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[Feb 28] From Portugal,
with a new political cycle, the root problems persist (and
more). From Brazil,
success brings party a surprise: disarray. From Mexico, the country
stubbornly
denies its dark past. From Togo, Faure Gnassingbé
steps down as interim president. From Ghana, a look at
the
state of politics in Africa. From Germany,
a small town mimics
"The Truman Show" for real. From Great Britain, a report on the emergence
of new militant faith
groups who are no longer prepared to turn the other cheek. From
France, Europe's most secular country
rediscovers its Christian roots. From the Vatican, John Paul's
weakening
raises again questions about the institution of lifetime papal reign,
and
more on his new book, Memory and Identity: Conversations Between
the Millenniums. From Time, an article on
the Revenge of the Kurds. Forbes profiles
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson. The "Republic
of Texas" again pushes for independence. Robert Reich on
Wal-Mart (and
more). Slate interrogates
Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic
Records founder. In Hollywood, being a good liar is a
prerequisite for professional success. On the age of dissonance:
Isn't it awful to be famous? And "The Simpsons" is voted the
best-ever cartoon [Weekend] Potpourri: A new issue of Legal Affairs, is out, including two articles on Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Michael Ignatieff on the US and its international obligations, a look at how the people don't want to have supremacy over the judiciary, an on how information warfare is eclipsing the difference between military and domestic affairs. From LRB, a review of Lost Worlds: What Have We Lost and Where Did It Go? From PopMatters, columnist Rob Horning on an etiology of boredom, on traveling the public/private divide, and on celebrities and the Barnum Effect. An excerpt from The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America (and more). An excerpt from Paul Foot's The Vote: How it Was Won, and How it was Undermined. From Conservative Battleline, an article on understanding Islamic idealism. An essay on the case for socialism in the twenty-first century. Kirkpatrick Sale on why there is no chance to escape the collapse of empire. An essay on the Essence of Archaism. Bacteria frozen for 32,000 years in Arctic tunnel come to life in lab. Ronald Bailey on the genetic insurance racket: Will genetic testing destroy the insurance market? More and more and more and more on Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. Even in the loser-loving bits of popular culture, the American obsession with success has a habit of winning through. Here are ten reasons not to visit Friends Reunited. And from Swans, on putting "-ocracy" on the proper prefix [Feb 25] From Bulgaria, the government survives a vote of no confidence, but pays a high price. From Kyrgyzstan, a majority of the population will have very little representation in the next parliament (and more on Akaev's acrid legacy). From PINR, setting the stage for a new Cold War: China's quest for energy security. Spain says yes, but much tougher EU referendums lie ahead. Are NATO and the European Union partners or rivals? Bush listened to Europe, but now watch him ignore all the advice he got. Is the United States' nightmare of “a second Cuba” coming true in Venezuela? Here are great--and not so great--moments from The New Republic's first nine decades. A review of Revolution in the Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made. Did the election kill objective campaign journalism? Eric Alterman on the pajama game. On the latest initiative in Congress: Blogging. From Slate, Chris Rock is the William F-ing Buckley of stand-up, and on rappers and bloggers: Separated at birth! Which came first, thin women or tiny sizes? And are you sad and lonely? For a good time, call Vivienne* [Feb 24] From Nigeria, going beyond natural resources: Developing Africa's competitive advantages. From Azerbaijan, a look at Europe’s only hereditary democracy. Rocco Buttiglione speaks out about Europe's conscience police. Strobe Talbott on how to deal with Russia. Fareed Zakaria on standing up for people power. In a corner of India, they have the vote, but little else. Does the United States really plan to fight for freedom everywhere? From New Statesman, a review of Empires of the Word: a language history of the world, a review of books on Europe, and can free trade be fair trade? From LRB, a review of books on Britain’s dirty war in Kenya, and an article on Living with the Wall. From The Globalist, on immigration and what Europe can learn from the United States. Tamar Jacoby on the conservative case for Bush's immigration plan. Buzzflash interviews Jim Wallis, author of God's Politics. Why is there no outcry when mainstream Republicans rub elbows with radicals in their movement? From Reason, Nick Gillespie on what the Bush tapes reveal about policy disputes. From HNN, a look at how neo-conservatives helped bring down Richard Nixon, and how psychologists rate presidents. And "Nice website, shame no-one visits it": Politics still a turn-off, even in cyberspace (say it ain't so!) [Feb 23] From Botswana, the African man runs the risk of irrelevance. From Namibia, towards a vision of a just society. From Kyrgyzstan, on the seeds for a poor harvest. From Great Britain, a review of books on fox hunting. The UN is unhappy over resumed Myanmar constitution work. A look at when the imposition of Western democracy causes a backlash. From Time, an article on why Europe ignores Bush. Is Europe one big Blue State? The EU constitution expresses the will of a phantom European public. The pope says gay marriage is part of the ideology of evil and likens abortion to the Holocaust. Nicholas Kristof unveils the secret genocide archives. On the danger in President's Bush's conviction he's right. Scott Ritter says US attack on Iran planned for June. A mathematical study of terrorist attacks need not leave us fearing the worst. Christopher Hitchens on "non-wacko" evidence that something went seriously awry in the Buckeye State on Election Day 2004. The net is starting to have a positive effect on politics, if the politicians let it. William Powers on why blogs are like tulips. From Slate, if Jack Shafer had a blog, he'd write more columns like this one, and on The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue: An intellectual history. From The New Yorker, more on Striptease. Patty Bouvier, Marge's chain-smoking, "MacGyver"-loving sister, comes out of the closet. And have we become too uptight to fall head over heels? [Feb 22] News for around the world: From South Africa, a look at when Greek philosophers learnt at the feet of Africans. From the United States, black historian champions ancient Africans in history, culture. An article on the implications of the Iraqi national elections toward U.S. strategic interests. After Iraq’s vote, New York liberals are in a serious moral-ideological-emotional bind. From New Statesman, an article on understanding Condi Rice. From The New York Times Magazine, an article on Kurdistan, in the balance. From The New Yorker, Islamists and secularists struggle over Iraq’s future. An op-ed on The State of Iraq: An update. More on The Persian Puzzle. From Counterpunch, an outline of the situation in Swaziland. Latin America fails to deliver on basic needs. Europe's Jews seek solace on the Right, but Europe united is good, isn't it? Christopher Caldwell on a Swedish Dilemma: Immigration and the welfare state. From Foreign Policy, who gets to run the WTO? A review of Maggie: Her fatal legacy. And an article on Medieval Africa: Great Zimbabwe and the Arabic connection [Feb 21] From Spain, a low turnout says yes to Constitution (and some lessons). From Portugal, socialists win absolute majority. From Greece, embattled Orthodox archbishop asks for forgiveness over lurid claims. From Great Britain, the suggested new ten commandments derive from the inane, bumper-sticker morality of modern life. From Iraq, a look at how Sistani's edicts illuminate the gap with the West. A UNESCO treaty on protecting oral traditions could come into force next year. Kofi Annan defends the UN on Opinion Journal. Frank Carlucci on Kosovo, the war the US hasn't finished. From TNR, W. picks an amoralist for National Intelligence Director. N. Gregory Mankiw is leaving his post to return to academia. In secretly taped conversations, glimpses of the future president. From BBC Magazine, an article on American media vs the blogs. News gives people a false sense of wisdom--knowing what goes on in the world does not make anyone more knowledgeable about what really matters. And after the Super Bowl, it’s clear why Fukuyama’s ‘End of History’ thesis hits home [Feb 18] From Somalia, an exiled president has plans to end his homeland's anarchy. From Canada, PM Paul Martin is having problems. From Russia, Moscow is moving away from the conception of Russia as a federal multi-ethnic state. From Great Britain, Tony Blair is right to be worried about his unpopularity. From Transitions Online, a review of Chechnya: Life in a War-Torn Society, and a review of Lexicon of Yugoslav Mythology. From Open Democracy, an article on talking to terrorists in Gaza, and where do poor countries get their policy ideas? From LA Weekly, more on Collapse. An article on why high-tech passports are not working-- but there are improvements in the visa-issuing process for foreign scientists. From The Economist, a survey on New York City. A review of Nation of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture. A review of George Carlin's When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? And an interview with Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog [Feb 17] From Thailand, how one of the more peaceful, successful democracies in Asia disintegrated. From Project Syndicate, Aryeh Neier on the tsunami effect, Joseph Stiglitz on the lessons from the tsunami, Arne Jernelov on the environmental effects of the tsunami, and Robert Shiller on insuring against tsunamis. More on The Pope in Winter. From Slate, Rafik Hariri is dead. What will the US do next? Was Hariri's assassination a Syrian hit? And how come Syria controls Lebanon? From Salon, Gerhard Schroeder calls for an overhaul of NATO, a review of Deborah Lipstadt's History on Trial: My Day in Court With David Irving, and more on The Neocon Reader. An article on why, despite rhetoric, the trans-Atlantic alliance is alive and well. Are trade deficits good for the U.S. economy? Let Freedom Ring Hollow: Why Bush won't really stand with Burma's dissidents. Nicholas Kristof on Bush's sex scandal. For Democrats, rethinking abortion runs risks. Obituary: Samuel Francis (and his last article). Here's a social justice quiz: Twenty questions. And here is a list of the Top 10 investing scams [Feb 16] News from around the world: From Zambia, on why men rape and defile infants. From Pakistan, is Islamic terrorism different? From Azerbaijan, the country wrestles with a geopolitical dilemma. From Belarus, the country witnesses a rare outbreak of mass protest. But is it political? From Great Britain, sectarian bigotry is no myth - it's a very real problem. From Australia, here’s how grassroots action, participatory initiatives and new structures for participation might make a difference. From TNR, an online guide to the next Iraqi government, and on how several central truths have been lost in the ruckus over Oil-for-Food. From The Carnegie Endowment, a policy brief on how Iran is Not an Island: A Strategy to Mobilize the Neighbors. It's time to talk to Pyongyang: Negotiating with dictators is odious, but the alternatives are far worse. There are mixed feelings as Kyoto Treaty takes effect, but what is this Kyoto thing all about? A review of Neighbourhood Across a Divide? Borderland Communities and EU Enlargement. From YaleGlobal, an article on dealing with a declining dollar (and part 2). And an op-ed on why the cause of world trade demands a powerful patron |
[Feb 28] From Le Monde
diplomatique, an essay on
reclaiming Asia from the West: Rethinking global history. A purple
patch on
the age of enlightenment. Columbia's Edmund Phelps on
evidence-based economics. A
review of
Executive Instinct: Managing the Human Animal in the Information Age.
From CJR,
Richard Falk talks about The New York Times. Did
moral values
and the gay-marriage backlash actually help Kerry? Why the new
conservatives are
living a radical departure from their own creed. A new
issue of Prospect
is out, including an essay by
Richard Layard on happiness, an article on
Deaf Nationalism, and a look at
China's chance. The February
issue of The American Prospect is now online, including a
special report on "Bush's House of Cards: The Privatization Fraud."
From Newropeans, an article on
The European Dream, The American Dilemma (and
part 2).
From Information Clearing House, an essay on
The
Evolution of Revolution (and
part 2
and
part 3). A
review of Counterculture Through the Ages: From Abraham to Acid
House. More on
Blink. More
on Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. A
review of Eric Alterman's When Presidents Lie. And here are
two
websites on abstinence education
(and
more)
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[Feb 28] A new
issue of
Logos is out, including Bertell Ollman (NYU):
The
Philosophy of Basketball (and its Relation to Capitalism, Democracy and
Socialism), an interview with
Ron
Aronsonan on Camus and Sartre, an article on the
United
Nations, an
excerpt
from Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live,
and sections on the election, Zionism, and a forum on India-Pakistan. A
review of Voltaire in Exile. A
review
of The Great Infidel: A Life of David Hume. A
review of TH Green's Theory of Positive Freedom: From Metaphysics
to Political Theory. From The Chronicle,
Hans-Hermann Hoppe wants UNLV to clear his record. Questions at
SUNY Albany on why ex-president left. An article on the
Lawrence Summers Mess: Harvard enters the Internet Age (more
and
more). Do women
have
what it takes to become scientists? A look at
the 'Little
Bitch' Manifesto: Harvard’s ever-present high school atmosphere.
From Chicago,
Christopher Hitchens tries making neoconservatism accessible. The
Guardian
profiles Stephen Greenblatt. Researchers scan for insight into
how marketing may brand the brain's preference for products and
politicians. And coffee has become
a
popular topic on college campuses [Weekend] More on science: A new issue of Essays in Philosophy is out, on the Philosophy of Technology, with an introduction, and James Farris (Toronto): Philosophy Regarding Technology; Keekok Lee (Lancaster): Technology: History and Philosophy; Frances Latchford (York): If the Truth Be Told of Techne: Techne as Ethical Knowledge; and Ronald Godzinski (SIU): (En)Framing Heidegger’s Philosophy of Technology. From The American Journal of Bioethics, Slouching Toward Policy: Lazy Bioethics and the Perils of Science Fiction. Here's an article in praise of cosmetic surgery. From Scientific American, as fossil reanalysis pushes back the origin of Homo sapiens, a look at why creationists' demand for fossils that represent "missing links" reveals a deep misunderstanding of science; some people are stuck between a rock and a hard truth; an article on how the tsunami-spawning quake left geophysical changes; and are you baffled by the expansion of the universe? You're not alone: Even astronomers frequently get it wrong. A review of Copeland's Cure: Homeopathy and the War Between Conventional and Alternative Medicine. From American Scientist, a review of books on experimental mathematics, a review of books on anthropology for mathematicians, a review of Nature: An Economic History, and a review of The Effortless Economy of Science? And on Gray's Anatomy: "what began as a book has become an institution" [Feb 25] From the Graduate Journal of Social Sciences, an article on generalizability and qualitative research in a postmodern world, and a review of books by Terry Eagleton and Amartya Sen. A review of Rethinking Durkheim and His Tradition, a review of Divine Motivation Theory, a review of Price, Principle, and the Environment, and a review of Practical Conflicts: New Philosophical Essays. A review of Kuhn vs. Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science. From The Chronicle, Stanley Fish weighs in on the Larry Summers' affair. William Saletan on what Harvard's president and his critics got wrong. A look at what Larry Summers learned from his critics. From Inside Higher Ed, an article on life after Stanley, and Scott McLemee on defending Derrida (and more) and on academic freedom, then and now. From The Nation, an article on Free-Speech Fights. Ward Churchill on what he said, and why he said it. The first casualty of David Horowitz's effort to impose ideological "diversity" on American campuses has been the truth. And an article on why Disability Studies matters [Feb 24] A new issue of Boston Review is out, including an essay by Harvard's Stephen Walt on a new grand strategy for American foreign policy, with responses; an essay on learning the language of torture; a review of Niall Ferguson's Colossus, a review of Cold War Triumphalism, and a review of Samuel Huntington's Who Are We? A review of William Connolly's Neuropolitics: Thinking, Culture, Speed. A review of Axel Gosseries' Penser la justice entre les générations: De l'affaire Perruche a la réforme des retraites pdf. A review of Jews and the American Soul: Human Nature in the Twentieth Century. More on Kwame Anthony Appiah's The Ethics of Identity. An interview with Sam Tanenhaus, editor of The New York Times Book Review. From The Chronicle, a look at the reality of open-access journal articles. Business schools stand accused of being responsible for much that is wrong with corporate management today. Looking ahead: Is your PhD worth a look? Research suggests mathematical reasoning is independent of linguistic abilities. Brain center shows there is accounting for taste. R. Duncan Luce wins National Medal of Science. John Edwards to lead a new center at North Carolina. An article on why the U.S. should intervene in college sports. And how much space do you need on a beach? [Feb 23] Guy-Uriel Charles (Minnesota): Judging the Law of Politics. A review of Henry Sidgwick: Eye of the Universe. An Intellectual Biography. A review of Security: the private policing of public space; a review of Restorative Justice; a review of The Right to Counsel and Privilege against Self-Incrimination: Rights and Liberties under the Law; a review of The Most Activist Supreme Court in History: The Road to Modern Judicial Conservatism; and a review of A Year at the Supreme Court. From The University of Chicago Magazine, a look at Martha Nussbaum's latest work, Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law, an article on how the human brain evolved more rapidly than in other species, Daniel Drezner on Confessions of a Scholar-Blogger, and can behavioral economics save us from ourselves? From Ideas, an interview with Harry Frankfurt on bullshit, and two op-eds on education reform. A conversation with Steven Rose, author of The 21st Century Brain: Explaining, Mending and Manipulating the Mind. More on Michio Kaku's Parallel Worlds. More on Simon Singh's Big Bang (and an excerpt). An article on how women in physics match men in success. Larry Summers vows to temper his style with respect. From Harvard, an article on how catastrophe survivors don't want to be seen as victims. An interview with HBS Dean Kim Clark on lessons learned. And from Working Knowledge, is business management a profession? [Feb 22] On science: From American Scientist, behavioral genetics uses twins and time to decipher the origins of addiction, a review of Ernst Mayr's What Makes Biology Unique?, more on Richard Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale (and an interview), more on Jared Diamond's Collapse (and an interview), Michael Shermer on the Soul of Science, and should Lambert W be added to the canon of standard textbook functions? A review of Philosophy of Experimental Biology. Jim Holt on what Einstein and Gödel were talking about (and more from Holt on Intelligent Design). A review of How to Read Darwin. For Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens, was it de-lovely? Natural selection as we speak: Shared properties of human languages are not the result of universal grammar but reflect self-organizing properties of language as an evolving system. A review of Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind. If Alcor can prove cryogenics works, everybody will know about them. And from Transhumanity, on the solution to irrationality: Develop neo-emotions [Feb 21] Pippa Norris (Harvard): The ‘New Cleavage’ Thesis and the Social Basis of Radical Right Support. An excerpt from Kwame Anthony Appiah's The Ethics of Identity. From Skeptical Inquirer, a Nobel laureate confronts pseudoscience, a review of Einstein’s Cosmos: How Albert Einstein’s Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time, an article on the case for decentralized generation of electricity, and here are some facts and fiction in the Kennedy Assassination. From Science Times, relativity, incompleteness, uncertainty: Is there a more powerful modern Trinity? Michio Kaku is playing the hottest game in town, with his new variation of string theory. Astronomers may have found their first Saturn lookalike. UCLA creates a global studies major. Harvard publishes Lawrence Summers' remarks at NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce. The Chronicle takes a look at how Ward Churchill's 3-year-old essay sparked a national controversy. And Frank Furedi on how the threat to academic freedom comes from within the university as much as from without [Feb 18] A new issue of The Red Critique is out, including an article on Left Populism, an essay on Transnationalist Nationalism: Globalization and Late Bourgeois Notions of "Freedom", a review of the work of Cornel West, and a look at the Daydreams of iPod Capitalism. From TLS, an article reappraises E. P. Thompson, a review of books on the British empire, and a review of Wilhelm II: The Kaiser's personal monarchy, 1888-1900. And from the new Inside Higher Ed, a new web site for academics that roils education journalism, Scott McLemee walks among the Randroids, and writes on Harry Frankfurt's On Bullshit and on how "blogs are nothing like the cafeteria... well, maybe a little"; a look at the New Repression of the Postmodern Right; Terry Caesar is against syllabi; an article on the road that should not be taken by community colleges; a call for a new "social compact" between higher education and government; and a look at the new Secretary of Education's agenda [Feb 17] Steven Shiffrin (Cornell): The Pluralistic Foundations of the Religion Clauses. A review of Wittgenstein Reads Weininger, and a review of Boundaries of the Mind: The Individual in the Fragile Sciences--Cognition. A review of Karl Jaspers: A Biography--Navigations in Truth, a review of The Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday Life, a review of Purple Haze: The Puzzle of Consciousness, and a review of Me++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City. More on Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. Liberals are tired of getting their hats handed to them -- and not just in presidential elections, either. From CT, why all Christians have a stake in the recent resignation of Baylor's president, since the real issue at Baylor is the relationship between faith and learning--but does Sloan's resignation mean secularism won the day? Catcher in the Rye for the age of the organization kid: A review of Prep. From India, the Supreme Court shuts down 108 private universities in ruling against a state law. And from Great Britain, more on the study of happiness [Feb 16] Social Research collects some of the best papers that have appeared in the journal since our fiftieth anniversary issue in 1984, including Hannah Arendt, Eric Hobsbawm, Michael Ignatieff, Hans Jonas, Avishai Margalit, Claus Offe, Alan Ryan, Amartya Sen, Judith Shklar, and Michael Walzer. Here's the acceptance speech delivered by Columbia's Fritz Stern upon receiving the Leo Baeck Medal. The New York Times can't print the title of Harry Frankfurt's work On Bullshit, but we can! From Harvard, Larry Summers faces a "crisis" of faculty confidence. The Boulder Weekly interviews Ward Churchill. Stupidity as a firing offense: Why is Bill O'Reilly chairing our faculty meetings? Thomas Sowell thinks America needs to rethink academic freedom. Political debate has a special quality and intensity among the students at the School of Oriental and African Studies. For blacks in law school, can less be more? A debate on the links and lacunae between psychotherapy and writing. A look at the endless rebellions that fuel new cultural movements. For E. B. White’s readers and family, a sense of trust came easily. And from Yale, students are titillated by the study of sex |
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http://www.politicaltheory.info/2005/february.htm |