memeorandum: Joe Volpe strongarms the Internet and erodes freedom of speech in Canada (Stephen Taylor)

GIs at Ishaqi Cleared; Haditha Probe Open — BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A military investigation into allegations that U.S. troops intentionally killed Iraqi civilians in a March raid in a village north of Baghdad has cleared the troops of misconduct, two defense officials said Friday, despite dramatic video footage of slain children.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Andrew Sullivan, Red Hot Cuppa Politics, Left I on the News and California Conservative

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New York Times:

Initial Response to Marine Raid Draws Scrutiny — WASHINGTON, June 2 — Marine commanders in Iraq learned within two days of the killings in Haditha last November that Iraqi civilians had died from gunfire, not a roadside bomb as initially reported, but the officers involved saw no reason …

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community and Amygdala

Will Dunham / Reuters:

Troops cleared in Iraqi deaths in Ishaqi — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. military probe has exonerated U.S. troops in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in the town of Ishaqi in March, finding American forces followed standard procedures and committed no misconduct, defense officials said on Friday.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Liberty Street, The Raw Story, Sister Toldjah, Gateway Pundit and Power Line

Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:
PROVOCATION — Whilst avoiding a larger discussion of what happened …

Discussion: de crapulas edormiendo

Tony Perry / Los Angeles Times: Murder Charges Likely for Marines in Iraq Death

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Troops Respect Iraqis' Rights, Rumsfeld Says

Discussion: Washington Post and Telegraph

Peter Baker / Washington Post:

Bush Re-Enters Gay Marriage Fight — Two Speeches Set Pressing Senate To Vote for a Ban — President Bush plans to wade back into the emotional debate over same-sex marriage for the first time in his second term beginning today with a pair of speeches pressing the Senate to approve …

Discussion: The Anonymous Liberal, The Heretik and Bark Bark Woof Woof

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Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Bush to Press for U.S. Ban on Same-Sex Marriage — WASHINGTON, June 2 — President Bush is beginning a major push for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, part of a new campaign to appease cultural conservatives who say he and his party abandoned their issues after the 2004 elections.

Steve Benen / The Washington Monthly:
BUSH AND THE FMA....I know the White House is anxious to impress …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and The Moderate Voice

Peter Baker / Washington Post:

White House Opens Door To Dissenters — Aversion to Criticism Appears to Be Fading — When retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey criticized the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war three years ago, he was lambasted as an armchair general and deemed an adversary by the Pentagon.

Discussion: Oliver Willis, The Democratic Daily, The Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

Jose Lambiet / Palm Beach Post:

Channel 5 reporter says ex punched her — Rough times for local TV reporter Kathleen Walter. — Walter, 32, a main on-the-scene face for WPTV-Channel 5, says she was a recent victim of domestic violence. — "I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone," she said.

Discussion: TalkLeft

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Brad / THE BRAD BLOG:
Ann Coulter 'Lawyers Up' to Face Felony Voter Fraud Charges

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Jad Mouawad / New York Times:

Eight Oil Workers Abducted From Rig Off Nigeria — Armed rebels raided an oil drilling rig 40 miles off the Nigerian coast early today and kidnapped eight foreign oil workers, in the latest of a string of violent incidents meant to disrupt oil production in the country's oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Discussion: Power Line and Amygdala

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Austin Bay Blog: A raid takes British, American, and Canadian hostages/Nigeria's …

Ashraf Khalil / Los Angeles Times:

Kerry Attacks Bush Over Iraq Policies — The administration's choice of confrontation instead of diplomacy has harmed the U.S., the senator says in a speech in Los Angeles. — Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) harshly criticized the Bush administration for "disdaining diplomacy" …

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, The Strata-Sphere and RIGHTWINGSPARKLE

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Rise of Lobbyist Shines a Light on House Ties — WASHINGTON, June 2 — Letitia Hoadley White arrived on Capitol Hill 25 years ago as a 22-year-old receptionist with a bachelor's degree in fashion design, fresh from a job at Women's Wear Daily. — When her boss, Representative Jerry Lewis …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Associated Press:

Cops: Couple ordered hit on grandkids — Wanted to stop testimony at son's rape trial, police say — TAVARES, Florida (AP) — A couple tried to hire a hit man to kill their three grandchildren and daughter-in-law to stop them from testifying against their son in his rape trial, authorities said.

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard

The Big Trunk / Power Line:

NO TEACHER FOR TALIBAN MAN — In the category of "today's good news," we can report that Yale's Senior Appointments Committee voted down the appointment of Juan Cole to the faculty yesterday, and it wasn't even close. Cole will not be appointed to the Yale faculty.

Discussion: Decision '08, Blue Crab Boulevard and Jay Currie

Stephen Taylor:

Joe Volpe strongarms the Internet and erodes freedom of speech in Canada — Yesterday, a Joe Volpe parody site went up called YouthForVolpe.ca which lampooned the Liberal leadership candidate's drug money (ahem pharmaceutical donations) from children of Apotex execs.

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard, Captain's Quarters, Steve Janke and lgf

Toni Locy / Associated Press:

Libby to get limited classified info — WASHINGTON - A former White House aide facing perjury charges will get only a prosecutor's summary of classified documents assessing the damage to national security from the leak of a CIA officer's identity, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Mark Sherman / Associated Press:

5 News Organizations Agree to Pay Lee — WASHINGTON (AP) - Wen Ho Lee, the former nuclear weapons scientist once suspected of being a spy, settled his privacy lawsuit Friday and will receive $1.6 million from the government and five news organizations in a case that turned into a fight over reporters' confidential sources.