Link round-up for 26 March 2011

Children depict entities from the Cthulhu mythos.

SOS -- save our sharks!

Scooby-Doo's pals unmask the bond vigilante.

End-Times gabble can at least serve as comic relief.

Latest fundie-loon meme: The Japanese earthquake will unleash demonic forces triggering a rise of Nazism in the US (found via Republic of Gilead). It's certainly yet another opportunity for religious con men to fleece suckers -- though both con men and suckers have always been abundant.

Here's a surprising optical illusion.

Are young people these days culturally un-creative?

Ranch Chimp talks about Satanism and his involvement with it.

Besides being a Qaddhafi supporter, Hugo Chavez is a nutcase (found via Mendip).

No, being delusional does not give you a license to counterfeit.

Preliator pro Causa has some blog recommendations.

"Slut-shaming" is rooted in a twisted world-view.

Don't try to bullshit the IRS.

Check out this huge and intricate poster.

Tom McClusky of the Family Research Council takes a stand -- for bullies.

The New York Times plans to impose a pay-wall, but it has some weak points.

Gay marriage is stymied in Maryland, and once again religion is to blame (found via Republic of Gilead).

Romeo Morgan had a frightening encounter with police (found via Preliator pro Causa).

Leading atheist-in-a-foxhole and warrior for truth Christopher Hitchens is fighting cancer but as fierce and uncompromising as ever.

Never heard of this before, but apparently believers are lousy tippers (found via Uzza).

Delusional thinking is not harmless.

Federal health-insurance reform was frustratingly limited, but Vermont is forging ahead.

The "coat-hanger state" is at it again.

Wow, the far left sure taught Obama a lesson. Along the same lines, this is a must-read.

With Christians like this, who needs Islam?

The Mills River Progressive has some sharp questions for our country's leaders.

The Christian Right dominates -- and increasingly is -- American Christianity (found via Republic of Gilead).

The most anti-regulation part of the US shows the effects.

William Cronon puts the Wisconsin labor-rights battle in historical context, and reminds us that the Republican party was not always what it is today. "Biblical capitalism" has also played a role (found via Republic of Gilead).

Some Congressional Democrats seek a return to sanity on the budget and sex education.

GE made a profit of $14.2 billion last year, and paid no US taxes (found via Oliver Willis).

Maine's teabagger Governor Paul LePage orders the removal of a mural celebrating workers (pictured above) from the Department of Labor. Commentary here.

Republicans plot a sneak attack against the right to strike.

Class conflict has always been a big part of American politics, but now Americans are waking up to that fact.

The Catholic Church still doesn't get it.

On the Libyan intervention, the far right and far left are united in dumbth.

Americans don't trust al-Jazeera (their loss -- I've been reading it since the Arab uprisings began, and it does an impressive job).

Since Obama became President, the US has regained its position as most globally popular of world powers (found via Oliver Willis).

Palin was a flop in India.

Protests against austerity policies, already widespread in southern Europe, spread to Brussels this week and will reach London today. More on the British situation here and here. Update: The London protest drew half a million -- far more than organizers hoped -- but was marred with violence by a small minority.

Germany, ahead of the curve, plans to accelerate its phase-out of nuclear power and shift toward green energy. More here.

Leading British figures acknowledge the obvious -- the war on drugs has failed.

Libyan rebels have re-captured the town of Ajdâbiyah south of Benghazi -- a clear sign that they're re-gaining the initiative against Qaddhafi.

Some of Qaddhafi's closest allies are looking for a way out.

Syrians are angry and energized at their regime's increasingly- bloody crackdown.

Protest -- and repression -- have begun to escalate in Jordan.

Cyc is at his best when blogging about tiny, revolting life-forms, and he's found a doozy in Sacculina carcini.

Iron Age people used hilltop forts for rapid communication (found via Mendip).

Georgetown University Medical Center announces a major step toward stem-cell treatment of macular degeneration.

Never forget how far we've come -- this is what technology has delivered us from.