Images of Tiananmen, Tanks Move on China (7 links)
Gateway Pundit
The situation at Dongzhou Town, Red Bay, in the city of Shanwei, Guangdong Province is rapidly deteriorating. According to the villagers, the government has not only arranged tanks to occupy the city, machine guns hav
    this blog's community: katrina relief bloggers   

Ode To The Democrats (9 links)
Don Surber
With apology to Rudyard Kipling:If you can scream and make screams your master,
If you can whine -- and make whining your aim;
If you can dish it out but cannot take it
And treat tyrants and Republicans the
    this blog's community: raging rinos   

O'Reilly: Far Left Zealots are Nazi (8 links)
Crooks and Liars
O'Reilly: Far Left Zealots are Nazis Let the Nazi wars begin. O'Reilly is outraged that a wom
    this blog's community: the big brass alliance   

TRUE COLORS (7 links)
Michelle Malkin
The new "Retreat and Defeat" video on the White Flag Democrats is here.
I still think the GOP needs to disseminate this photo far and wide, too:
    this blog's communities: hurricane katrina bloggers   katrina relief bloggers   

Friday Ark #64 (7 links)
Modulator
We'll post links to sites that have Friday (plus or minus a few days) photos of their chosen animals (photoshops at our discretion and humans only in supporting roles). Watch the Exception category for rocks, beer, coffee cups, and....? We will

Don't Forget (8 links)
Major K.
Sixty four years ago today, the now second deadliest foreign attack on US soil took place in Hawaii. Four years later major combat in that war ended. Mopping up and reconstruction continued for years after. We destroyed an enemy, and...
    this blog's community: katrina relief bloggers   

Are we all going to die in 2036? (7 links)
Jacqueline Mackie Paisley Passey
The Guardian: It's called Apophis. It's 390m wide. And it could hit Earth in 31 years time:Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390-metre wide asteroid discovered last year that is potentially on a collision course with the planet,
    this blog's community: life, liberty, property   

Shots Fired on Plane Parked at Miami Air (8 links)
The Counterterrorism Blog
Suspect tried to board American Airlines flight that was parked at gate at Miami International after originating in Columbia and bound for Orlando. MSNBC site: "After a passenger claimed he had a bomb and started to get off the American...
    this blog's community: katrina relief bloggers   

Dean v. Bush: "Winning" in Iraq Or Winning Smart?... (7 links)
Informed Comment
Dean v. Bush: "Winning" in Iraq Or Winning Smart?Speaking in San Antonio on Monday
    related topic: iraq   

MAYHEM AT MIAMI AIRPORT (10 links)
Michelle Malkin
VBSpurs is liveblogging the story of a passenger shooting in Miami, reportedly by an air marshal.
Breitbart/AP coverage
    this blog's communities: hurricane katrina bloggers   katrina relief bloggers   

Murtha Responds... (9 links)
Crooks and Liars
Murtha Responds... John Murtha responded to President Bush's speech today. I can't write much (ill) so di
    this blog's community: the big brass alliance   

How Cameron Won... And Davis Lost (7 links)
toryleadership
This extended post is based on interviews with senior MPs and advisers to each of the main leadership camps. Few of the friends that contemplated David Cameron’s leadership bid expected anything other than a Davis victory. Their hearts wanted ‘D

A Different Christmas Poem (7 links)
BLACKFIVE
For you ladies and gents around the world, standing your watch, walking your post, doing your duty, giving your lives to us, WE REMEMBER:
A DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS POEM
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I c
    this blog's communities: milblogs   katrina relief bloggers   

Selling out to the Media...Not really. (8 links)
Major K.
I have been published in a newspaper. I was contacted by the Austin-American Statesman about reprinting one of my posts in their paper. I don't know if the first link will work or not, as it was printed on Thanksgiving,...
    related topic: thanksgiving 2005   
    this blog's community: katrina relief bloggers   

BREAKING: Ford has agreed to no longer sponsor gay events (8 links)
AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth
It's over. Ford lied.
For days Ford has been saying this is just about a few ads. For days Ford has been saying they didn't agree to anything. And for days Ford has been saying Volvo will continue marke

"This is not a drill!" (7 links)
Murdoc Online: Military, Politics, and More
One of my favorite naval stories has been that of the USS Nevada's attempted sortie during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. A detailed account ran in SEA CLASSICS magazine in the early 1980s, but,
    this blog's community: katrina relief bloggers   

December 7, 1941 (7 links)
Dean's World - -
It was a date that arguably didn't just change America but the entire world....
    this blog's communities: raging rinos   katrina relief bloggers   

Remember Pearl Harbor (7 links)
One Hand Clapping
Last May my wife and traveled to Oahu. On Memorial Day Sunday we visited the USS Arizona Memorial. The ship was sunk on Dec. 7, 1941, along with many others. This is the original ship's bell of USS Arizona, recovered from the sunken vessel a
    this blog's communities: blogdom of god   katrina relief bloggers   

PEARL HARBOR: 64 YEARS (7 links)
Michelle Malkin
Why have so many chosen to forget? The Mobile Register reports that observances of the Pearl Harbor attack are down, in part because of Hurricane
    this blog's communities: hurricane katrina bloggers   katrina relief bloggers   

The Dean Drive (8 links)
Big Lizards:Blog:Main
In the 1950s, a crackpot named Norman Dean "invented" what he called, with characteristic modesty, the Dean Drive. This device supposedly produced linear momentum without any reaction mass: that is, Dean claimed it would just zoom off in a stra

HOWARD THE COWARD DEAN (7 links)
Michelle Malkin
Scott Ott pens the defeatist DNC chair's Christmas theme song: "We'll Retreat 'fore Christmas."
Ed Morrissey nails
    this blog's communities: hurricane katrina bloggers   katrina relief bloggers   

I'd be remiss if I didn't extend a warm welcome to a fellow bear who has found his blogosphere voice...

The little bugger is chock full o' weapons-grade cuteness, I have to say. Lady M and I whiled away far too much time this weekend oooohing and aaahing and him and his Mom on their webcam...

The 2006 Ford Klansman (10 links)
Jesus' General
More here.
    this blog's community: humor & satire   

'TIS THE BLOG CONTEST SEASON (7 links)
Michelle Malkin
John Hawkins announces the winners of the 4th annual Warblogger Awards.
Kevin Aylward and the Wizbang folks have opened the polls at the
    this blog's communities: hurricane katrina bloggers   katrina relief bloggers   

(7 links)
Instapundit.com
I'M HOME FROM HAVING A COLONOSCOPY -- everything went fine, but I think I'll let the drugs leave my system for a while longer before doing any serious blogging. In the meantime, you might want to check out Cato's new blog, Cato Unboun
    this blog's communities: the academy   katrina relief bloggers   

JOHN KERRY'S LIBERAL MATH (7 links)
Michelle Malkin
American troops=terrorists.
***
Previous:
Liberal math: Boy Scouts=terrorists
    this blog's communities: hurricane katrina bloggers   katrina relief bloggers   

THE 9/11 GRAVY TRAIN (7 links)
Michelle Malkin
Kudos to the NY Daily News for its investigative series, launched Sunday, on how billions in 9/11 funds have been misspent (hat tip:
    this blog's communities: hurricane katrina bloggers   katrina relief bloggers   

This Will Make You Sick... (7 links)
Two Babes and a Brain
There was also a card from a child...a get well card...or so one would think.

Iraqis say the darnedest things! (8 links)
Major K.
I have heard a few things from the Iraqis here that I sure found interesting over the past few weeks. I have listed the paraphrasing of these statements here merely to get an anecdotal perspective. I do not necessarily think...
    this blog's community: katrina relief bloggers   

THANK YOU, JOSHUA SPARLING (11 links)
Michelle Malkin
Lots of readers watched Fox & Friends this morning and e-mailed about the disgusting greeting card a wounded soldier received while hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Thanks to reader Shari for taking these cell phone camera shots of the
    this blog's communities: hurricane katrina bloggers   katrina relief bloggers   

#106 Best of Me Symphony (7 links)
The Owner's Manual
Zendo Deb asks if we are beginning to recognize that a Restraining Order's Just a Piece of Paper. From TFS Magnum. Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things. Only...
    this blog's communities: the alliance of free blogs   raging rinos   

Massive Democracy Protest in Hong Kong (9 links)
Gateway Pundit
THE MASSIVE TURNOUT IS SEEN AS AN EMBARASSMENT TO HONG KONG LEADERS,VIDEO HERE
    this blog's community: katrina relief bloggers   

Folks:

Over the past week, I've continued testing various tweaks and enhancements to the Ecosystem's ranking algorithms, and am now ready to explain what changes have actually been implemented.

First, though, a statement of principle. The goal of the Ecosystem is, and has always been, to provide as accurate as possible a measure of the relative popularity of blogs. It is imperfect: it is now, always has been, and always will be. But as long as it is taken with the appropriate grain of salt, I still believe it can provide a useful metric of how blogs are doing in their quest for visibility and recognition throughout the blogosphere.

But keeping the system relevant requires more sophistication than it used to: simply counting links doesn't cut it. And a large reason for this is that some bloggers have started to find ways to succeed in raising their link counts which really have nothing to do with raising their actual popularity in the blogosphere. And that's the disconnect that I'm continually trying to close: to make it as hard as possible for someone to raise their Ecosystem ranking without it being due to a real gain in their "true" blogosphere popularity.

It's an unreachable ideal, but hey, it keeps me off the streets.

A few notes on the changes:

- To complete work on the latest changes, I had to perform another hard-reset on the link database yesterday, and so we will be slowly accumulating link data back up to the standard 7-10 day window over the next week. But it is my hope that this is the last full-reset I'll need to do for a while; my apologies for the annoying jumping around your rankings have seen over the past week.

- I also made a significant change that, unfortunately, has the result of demoting many blogs on the lower ends of the Ecosystem. From now on, the "Insignificant Microbe" category is devoted solely to blogs with zero inbound links. Many of these blogs had crept up into the higher categories --- thereby bumping up the blogs above them even further. Having shoved the zero-link blogs down to Microbe status, everybody on the bottom end of the system also slid down a bit.

- To allow bloggers to verify their link counts, I have now re-enabled the functionality that allows you to view the full list of links that the Ecosystem has detected going to your blog: simply go to the Details page for your weblog, scroll down, and you'll see a link to 'show all links'. If you are unhappy with your new link count or ranking in the Ecosystem, check here first: if there are links missing from other Ecosystem-registered blogs, let me know what they are. If there aren't, then chances are your blog is where it is supposed to be.

Finally, some additional detail on the changes themselves. Listed below are exerpts from the newly-updated Ecosystem FAQ, which describe the specific changes that have been implemented that affect how blogs are ranked. Please take a look; comments and feedback are of course welcome.

Thanks all...

NZ

What is the 'nofollow' tag, and how does the Ecosystem handle it?

The nofollow tag is an attribute that was introduced by Google to help reduce comment and trackback spam. When the Ecosystem sees a link marked as 'nofollow', it is completely ignored (the link will not be logged at all). Most weblog software now marks inline trackback links as "nofollow" by default, which means that the Ecosystem will now ignore inline trackback links that it finds on a weblog's front page. This is by design: in recent times, "open trackback" posts have become widespread, and have led to a distortion of the Ecosystem rankings, particularly for bloggers who made a deliberate habit of trackback-pinging multiple 'open trackback' posts for every single one of their own posts (and thereby getting 5-10 "free" links for every one of their posts, grossly inflating their ranking). By ignoring inline trackbacks, the Ecosystem only counts links which a blogger has personally added to their page, which is a better indicator that they find them valuable -- and that the linked blogger deserves 'credit' for them.

Note that as the policy for TTLB is now to ignore inline trackbacks, the 'nofollow' tag is recommended for use so that the Ecosystem can properly identify them. If you choose not to use the 'nofollow' tag and have inline trackbacks on your front page, the Ecosystem may default to other, cruder methods of weeding out the inline links, which may result in non-Trackback links being missed.

What is the difference between the "link count" and "link score" shown for my blog?

The link count for a blog lists the raw count of links found pointing to that blog (with the exception of 'nofollow' links, which are totally ignored as noted above). In the past, the raw link count seemed a good measure of blog's relative success and popularity, but in recent times, the blog world has grown more complicated, with more intricate patterns of linking that can distort such a ranking system --- sometimes deliberately, sometimes simply as a consequence of the natural evolution of the blogosphere.

To address this issue, TTLB now calculates a link score for each blog which ultimately determines where the blog falls in the Ecosystem rankings. Unlike the raw link count, the link score attempts to correct for issues such as the following:

Blog Networks: Recently we have seen the rise of 'networks' of blogs, often founded as commerical ventures, such as Weblogs, Inc. and Creative Weblogging. Frequently, blogs in these networks include not only permalinks to other member blogs in their blogrolls, but a rolling list of posts from their sister blogs as well. Networked blogs, therefore, immediately end up with a signficiant number of links that don't necessarily say much at all about how popular they are to the general blogosphere, which is what the Ecosystem is attempting to measure. So: TTLB now adjusts a blog's link score to ignore links that come from sister blogs in the same network.

Excessive links from blog-to-blog: One link from blog A to blog B shows that A thinks B is interesting. Two or three links from A to B shows that A thinks B is really interesting. But how about 10 or 20 links? We're now seeing small, informal groups of blogs which seem to link to each other's every post, thereby inflating their Ecosystem rankings. In addition, given that it is quite easy, and frequently free, to set up a blog, there have also been blogs which seem to serve little purpose but to link to other blogs and provide them a rankings boost. So, to combat these problems, the Ecosystem now puts a limit on how many links any blog can provide to another blog before it flags those links as suspect and ignores them.

Excessive links from a single blog in general: Should a link from a blog with 2,000 links to other blogs be worth exactly the same as a link from a blog with only 200 outbound links? A link is a recommendation; it says, "Go look over here, and you'll find something interesting." So should a recommendation from someone who says everything is interesting be considered as valuable as one from someone who seems to choose their recommendations with more care? I say "no". And so there is now a cutoff point for total number of outbound links a blog can have, after which, each additional link causes the "weighting" of a link from that blog to decrease slightly. As I know this is a controversial measure, I've made the limit very conservative: by my estimates, less than 5% of all blogs will be affected by this limit. So unless you link to more blogs than 95% of the blogosphere, you don't have to worry about this change.