TWO AGITATOR LINKS: Column on “policy recommendations to rein in the excesses of paramilitary police raids.” And: evil. Read more

The reporters pick up their blogs and watches, they rush to the scene… Hello again. Things will be very busy here for the rest of the week, so I’m not sure how much I’ll be around. I hope to post something brief on The Imitation of Christ, and maybe something on the painter CRW Nevinson. For now, though, all you get is a small blogwatch. Balkinization: On Article 3 and the origin of the 1996 War Crimes Act. Powerful. Claw... Read more

THE IRAQI BLOGROLL on the side there has been updated. (…Finally.) All of the blogs are very much worth your time–please check them out. If you want more, Iraq Blog Count is a really good round-up site. Read more

SCATTERCHAT: ScatterChat is a HACKTIVIST WEAPON designed to allow non-technical human rights activists and political dissidents to communicate securely and anonymously while operating in hostile territory. It is also useful in corporate settings, or in other situations where privacy is desired. It is a secure instant messaging client (based upon the Gaim software) that provides end-to-end encryption, integrated onion-routing with Tor, secure file transfers, and easy-to-read documentation. Its security features include resiliency against partial compromise through perfect forward secrecy, immunity... Read more

ALWAYS OUR CHILDREN: As part of working on the piece described below, I finally read the US Bishops’ document addressed to parents of gay children. It’s… significantly better than I expected! I mean, yes, there is some CatholicSpeak, and some waffly places where I suspect there was a lot of catfighting behind the scenes. The section on chastity is convoluted and less helpful than it needs to be. When I hear the phrase “gay and lesbian ministry” I think of... Read more

YOUR DISCO NEEDS YOU! Hi peoples. I am working on a piece for USA Today on traditionally religious parents whose children come out. (And yes, I hate the phrase “traditionally religious” as much as you do, so feel free to suggest something a) better and b) two words long.) Basically it will be advice: how to show your love for your child, maintain your faith in God, reconcile if you’ve said something really horrible or become estranged… stuff like that.... Read more

TWO LINKS: The Agitator replies to critics of his paper on the rise of paramilitary policing. And the Washington Post‘s anti-farm-subsidies series continues: a look at drought aid here, with links to previous reports on catfish farmers, ranchers (and again), growers in a good year, and people who don’t farm a’tall. Read more

TWO LINKS: Lots of stuff lately about that Anglican lady who is ministering to the fashion industry. But the article that caught my eye is this one from the Telegraph–completely worth reading in full: …”So I thought, if you play this argument through, the law is saying there are good reasons why I shouldn’t be alive. And I look at my life and I think, ‘That’s rubbish.’ Even if I hadn’t had my surgery, even if I’d chosen to stay... Read more

MISCELLANY: About Last Night has a cool quote. The Agitator‘s paper on the rise of SWAT teams and paramilitary policing is out now: …We’re also launching an interactive map to accompany the paper. And I frankly think the map is what’s going to convince most people of the scope of this problem. I’ve plotted every botched raid I found in my research, with a description of what happened and a list of sources. You can sort the map by type... Read more

ANNA THE K: Ratty gave me Richard Pevear and Larissa Volonkhosky’s translation of Anna Karenina, and I finally finished it. These are some fairly random and unfocused thoughts about a really great book; your comments welcome. Spoilers throughout, not so much for the climax (which I expect everyone knows about) but for other things in the novel–and I’m glad I didn’t know about those things before reading it, because I do enjoy suspense in reading, so if you haven’t read... Read more