New X-linking with 'Today in Iraq'
Over the weekend, Yankeedoodle and his friends who write Today in Iraq sent me an invitation to cross-post my Iraq-related posts from here onto their fine blog.
I said "Yes". It's a great idea. I have often cited either their blog directly, or materials I found on it (always with, I hope, due hat-tips to TII.)
You can find my inaugural TII post here.
For now, I don't think I'll be posting anything new there that I'm not posting here. Mainly, it's to let their readers know what's going on here.
The two blogs are fairly different in style, so there's some useful complementarity in this new move, I think. TII is an excellent compilation blog that makes a substantial success of being a "compilation blog of record" about the US war in Iraq. Between the painstakingly produced main posts and the supplementary links people send in to their comments boards, it provides a very full picture, day by day by excruciating day, of all that the war has brought to Iraq-- and to the US, and other countries affected by it.
In addition, YD and his veteran co-authors Matt and Friendly Fire bring their own wit, sense of irony, and occasional "rants" to the readers, too.
JWN, as you've probably figured by now, doesn't attempt to be-- at least, at the day-by-day level-- a blog of any kind of complete "record". It is quirky, eclectic (some might say disorganized), discursive, and sometimes passionate. It deals with a lot more than "just" the US war in Iraq. In it, I try to identify and explore big trends and issues in global affairs, though I am also still so much of an unreconstructed news junkie that the latest op-eds from the NYT and the WaPo or the latest pronunciamento from Planet Cole do, I admit, sometimes disproportionately distract my attention.
I also use JWN for many of my own purposes: trying out ideas, archiving links to matters of interest, seeking information, etc.
In addition, I generally really love the discussions on the comments boards here. They are often very substantive and reflect good and generally civil interactions among a bunch of people from different countries and different worldviews.
(The comments boards on TII generally serve a different purpose. In line with the main, info-compiling mission of the blog they serve more as a bulletin board to exchange new information, than a place for sustained conversations.)
Anyway, I'm excited about working with Yankee, Matt, and Friendly in this way. Thanks, guys, for tossing me the key to the executive washroom there on TII! (And thanks, Yankee, for that great story you told me about one certain executive washroom... )
! (And thanks, Yankee, for that great story you told me about one certain executive washroom... )
Cmon! DO tell.
Well done, Helena, and very thoughtful of you to offer to help. The guys at TII are beginning to look a bit frazzled from the endless daily burden, which has gone on a lot longer than anticipated. TII is vital, though.
Great News Helena.
I hope TII might someday get around to the other big elephant in the cupboard; namely unmitigated support for the Israeli destruction of Palestine.
Early days.
Do you stand by your description in your Links column of TII as a "mouthy" daily compilation, or will you be revising this?
Is "mouthy" a BAD thing, then? Damn.
I don't think so. I remember having a discussion on this issue a long time ago on JWN, too.... I think the trick is to be mouthy (when called for) without being offensive. I certainly think the guys over at TII meet that standard, even if (gasp!) they sometimes use naughty words that I don't personally use.