most of the major crime indexes are going down and people who are willing to take jobs that others don't just keep coming. I think that's something to celebrate.

Let's brainstorm an initiative that matches the need to secure the border with the reality of a vibrant nation of immigrants.

Pedro Sevcec will offer further views on immigration on Tuesday's Nightly News broadcast.

The scenes of devastation in Beirut and southern Lebanon are likely to increase the perception among Arabs and Muslims that they are under attack, that recent history is not about being "humiliated" or "impoverished" but instead about being the subject of genocide.

It is a common theme among radical Islamists: that the West is bent on eliminating Muslims everywhere -- a Muslim Holocaust, if you will, akin to what happened to the Armenians at the hands of the Turks or what happened to the Jews at the hands of the Nazis.   

It is their justification for much of what the West sees as terrorism, but what the radical Islamists see as war. 

It is also, in fact, a reference increasingly finding its way into the Muslim consciousness. And while the West may see the number of dead across the Islamic world as evidence of disparate wars or sectarian violence or in some cases, war crimes, the Muslim perspective, whether moderate or radical, is quite different.

In fact, over the past quarter century, the toll of Muslims killed by "infidels" of all kinds numbers more than 3 million.  For Muslims, those numbers are the death of a nation and, because of the demographics of the affected region, most of those deaths are of civilians made up mostly of women and children.

Here is a list of some of the raw numbers, derived from a variety of sources:

-Afghanistan:
   1.8 to 2.0 million since the Soviet invasion in 1979

-Kashmir:
   100,000 to 200,000 since 1990

-Bosnia:
   As many as 200,000 since 1988

-Iraq:
  50,000 since 2003
  At least 100,000 since 1990

-Chechnya:
  At least 50,000 since 1994

-Turkey:
   40,000 since 1984

-Tajikistan:
   40,000 since 1992

-Kosovo:
   12,000 since 1992

-Occupied territories and Lebanon:
  5,000 since 1990

These figures, of course, are imprecise and must be considered so. But even if they are exaggerated, there has been real human devastation in the Muslim world over the last quarter century. These numbers do not include those killed by Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War, which many, particularly in Iran, blame on western aid to the warring parties. Add another 1 million there. 

The Iran-Iraq War typifies the way many in the Muslim world view recent history and the role of the infidels. That war may have been fought to a standstill by two Muslim nations, but it was aided and abetted by western nations that wanted to see both sides bloodied, many Muslims believe. And the west did little to stop Saddam from his genocide of Shiites and Kurds immediately after the Gulf War. 

Nor do these numbers include scattered killings in other locations, like Thailand where there has recently been outbreaks of religious warfare or Nigeria where there has been a low level conflict between Christians and Muslims for decades.

Some countries have been particularly devastated: in Afghanistan, 13.5% of the male population — of all ages - was killed in the war with Soviet troops. In Iraq, large numbers of children died during the sanctions, according to the United Nations. The United States may blame Saddam, but those whose children died may be more ready to blame those who imposed the sanctions.

Of course, not all of these deaths were caused by the United States or by western nations in general. In some cases, the U.S. tried to stop genocide. Bosnia comes to mind. The U.S. led an effort to end the bloodshed, albeit belatedly. But in the minds of the radicals and their followers, it hardly matters. It is the "infidels" who were responsible, whether they are Christian, Jews, Orthodox, Hindu, or secular.  In a world of "us" vs. "them" it matters more who is "us" than who is "them."

Campbell Brown continues in the anchor chair tonight. Our camera caught up with her after the morning editorial meeting. Click the link to the right (below the advertisement) to watch. She'll update here in the blog later this afternoon.

Dueling lead stories tonight and a lot of ground to cover with both the extremely fragile ceasefire in the Middle East and new developments in the investigation of the airline terror plot.

First to the situation in southern Lebanon. Today, Richard Engel traveled south with aid workers to survey the damage and try to reach people who have been trapped in some of the hardest-hit areas. The trip was a struggle with bombed-out roads and traffic jams. Thousands of people are making the journey, trying to get back to their homes to see what is left.

Harder to assess is what happens next. Hezbollah's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah declared victory. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said this is a long-term battle that will require patience. Olmert is now facing intense political pressure and criticism for his management of the war. Martin Fletcher will report from Israel.

In London, Lisa Myers has been closely following the investigation there. She will have more on the dispute between the U.S. and Britain over when to move in on the terror suspects. Also today, Britain downgraded the threat level, but at the same time cancelled some flights because of security concerns. There are still lots of delays and lots of confusion at airports both at home and abroad. Pete Williams will look at what is happening on the homefront, asking some tough questions about just how proactive the Department of Homeland Security has been to prepare for an attack, and why research into new technologies to detect explosives is taking so long.

Also, strong words from President Bush who blamed Hezbollah for the Middle East conflict... but also bluntly put responsibility on Iran. David Gregory is tracking the President now and will have the full story tonight.

See you in a bit. 

Dani, a young German Shepherd, befriends a soldier near a search site in southern Lebanon.

The plight of the animals is one of the hardest things for me to witness during any catastrophe or conflict. I remember vividly the dogs and cats left behind to survive after Hurricane Katrina.

Today, in Los Angeles waiting for me to return home is a happy cat named Katrina. Katrina was rescued in New Orleans as a kitten trapped on a fence by rising water. We had a boat and now Katrina is a 'valley girl'  with a cul-de-sac to call her own. And there's Goose, my two-year-old Golden Retriever once abandoned. Goose is my shadow and friend and when I'm away I miss my pets.

In South Lebanon we traveled to the village of Maroun, ten miles from Tyre. I was prepared for the danger and knew the risk we were taking. We were following a Red Cross convoy on a mission to rescue four victims of an air strike, trapped for four days under rubble and just maybe alive.

I was not prepared to meet Dani a young German Shepherd who gravitated to the search site. Dani would quiver each time a jet fighter plane flew overhead and every distant explosion would send him into a defensive run.

I called him near and he came directly. He took water and he calmed as soon as I touched him. Then he sat in the shade and relaxed. I guess I had opened the door for a bond and I had touched a part of this war story that there's no room for.

Animals suffer in war, but the human suffering must take priority. The animals are left alone here and they are ignored. There is no animal rescue operation. There is to ASPCA and there's no plan for them to come. The human tragedy alone is overwhelming.

A body was recovered wrapped in a plastic sheet and laid in the shade. The dog, Dani, moved toward the body. Workers threw stones to shoo him away. My thoughts were this must be what barbaric times were like. Then I thought of Goose and Katrina and wondered how they would survive.

After five hours we had to leave. No one had been found alive. But 25 villagers -- mostly elderly and children -- were rescued from a house nearby. Our convoy assembled like a pack of odd vehicles, ambulances, a fire truck, a crane and cars marked TV, for the dangerous trip back to Tyre.

Mike's pals Katrina and Goose await his return from Lebanon.

As we rolled away from Maroub I looked out the window and there was Dani the dog running at full speed alongside our caravan. I wanted to stop and open the door and rescue him. But I knew I could not. A mile later and he was still chasing us. It was so hot, and dusty but he kept pace. I was sure he would run himself to death and I felt hopeless.

But Dani's story has a happy ending, of sorts. A mile closer to Tyre our convoy came to a sudden and complete stop. There was a roadblock ahead. But this was not the usual debris from an air strike severing the road.  It was a shepherd with a herd of about 200 goats taking up the entire dirt road. Dani reached the herd and he stopped. His tail was wagging. He joined in with the herd as if he belonged. And as the convoy inched through the goats I looked back and saw Dani and he looked happy. In among the goats there were about 15 other dogs just like Dani. They were all busy swapping war stories I guess, and they had formed their own convoy to move at their own pace slowly out of the war zone.   

Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory does the honors today. Click the link to the right (below the advertisement) to see what stories are under consideration for tonight's broadcast.

It is worth mentioning ... the crisis in the Middle East continues to prompt some very strong opinions on this blog over the past several weekends and the news from the region today is likely to bring more of your comments. 

We are now a matter of hours from the beginning of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.  But you wouldn't know it from the fighting today.  We often use words like "fierce",  "intense", and "bloody" to describe the fighting in conflicts like this.  But the video that is coming into the newsroom today helps explain just how "intense" the fighting really is.  Tonight NBC's Martin Fletcher is in Tel Aviv and NBC's Martin Savidge is in Beirut.

NBC's Lisa Myers is following the investigation into the London and there's a new warning there a possibility of another terror attack in Britain.  She'll have that story.  There are some new rules regarding air travel that TSA announced today.  NBC's James Hattori will have that story.

We are getting word from tonight from Cuba about the health of Fidel Castro.  We'll have the latest.

And NBC's Ron Mott has the story of how a Mississippi coastal community is coping almost a year after Katrina.

Those are the stories we are following tonight.  We hope you'll join us for NBC Nightly News.

As Fidel Castro celebrates his 80th birthday today -- in both uncertain physical and political condition -- he remains the central figure in Cuban life, to both supporters and opponents. Meeting and interviewing Castro, whatever you think of him, makes you realize you are walking in the shadow of a lot of history... the revolution, his early visits to the U.S, including the tumultuous welcome in Harlem and his appearance on Meet the Press (speaking English, and denying he was a Communist).

I first met Castro when I went to Cuba in 1999 to cover the conflict over Elian Gonzalez. After days of trying to get to see him, we were finally summoned for a get-acquainted dinner. Each of us were taking the measure of the other, as you can probably gather from this photo. We talked about a lot of issues, of course, including the custody dispute over the 6-year-old boy. Many hours later we had an agreement that eventually led to his sitting down with us and talking on camera.

This second picture was taken a year-and-a-half later, in June 2001. Castro had fainted during a speech. I rushed from vacation in Colorado to Cuba to report on his condition. Two days later, hearing that he was at Cuba television, I asked for a chance to see him. Somehow, I talked him into going on camera later that week to prove to the world that he was really all right. We waited for the call, and when it finally came, began the interview at 11 p.m. During the interview, he said for the first time that his brother Raul would be his successor. It may be temporary, but that has now come about.

Editor's note: Andrea wrote a longer analysis of the situation in Cuba and Fidel Castro's health for MSNBC.com that you can read here.

Every summer millions of Americans try to leave the madness behind and travel to some warm destination for their family vacations.  As this ritual continues, we have had several reminders this summer that not everyone in the world is able to enjoy some time off in peace.

We have new information tonight about the foiled plot in Great Britain to blow up airliners headed for the U.S. NBC's Lisa Myers is in London tonight with the latest on the investigation, including news of a disagreement between British and American authorities over the timing of arrests this week.

NBC's Ron Allen will have the latest on how all of this is affecting air travel this weekend. Also, new developments in the Middle East. It appears that a cease-fire could begin on Monday. But will it hold? NBC's Martin Savidge tonight on fierce new fighting there.

Those are just some of the stories we are following tonight. We'll bring you up to date on Nightly News. We hope to see you then.

I am going through electronics withdrawal.  I'm sitting among the masses at London's Heathrow Airport, waiting for a hopelessly delayed flight back to New York, clutching my shiny plastic bags with the few things not deemed "security threats." In my case that amounts to reading glasses, my passport, wallet and boarding pass.  They wouldn't even allow us so much as a piece of paper, and pencil.  Not even a book.

OK, it's not really the pencil and paper that's killing me. It's that I don't have my Blackberry, my computer (I'm writing this at a public PC in the terminal), or my iPod.  The wonderful stores here in Terminal 3 beckon with all sorts of electronic wonders for the gadget geek in all of us. We can buy, but alas, we'd have to chuck it in the trash bin before we'd be allowed to board.

I never thought I'd think of the "good old days" of flying as when they only made you remove your shoes to go through security.

Hey everyone, Campbell Brown in tonight for Brian Williams... who is finally getting a much deserved break.

We have a lot of ground to cover... and we have correspondents around the globe following new developments in this foiled plot to bomb flights from Britain to the U.S. Senior Investigative Correspondent Lisa Myers is in London tonight where she will have today's developments. Authorities are telling us they are still searching for as many as 20 additional suspects. Five have been identified by name. Lisa looks at just how advanced this plot was, as law enforcement officers today sift through evidence at the homes of the suspects now in custody. She will have more detail on who these suspects are... mostly young men, two women; some recent converts to Islam. Plus, how an arrest in Pakistan 10 days ago may have led to this week's dramatic developments.

From Washington, Pete Williams is looking at how real the threat was and what might have happened if the suspects had been able to get these liquid explosives on board U.S.-bound flights. Could they really have exploded a plane with the type of bomb they were planning to use? Investigators say yes and tell Pete that they are alarmed by the simplicity of the devices.

Tom Costello has been tracking the movement at airports around the country today. He reports long waits (3-5 hours) at security with some airline delays and cancellations. While Tom says passengers today have been surprisingly patient, airlines fear the current situation is not sustainable, that financially the airline industry won't be able to manage the disruption in schedule. He also points out that many airports are still without the technology to detect explosives, and that it could take 20 years and billions of dollars to make the technology available in all U.S. airports.

And as I am writing... there are reports of a cease-fire agreement in the Middle East brokered by the U.S. and France. A vote at the U.N. is expected tonight. Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell is here in New York and will have all the latest. Plus, Richard Engel from southern Lebanon on the effect the violence is having on civilians still trapped there.

Hope to see you tonight.

Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory does the honors today from New York. Click the link to the right (below the advertisement) to see what stories are under consideration for tonight's broadcast.

Renowned Lebanese winery copes with conflict
As efforts to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah have moved ever-so-slowly through the diplomatic process, the war has escalated, as our NBC colleagues have been reporting from Lebanon and Israel on Nightly News. Ordinary Lebanese and Israelis have been caught in the conflict, and not just those near the front lines. Business and commerce and culture have also suffered, but we have reported relatively little on this.

Beirut, for example, had made great strides in recent years toward becoming a cosmopolitan center and a travel destination city as it recovered from decades of civil war.  The latest conflict has been a great setback in that regard. And yet there is resiliency, determination and even optimism to be found.

I found it in a man named Serge Hochar and in a wine he produces. Hochar is the proprietor of Chateau Musar, a winery in Lebanon known throughout the world. Because I have a keen interest in wine as well as news (in addition to my Nightly News responsibilities I write about wine for MSNBC.com and NBC News), I wondered about Chateau Musar in recent weeks. So I called Serge Hochar the other day, and then wrote about the man and his wine in my weekly column.

"The vineyards are usually not the target," Hochar observes, stating both fact and hope. "However, the pickers could be frightened if they are shelling." Hochar is thinking about the coming harvest — and the current war. This is winemaking in Lebanon.

But not just any wine. Imagine a red that is wonderfully complex, unfolds minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour to reveal yet another component, another layer. Such an experience is rare by everyday wine standards. In fact, the wine I am describing might well be the most fascinating wine I've tasted this year, a wine with pedigree that has developed wonderfully and is, in a word, glorious.

It could be a Burgundy, a prestigious Bordeaux, or perhaps a Barolo from Italy's Piedmont. All would be good guesses. But this is a wine — the wine — from Lebanon. It is a Château Musar.

Almost from the start of this bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, I have been thinking of Château Musar -- in the opinion of many critics, one of the world's greatest. My thinking was brought into sharper focus the other day when, in my neighborhood wine store in New York, I happened to come across the 1997 red Château Musar. Here I was, connected to a war half a world away by a bottle of red wine I found just a couple of blocks from the comfort of home, a wine that most people would not recognize but would, I am now certain, appreciate and covet if given the chance to experience it.

I myself was eager to try it, and I'll get to my impressions in a moment. More importantly, I wondered how Château Musar, which was started by Hochar's father Gaston in 1930 in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon and had already survived decades of civil war, was holding up during this latest conflict.

The answer came in a telephone conversation with Serge Hochar, who has run Château Musar since 1959, after studying winemaking in Bordeaux. He was in his car, driving home from his office in Beirut to a suburb in the Christian part of Lebanon (an experience that gives new urgency to the dangers of driving while talking on a cell phone).

"Our office was 500 meters from where the shelling yesterday was going on," he tells me. What was that like? I ask. "It does shake me up physically," he says, "but not morally. Never."

"Because I've been living in Lebanon for so many years, I have become used to such situations," he says matter-of-factly about the war.  His concerns are entirely practical.  The harvest — first the white grapes followed by the reds — usually begins in late August and goes through September.

Beyond the worry that his pickers might be scared away by the violence, there's the issue of getting the grapes from the Bekaa to the winery in Ghazir, which is north of Beirut and 60 to 70 miles away. "We have to bring the grapes to the winery, which could be difficult because of the roads," Hochar says, referring to damage from the bombing. "Transportation could be a problem for us. It depends on how long this situation lasts. If it's settled in the next month it won't be a problem."

Opening a bottle of the '97 Château Musar shows why we should share his hope. The wine, which is $45 and more than fairly priced, is striking from the first breath. Ruby in color, there are aromas of cedar and earth and a bit of tobacco.  I take a sip then pour some more. There's some meat now and more earth. I swirl it, smell and sip it again. Now the fruit is emerging —blackberry and plum, eventually some raspberry. There are also touches of mocha, vanilla, butterscotch. The finish is spicy. It goes on like this over the course of a couple of hours or so. But the wine is more than a collection of tastes, descriptions of which cannot do it justice in its entirety. It is an experience.

Food seems almost incidental and should be kept simple. On this night it was grilled lamb, ratatouille, and freshly picked corn. The wine, a blend of cabernet sauvignon, carignan and cinsault grapes grown at 3,000 feet, is softly tannic and brightly acidic, with everything in balance.  It is concentrated but not overpowering. It is elegant. At nine years old it seems in its prime.

But Hochar corrects me. "The '97," he says, "is still a very young baby. The '97 you are enjoying now will be totally different in four years. It will be a different animal."  Of that he seems certain. Of this war and of Lebanon, however, he won't predict.  He says he's too old for that and doesn't do it anymore. He has, he says, learned to live with it all.  Serge Hochar has never let war come between him and his wine.

Château Musar is imported by Broadbent Selections at www.broadbent.com.

Edward Deitch's wine column appears Wednesdays on The Today Show Web site. He welcomes comments from readers.

Write to him at EdwardDeitch@hotmail.com.

I headed to London to report on the foiled terror plot on Thursday, but since there was so much uncertainty about which flights would be running and which wouldn't, rather than risk it, I opted to fly from New York to Paris. It was pretty tight, because I had to make it in time to be on the "Today" show first thing this morning. My flight out of New York was at 5 p.m. EDT yesterday, but I was so concerned that I got to the airport by about 1:45.

I had no problem checking in and absolutely no wait at security. They did ask if I had any liquids or gels, and I said, "No." I was traveling with only carry-on luggage because of my time crunch. I didn't bring deodorant, shaving cream or any of those kinds of things. I just left all of that stuff at home.

I landed in Paris and then rushed on a train from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport to the Gard du Nord (the north Paris train station), to catch the Eurostar train. That's the famous Channel Tunnel or "Chunnel" train that goes directly from Paris to London. It was about a 2 hour and 45 minute trip. On the train, I recognized some other people who had actually been on my flight from New York. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was using this round-about method to get to London. The train was full and I could hear a few people on their cell phones talking about how they had been in this city or that city. If you're not flying, it's really one of the only ways to get from the European continent to London.

An added benefit is that the Eurostar train is quite comfortable. It passes through a lot of the French and English countryside and drops passengers off directly at the Waterloo station in the center of London. And it was right on time, which was good for me. 

One of the first things I did once I got here, right before I went on live on the Today Show, was to go and buy all of the toiletries like shaving cream and shampoo that I'd left back in New York. And of course I'll have to leave it all here in London before I go home! A little bit of a pain, but a small price to avoid getting blown out of the air.

London seems strangely normal. I was in London on a personal trip about four or five weeks ago. So that was my benchmark. Just driving through and walking around a little, it's very similar. Tourists are out and about enjoying the day and taking pictures of Big Ben and the other usual spots. There is the usual high security outside of government buildings and Scotland Yard, but that's what you'd normally see. There has been nothing that I've seen here that spoke to anything unusual. 

I think the airports are where the story is. And even today, I understand it's better because people know what to expect. Yesterday everyone was caught unaware.

Editor's note: It's almost 4 p.m. EDT now, and this story is back in the rundown.

Tonight, Ann Curry will introduce you to a truly remarkable woman in this week's Making a Difference segment.

Ten years ago Kathy Giusti was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma. It's known as "orphan cancer" because there are relatively few people in the country who have it and because, many say, not a lot of money is allocated for research. Until Kathy came along. Upon diagnosis, Kathy quit her job as a pharmaceutical executive and moved back East to live closer to her twin sister Karen. Kathy had no plans to let cancer take over her life. In fact, during our interview, Karen told Ann that two weeks after Kathy's diagnosis -- while Karen was still in tears trying to come to grips with the news -- Kathy told her of her plans to not only fight the disease for herself but for all Myeloma patients. 

About a year later, the two sisters started the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Just nine years later the group has raised more than $60 million. The sisters also created the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium, which has helped overcome one of the big obstacles in medical research -- the lack of coordination between scientists and drug makers. The consortium consists of some of the best cancer hospitals in the world and works to bring new drugs to the market as quickly as possible. As you'll see tonight, they've had great success. 

Kathy would be a bit angry with me if I didn't mention the hundreds of people with whom she works both at her organizations and in the medical community. She'd probably say they deserve all the credit - not her. I had the privilege of spending an afternoon with one of Kathy's dearest friends -- Dr. Ken Anderson of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dr. Anderson, one of the best Multiple Myeloma doctors in the world, was quite frank in describing the impact Kathy has had. He has been studying and treating Myeloma patients for more than 20 years and he describes Kathy this way: "She's put Myeloma on the map. She transformed the way we treat this disease."

Beyond Myeloma, Kathy hopes the model she has created will be utilized by other cancer organizations around the world. I have no doubt she's on her way to achieve even more success. If you were to ask Kathy if she's proud of her accomplishments -- she'd probably say yes -- but quickly want to brag more about what she calls her biggest sources of pride: her two children and husband, Paul. That's just the type of person she is.

Comments I made during a live interview with Chris Matthews last night have been aggressively misunderstood in the hours since. Here was my point: people always say that our country will be at a disadvantage as long as the "other side" is willing to take their own life for the cause. I was making the point that if that's some kind of litmus test for bravery... or belief in the cause, we have those guys, too. People who fight for us, people who protect us -- know full well that the American cause is worth dying for -- as are our freedoms. People are dying for the U.S. side every day. Laying their lives on the line. And I give thanks for them every day. I was not at all equating the "other" cause with what Americans stand for. I was criticizing the view, expressed by some, that as long as we are fighting the "suicide bomber mentality" we can never get the upper hand, because, as this belief goes, "we aren't willing to give our lives the way they are." Of course we are. The difference is: the folks willing to die for OUR country do so in the act of protecting and defending it -- NOT killing civilians by detonating an explosive and killing innocent people.

I hope that clears it up.

As of 7:30 a.m. ET, the security lines at New York's JFK airport are pretty unreal. While on the AirTrain to JFK, we passed JetBlue's Terminal 6, which had AT LEAST 1,500-2,000 passengers standing OUTSIDE to get into the terminal. To me, it was a sight reminiscent of crowds outside of the New Orleans Superdome after Katrina.

At American Airlines' Terminal 9, where I am currently standing in line for a 10 a.m. flight to Los Angeles, the security line numbers in the hundreds. Luckily, they are dividing it in two -- people scheduled to fly out within the hour and another line for the rest of us (so much for getting here early). Check-in lines are also in the hundreds.

This is certainly a traveling day I'll never forget. Hopefully, I'll make it to my destination today. Thankfully, Starbucks, the BlackBerry and a good book will help the time go by! My first stop in Los Angeles -- the local drug store -- to stock up on the essentials I had to leave behind.

It's been an eventful day -- both in the air and, it would seem, here in the blogosphere, as my morning observations have triggered some interesting responses. I can't address them all, but for those who believe I am whining or worse, helping the terrorists, a few thoughts. My experience at JFK transpired very early this morning, before much was known about the new luggage restrictions. The frustration I and many others witnessed at security grew out of the fact that by the time most people were apprised of the restriction, it was too late to put the problematic items in their checked luggage. As the morning wore on, it became far more efficient, and I'm guessing, there ceased to be battles over such things as baby formula. But that is indeed what was happening early this morning, as passengers and security officials alike got a grip on this new reality. And a note about your blogger -- I fly for work often, and understand and appreciate the work that goes into getting all of us where we need to go safely. But having had a piece of checked luggage stolen very recently, I'm also well aware of the many pitfalls of air travel. The thought of losing still more of my belongings at an airport was difficult to take, I realize perhaps not in the grand scheme of things, but nevertheless, that's why I tried to hide the sunscreen. In any case, this situation is our collective new reality.

Editor's note: This is how Brian ended Thursday's broadcast from London. I've included the transcript here in case you missed it.

After signing off the air Wednesday night, I boarded a commercial jetliner with my family for a flight across the Atlantic. We arrived in another country -- and we arrived in a new era. In the time it took to cross the ocean, times... had changed. Flying with liquids is no longer allowed, because, however perverse a notion this is: someone has figured out a new way to take down a commercial jetliner. 

After saving up their money for months, Americans got on jetliners today to head off on summer vacation with their children. Some were told it would mean going without milk, juice, water, even possibly baby formula... or a way to entertain a two-year-old. Some waited all DAY for the privilege of flying on commercial jetliners even after learning they are still savory and sought-after flying targets.

Here in London Thursday a World War II veteran seemed downright wistful when he told me: at least during World War II he knew whom to shoot at... based on the shape of their helmets. This new enemy wears no such thing.

As our own Pete Williams said today, we prefer it when the news is that nothing happened. But something DID happen today, to all of us. This is our generation's conflict. A war with flying targets, and an often-invisible enemy. And once again we are linked with our allies an ocean apart... and another generation is called upon to meet the challenge.

I boarded an aircraft last night for a flight across the Atlantic and a summer vacation with my family. I arrived this morning in another era entirely. Today's news has already had a staggering effect on air travel. As a writer to our blog put it today, "flying naked without luggage" may not be enough to solve this problem. I do know from our perspective here in London, and from conversations with Americans today, that this has increased the already-palpable sense of sadness and unease about our world, the dangers that surround us, and the challenges we will leave to our children. Some people I know are dealing with what can only be called dread.

We'll have our usual thorough coverage of this tonight. Keith Miller will start us off here in London, and our coverage will whip around the world back to the United States, where liquids are now banned from airplane cabins.

For now, and in this space, there is little to add to the story that Americans woke up to this morning. Here in London, the threat level (red) means an attack is "imminent" -- as one official here put it: "we are in a long, wide and deep struggle against a very evil people." It was minutes later when another official told people to try their hardest to "go about their business." It's getting that balance right that may mark the coming years.

We hope you can join us as we originate the broadcast from London tonight.