Please keep an eye on the news for Meriam Ibrahim, who is facing execution in Khartoum. As I said the other day:
This is not a Sudanese news story but an American one.
The lack of mainstream news coverage is not encouraging.
~Further to our pre-election reprise of my Nigel Farage profile from last year, we have to wait for the Euro-election results until Sunday night, which is apparently when the Continentals will have concluded their voting. However, the UK local results (actually, only England and Northern Ireland, but that may be what the UK boils down in a decade or so) are coming in, and, as I write, Ukip are up over 130 seats. At the beginning of my piece, I said that on the Continent new parties are like soup du jour; in America they're a fantasy; and under the Westminster system they're do-able but difficult. Ukip has had a good showing, and, as Peter Oborne says, wrested British politics back from the death-grip of a tripartisan metropolitan conspiracy. Whether it's the "earthquake" the Telegraph proclaims it as, it's not bad considering the Tory-LibDem-Labour-Media racist-nutter-romaphobe blitzkrieg that consumed 97 per cent (as the climate bores say) of the election coverage. As for the Government:
David Cameron says he shares the "frustration" of voters who backed Nigel Farage's party after Ukip surged to victory in councils across the country.
That kind of thing isn't going to help. It's the sort of line only politicians, their courtiers and their media stenographers think is clever. To everyone else, it just confirms Cameron as an insincere creep who'll say anything.
~In the wake of Michael E Mann's lawsuit, many readers have chosen to support me by, quite appropriately and logically, buying my book on free speech. As grateful as I am to those customers, I'm even more grateful when someone buys a book that has nothing to do with free speech, Islam, the collapse of the west or all that other fun stuff. The blogger Brian Gardiner recently received from his beloved a $100 SteynOnline gift certificate for their wedding anniversary. If you're going, "Hang on, what anniversary is the SteynOnline gift certificate for?", well, here's your handy cut-out-and-keep guide:
10th anniversary - Tin
25th anniversary - Silver
50th anniversary - Gold
60th anniversary - Diamond
75th anniversary - SteynOnline gift certificate
As it happens, Mrs Gardiner jumped the gun and gave Brian his gift certificate for their 23rd anniversary. Mr Gardiner bought America Alone, and Mark Steyn's Passing Parade, and then, somewhat reluctantly, Broadway Babies Say Goodnight. He doesn't regret that last tentative selection:
I am now about two-thirds through Broadway Babies. I simply cannot say enough how much I am enjoying it. Steyn is, of course, such a good writer, but Broadway is an obvious passion, and his knowledge on the subject is frightening. For myself, I'm a big music fan who has lately grown to enjoy the musicals, show tunes, and jazz standards that are covered through the book. It is a book I looked at for years at SteynOnline and decided no, finally bought, albeit reluctantly, and is one of the best books I've read in ages.
I'm delighted to hear that. I'd far rather be writing about music and lyrics and choreography and Carol Channing's dress in Hello, Dolly! than Michael Mann's lousy tree rings. But, as Ilsa told Rick, I've put that dress away. When the warmers march out, I'll wear it again.
~The blogger Brendan Shollenberger wrote a post about my case called "A Rare Agreement with Michael Mann". In the first paragraph he says:
However, unlike Steyn and most of his supporters, I believe this case ought to go to trial.
So, the other day, supporting Mr Shollenberger in the face of ludicrous legal threats from Jane Malloch of the University of Queensland, I wrote:
I don't know much about Mr Shollenberger except that he thinks Michael E Mann has a case against me and the case ought to be permitted to go to trial.
Mr Shollenberger wrote back to say that I'd misrepresented him:
All I was trying to say is the arguments Mann makes are sufficient that they could win a case, thus he deserves a day in court to make them.
I published his entire letter (save for the introductory sentence "My name is Brandon Shollenberger"), but he's now accusing me of of "publicly smearing" him and has written a post headlined "Is Mark Steyn Willful Obtuse?" [sic] I link to it here without further comment, and am content to let Mr Shollenberger have the last word, in the unlikely event he ever gets around to it.
