Despite my high regard for Nate Silver, this tells us very little. The numbers are mildly interesting, the analysis less so.

An important, undercovered topic. Unfortunately, the author does not synthesize his source materials into a coherent whole, opting to quote large chunks of legalese.

A round-up of repression by the governments of several former Soviet republics, including the strategically important, partly free republic of Kazakhstan. Stern offers a good overview of an undercovered topic.

Good Lord. Just actually uses the Georgia-Russia war analogy without irony, failing to note that, in fact, Georgia started that war and has a leader not nearly as liberal as his supporters would like us to think. He also ignores the U.S.'s long, ignoble history with Iran. Not recommended.

Ballen and Doherty make some important points. But poll analyst extraordinaire Nate Silver has noted some flaws in their commentary, and I have added Silver's views to the Links.

There is no health-care reform package on the table yet. Samuelson is a smart guy, and surely has some ideas for what real reform might look like. Instead, he criticizes what he guesses will be in Obama's proposal.

No numbers, so no proof that the Iranian election was or wasn't stolen. But Barzegar explains the context in which Ahmedinejad could have won in a provocative and compelling way.

Crowley deftly points out the obvious — that the messenger can be more important than the message, especially when the messengers in question are Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

A very short round-up on the status of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. Lots of jumping around without much focus on any one aspect.

A startling story. What we need to know, but are not told here, is whether this is an off-the-wall trial balloon or is actually under serious consideration. Follow-ups are definitely needed.

Great idea, hampered by the lack of any context regarding the writers who are quoted as well as the political orientation (if any) of their publications.

A very thin story that makes no mention of the fact that the worldwide plunge in oil prices has greatly diminished the influence of three of the countries mentioned: Iran, Venezuela, and Russia. There's also no link to the report that is this story's sole source, even though it's readily available. (I have added it to Links.)

An impressive job of packing a lot of information and perspective into a rather small space. It links to an accompanying story, also well worth reading.

The CPJ is doing important work in shining a light on repressive regimes that see journalism as a threat.

This is a fast-moving story. Pardon the self-promotion, but I'm trying to track it as closely as I can at medianation.blogspot.com.

Dauntingly comprehensive, but Bowden unfairly blames Sulzberger for problems that were beyond his — or anyone's — control. I riffed on Bowden's piece in The Guardian this week, and I've posted it in the Links.

A well-done profile, but the presentation is somewhat deceptive. In fact, Dyson is not a global-warming skeptic. Instead, he has concluded that global warming would be a good thing. That's his opinion; it's not science. Those who only look at the headline and skim through it might miss that.

Jack Shafer at his provocative, infuriating best. You want to scream at him, but he makes his case so persuasively that you're not quite sure what to scream.

A good overview of how the Internet has changed foreign correspondence and empowered those being covered. These days, because of the Internet, Western media outlets are available everywhere.

Self-congratulatory in the extreme, and based on such dubious premises as the idea that newspapers should acquire Craigslist. Since Craigslist gives nearly all of its ads away for free, how does that help? And if a newspaper-owned Craigslist started to charge, wouldn't someone just start a new, free competitor?

Jon Stewart's skewering of CNBC shouting head Jim Cramer may be remembered years from now as the media highlight of the financial meltdown. One quibble: Stewart talked too much. Having handed Cramer many feet of rope, Stewart might have done better to see whether Cramer would hang himself.

An update on various technological initiatives being undertaken by the New York Times. Interesting, but suffers for having something of a laundry-list feel.

An interesting look at how even the most bottom-feeding media outlets are shifting their focus from celebrities to the scoundrels of the financial collapse.

Respected newspaper-industry analyst Mutter says there's no there there in the much-quoted Douglas McIntyre post on 10 newspapers that are likely to go out of business. Mutter offers little in the way of hard data, but his reputation precedes him. NewsTrust analysis of McIntyre's original post in Links.