Recommended reading while I'm away for a week

I’m off to Ohio to spend time with the election integrity activists that I met through my efforts to help keep the spotlight on the 2004 Presidential election debacle in that state.

Previously, I’ve provided readers with my with my ten top blogs, my five favorite news collectors, and short reviews of two books, Bury the Chains, by Adam Hochschild, and
The Places In Between, by Rory Stewart.

The list below is a collection of links to twelve blogs, in random order, some of which you may never have heard of, plus a couple of sources of invaluable information I subscribe to.

1. On Global Warming: bloggers Clezevra, 14 years old, living in India, and Sarah, 15 years old, who has several other blogs. Clezevra left a comment to my post about The Places In Between. (How did she find my blog?) I hope you’ll check this site and post a comment. It’s heartening to know young people are paying attention to global warming.

2. TodBrilliant.com: I’ve mentioned Tod several times in posts. He describes his blog as “eco-lite,” but it’s much, much more than that.

3. Render Unto Caesar: blogger Kristina, a 22 year old student in Illinois, posts a couple of times a month about the issue of separation of church and state.

4. Thoughts from Kansas: blogger Joshua Rosenau is a graduate student at the University of Kansas, in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. I’ve mentioned Joshua’s blog before; always worth reading.

5. No One Belongs Here Any More Than You : blogger Miranda July, who has written a book with the same name as her blog. The message hasn’t changed for several months, but it’s creative, fun, and a nice break from politics.

6. The Dilettante Traveler: blogger Calin Taylor from Seattle shares her photos from her jaunts around the world. Good, vicarious stuff for those of us who are trying to cut back on traveling in order to help cool off the planet.

7. Pat Denino, my friend with whom I’ll be staying in Ohio. Her posts are artistic, personal and frequently spiritual. Pat encouraged me to start blogging and helped me get past some of the technical problems. She sends me a daily photo, frequently with a poem by a friend attached. I received this photo a few days ago:

8. Dover Bitch: Interesting blog name, interesting blog. The blogger refers to herself in the third person, “DB.” I found DB because Glenn Greenwald, who blogs for Salon.com, mentioned this site a couple of times.

9. Just World News: blogger Helena Cobban, a Quaker, quite well known and respected. Helena describes herself: “I'm a columnist, researcher, and writer on global affairs. I'm a Contributing Editor of Boston Review. I've written a column for The Christian Science Monitor since 1990 and have written a lot for Al-Hayat (London), too. Check out my home web-site for details of my five earlier books, my current projects, etc. I'm probably the only Quaker who's also a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies."

10. The Head Heeb: blogger, Jonathan Edelstein, who says of himself; “I'm 31, married and practicing law in New York. I'm Jewish, of course; why else the handle?” I haven’t spent that much time at this site but plan to in the future.

11. Balkinization: blogger Jack Balkin, Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment and Director of The Information Society Project at Yale Law School. This site is frequently referred to by the several of my ten top bloggers. It’s a collaborative effort and features many interesting books.

12. LobeLog.com: Jim Lobe is best known for his coverage of U.S. foreign policy, particularly the neo-conservative influence in the Bush administration. He's very well-known and has started to blog within the past few months.

Finally, two excellent sources of news that you won’t find in the mainstream media:

1. Middle East Report: [MERIP] Once or twice a month, I receive an e-mail alert to Middle East Report Online. This month, to mark the 40th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, MERIP has published several articles on this issue.

2. Program on International Policy Issues: The Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) studies public opinion on international issues. PIPA is a joint program of the Center on Policy Attitudes (COPA) and the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM), University of Maryland. I receive an e-mail alert when a new report is issued.

(cartoon: NatterJack.com)
(photo: Pat Denino)