The great thing about link dumps is how everybody wins. We don't feel guilty about blowing off a story because at least it's getting posted. You don't feel guilty about blowing off a post because it's a link dump and who reads those? Yay for codependent apathy.

Anyway, link dump:

* Bush says Iran nukes = WWIII.

* Chris Hitchens has an article advocating political and cultural solidarity within the traditional and nontraditional Anglosphere. He wants to keep the latter a little vague, since to define it too narrowly risks imperial nostalgia. The conditions of affinity seem to be, roughly, (a) being a former British colony with many English speakers, (b) being subjected to the scourge of terrorism before 9/11, and (c) having inordinate affection for US culture. Guess which country doesn't get mentioned.

* Allah on how the UN is helping Syria walk back its inadvertent admission that they're in violation of a bevy of international laws:

The United Nations on Wednesday backtracked on a report that had quoted a Syrian official as saying an Israeli airstrike hit a nuclear facility in Syria, blaming an interpreter’s error for the purported comment that made headlines across the Middle East... Do a word search in the UN document and see for yourself how many times the word “nuclear” was used during the meeting, including by Arabic-speaking diplomats from Kuwait and Lebanon. The interpreter got it right everywhere else in the document — but just happened to make a mistake at a fantastically sensitive part of the Syrian ambassador’s statement? The guy obviously let the genie out of the bottle inadvertently and now the UN is trying to put it back in before it sets people in the region even further on edge. Beyond pathetic.

At least the UN is ambitious. Usually they just settle for mere insipidness.

* Ron Paul proves yet again that insane birds of a feather really do flock together.

* Pope Benedict the first batch of cardinals who will be promoted under his papacy. If you're interested in Vatican politics - and who isn't - Whispers in the Loggia is pretty much the cream of the blogosphere crop.

Previously:
* We Heart Putin - Banning the BBC Edition
* Putin Figures Out Constitutional Way To Continue Ruling Russia With Iron Fist
* Believing Too Little and Believing Too Much (Plus: Surprise! Pope Benedict Doesn't Hate Gays)