Top Items:
MSNBC:
Lawmaker: Marines killed Iraqis 'in cold blood' — Navy conducting war crimes probe into November violence in Haditha — A video provided to Reuters in March by Hamourabi, a human rights group, shows covered bodies, which Hamourabi says are of 15 civilians shot to death by Marines in Haditha in November.
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Christian Lowe / Army Times:
Murtha: Marines may have killed Haditha civilians in cold blood — Rep. John Murtha, an influential Pennsylvania lawmaker and outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, said today Marines had "killed innocent civilians in cold blood" after allegedly responding to a roadside bomb ambush that killed …
Confederate Yankee:
Dishonorable John — Ex-Marine John Murtha has taken the extraordinary step of accusing U.S. Marines of war crimes before a joint NCIS/Multi-National Forces investigation has been completed of an incident that occurred on November 19, 2005. — On that date, a U.S. Marine convoy in Haditha …
Siobhan Gorman / Baltimore Sun:
NSA killed system that sifted phone data legally … WASHINGTON // The National Security Agency developed a pilot program in the late 1990s that would have enabled it to gather and analyze massive amounts of communications data without running afoul of privacy laws.
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John Conyers Jr / Washington Post:
No Rush to Impeachment — As Republicans have become increasingly nervous about whether they will be able to maintain control of the House in the midterm elections, they have resorted to the straw-man strategy of identifying a parade of horrors to come if Democrats gain the majority.
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Zachary Roth / Washington Monthly:
Investi-Gate — What's really at stake in the November elections. — There are plenty of reasons why George W. Bush managed to eke out a 51 percent re-election victory in 2004: John Kerry was a lousy candidate; Iraq had not yet descended into civil war; and anti-gay-marriage ballot initiatives …
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Who Isn't A 'Values Voter'? — An aggressively annoying new phrase in America's political lexicon is "values voters." It is used proudly by social conservatives, and carelessly by the media to denote such conservatives. — This phrase diminishes our understanding of politics.
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
U.S. Said to Weigh a New Approach on North Korea — WASHINGTON, May 17 — President Bush's top advisers have recommended a broad new approach to dealing with North Korea that would include beginning negotiations on a peace treaty, even while efforts to dismantle the country's nuclear program …
Discussion:
Austin Bay Blog, Hot Air, Sadly, No!, On Deadline, Amygdala and Ankle Biting Pundits › News
Yaakov Katz / Jerusalem Post:
'Arafat used aid to buy weapons' — Yasser Arafat transferred millions of dollars in international aid and taxes transferred to the Palestinian Authority by Israel to purchase large quantities of weapons, the PA chairman's former financial aide, Fuad Shubaki, has told the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs
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Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Seeking to Control Borders, Bush Turns to Big Military Contractors — WASHINGTON, May 17 — The quick fix may involve sending in the National Guard. But to really patch up the broken border, President Bush is preparing to turn to a familiar administration partner: the nation's giant military contractors.
TigerHawk:
The canaries flee the coal mine — Today's Wall Street Journal leads with a front-page article($) about Ayaan Hirsi Ali's decision to resign from the Dutch parliament and emigrate to the United States. The proximate cause was a court order evicting her from her apartment because her presence put …
t r u t h o u t:
Update on the Rove Indictment Story — For the past few days, we have endured non-stop attacks on our credibility, and we have fought hard to defend our reputation. In addition, we have worked around the clock to provide additional information to our readership.
Van / Kesher Talk:
That's My Deutschland! Chapter 2: American Nothing — [first chapter of this occasional series found here] — The invaluable Gateway Pundit has photos and links revealing the latest outrage from perfidious Deutschland. DaimlerChrysler has a billboard up in South Africa touting its Smart Car's …
William Triplett / Variety:
Tony Snow at the White House — Possibly through Inauguration Day 2009, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. Running time: 40 MIN. — In the often surreal world of the televised press briefing, the media don't stand a chance against a nice guy, and judging by his first performance …
Daniel McGrory / Times of London:
Gays flee as religious militias sentence them all to death — THE death threat was delivered to Karazan's father early in the morning by a masked man wearing a police uniform. — The scribbled note was brief. Karazan had to die because he was gay. In the new Baghdad, his sexuality warranted execution by the religious militias.
wsbtv.com:
McKinney Sponsors Bill Honoring Capitol Police — WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who could face criminal charges for allegedly punching a Capitol police officer in Washington, D.C., has signed on as a co-sponsor of a House bill formally honoring Capitol Police officers.
Discussion:
BitsBlog
New York Times:
Senate Votes to Extend Fence Along Border — WASHINGTON, May 17— The Senate voted overwhelmingly today to add hundreds of miles of fencing along the border between the United States and Mexico and to bar illegal immigrants convicted of a felony or three misdemeanors from remaining …
Billmon:
Sixteen Steps and a Stumble — Actually, the old Wall Street saying used to be three steps and a stumble — meaning that when the Fed raised the Discount Rate three times, the stock market usually took it on the chin. But that was before the "new economy" changed everything.