Bush Was Set on Path to War, Memo by British Adviser Says  —  LONDON — In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.

Shiite Fighters Clash With G.I.'s and Iraqi Forces  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 26 — American and Iraqi government forces clashed with Shiite militiamen in Baghdad on Sunday night in the most serious confrontation in months, and Iraqi security officials said 17 people had been killed in a mosque, including its 80-year-old imam.

500,000 Pack Streets to Protest Immigration Bills  —  The rally, part of a massive mobilization of immigrants and their supporters, may be the largest L.A. has seen.  —  A crowd estimated by police at more than 500,000 boisterously marched in Los Angeles on Saturday to protest federal legislation …

Mr. Levin, Meet Ms. Rohbar  —  If Yale's president wants to educate a deserving Afghan, I've got just the woman for him.  —  NEW HAVEN, Conn.—The BBC calls Malalai Joya the most famous woman in Afghanistan.  On Thursday the 27-year-old women's rights activist, a member of the Afghan Parliament …

Seeking Fiscal Health Without Gas Tax  —  CORVALLIS, Ore. — Two professors were cruising around the campus of Oregon State University here in a Ford Explorer.  A wireless black box, mounted on the dashboard, tracked the miles in a test of a per-mile fee system that state officials said might …

Evangelical teens rally in S.F.  —  More than 25,000 evangelical Christian youth landed Friday in San Francisco for a two-day rally at AT&T Park against "the virtue terrorism" of popular culture, and they were greeted by an official city condemnation and a clutch of protesters who said their event amounted to a "fascist mega-pep rally."

Healthcare, Part IV  —  So here are the things I care about, when I think about healthcare: … All that's very nice . . . but how do we bell the cat?  —  Here is my suggestion.  It is simple and elegant enough to be explained in a single sentence, yet powerful enough to meet all the criteria above:

Windows Is So Slow, but Why?  —  Back in 1998, the federal government declared that its landmark antitrust suit against the Microsoft Corporation was not merely a matter of law enforcement, but a defense of innovation.  The concern was that the company was wielding its market power …

Terrorist 007, Exposed  —  For almost two years, intelligence services around the world tried to uncover the identity of an Internet hacker who had become a key conduit for al-Qaeda.  The savvy, English-speaking, presumably young webmaster taunted his pursuers, calling himself Irhabi — Terrorist — 007.

Sydney bomb plot link to race riots, murderer  —  A woman charged at the weekend with plotting to bomb Sydney was a convert to Islam who planned the attack at the behest of a jailed murderer angered over anti-Muslim race riots here late last year.  —  Jill Courtney, 26, was arrested …

Our One Year Anniversary.  Last Month.  (Updated)  —  Well, that figures: I missed the one year anniversary of my own damned blog.  It was February 19.  Who knew?  —  I have never been any good at keeping track of dates.  Every single year for 26 years I've missed the day my wife and I celebrate as our anniversary.

'Marriage Is for White People'  —  I grew up in a time when two-parent families were still the norm, in both black and white America.  Then, as an adult, I saw divorce become more commonplace, then almost a rite of passage.  Today it would appear that many — particularly in the black community …