Also from Phil Carter (original), we have a blog dedicated to the DC sniper trial (original). It’s sponsored by the Virginian-Pilot. A little bit gawkerish, perhaps, but it’s news and there’s something to be said for opening up the courts. In any case, it’s important for what it represents. Journalists have better access than the rest of us; it’s always nice to see them using blogs and the rapid update paradigm to bring us that news.

Wolfowitz made a nice speech at the Hungarian Embassy today. I shouldn’t really pick on it; it’s a semantically meaningless speech designed to make Hungary feel good. And Hungary should feel good about itself; it’s emerged from some really nasty totalitarianism. Still, he had one of those quotes, and I can’t resist. “And, frankly, it is particularly important to have friends who really understand the value of freedom. And I think countries that regained their freedom relatively recently seem to have that sense more strongly sometime than others.” ...

The International Institute for Strategic Studies says that the war on Iraq helped Al Qaeda (original). As predicted, invading Iraq pissed off Muslims, resulting in a recruiting bonanza for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The IISS is “a distinguished group of thinkers,” in case anyone was thinking they were lefty pinko symps. Or at least, that’s what Condolezza Rice says (original).

Good for China. I have two reactions to China’s membership in the manned space club. My first is pleasure. I’m glad there are other countries in the world who are going out there, because we’re sure falling behind. For whatever reason, the United States government isn’t maintaining a serious space exploration effort. That’s one egg I don’t want in a single bucket. In the grand scheme of things, I’d rather China bring the resources of space back to Earth than nobody. I believe that once we start harvesting the asteroid belt, the value will be so clear that you’ll see an explosion of effort in that direction. But someone’s gotta get there first to make the point, whether it’s China or India or a private American company. I’d be a little worried if it turns out to be China, but in the long term it won’t matter as long as someone does it. ...

The MacArthur Foundation announced its 2003 MacArthur Fellows today. It’s such a great concept: $100,000 a year for five years so that you don’t have to worry about anything but your work. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Remember that huge Straight Dope thread a year or so ago in which countless people rewrote Lord of the Rings in another author’s voice? Now it’s been collated (original). Imperfect but amusing.

Dear Brother #13 was pretty harrowing to write, and if I’ve written well, it should be tough to read. I can only hope I’ve done justice to the emotions of the session.

Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric, is putting together a shadow government in Iraq. The Sunni guerilla action, which continues to take its toll (original), provides excellent cover for the Shiite efforts.

Jay Allen just released a beta of MT-Blacklist. It’s really easy to install; you copy three files into various places, go to a Web page, and you’re good to go. So of course I installed it. If anyone has any trouble posting comments, let me know.

Heartworm is a funny one-panel Web comic. And I mean it’s both funny and well-drawn; we’re not talking the usual Web comic fodder. (And by “the usual Web comic fodder,” I explicitly don’t mean Joey Manley’s sites, but let’s face it — Sturgeon’s Law applies to Keenspace. In spades.) Six comics, go read ‘em, it won’t take but a moment.