Spreading the link love

I've been checking out some of my in-bound links, and noting a few blogs that I don't link to very often. Here are some.

• Bertram on-line: Strapline: news from absolutely nowhere. The nowhere is actually Denmark, and this is a visually appealing blog, with a small but perfectly formed blogroll. Henning Bertram has excellent taste in music (Gil Scott Heron, Sister Rosetta Sharpe, Chico Buarque) and thoroughly decent politics.
• It's Complicated: On the parallel universe of the Middle East. Read, for example, "Britain's Israel problem" on the legacy of  Britain’s Secret War against France in Syria and Lebanon, 1942-45.
• BLKGRD: An extremely prolific and slightly bizarre and visually unappealing blog, from an unconventional left-wing perspective. The blogger, Knez of Egoslavia, does personal reflections (this is a good example), big lists of links, and youtubes of eclectic music. He also likes one of my favourite poets, Charles Simic.
• Backseat Blogger: Somewhat to my right, and purveying a fine line in photos of muscular hunks in swimsuits, unzipped overalls and suchlike. (Strapline: "This blog contains material of an adult nature. Some readers such as, but not limited to, leftoids, prigs, prudes, Liberals, "progressives", homophobes, anti-Semites, religious freaks, the braindead, and other wackos may find this offensive.") Here are some snippets from recent posts: “After all, Gaza is such a concentration camp and all that.” “Photos help illustrate the role Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara who served as Vice Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania during World War II. He helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan.” “The more things change, the more they stay the same: Zionist Aspirations in Palestine. Note the date.” “A very interesting read: The Jews’ Right To Statehood: A Defense... Shocker: Allah Is a Zionist (The Quranic argument for Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel)”. Also read this, on the "invention" of antisemitism in Canada.
• The Spanish Prisoner: Somewhat to my left, and mainly blogging about films. From a recent post on Amiri Baraka: "During the question-and-answer session, Baraka made clear that he takes a conspiracist view of history. He believes the assassinations of John Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy were all conspiracies. I’m not keen on conspiracy theories, because I believe they lead to cynicism rather then activism. Baraka also claimed that the 9/11 attacks were a conspiracy by the U.S. government. He apparently doesn’t realize that if this conspiracy were real, Obama would have to be in on it."
• UNICEF: I assume this is an unofficial blog about UNICEF. It highlights some of the bad shit going down in the world, and UNICEF's efforts to alleviate that. For instance: "One year after the devastating January 12 earthquake shook their fragile lives, Haiti’s 4 million children continue to suffer from inequitable access to basic water, sanitation, healthcare, and education services and protection from disease, exploitation, and unsanitary conditions... Today, more than 1 million people – approximately 380,000 of whom are children – still live in crowded camps." Or: "They look like toys, but they are lethal. Landmines and unexploded ordnances are a plague for children in Yemen. This year at least 12 children have died in accidents caused by landmines and unexploded ordnances (UXO)s, and almost 20 have suffered serious injuries."
• Labour 2: This is, as it says on the tin, all the Labour blogosphere in one place. 
• Poor Bastard Marvin: Hates Islamism, and hates the way the liberal media report it.
• 21st century fix: Says: "I'm a Labour Party member, love the Internet, have worked as a volunteer on OpenOffice.org, am a trained editor, speak Spanish fluently and wish I could speak Croatian."
• Mind Trumpet doesn't link to me. He used to be Citizen Sane, who did. This post on Chavez is enjoyable.
• Political Anxiety Closet: A far left blogger with the irritating habit of not using clickable hyperlinks in the posts.