Transcript: Bin Laden accuses West  —  The following is an edited translation of an audiotape attributed to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, parts of which were aired by Aljazeera on April 23, 2006.  (It is not known where or when the recording was made.)  —  Praise be to Allah …

Secrets of the CIA  —  A former colleague says the fired Mary McCarthy 'categorically denies' being the source of the leak on agency renditions.  —  April 24, 2006 - A former CIA officer who was sacked last week after allegedly confessing to leaking secrets has denied she was the source …

Bush's approval ratings slide to new low  —  Poll: Only one-third say he's handling his job well  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush's approval ratings have sunk to a personal low, with only a third of Americans saying they approve of the way he is handling his job, a national poll released Monday said.

The Sad Case Of Andrea Clarke  —  Yesterday, as I was perusing the Democratic Underground, I ran across a very troubling story.  I'm reposting it here, so that you can read it just as I did last night (the phone numbers present are x'd out, although you can read them in the original post)...

VIDEO: 8th General Calls For Rumsfeld's Resignation  —  Fox News is reporting an eighth general has called for Rumsfeld's resignation.  Ret. Marine General Paul Van Riper said he constantly talks with many active duty and retired senior officers who share his feelings that Secretary Rumsfeld has not fought the Iraq war competently.

INTRODUCING HOT AIR  —  I'm excited to introduce you today to Hot Air—a conservative Internet broadcast network I founded with a team of multi-talented bloggers.  (Press release here.)  —  Internet video is booming.  Apple's iTunes store has sold a gazillion videos since its debut.

Fund Smears Cole with Barrage of Lies  —  John Fund of the Wall Street Journal editorial page has published a large number of falsehoods about me.  —  The most egregious is this: … This a lie.  I never said that.  Try googling it.  —  I did say that then-Israeli policies …

Bush Admits Mistakes in Iraq, Defends Tactics  —  President Bush today said mistakes were made in planning for the Iraq invasion, but he defended the troop level he ordered in the initial strike, saying he would have committed the same number if given a second chance.

A Religious Push Against Gay Unions  —  WASHINGTON, April 23 — About 50 prominent religious leaders, including seven Roman Catholic cardinals and about a half-dozen archbishops, have signed a petition in support of a constitutional amendment blocking same-sex marriage.

An Experiment in Journalism  —  I went to the Middle East for six months so I could expand my freelance writing portfolio.  But I found, after a few months, there may be a better way forward than publishing disconnected dispatches here and there for low pay.  —  The mainstream media is an industry in decline.