CNN recently aired a documentary series entitled God's Warriors, in which they explored the agendas of fundamentalist/militant factions within Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. I didn't see it, but it looks like it was fascinating - and more than a little controversial. Here's some commentary from the evangelical outpost, some blustery indignation from The Northern Gleaner, and some good thoughts from Greg Boyd here and here. (Greg Boyd actually made it into the documentary. To see his segment, go to this page, click on "Christianity," and then click "Video Diary: Politics and Faith." Go Greg!)

What's the best argument against religion? Yep, you guessed it: religion.

(WORLD)

An interview with Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

(A&LD)

It's... it's... happened?

Yep, print is dead: ironically available in hardcover.

More obituaries -

Rev2.org:

Thousands of individuals rarely pick up books anymore, trading the heavy, physical medium for something accessible everywhere and any time: the Internet. Those without experience on the Internet will protest the day when readers banish books to a dark corner of their rooms, but I, for one, will applaud that day, for it will herald the arrival of a new era; one where people both contribute their literary works and read the works of others with a higher frequency than ever before.

Writer...Interrupted:

I really believe that most writers just want an audience. (We want to pay the bills, too, but we already have day jobs for that.)

Yet more inspiring journalism from Michael Yon:

There is no particular spark, no single bolt of lightning, errant campfire or careless cigarette flicked out a window that caused this conflagration. We walked into a dry, cracked land, where the two arteries of Mesopotamia have long pulsed water and blood through scorched lands into the sea. In a place where everything that is not already desert is tinder, sparks tend to catch fire.

Michael Yon often combines his milblogging with fascinating cultural journalism. His latest dispatch provides a glimpse into the lives of the Bedouin. More good photography too.

Michael Yon has a good grassroots perspective on the intricacies of the Iraq war. His latest dispatch documents the quiet but dramatic arrest of a high-ranking Iraqi coalition official.

The Evangelical Outpost comments, with some welcome sanity, on the new Milblog restrictions:

Instead of criticizing the addition of common sense restrictions, my fellow conservative bloggers should be asking why this change wasn't implemented years ago. How many times do we have to read about the enemy being an "adaptive, cunning, and learning adversary ... unlike most previous experiences" before we figure out where the terrorists are getting their information from? The question that should be asked is how many soldiers lives had to be lost do to poor OPSEC before the generals realized they needed to tell milbloggers to "button your lip!"

Glenn Reynolds on the subtleties of barelinking.

WORLD comments on the decline of the book review.

I'm trying to do my part!

Another dispatch from Michael Yon:

Gunshots ring out at three in the morning as I write these first sentences.
Gunshots, providing muse and meter for this dispatch home to America.
Gunshots, three of them. The war is close.

Acute Politics posts an optimistic update:

If things continue as they are right now, our military won't need a surge to chase the terrorists out of Anbar- the citizens will do it for us, which is as it should be. It's beginning to show already: more local tips, more police recruits (far more than anticipated), and sadly- in bigger and more desperate Al-Qaeda attacks...

It's a big job, but I think we may have finally learned enough forgotten lessons from places like East Timor, Vietnam, Ireland, Malaysia, and others that it just might work this time.

Color me hopeful.

No more excuses for blogger's block after you follow this link. (HT: evangelical outpost)

Apparently someone is working to get Michael Yon kicked out of Iraq, or at least to silence his dispatches. Instapundit doesn't get it, and neither does David St. Lawrence.

Here's a great essay on writing and the superiority and future of the novel as a medium.

I'm often asked if there is something I think writers ought to do, and recently in an interview I heard myself say: "Several things. Love words, agonize over sentences. And pay attention to the world."

Yes, the dreaded assignment: read the whole thing.

This is actually rather handy: a look at which Poliblogs (think: poliwogs,) use the fewest offensive expletives. The best part? You don't even have to know what they are!

I added a few of the best (lowest) scoring sites - from both the left and right - to my feed list.

(HT: Instapundit)

A substantial piece on Milton Friedman. (Instapundit)

Another excellent blogger in Iraq. Here's a good place to start. (PjM)

Iraq roundup:

• Michael Yon with another combat dispatch.
• Gen. David Petraeus officially assumes control of Multinational Force Iraq (MNF-I).
  
• Yon comments on Petraeus's appointment.

The latest dispatch from Michael Yon, while somewhat graphic, skillfully documents some dramatic events. The human perspective Yon provides on the war is invaluable.

Keep praying.