WILLblog

Know of any good blogs or web sites covering the war in Iraq? Different perspectives are important to build an informed view of one's own, and to that end I offer the following starter list: DVIDS, the Digital Video Imagery Distribution System (http://www.dvidshub.net/index.php) is maintained by the U.S. Army. Lots of images and video from military sources in Iraq, along with background info, etc. Not a blog per se, but deep and active content. Baghdad Burning (http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/), presented here in stark counterpoint to DVIDS, is a "Girl Blog from Iraq" that seems to become increasingly demoralized as the U.S. occupation continues. Finally (for the moment) we have the Iraq Resources page from the American Press Institute (http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/content/3949.cfm), a great source for lots of news topics. Know of some other good sites or blogs? Leave us a comment with details, please.

Ann Garrels does not sound happy reporting from inside Fallujah. Her report from today's All Things Considered shows a glimpse of hope amid a field of disaster. The city was the center of the resistence to the British occupation of Iraq in the 1920s, and while parallels could be drawn, it's difficult to see where they lead.

At the request of our Internet listeners, WILL-AM today begins live streaming in Quicktime format. If you go to our Listen page, you'll find links to our live stream in RealAudio, Windows Media, and now Quicktime. If that makes you happy, please let us know.

OK, so we're announcing the election returns on the air too. Just like we always do: faster (but not too fast), and with the usual public radio lack of hubris. But the thing here is we're publishing the election returns on the WILL Election web site, updating the vote in key area races as they come in. And if they don't come in fast enough we're chasing them. The county clerks can't hide, though at least one I could mention will try. Enjoy the election, and though we won't all be happy with the results, remember we share this town, this country, and this planet. No matter how we feel about that, let's make the best of it.

I've been absent from WILLblog too long, I know. All I can say is I need a couple of clones, and everything will be alright. Anyway.... The new president of the University of Illinois will be announced at 10:30 am Central time today at a press conference in Chicago. WILL is covering the event live on AM-580, streaming it live on our Listen page, and coordinating a seperate Quicktime video stream for the Office of University Relations. Another press conference will be held at 4 pm today in Urbana, and we'll stream that too. Any guesses as to who the new university president is?