Fox News is reporting an explosion and fire in an apartment complex in Encino, a part of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles.

Nothing on the web site yet.

Anglospherian James Bennett politely, and gently fisks Chris Patten.

It’s not just Scott Bell–Andrew Sullivan is worried as well.

He told the German press yesterday that there is no plan to invade on his desk. He said it almost proudly. His military leaders, in a sign of their determination to risk nothing and achieve nothing, are now leaking to the Washington Post that they have all but scotched a serious military option in Iraq.

Well, Andrew, I’ve already pointed out the Clintonian formulation of Bush’s statement. You and I might like him to be more direct, but he didn’t say no plans exist. And consider the possibility that such leaks as are being described are ummmm…disinformation. After all, is it really to our advantage to telegraph our intentions to Saddam? Only if we still hope (futilely, in my opinion) to deter him.

I’m willing to wait for a while longer. And of course, the alternative (that Andrew is justified in his pessimism, and we really aren’t going into Iraq) is too depressing to contemplate…

The Oppressor From Oz points out this petition of Aussie academics favoring a boycott of Israel.

It’s up to over twelve hundred signatures as I type this, and most of them are, as Tim says, err…creative.

It’s hilarious. I just hope it doesn’t get taken down any time soon.

He finally admits, in a column, no less, that The Corner is a blog.

Can Will Warren call ’em, or what?

See that thing with lots of pages?
Index, bib, and T of C?
Writing captured for the ages?
Not a book, says Jonah G.

Look at Jonah?s bold new feature:
Commentary, jokes, and links!
What is that exotic creature?
?Not a blog,? our Jonah winks.

He finally admits, in a column, no less, that The Corner is a blog.

Can Will Warren call ’em, or what?

See that thing with lots of pages?
Index, bib, and T of C?
Writing captured for the ages?
Not a book, says Jonah G.

Look at Jonah?s bold new feature:
Commentary, jokes, and links!
What is that exotic creature?
?Not a blog,? our Jonah winks.

He finally admits, in a column, no less, that The Corner is a blog.

Can Will Warren call ’em, or what?

See that thing with lots of pages?
Index, bib, and T of C?
Writing captured for the ages?
Not a book, says Jonah G.

Look at Jonah?s bold new feature:
Commentary, jokes, and links!
What is that exotic creature?
?Not a blog,? our Jonah winks.

Well, not really–I’ve just been lazy. For quite a while, I’ve been meaning to point out Scott Bell, who is a…wait for it…Christian space blogger. Cool.

He’s disappointed, to put it mildly, in the President.

But I think he may be throwing in the towel a little early. Bush didn’t actually say that he had no plans to invade Iraq–he just said he had no plans on his desk. A subtle distinction, and perhaps a little too Clintonian for some tastes, but it does leave some room for interpretation…

Professor Reynolds reminisces about the most productive time he spent in school, when he was allowed to just sit and read the encyclopedia. Yup.

I was once suspended from high school for three days.

My crime? Cutting a boring class, and instead going to the public library and reading.

I could never quite understand the rationale of punishing someone for skipping school by…suspending them from school, but that’s the mentality of bureaucrats.

My new Fox column is up.

It won’t be new to regular readers, though–it’s about my thoughts on the Chinese space program.