by Matt Barr

Watcher's Council results, July 7/14

On July 14 (nominees, full results) Right Wing Nut House scored with Bleeding Iraq as best Council post.

The massacre of Sunni Muslims over the weekend in a mixed Sunni-Shia neighborhood in the heart of Baghdad was unprecedented in its brutality and brazenness – even for Iraq. More than 40 Iraqis were dragged from their homes or cars, or simply picked up off the street and shot. This is clearly an escalation in the violence and must have ordinary Iraqis thinking very seriously about whether the low level sectarian conflict that has roiled the country for six months might finally break out into a shooting war in the streets[.]

I'll say. Its non-Council counterpart was a compilation at Iraq the Model of "selected reactions of more than a dozen (out of hundreds) people to one of the hot topics of these days which is the kidnapping of Israeli tank-gunner Gilad Shalit and the Israeli military operation in Gaza strip in the attempt to free him," Singing Out of the Flock. Omar writes in introduction:

[W]hat really makes me feel optimistic about this new Iraqi way of thinking is that it shows how Iraqis are beginning to distinguish between terrorism and rightful acts of resistance not only in Iraq but also on a global level and are showing decreasing tolerance for extremism and this in my opinion is what builds peace in the region or any given region of this world.

Runners-up came from Done With Mirrors (the cleverly titled Rant Control) and Asia Times Online (the also cleverly titled Cry Havoc, and Let Slip the Puppies of War).

On July 7 (nomninees, full results), Gates of Vienna's fine The Wild, Wild West(ern Europe) won best Council post. Its non-Council counterpart after a tiebreaker was Outside the Beltway's great Declaration of Independence: A Fisking. The Council category had a five-way tie for second, including: Escaping the Legal and Moral Quagmire of Guantanamo at Right Wing Nut House, Jew-hater Bush?!?? at Joshuapundit, Among the Dead Cities at Done With Mirrors, Why Haven’t We Captured Osama Bin Laden? at The Glittering Eye, and one of my posts. Hey, this voting gig ain't easy!

The Shape of Days came in second by virtue of the Watcher's tiebreaker in the non-Council category with my nominee for the week, Sometimes Even the Good Ones Lose Their Way.

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