Month: June 2007

The good guy still working – hard – for the Bush administration.

He was 17; she was 15. If they’d had full intercourse, there would be no problem. But he’s a sex offender for life, and still in jail. Unbelievable.

Good grief.

From the Dutch, of course:

Despite the photograph, the stamps won’t bloom en route, but rather are embedded in the stamp beneath a thin layer of plastic. The lucky recipient simply peels back the plastic, plants the stamp and seeds, and watches them bloom. We love the fact that the poetic design is issued through such a civic entity, and the concept of delivering something cheery (and natural) through such an everyday object.

And from Sweden: talking paper.

Leahy and Specter have introduced a bill to restore the Great Writ in the United States. If you care about American liberty, there is no greater cause right now. Do your bit by calling or emailing your Senators and representatives.

A poem for the day from Poetry Daily.

One of the worst ideas in memory:

What kind of dysfunctional thought process would underlie the conclusion that the best way to guarantee the right of non-discrimination (the victims from denial of which are few) is by obliterating the right of privacy (the enjoyers of which are many)? Add to the calculus that "non-discrimination" is strictly a statutory right and that "privacy" is a constitutional right, and the proposal becomes even more absurd.

The indigenous militias are splintering and reconfiguring in Iraq:

As a response to rising tensions with the Islamic State of Iraq, three rival insurgent groups – the Islamic Army, the Ansar Al-Sunnah and the Mujahideen Army – merged to create the Jihad and Reform Front last month, announcing in their first communiqué that they would not target innocent Iraqi civilians – a jab at the Islamic State of Iraq. A fourth group, the Fatiheen Army, also recently joined the front.

Last week’s clashes which raged on for two days between Al-Qaeda and the Islamic Army in Amiriya, western Baghdad, may forever end the shaky alliance that the two groups have so far maintained against U.S. troops and the Iraqi government.

In a recorded statement posted on the Internet yesterday, Islamic Army spokesman Dr. Ali Al-Ni’aimi strongly rebuked Al-Qaeda and blamed it for initiating the fighting in Amiriya. A barrage of insults against the Islamic Army from Al-Qaeda sympathizers on the Internet followed the posting.

(Hat tip: Danger Room.)

My friend and colleague, Sarah Baxter, of the Sunday Times tipped me off to her husband, Jez Coulson”s photoblog. He has a very rewarding obsesssion with New York taxis. This one was especially gripping.