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 …

WMD Report Doesn't Match CIA Official's Memory  —  I'm still rubbing my eyes over this.  —  Former senior CIA official Tyler Drumheller appeared on CBS News' "60 Minutes" last night to talk about what he knew of the Niger uranium fiasco.  As Drumheller tells it, nobody at the CIA believed Iraq …

Bush's Thousand Days  —  The Hundred Days is indelibly associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Thousand Days with John F. Kennedy.  But as of this week, a thousand days remain of President Bush's last term — days filled with ominous preparations for and dark rumors of a preventive war against Iran.

Police: Many casualties in Egyptian resort blasts  —  Three explosions rocked the Sinai resort city of Dahab on Monday night leaving at least 100 dead and wounded, according to the doctor who runs Egypt's rescue squad in the peninsula.  —  Dr. Said Essa said he was headed to the scene of the blasts …

7 Car Bombs Explode in Baghdad, Killing 6  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Seven car bombs exploded across the capital Monday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens, as politicians met to try to finalize a new Cabinet.  Police discovered the bodies of 20 Iraqis — apparent victims of sectarian killings …

Cole Fire  —  Yale is set to ditch Taliban Man and may hire a notorious anti-Israel professor.  —  Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi's luck is running out.  Eight weeks ago the Taliban diplomat turned special Yale student made a media splash on the cover of the New York Times magazine in which he proclaimed …

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.

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.

Parade for 'warriors'  —  Thousands downtown welcome 278th Regimental Combat Team home after deployment to Iraq  —  Up to 20,000 people turned out Saturday for a parade to welcome home the National Guard's 278th Regimental Combat Team, providing a big-city atmosphere powered by small-town values.

Inspectors Find More Torture at Iraqi Jails  —  Top General's Pledge To Protect Prisoners 'Not Being Followed'  —  BAGHDAD — Last Nov. 13, U.S. soldiers found 173 incarcerated men, some of them emaciated and showing signs of torture, in a secret bunker in an Interior Ministry compound in central Baghdad.

Iran president calls Israel 'fake regime'  —  Ahmadinejad says country's nuclear activities transparent  —  TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday again criticized Israel and called on Jews to leave the Mideast and "return to their fatherlands" in Europe.

Dissident President  —  George W. Bush has the courage to speak out for freedom.  —  There are two distinct marks of a dissident.  First, dissidents are fired by ideas and stay true to them no matter the consequences.  Second, they generally believe that betraying those ideas would constitute the greatest of moral failures.

Thousands Protest Brussels MP3 Murder.  BBC Omits Facts  —  Today, some 80,000 people participated in a silent march in Brussels to commemorate 17 year old Joe Van Holsbeeck, who was knifed on 12 April because he refused to hand over his MP3 player to two North African youths.

Concerns About Pain Put Lethal Injection on Trial  —  A flurry of litigation challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection has placed a spotlight on growing evidence that condemned inmates may not be properly anesthetized and therefore experience excruciating pain during executions.

MCCARTHY'S POLITICAL DONATIONS  —  I substantially agree with Jonah's point that the extraordinary amount of money at issue here is relevant but not dispositive when it comes to divining Mary McCarthy's motives.  But I do think it's highly relevant - not just another fact in a firmament of facts.

Cyber war over UCSC protest heats up  —  In the easy and anonymous world of cyberspace communication, angry partisans on both sides of the anti-war movement can volley threatening barbs at the click of a button.  UC Santa Cruz students and conservative pundits alike have seen such messages filing …

Gearing Up for '08?  McCain Befriends Old Enemies  —  He's Receiving Money From People Who Attacked Him in 2000  —  April 23, 2006— Once they were "coyotes."  Now, they're pals.  —  Some of the very same men who helped derail Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in 2000 using techniques …

Senate Vote Inquiry Widens as Democrats Probe White House Link  —  April 24 (Bloomberg) — To Republicans, the New Hampshire phone-jamming incident is an isolated case of political dirty tricks that took place more than three years ago.  —  To Democrats, it's a scandal with echoes of Watergate …

Save The Internet  —  I urge everyone to click this link and read Matt Stoller's post about this threat to your access to Hullabaloo and other blogs if the rapacious greedheads get their way.  This is no drill.  The internet providers are trying to dismantle Net Neutrality …

Blog Fight On Capitol Hill  —  How deep is the partisan rancor in Congress?  So deep that aides are bickering over who knows more about blogs.  —  The spat broke out in the House on Friday between spokesmen for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Georgia Republican Jack Kingston …

TV station catches gaffe by McKinney  —  Congresswoman berates staffer as tape rolled after interview  —  Move over Britney Spears, Cynthia McKinney's — oops! — done it again.  —  The flap-plagued congresswoman, who has been in the media spotlight since she scuffled with a Capitol Hill police officer …

The left's own religious whackjobs  —  [Editor's note: If you've arrived here, it wasn't through the RAW STORY main site, but rather one of several blogs that have latched onto this piece as an example of "religious intolerance."  I would ask readers directed by these blogs to take careful note …