Seven Indonesian Bird Flu Cases Linked to Patients (Update1)  —  May 23 (Bloomberg) — All seven people infected with bird flu in a cluster of Indonesian cases can be linked to other patients, according to disease trackers investigating possible human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus.

Bush-hatred a threat to national security  —  ENOUGH already!  It's harmful enough that ideological conflict and partisan politics are preventing this country from solving its long-term challenges on health care, fiscal policy and energy.  Now it's threatening our national survival.

F.B.I. Raid Divides G.O.P. Lawmakers and White House  —  WASHINGTON, May 23 — After years of quietly acceding to the Bush administration's assertions of executive power, the Republican-led Congress hit a limit this weekend.  —  Resentment boiled among senior Republicans for a second …

STOP THE LIES  —  Iowahawk Guest Commentary  —  by Jesse Macbeth  —  Iraq War Veterans Against Google  —  Breakfast Shift Associate, Wendys of Tacoma  —  As a decorated combat veteran of Bush's Iraq misadventure, I am all too familiar with the saying "the first casualty of war is truth."

Vast Data Cache About Veterans Is Stolen  —  WASHINGTON, May 22 — Personal electronic information on up to 26.5 million military veterans, including their Social Security numbers and birth dates, was stolen from the residence of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee who had taken …

McCain calls for more nukes  —  'We've got to get over it,' senator says  —  May 23.  —  he United States needs to overcome its fear of nuclear power and embrace the technology as a way to wean itself from fossil fuels, Sen. John McCain told an audience in Manchester yesterday.  —  Nuclear power "is safe.

Iran test-fires long-range missile  —  Iran conducted a test launch Tuesday night of the Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile, which is capable of reaching Israel and US targets in the region, Israel Radio reported.  The test came hours before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met …

Iran Requests Direct Talks on Nuclear Program  —  TEHRAN, May 23 — Iran has followed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent letter to President Bush with explicit requests for direct talks on its nuclear program, according to U.S. officials, Iranian analysts and foreign diplomats.

Bin Laden: Moussaoui not linked to 9/11  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden purportedly said in an audio tape Tuesday that neither Zacarias Moussaoui — the only person convicted in the U.S. for the Sept. 11 attacks — nor anyone held at Guantanamo had anything to do with the al-Qaida operation.

DOES THIS MEAN WE HAVE WON?  —  Jim Hoft has a good writeup on the report that President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair are preparing to announce upcoming "drastic" troop withdrawals from Iraq.  Via The Australian: … In response to that report, Jim Hoft says, "Boy …

Madonna concert review: 'Even the bouncers looked scared'  —  Video: Madonna rehearsing  —  Gallery: Pictures of Madonna in concert More: Madonna's mock crucifixion  —  Riding crop in hand, leather boots gripping her legs, equestrian-cum-bondage gear strapped across her body and, of course …

John Kerry's encore  —  JOHN KERRY may just be charting his path back to the future.  —  The man who cast a vote he now acknowledges was a mistake on the Iraq war resolution, and then spent two years awkwardly confronting the fallout as he ran for president, has finally come to a position where he seems comfortable.

My Perspective on the New School Commencement  —  After following the exchange between Senator John McCain's Chief of Staff, Mark Salter, and one of The New School's graduating students Jean Sara Rohe, I am compelled to add my perspective and thoughts about the events, which took place at last Friday's New School commencement.

ClayNation: Pat Robertson's magical protein shake  —  Every now and then, a ClayNation reader e-mail causes me to question my entire worldview.  Such was recently the case.  We received many responses regarding my quest to leg press 400 pounds and "show up former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright."

Lieberman withdraws from MoveOn.org 'primary'  —  Lieberman Declines Invitation—Stand-in Sought / MoveOn.org Statement on Connecticut Online Primary for U.S. Senate  —  From a MoveOn.org press release to RAW STORY.  —  After initially agreeing, Senator Lieberman has declined our invitation …

Divisive In Any Language  —  Yes, let's talk about the English language and how important it is that immigrants and their children learn it.  —  And please permit me to be personal about an issue that is equally personal to the tens of millions of Americans who remember their immigrant roots.

Eye On White House  —  Dodd Building Foundation For Presidential Race  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Christopher J. Dodd said Monday he has "decided to do all the things that are necessary to prepare to seek the presidency in 2008."  —  The Connecticut Democrat will hire staff …

Harry Reid & The End of Liberal Thought  —  The highest-ranking Democrat in America, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, described the Senate bill making English the national language of the American people as "racist."  And the New York Times editorial page labeled the bill "xenophobic."

Blogs, Wiki, Google Bomb Used to Free Egyptian Activist  —  Last August, when I was working on a story for Online Journalism Review about activists using technology to organize protests in Egypt, I made the mistake of focusing too much on blogs.  One of the people I interviewed, Alaa Abd El Fattah …