In Haditha, Memories of a Massacre  —  Iraqi Townspeople Describe Slaying of 24 Civilians by Marines in Nov. 19 Incident  —  BAGHDAD, May 26 — Witnesses to the slaying of 24 Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines in the western town of Haditha say the Americans shot men, women and children …

Top Bush Aide at Justice Dept. Was Set to Quit  —  WASHINGTON, May 26 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and senior officials and career prosecutors at the Justice Department told associates this week that they were prepared to quit if the White House directed them to relinquish evidence seized …

First Amendment Applies to Internet, Appeals Court Rules  —  SAN FRANCISCO, May 26 — A California appeals court ruled Friday that online reporters are protected by the same confidentiality laws that protect traditional journalists, striking a blow to efforts by Apple Computer to identify people who leaked confidential company data.

"Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser  —  The defining issue of our time is not the Iraq war.  It is not the "global war on terror."  It is not our inability (or unwillingness) to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health care.  Nor is it immigration, outsourcing, or growing income inequity.

Hundreds die in Indonesian quake  —  More than 2,700 people have been killed and thousands more injured by a strong earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Java, officials have said.  —  The quake, measuring 6.2, flattened buildings in a densely-populated area south of the city of Yogyakarta, near the southern coast of Java.

Looking Back at Iraq  —  A war to be proud of.  —  National Review Online  —  There may be a lot to regret about the past policy of the United States in the Middle East, but the removal of Saddam Hussein and the effort to birth democracy in his place is surely not one of them.

Senate Overwhelmingly Confirms General to Be Director of C.I.A.  —  WASHINGTON, May 26 — The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Gen. Michael V. Hayden on Friday as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, despite some senators' criticism of his role in overseeing a domestic electronic surveillance program.

U.S. Is Debating Talks With Iran on Nuclear Issue  —  WASHINGTON, May 26 — The Bush administration is beginning to debate whether to set aside a longstanding policy taboo and open direct talks with Iran, to help avert a crisis over Tehran's suspected nuclear weapons program …

Kerry Pressing Swiftboat Case, Long After Loss  —  John Kerry starts by showing the entry in a log he kept from 1969: "Feb 12: 0800 run to Cambodia."  —  He moves on to the photographs: his boat leaving the base at Ha Tien, Vietnam; the harbor; the mountains fading frame by frame as the boat heads north …

The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time  —  At PC World, we spend most of our time talking about products that make your life easier or your work more productive.  But it's the lousy ones that linger in our memory long after their shrinkwrap has shriveled, and that make tech editors cry out, "What have I done to deserve this?"

Bush Aide Confirmed to U.S. Bench  —  Senate Vote Puts Kavanaugh on Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit  —  White House aide Brett M. Kavanaugh won Senate confirmation as an appeals judge yesterday after a three-year wait, a new victory for President Bush in a drive to place a more conservative stamp on the courts.

Cultural ID  —  Chris Bowers writes about one of my favorite subjects today: American tribal identity. … I think the evidence is overwhelming that it is.  He reproduces one of those great maps that break down everybody by something or other and like most of them, it ends up showing …

AT&T leaks sensitive info in NSA suit  —  Lawyers for AT&T accidentally released sensitive information while defending a lawsuit that accuses the company of facilitating a government wiretapping program, CNET News.com has learned.  —  AT&T's attorneys this week filed a 25-page legal brief striped …

Left to die on Mount Everest  —  Report that dozens of climbers passed stricken British mountaineer on way to the summit shocks first man to reach top  —  WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Mount Everest pioneer Sir Edmund Hillary said Wednesday he was shocked that dozens of climbers left …

THANK YOU FORT BENNING DRILL SERGEANTS...  ...for if it wasn't for you, Jesse MacBeth would have been a soldier.  This Bud's for you!  —  Background on Jesse MacBeth here.  —  McQ at QandO has more - His DD214 shows a discharge before completing training and entering the Army.  He couldn't cut it.