Today's links 2005 07 08 Friday

Repeat visitors may notice a bit of a new look to the site today. I've moved the categories around a bit, and renamed a few, to emphasize some things and de-emphasize others, but everything is still here.

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The excellent Wikipedia entry on the London Bombings has gotten better. This is an example of one of the things Wikipedia and Wikinews do so very right.



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Saddam Hussein's Chief Lawyer has resigned. Seems he thinks the Americans on the team which include Ramsey Clark (pay close attention to the last paragraph), want to soft peddle the American occupation of Iraq.



Hat tip: LGF



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Why I'm in no danger of joining the donkeys, exhibit 50,000,001: A comment thread on Democratic Underground. Pay close attention, especially a couple of screens down. Good thing for some of these people that the first amendment is so strong, while treason and especially sedition are so narrowly defined. I can point to places in the world that these very people think are wonderful, where they'd be in jail, in "internal exile", or in the ground.



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Daniel Taranto has a wonderful piece covering London, protest stupidity and vandalism at the G8 conference, and the fact that Congress spent the day trying to keep Terror Investigators from accessing library records.



Make sure you keep reading for the links to Saved by the Cole, Jail for Judy, and Whoops



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See also Cox and Forkum for a particularly good drawing commenting upon a sad situation. Somebody (like say, most of us) concerned about these issues could probably work themselves into tears thinking about it without too much trouble. Good thing that it appears that world leaders managed to put the events aside and deal with African Aid anyway. Consider summits of past eras where the agenda would have been totally off. Doesn't quite make me want to break out into the finale of "Les Miserables" but it does illustrate that the world is a better place than it once was. Similar story from AP here.



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One more reason to vote for anybody but Boxer



hat tip: Common Sense and Wonder



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Good News in Afghanistan from Captain's Quarters



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Misha makes a point those who are familiar with the British (and their Gurkha regiments) already know. The Gurkhas have been with the British since about 1720 (even through the Mutiny, they kept faith), and for over 220 of those years, the Gurkhas helped keep peace on India's North West Frontier. Warning for non-family language applies.



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Another non family language warning for Ace of Spade's modern James Bond



hat tip: Inoperable Terran



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It's linked on Instapundit, but I think that this Thomas L. Friedman column

needs to be read by everyone.



As noted in comment at Instapundit, a Spanish Islamic Group did issue a fatwa, but it's got to become the same sort of unanimous condemnation (and cooperation with authority) that happens with serial killers everywhere else in the world. As long as they expect 72 virgins in the afterlife, they're going to be a problem. When they're treated to scorn, anger, and community condemnation in the life and expect a good long stay with Iblis in the next, then we're on the way to dealing with the problem.



Instapundit also directs us to The Blood Feud, a worthy explanation of a cultural point that predates Islam.



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Reasoned Audacity has more than yesterday.



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Looking for positive steps to take, La Shawn Barber has a discussion started. This is an example of why she is always worth paying attention to.



This is an example of what I'm trying to encourage here on this site. The reason comment accounts are required is purely anti-spam. It would defeat my purpose here if I shared your information with anybody, so I don't and won't. Right now, all comment accounts are allowed pending review and all comments are approved pending review. I may have to change this later if spam gets bad, but I'm intentionally setting the bar to participate as low as I can.



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Michelle Malkin has a great article of G8 protestor antics



She also has an article on Why Bush shouldn't name Gonzales.



The War on Terror is more important than any other issue. We need a strong reliable justice on the court in favor of prosecuting the war, as several members of the court have never met an anti-American, or more precisely, anti-Western Civilization person or cause they didn't like. Gonzalez would be wonderful for this, but he'd have to recuse himself. Kind of defeats the point, doesn't it?



UPDATE: I'm trying to stay quiet on the Supreme Court until Bush actually names a candidate. But no matter how much those further to the right dislike Gonzalez, his work in the War on Terror has made him into a candidate I might support. There's something to be said for any judge the extremists on both sides dislike this much.



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Online Sun has a map and accompanying list of terror attacks since 1993



hat tip: Powerline



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Lileks Screed isn't as certain as I am about british character, but he may be right and makes a good point:

They did not bomb London because there is insufficient transparency in Congress about the Gitmo detainees; they bombed London because it is part of the Zionist-Crusader Conspiracy run by the sons of monkeys and pigs, who must submit or die

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Dean's World has not less than three posts worth reading: A hopeful sign, worthwhile people, and A message from your favorite uncle



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One Fine Jay makes a good point on silencing the arab media. Harder to convince the arab and islamic media to fight on the side of civilization, but more effective.



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Argghhh! has some important information on one of several casualties