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[Aug 31] From Azerbaijan, whether struggling to find educational materials for children or teaching adults how to read, the Lezgi are trying to keep their identity alive. From Turkey, this week's terrorist attacks highlight the country's ongoing struggle against Kurdish militants. But more than two decades into the fight, Turkey is as far from victory as ever. From Australia, on liberation as a marriage of rights and obligations: The welfare state needs to become an enabling state. From Thailand, critics of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra say that they must destroy democracy in order to save it. An article on why Japan's neighbors secretly love the Yasukuni Shrine; and here's a history lesson for Koizumi. From Open Democracy, an interview with Wole Soyinka on Nigeria. Obituary: Alfredo Stroessner. From New Statesman, Anthony Giddens on Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi and his Third Way. An excerpt from The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria. A review of Ted Honderich's Humanity, Terrorism, Terrorist War. An interview with former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy on the war in Lebanon and who won and who lost. An article on the fulfillment of prophecy right before our eyes: Walking among Lebanon's Christians. Is Ehud Olmert Lyndon Johnson all over again? From Der Spiegel, more refugees from Africa made their way to the Canary Islands in August than during all of 2005. Thousands are believed to have died making the journey and Europe is expanding its efforts to combat illegal immigration; too much of a good thing: Many countries with reserves of oil, gas or precious metals are plagued with disproportionate poverty, corruption and mismanagement. Would the people in Nigeria, Congo or Russia be better off without their natural gifts?; and Greenland is feeling the effects of global warming as rising temperatures have expanded the island's growing season and crops are flourishing. For the first time in hundreds of years, it has become possible to raise cattle and start dairy farms. A remarkable global phenomenon is being obscured by headlines about the Middle East: The ancient scourge of war has disappeared, at least in the sense of one government's army doing battle with another. And mark William Calhoun's words: War with Mexico will come. It is just a matter of time

[Aug 30] From Uganda, the signing of an agreement to cease hostilities gives both sides new hope that a comprehensive agreement was in sight, although they acknowledged the need for continued vigilance. From Pakistan, the aftermath of killing tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti exposes Pervez Musharraf's difficulties in trying to control the country's volatile regions. From Mexico, tensions are rising between government security forces and thousands of impoverished supporters of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a restive constituency to which political parties and process are increasingly irrelevant. From South Africa, there is a growing consensus among policy makers, researchers, and NGOs that the root cause of the violent crime problem is availability and abuse of firearms. From Canada, Christian zealots destroy ancient Arctic petrolyghs. An Italian exorcist says demonic influence is strong in today's world: "I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed by the devil". In Burma, a band of heavy metal Christians speaks of liberty between the lines. An article on Russia's Great Game in Central Asia. Assyrians experience slow cultural revival in southeastern Turkey. From Der Spiegel, an article on Iran's growing power in the Middle East; and an interview with Shirin Ebadi. Rednecks and realists in Australia: John Howard has been extremely adept at simultaneously appearing "middle of the road", while throwing regular bones to the hard-line conservatives who still form his core base. From TAP, is our president learning? Rarely was that question asked, until now. But the new push to present Bush as a bookworm is as desperate as it is dubious. In government as in music, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten is happy to provide unobtrusive, but steady, backup. These people are working for us? Congress is supposed to keep the president in check, not be his legislative lapdog. From Government Executive, a celebration of its 10th online anniversary, in five parts. History shows that, however commendable the reasoning, efforts to control how people drink or eat, or smoke tend to backfire. An article on beer as the midwife of civilization. The new Web geniuses pages: A look at how slackers with one dopey idea are getting rich. And an article on Google-Earthing the Hermit Kingdom

[Aug 29] From Fiji, it has become clear that the events of the past two months have created ill feelings and bad blood among many members of the FLP. From China, a sex blog by an expatriate English tutor triggers a manhunt in Shangai. From Spain, the Basque people may disapprove of ETA’s tactics, but they are still determined to gain independence. From Cafe Babel, squatters lose their militant spirit, immigration policy is every day tougher, and legalised prostitution is becoming a tourist attraction. Is the Dutch capital still the most liberal city in Europe? Five foreign journalists investigate. Without giving in to the worldwide skyscraper madness, Europe should start thinking - and living - vertically. First the EU said it would send thousands of troops to Lebanon. Then member countries balked. And now some nations are pledging troops again. What gives? Look who's fair and balanced: Arab media leads the way in avoiding incendiary terms for describing conflict throughout the Middle East. From Smithsonian, sleeping with cannibals: A reporter ventures deep into the rain forests of Indonesian New Guinea to meet some of the last people said to eat their fellow tribesmen. The new UN Human Rights Council approves a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Ralf Dahrendorf on parties and populists: "This is not a good time for political parties, especially those with traditional orientations". Perhaps towns meeting can ease the world's ills. From Asia Times, an essay on American idolatry. Five Years Later: Tourists flock to the World Trade Center site, but for New Yorkers, 9/11 is history. From HNN, can "peace" be a winning issue in presidential campaigns; and have our presidents made good warriors? See Dick Run (the Country): Cheney's the real president. It'd be nice if the press noticed. Signs of a possible power shift in Congress have unions going all out to reach voters. You'd never guess it from his conservative views and straightlaced demeanor, Republican Congressman Joseph "Jeb" Bradley of New Hampshire was quite the iconoclast as a younger man. For many years election officials have kept the machinery of American democracy running in the face of sometimes overwhelming difficulties. But this November's elections will pose unprecedented challenges to them. And effective and fun political advertising? A new kind of political ad incorporates the ironic humour familiar to fans of Jon Stewart

[Aug 28] From Japan, where have all the young men gone? It's an old folks home out there. Unasked Questions: Does Japan have a right to exist as a Japanese state? An interview with Sunny Lee, a top Chinese government think tank scholar on South Korea and the 21st century. A look at why sex offenders thrive in Bangkok. Still recovering from the December 2004 tsunami, Sri Lanka is once again enmeshed in a civil war. Sunita Narain, an Indian environmentalist, has dented two of the world's glossiest brands. From The New Federalist, calls for a "Social Europe" have become ever stronger. Yet what does this term actually mean? And how might it be achieved? In Great Britain, open-air pools are finding favour again with an urban public longing to go back to nature. Gary Younge argues that fundamentalists thrive only when their communities feel under threat. They offer not just the easy way out but what can seem to be the only way out. From Dissent, an article on French crisis, Left crisis: Report by a compromised Social Democrat. Notionally a leftwing movement, the Anti-Germans were born after the collapse of the Berlin wall. While most Germans rejoiced at the end of the cold war, the Anti-Germans feared that a united Germany might lead to a fourth Reich and a return of antisemitism. Tzvetan Todorov on Europe's naturalized killers. In its role as EU president, Finland has inherited the Cyprus conflict. But the problem can only be solved if it is delinked from the question of Turkey's future membership in the EU. Historical amnesia: An essay on the Romani Holocaust pdf. A review of La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind. From Opinion Journal, Shelby Steele on how Western guilt blinds us to the nature of Islamic extremism. With the failure of the US and Israel to achieve decisive victories in Iraq and Lebanon, the age of Western military dominance in the Middle East appears to be ending. Andrew Bacevich says it's time for a new strategy. And Mount Weather is a top-security underground installation an hour's drive from Washington DC. It has its own leaders, police, fire department - and laws. A cold war relic, it has been given a new lease of life since 9/11. And no one who's been inside has ever talked

[Weekend 2e] From Open Democracy, a symposium on The End of History: Francis Fukuyama responds to critics. Globalization of the forces of production, a law of motion of the world economy, is not the problem, but the relations of production under which forces of production are put to work. From Internationalist, an interview with Jeffrey Sachs on The End of Poverty. Surprise: The world's ports experience an unexpected boom. Somalia's Islamist militia has taken control of a major base of piracy north of Mogadishu. The waters off the Horn of Africa has long been a dangerous region for shipping. Now, the militants said they will put an end to the seaborne threat. From Navy Times, if they don’t already, expect your leadership to start talking like they’ve got degrees in business management. And you may need a Wall Street dictionary to understand them. Kendrick Ledet, a former Marine who sparked a furor in Okinawa for the abduction and rape of a schoolgirl, is found dead in a suspected murder-suicide. Ambassador Training: What are we teaching 600,000 foreign students about the U.S.? From The Hill, in the House, sometimes they hold a vote open to reason with people. Nobody can be reasoned with in the Senate. Peter Beinart on why Democrats should be the party of no ideas. Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, James Madison, John Courtney Murray, John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and... Ned Lamont? The Left seeks to revive the "common good" as new strategy. Will the Libertarian Party be the Texans or the Mexicans in this year's electoral Alamo? Molly Ivins on the new activist judges. And a review of The Devil is a Gentleman: Exploring America’s Religious Fringe; American Theocracy; The Politics of Jesus; and Thy Kingdom Come

[Weekend] The Anglosphere:  From Canada, Michael Ignatieff say he welcomes criticism--just don't call him Iggy; and a review of Labour Left Out: Canada's Failure to Protect and Promote Collective Bargaining as a Human Right and Against Judicial Activism: The Decline of Freedom and Democracy in Canada. From Australia, a century after the Dreyfus Affair shook France, on the similar slide towards secret trials and blind prejudice in Australia; an article on author Robert Manne, reviled for going from the right to the left; what's needed so we focus on ideas that really matter, and avoid the 'tabloidisation' of the everyday?; and what Republicans could learn from Australia's conservative prime minister, John Howard. New Zealand's social progressivism is at odds with the respect for tradition embodied in its influential Maori community. From India's Economic and Political Weekly, Occidentalism, the Very Idea: An essay on the Enlightenment and enchantment pdf. Why are British Pakistanis so angry? In a word, Kashmir. Theodore Dalrymple on how "social" housing encourages antisocial egotism, and were Britons unreasonable to refuse to fly with Muslims? From New Statesman, is our multicultural society a myth? Across swaths of the country, it barely exists. Yet many migrant workers and people from ethnic-minority backgrounds are moving into rural areas. Will this intensify latent racism or disarm it? A look at why David Hume's battle with extremists is not won yet. A review of The Idea of the Castle in Medieval England. The introduction to Slumming: Sexual and Social Politics in Victorian London. Sex-act training courses for women have gained ground in major North American cities. The trend is either a sign of greater sexual freedom or a new emphasis on service, depending on whom you ask. The Security and Prosperity Partnership was signed in 2005 as a plan to replace existing governments with state corporate rule over the entire North America continent. A review of In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security by Tom Tancredo. How the Electoral College creates a white, Christian and conservative advantage in presidential elections: An excerpt from Welcome to the Homeland: A Journey to the Rural Heart of America's Conservative Revolution. And a review of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism

[Aug 25]  From the Democratic Republic of Congo, gun battles in the capital do not augur well for the next round of voting, while the inconclusive result of the first round of the election is proving a test for its democratic path. The Pentagon will approve a command for Africa, where poverty and corruption make it a vulnerable area for extremists and terrorists. The first chapter from Making War and Building Peace: United Nations Peace Operations. From the UN, here are 10 stories the world should hear more about. The International Commission on Missing Persons forges ahead to identify genocide victims. Global cooperation and international law are becoming increasingly important. But many argue that the war on terror and the current Israel-Lebanon conflict are international humanitarian law's newest tests of resolve. The search for natural resources is becoming increasingly difficult. But future growth of the world economy depends on these natural resources and some will soon disappear forever. The mystery of capital deepens: Giving land titles to the poor is no silver bullet. A new issue of the IMF's Finance and Development is out. The Death of Doha: The WTO model has collapsed. What’s next? Economists are working hard to fill the gaping hole in our (and their) knowledge about the linkages between capital mobility, economic growth and financial crises. From The Bulletin, an article on US nuclear threats: Then and now; and a review of Total Cold War: Eisenhower's Secret Propaganda Battle at Home and Abroad. From Foreign Policy, the US received hundreds of millions in foreign aid, after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. But what happened to the money? When government shrugs: Adolph Reed on the lessons of Katrina. An article on how to rebuild New Orleans: Start with a visit to Denver. Abbott and Costello rebuild New Orleans: A legendary comedy skit reimagined post-Katrina. America's welfare state: How Alaska's rugged pioneers wallow in unearned cash. Here's a helpful guide for reporters writing about George Allen, as the "macaca" fracas illustrates what Allen doesn't understand about the country. Will the Club for Growth wind up shrinking the GOP? In style and substance, Harold Ford Jr. channels Bill Clinton. And what happens if Hillary whiffs in ’08? 

[Aug 24]  From Bolivia, a new farmers' market provides a short-term solution for poor farmers. Without profound reforms and government investment, however, stress on land resources will only worsen. An article on Hugo Chavez's revolution in foreign policy. Canada's ragtag arctic forces: Flying the flag and hunting for seals with the Canadian Rangers. A review of Only By Struggle: Reflections on Philippine Culture, Politics and Society. The first chapter from Beyond Liberal Democracy: Political Thinking for an East Asian Context by Daniel A. Bell. Making sense of the "great disorder" of the Cultural Revolution: A review of Mao's Last Revolution. From Dissent, an article on China on the capitalist road; and an essay on show business and "lawfare" in Rwanda: Twelve years after the genocide. It is time for the world to realize that aid alone is becoming a failing solution, and that it is vital for Africa to begin shaping its own destiny. Can regional integration save Africa? A review of Economic Justice in an Unfair World: Toward a Level Playing Field. A review of The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy and Bigger Box Boats: How Container Ships Changed the World. From TNR, the End of Free Trade: Despite emphasizing the importance of open markets, the Bush administration has ushered in an era of protectionism, tensions, and global economic instability. American architecture is still reeling from the 9/11 attacks. Critics and architects say that security now trumps design, as barricades and mall-like plazas are sucking the soul out of urban life; and UK cities are enjoying a renaissance, but which branch of the urban evolutionary tree to follow? Continental cities are much beloved, but policy-makers look to the States for inspiration. From The Progressive, an interview with Stephanie Miller, liberal radio host. Which party plays better poker? A review of Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11. Can Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa change Los Angeles?  A review of Inside Life: Behind Bars in America. And an excerpt from What Works in Corrections: Reducing Recidivism

[Aug 23] From The New Presence, politologist Jiri Pehe asks why the Czech Communist Party (KSCM) attracts votes despite subscribing to an ideology that is clearly unfeasible. Echoing Bush, the North Korean military says it "reserves the right to undertake a pre-emptive action for self-defence against the enemy". From Foreign Affairs, John Mueller (OSU): Is There Still a Terrorist Threat?; Walter Russell Mead on God, religion and foreign policy; a review of The Foreigner's Gift: The Americans, the Arabs, and the Iraqis in Iraq by Fouad Ajami; and could the U.S. government really destroy all of an adversary's nuclear weapons in a nuclear first strike? Europe ignored Winston Churchill's warnings and got WWII as a result. You don't have to have Churchillian prescience to see that what happened once in Lebanon can happen again. From Open Democracy, from Afghanistan to Iraq, Iran to Israel, a new geopolitical region, "Greater West Asia", is in a crisis comparable to Europe in 1914, says Fred Halliday; and the historic contest between two visions of what Lebanon is and should be will shape the country's direction after Hizbollah's war with Israel. Fred Kaplan on why the U.N.'s Lebanon resolution is already collapsing. From Slate, a graphic adaptation of The 9/11 Report by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón. Former hostage Jill Carroll's 11-part series continues, while some of the most telling aspects of her ordeal have come from her response to questions sent in by readers. Monday's press conference leaves one wondering what on earth George W. Bush is thinking. A howler from President Bush: "Nobody’s ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack". OK, maybe not in those words, but how 'bout in these? Bush needs a fact-check, not a gut check: Sure, intuition can develop with experience. But trusting your hunches has perils, too. From Government Executive, a decline in traffic to conservative political Web sites could be viewed as a sign that the right wing is struggling. Jack Shafer on what Time magazine's new publication date means. The corporate media is worried about falling audiences among people of non-western backgrounds. It only has itself to blame. And the promotion of "darknets" is one response to corporate surveillance of personal data. But there is a better way to ensure privacy online 

[Aug 22] From The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, if you think video games are child's play, meet the growing community of scientists, policy makers, and game developers who beg to differ. Paul Kennedy on the United Nations as the world's scapegoat. From The Hindu, can India save its natural spaces and its wild elephants as it pursues the goal of rapid economic growth? India is determined to build a new base in Antarctica in the face of stiff opposition from environmentalists. A review of In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India. A review of The Bloodless Revolution: Radical Vegetarians and the Discovery of India (and an excerpt). A review of The High Road to China: George Bogle, the Panchen Lama and the First British Expedition to Tibet and Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present. A review of Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China. On a military base in Afghanistan, a cold war of sorts between a son and a stepfather begins to thaw. An excerpt from History and the Culture of Nationalism in Algeria. An article on women's rights and status in Turkey. Abkhazia, a popular retreat for Russian tourists, is also one of the thorniest issues dividing Russia and Western-supported Georgia in the volatile Caucasus. From Open Democracy, here are excerpts from a 1990 interview with Alfredo Stroessner, former dictator of Paraguay. What most vividly illustrates Venezuela’s latest oil boom may be its Scotch whiskey sales, which are soaring. From Newropeans, an article on European wines and comparative advantage theory. A look at how Europe wrote the rules of global finance. The legal feud between a leading Scottish politician and a tabloid newspaper is a farcical footnote to an epic, unfinished story: the decline of Scotland's self-confidence and the withering of the British union. And what’s behind Ireland’s economic miracle--and G.M.’s financial crisis?

[Aug 21] From Great Britain, BBC film "Shooting the Messenger" is raising a storm with its portrayal of black people as their own worst enemies. Some blame religion and talk of "the enemy within". Others point to alienation and Britain's foreign policy. An article on the reality of the new wave of radicalism. Iran says it wants nuclear energy to fuel its economy. The US says it wants to build an "Islamic bomb". But what do Iranians think about the deepening crisis? The prevailing view in the Middle East is that where Arab nations failed to stand up to Israel and the US, an Islamic movement succeeded. Drawn to ballots not bombs, America's Muslim community shows few signs of the radicalism seen in Britain. But with anger over US policies at home and abroad, a younger generation may be up for grabs. How many and where were the nukes? What the US government no longer wants you to know about nuclear weapons during the Cold War. A review of Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission by Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton. From The Village Voice, Nat Hentoff on how, reprimanded by the Supreme Court, the Bush administration is rushing to evade punishment. To get his friends and allies out of the mess he created, George W. Bush is going to have to issue a slew of pardons. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel says GOP has lost its way. Jonathan Chait on how Republicans truly believe that Democrats are soft on terror. Scare them back: John Dickerson on a better Democratic response to GOP fear-mongering. You may think you want a Democratic Congress. But if you care about your wallet, watch what you wish for; and a peek into the Democratic mind. From The New Yorker, read it and weep: An article on President Bush’s summer bookshelf. Announcing the president's current reading list, presumably to demonstrate a restless intellect, is comparatively new. August, usually the sleepiest month in politics, has suddenly become raucous, thanks in part to YouTube, the vast videosharing Web site. The danger for political campaigns is that the Web, and digital photography and video, make phony or unfair charges easier. What's the solution? From Business Week, an article on Gawker's snarky success: Nick Denton's media company dominates the blogosphere. And a review of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

[Weekend 2e] Internet culture: From Cafe Babel, generation precarity, cyber-lovers, blogo-mania: Catch up with the latest trends. What are Web surfers seeking? Well, it's just what you'd think. You are what you search: AOL's data leak reveals the seven ways people search the Web. Should Web search data be stored? A debate. An excerpt from Protecting Information: From Classical Error Correction to Quantum Cryptography. From Editor & Publisher, an article on Blogs and the Law: Experts' tips on avoiding trouble. The neutrality of this article is disputed: Reason goes inside Wikimania2006. Surfing the Web for profits: An article on AOL, Google and the Battle of the Web Giants. Google is bringing some of the biggest traditional content owners into its camp and sharing revenue with them. Google it in Quechua: More power for an ancient language. Comment is Free, but designing communities is hard: The Guardian's attempt to build an engaging group blog further illustrates the cultural differences between running a newspaper and an online conversation. Here is Time's list of the 50 coolest websites. The Observer's Net specialist charts the web's remarkable early life and tells the story of the 15 most influential websites to date. And it started as a free online noticeboard helping people find babysitters and rehome old sofas. Now Craigslist has become a global phenomenon

[Weekend] From Germany, large advertisments are no longer safe in Berlin. Models and consumer products are being "kidnapped", completely cut out of posters and billboards. Those responsible say their aim is to reappropriate commercialized public space. From Israel, leaders are facing fierce, even vitriolic criticism in a country accustomed to swift and decisive battlefield triumphs against Arab enemies. From Gambia, who is afraid of Yaya Jammeh? In 2004, a mix of rich white men and mercenaries attempted to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea. Why? More on The Wonga Coup. Europe and America are forging plans for the future government of Congo. The Africans will either agree to strict economic and political conditions or the Western powers will cut off aid to the strife-torn country. Christianity is thriving amongst the burgeoning populations of Africa and Latin America. Will it become the Big Idea of the 21st century? And more from Latin America and Kenya. A review of The New Faces of Christianity. From Der Spiegel, on the coming conflict: Natural resources are fuelling a new Cold War. Jagdish Bhagwati on how a global warming fund could succeed where Kyoto failed. The US and China, the two nations now most responsible for climate change, have comparatively little reason to do anything about it. An excerpt from The Making of the Chinese State: Ethnicity and Expansion on the Ming Borderlands. A podcast that aims to teach people Mandarin is part of a potentially lucrative revolution. A global e-government study has South Korea climbing to top rank. G. John Ikenberry on how Japan has a serious geopolitical problem--and increasingly it is an American problem as well. An article on the rape of freedom in Burma. More mythical numbers: The GAO debunks the official human-trafficking estimates. From Government Executive, if a call for change comes from the ranks, does it really make a sound? Bruce Ackerman on giving New York's poor what they need most: a voice. The CIA-Contra-Crack connection, 10 years later: Reporter Gary Webb was the victim of his own hyperbole, but he never got credit for what he got right. If action isn't taken, the system limiting the impact of special-interest money on elections for our highest office will collapse. And can Joe Lieberman make it on an indie label?

[Aug 18] From Indonesia, a new history of the brutal military occupation of East Timor has led the country to re-examine an era that had become a taboo. From India, an interview with Georges Vendryes, French nuclear scientist; and a spectre haunting India: Maoist rebels are fighting a brutal low-level war with the Indian state. From Poland, President Lech Kaczynski proposes that the EU bring back the death penalty. A close look at Bulgaria's political institutions casts doubt on the country's fitness to join the European Union in January 2007. Ukraine is in post-orange political meltdown while Russia is reinventing itself as a successful energy superpower. Right? An interview with Hasan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah. Jihad 101: In the new al-Qaida, offices and training camps are a thing of the past. All a would-be recruit needs is an Internet connection. Al-Qaida's virtual university will take care of the rest. An article on why the antidote to terrorism in the Middle East is sovereignty. From Vanity Fair, by attacking The New York Times, the White House has evoked the government-defying glory days of the "paper of record". But even as the Times builds a soaring $850 million headquarters, its newsroom, its leadership, and its business are in a crisis of confidence. An interview with Congressman John Conyers on the 350-page report titled "The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War, and Illegal Domestic Surveillance." After months of biting her tongue, Duke Cunningham's wife, Nancy, breaks her silence and reveals the secret life of the most corrupt congressman in US history. Rahmbo's Plan: The House Democrats' chief enforcer offers some "Big Ideas for America". Does Ned Lamont's victory over Joe Lieberman mean McGovernism has returned? Peter Beinart finds out. And what Bob Casey's populism means for the Pennsylvania Senate race

[Aug 17] From Japan, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine has angered both China and South Korea. From Der Speigel, an interview with Zhang Qingli, Tibet's Communist party chief: The Dalai Lama "deceived his Motherland". The fourth annual CGD/Foreign Policy Commitment to Development Index ranks 21 rich nations on whether they’re working to end global poverty or just making it worse; and a look at some of the world’s biggest pools of black gold and the dangers that could take them offline. From New Statesman, for Osama Bin Laden there is nowhere quite like Britain, while persuading Britain’s Muslims will be no easy task; and so wanted: a new foreign policy. Rolling with the punches: Londoners carry on with life after last week’s terrorism scare. Immanuel Wallerstein on five reasons why great military powers lose wars. So there will be a UN force, but who will disarm Hezbollah? From The Globalist, the current political situation is reversing roles in Pakistan, where families would now rather send their daughters to the West. An article on the benefits and complications of US-Pakistan relations. From American Diplomacy, an analysis of the options open to the US and the West regarding the threat of nuclear weaponry in Iranian hands. What would happen if you took 10,000 refugees from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe and resettled them in a small, rust belt town in upstate New York? In towns that host military bases, local newspapers have adapted their coverage accordingly, offering strong support for troops. But now those papers face a daunting challenge in the wake of disturbing charges being brought against several soldiers. Political hacks like Joe Lieberman have run the country for decades, but now that that they've fucked up Iraq and everything else so badly they've made "McGovernism" mainstream. Will the Democratic Party repeat the political mistakes of the Vietnam era? The Democrats mean business: Ned Lamont on why Washington needs an entrepreneurial approach. Liebermania and the Party of Reagan: Why is the GOP supporting liberal Joe Lieberman? From Salon, more on George Allen stepping in "macaca". And former Republican representative Joe Scarborough considers the question: "Is Bush an idiot?"

[Aug 16] From Transitions, new tensions arise between Sofia and Skopje over identity and history; and new video footage of war crimes gives Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks an opportunity to roll out their myths about the Bosnian war. Fidel Fatigue: Long live the revolution? That's the last thing Latin America needs. From Japan Focus, Saskia Sassen on locating cities in global networks: Tokyo and regional structures of interdependence; and an article on the future of Korea: An Asia-Pacific perspective. From Social Research, issues on China and South Africa, and a special issue on "Their America", including an introduction by Jonathan Schell, and perspectives from Egypt, Europe, the Islamic world, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Russia, Africa, China, and Great Britain. Not surprisingly, Western media outlets and their Islamic counterparts offer completely divergent views on many of the events unfolding in the Middle East. From Power and Interest News Report, an article on the strategic implications of the Lebanese cease-fire. The UN ceasefire is a disaster for Israel. Now, after the government squandered weeks restraining the army and fighting a pretend war, a long list of reckonings awaits. Can the UN pass the test it has set for itself? Fred Kaplan wants to know. An excerpt from The United Nations, Peace and Security: From Collective Security to the Responsibility to Protect. An interview with Jimmy Carter: "The US and Israel stand alone". George Will on how Kerry had a point on the law enforcement approach to terrorism. What lessons can we draw from the recent foiled plot to bring down US-bound airliners with liquid bombs? Richard Posner investigates. Matthew Yglesias on the case against the new airport security measures. Molly Ivins on the pols who cried wolf. A Few Bad Men: Ten years after a scandal over neo-Nazis in the armed forces, extremists are once again worming their way into a recruit-starved military. Stranger and Stranger: Why is George Bush reading Camus? Once a boob, always a boob? George Allen's biggest problem isn't racial insensitivity. There was Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. Salon has a list of six states where vote suppression could cost voters their voice -- and Democrats the election -- in 2006. And an excerpt from Multiparty Democracy: Elections and Legislative Politics

[Aug 31] The first chapter from Expert Political Judgment: How Good is It? How Can We Know? by Philip E. Tetlock. From Christianity Today, an interview with Nicholas Kristof on evangelicals, China, and human rights. How does the Christian publishing industry get away with representing the figure of Christ as perhaps as destructive as his polar opposite, the Antichrist? A study finds Southern religion makes people fat. From Tradition, Family and Property, an article on "Virgin": It's not a dirty word! How we conceive conception: Why it took so long to understand sperm and eggs. A German study reports that women's sexual desire for their partners dwindles with time. What's a monogamous gal to do? A review of Same-Sex Marriage: The Cultural Politics of Love and Law. From Nerve, a female Episcopal priest interviews a Roman Catholic who got herself ordained -- and ousted from the Church. Not God's Party: A new poll shows Democrats are losing (more) religious voters. The liberal revolt against the NRA: Fed up with the gun lobby's conservative politics, environmentalists and gun-control advocates take up arms under a new banner. The first chapter from Disarmed: The Missing Movement for Gun Control in America. Democratic voters have unambiguously repudiated the Bush doctrine. The same can't be said for Democratic foreign policy elites. From Truthout, an article on the militarization of the American language. From Mother Jones, Lie by Lie: Chronicle of a War Foretold: August 1990 to March 2003. From Salon, more on Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. More on Without Precedent The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission by Thomas H. Keane and Lee H. Hamilton. The first chapter from Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice. An interview with Rolf Tophoven, Germany's leading terrorism expert (and part 2). An interview with Gabriel Weimann, author of Terror on the Internet: The New Arena, the New Challenges. Iraq isn't the Philippines: A decades-long U.S. occupation eventually brought democracy to Manila, but analogies overlook historical American brutality and Iraq's comparative strength. A review of books on the war in Iraq. From In These Times, let’s be realists, let’s demand the impossible! Slavoj Zizek on why pragmatic politics are doomed to fail in the Middle East. And Osama Been Laid?: Pent-up libido and the future of terrorism

[Aug 30] From ZNet, what prevents radicals from acting strategically? An interview with Paul LeBlanc, author of Marx, Lenin, and the Revolutionary Experience. What if it's possible to reject the socialism subjectivism of the left and believe in the importance of morality, but without believing in God? More on Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America. An interview with Marvin Olasky, author of The Politics of Disaster: Katrina, Big Government, and a New Strategy for Future Crises. From Monthly Review, an article on Hurricane Katrina and the race and class debate. Katrina has made US citizens far more aware of the environment. Green has become fashionable even among conservative politicians and the religious right. A review of White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism. From The American Conservative, an article on James Burnham, basketball, and the colonization of Brewster. An interview with Tom Hamburger, co-author of One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century. Who is a populist? Would you vote for or against a populist? An essay on the term's history and future prospects. The theory that Communism and fascism were twins was developed to justify the Cold War. Now the right needs a new enemy, and has discovered "Islamofascism". From Open Democracy, John Le Carré on how the attacks on Lebanon's infrastructure and civilians will rebound on Israel for years to come. Martin van Creveld on the silver lining. An article on exploring scenic South Beirut, the Hezbollah way. Is the US planning a coup in Iraq? Here's some speculation.  What if the US left Iraq? William F. Buckley wants to know. An article on why human rights, not democracy, should be the lodestar of a liberal foreign policy. From nthposition, here are reflections on dictatorship, terrorism and the spectacle of stage hypnotism; and the Modern Panopticon: how has a massive project with privacy implication for British citizens slipped under the media's radar? Richard Haass on terrorism and counter-terrorism reconsidered. A review of Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and War on Terror and The Looming Tower. A review of Winning the Un-War: A New Strategy for the War on Terrorism by Charles Peña. And does Jonathan Chait support terrorism?

[Aug 29] Religion, the war on terror and the Middle East: From Reset, an interview with Klaus Elder on secularism and the public sphere. From Transit, a look at the role of religion in establishing social cohesion; an essay on the Islamist identity: Islam, European public space, and civility; and Olivier Roy on Islamic Evangelism. From Der Spiegel, an interview with Salman Rushdie: "Terror is glamour". The Islamic Way of War: Muslims have learned to stop imitating our tactics and have started defeating them. "Islamo-fascism" looks like an analytic term, but it's really an emotional one, intended to get us to think less and fear more. From New English Review, John Derbyshire on They, The People; Ibn Warraq on Islam, the Middle East and Fascism; what did the Bush administration not know about Sunnis and Shi’a and when did it not know it; and essays on understanding the jihad to destroy Israel and on Islamic Jew hatred and jihad. Fascists under the bed: Patrick Buchanan on how Bush thinks we’re fighting Mussolini. From Adbusters, an article on how AIPAC's influence in waning. An interview with Stephen Walt on the Israel lobby. Quit the canard that American policy advances Israeli security. An interview with Hadassa Ben-Itto, author of The Lie That Wouldn't Die: The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion. From Forward, Shlomo Avineri on facing down a wounded nation. From Sign and Sight, Post-Holocaust morality and the violence of today: Navid Kermani says Israel weakens itself if it builds on military might, and forgets its past as victim, and Tjark Kunstreich attacks Western public and media opinion for failing to counter Islamic anti-Semitisim and tacitly lending legitimacy to Hamas and Hizbullah. A review of Ancient Lebanon: Monuments Past and Present. Columbia's George Fletcher on sense and nonsense about disproportionate force. An interview with Efraim Inbar on flawed military strategies. How do you take a gun away? All disarmaments are political, as we're about to learn in Lebanon.  A look at why the key to peace in the Mideast may be "sacred beliefs". A look at what Israeli security could teach the US. Iran is coming to the point where it has to choose: destroy itself by repeating the same old slogans, or come up with new definitions for itself, its friends and its foes. An interview with human-rights activist Emmadeddin Baghi of Iran. Juan Cole on Iran's nuclear "threat". And the introduction (and an interview) to Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis and America's First Encounter with Radical Islam

[Aug 28] Potpourri: Does John McCain really mean all those nice things he's saying about George W. Bush? Though other comics occasionally address religious themes, until now mainstream newspapers and syndicates have largely avoided strips that make religion central. A review of The President's Counselor: The Rise to Power of Alberto Gonzales. It used to be that a single dissatisfied customer couldn't do an indifferent company much harm. He might write a few letters, complain to family and friends, and then lapse into impotent grumbling. New York has devised an ingenious approach to stopping the flow of guns into the city. Could it work for other cities? A look at how US patent imperialism hurts American interests. An interview with Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail. The Murder of Mystery: How Silicon Valley joined the superstitious fringe as the enemy of open inquiry. A review of Satan: A Biography. A review of I Lie for a Living: Greatest Spies of All Time. A review of God's War: A New History of the Crusades. (and more). Is new technology empowering consumers -- or marketers? The infant grammarian: Emily Bazelon on the genius of baby talk. Gregory Rodriguez on the dangers of dual citizenship in a global age. Jonathan Chait on how conservatives and liberals both think they're getting walloped in Washington. In sport, as in global politics, a history of perceived slights coalesces easily into a moment of rage when pride and vengeance dictate extreme measures. A look at why racial "Survivor" is a good thing. Is it moral for a journalist to take a story and leave when a comparatively small gift would keep a source alive? Why Democrats must embrace Barry Goldwater: An interview with CC Goldwater. An article on how America's Muslims aren't as assimilated as you think; and an essay on becoming a "Real American". On the origins of veggie might: A review of The Bloodless Revolution. John McWhorter defends Andrew Young. Americans at their fruitiest are also usually at their most entertaining. At least from a safe, smug distance: A review of Body Piercing Saved My Life. A review of The General and the Jaguar: Pershing's Hunt for Pancho Villa. A True Story of Revolution & Revenge. And a review of Are Women Human? by Catharine A. MacKinnon

[Weekend 2e] From ARPA, a review of Straightforward: How to Mobilize Heterosexual Support for Gay Rights. Queer, isn't it? Bisexuals are the oft-overlooked segment of the GLBT and straight communities. From Salon, why Debbie Nathan needs to see child porn: "It's outrageous that academics and reporters like me can be thrown in prison for doing front-line research into pornography". There's no escaping the sexualization of young girls: With JonBenet back in the headlines, it's hard for a parent to avoid paranoia. An article on the conservative war on the War on Drugs: The movement to legalize pot may take off with red wings. Are economic reasons under-girding our ever-widening waistlines? A discussion on different economic takes on our burgeoning national girth. It’s clear that diet and genes contribute to how fat you are. But a new wave of scientific research suggests that, for some people, there might be a third factor: microorganisms. It's not every day that you come across an article such as "Deconstructing the evidence-based discourse in health sciences: truth, power and fascism". No. This is something special. From TAP, What Would Lenin Do? Attempting to shore up our dysfunctional employer-based health care system is counterproductive, not progressive. From TNR, a look at how welfare reform made America safe for big government. A look at why Bill Clinton was right on welfare. Ten years later, get-tough work rules get the credit for slashing welfare rolls. But incentives are the untold success story. An interview with Madeline Levine, author of The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids. And the first chapter from Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers

[Weekend] From The Mises Institute, an article on defending stereotypes. Thomas Sowell on Andrew Young, race and economics. A review of Democracy Reborn: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equal Rights in Post-Civil War America. A review of Middle Passages: African American Journeys to Africa, 1787-2005; American Africans in Ghana: Black Expatriates and the Civil Rights Era; and Black Gold of the Sun: Searching for Home in Africa and Beyond. The first chapter from What a Mighty Power We Can Be: African American Fraternal Groups and the Struggle for Racial Equality by Theda Skocpol, Ariane Liazos and Marshall Ganz. From Salon, an article in Forbes says that marrying a woman who makes over $30,000 a year will ensure a life of illness, filth and cuckolding. How did we get here again? Manshop, Womanshop: Why can't a woman shop more like man? Who's afraid of Wal-Mart? Lurking behind the "populist" campaign against America's biggest retailer is elite disdain for the people who work and shop there. A review of The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom. From Human Events, an article on funding liberalism with blue-chip profits. From Slate, on the CEO real estate scam: The newest infuriating perk for corporate executives; and on the real estate excuse: CEOs' latest lame explanation for poor performance. From Alternet, a look at the Top 10 Corporate Democrats For Hire. From The Nation, Alice Waters explores the environmental, political, cultural, social and ethical consequences of our national diet; a look at how the mass production of organic food takes a toll on the health of farmworkers; and how does America fix its dysfunctional relationship with food? Eric Schlosser, Peter Singer and others debate. A look at how existing approaches to discussing global warming may be counterproductive, leaving the public feeling disempowered and uncompelled to act. Put that hamburger down! Our carnivorous habits are partially responsible for the dire threat of global warming. An article on Richard Lindzen's quixotic struggle against global warming science. The movement to tackle climate change is finally growing large in the US, and beginning to get more outspoken. Everyone from GM to President Bush is suddenly infatuated with ethanol. Here's how Big Corn could really replace Big Oil. And it's not easy being green: Are weed-killers turning frogs into hermaphrodites?

[Aug 25] From Adbusters, an article on The Unamerican Century. Why is America so strange? An interview with Eric Rauchway, author of Blessed Among Nations: How the World Made America. James Q. Wilson on American Exceptionalism. From The American Spectator, are Americans becoming losers? Quin Hillyer wants to know; and why they don't hate us: It's not as lonely at the top as liberals think. The Upside of Anger: An article on the case for progressive rage. Why are liberals the way liberals are? What is it about the L-word that has become so offensive to so many? A review of Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving, New York Times-Reading, Body-Piercing, Hollywood-Loving, Left-Wing Freak Show. Bill O'Reilly writes a piece of dreck called The O'Reilly Factor for Kids. Whatever you do, for the love of Jehovah, don't read it. From PUP, three excerpts from How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime by Sidney Blumenthal. Bush may wish he measured up to the Great Emancipator. But he does stack up quite nicely against Andrew Johnson. A review of Ramesh Ponnuru's The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life. Making his first public remarks in more than 1,000 years, God appeared in the heavens yesterday and ordered all religions to "immediately take a well-deserved and long overdue time-out". From Harper's, an article on the God Mode and the Guantánamo force-feed policy. A review of Oriana Fallaci's The Force of Reason. Cass Sunstein on how, by stoking fear, Republicans gain an edge over Democrats. Republicans Help Terrorists: Democrats won't win with me-too toughness; they need to tell it like it is about the conservatives' security failures. John Judis on how conservative hatred for diplomacy hurts us. From The American Prospect, here's an argument for resisting the realist temptation and reclaiming democracy promotion from Bush (and part 2). An interview with Michael Scheuer, author of Imperial Hubris, on national security. As the US decries the private militias of Lebanon and Iraq, GOP-connected, privately owned global mercenary firms receive blank checks and little oversight. And yoga goes to war: Sailors and soldiers are seeking enlightenment in uniform. Are tow-truck drivers and Wall Street traders next? 

[Aug 24] From Slate, the preservation paradox: Tim Harford on why conservation laws can kill the animals they're supposed to protect. Guilt-Free Gossip for Greens: Finally, environmentalists can scratch the celebrity-news itch in good conscience.  From TAP, when fighting Wal-Mart's practices, let's not lionize mom and pop. Their store is most likely pretty bad; it’s not welfare anymore: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is 10 years old. You can call it many things, but don't call it welfare; and on the Rise of the Republicrats: Conservatives swore that they’d shrink the government once they got power. Well, they have it -- and the government is bigger than ever. Now, some on the right have a surprising response: Embrace the welfare state. A review of LBJ: Architect of American Ambition (and more). The first chapter from More Equal Than Others: America from Nixon to the New Century by Godfrey Hodgson. An interview with Richard Mgrdechian, author of How The Left Was Won: An In-Depth Analysis of the Tools and Methodologies Used by Liberals to Undermine Society and Disrupt the Social Order. An interview with Gregg Jackson, author of Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies: Issue by Issue Responses to the Most Common Claims of the Left from A to Z. Michael Novak on Christianity, truth claims and Heather McDonald; and a response: "Conservatism can stand on reason alone". From Salon, Kevin Jennings grew up gay in a strict Baptist household, taunted for being a "faggot" at his own father's funeral. So why does he still believe Christianity and gay rights can coexist? Planning a legal battle would seem to have little in common with making a real estate decision, but often the same thing matters in both arenas: location. And juries can refuse to convict on moral grounds. They just don't always know that. From Harper's, people are animals. They fuck, pray, and make bombs: An excerpt from Diary of a Lost Girl: The Autobiography of Kola Boof. From Nerve, all aboard: What Dave Demerjian learned about America by sleeping his way through Europe. And from American Sexuality, Rock ‘n’ Roll Baby: In popular music, singing about pedophilia is a familiar tune

[Aug 23] From Mclean's, with the latest terror plot, airports are in chaos and the panic is real. But the inflated ambitions of al-Qaeda and its sympathizers may actually help protect us against terror. It may be unfair to berate ordinary Muslims, given that too many are struggling to survive, yet Muslims have no choice but to confront their challenges. The violence in the Middle East shows the negative consequences of the administration's contempt for engagement. But the tough talk has failed. The results are in for the White House's latest effort to exploit terrorism for political gain: the era of Americans' fearing fear itself is over. What do George W. Bush, Lord Longford and the Daily Express have in common?: A review of God's War. Islamofascism: Beware of a religion without irony, Roger Scruton warns. There are no atheists in foxholes, the old saw goes. But an increasingly vocal group of activists and soldiers -- atheist soldiers -- disagrees. "The God Awful Truth" is a series of films that unravel the deceptions, the horrors, and the atrocities performed against humanity in the name of religion for the past two-thousand years. The introduction to The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right. From Political Affairs, an article on what's behind the English-only campaign in the US. A review of There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights, 1945-1975.  An interview with Pat Buchanan on State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America. Jeffrey Sachs on why plans that encourage voluntary, steep reductions in the fertility rates of poor nations pay dividends in sustainability for everyone. The Fertility Gap: A look at why liberal politics will prove fruitless as long as liberals refuse to multiply. Misconceiving reproductive rights: An article on the crucial difference between "pro-choice" and "pro-abortion". Is marriage rational? In the debate over who can marry, both sides imbue the institution of marriage with an importance it neither deserves nor possesses. From Reason, ten years after welfare reform, the welfare state is even larger than before. Bill Clinton on how the last 10 years have shown that we did in fact end welfare as we knew it, creating a new beginning for millions of Americans. Ezra Klein on the job Sen. Clinton should want: Skip the presidential rat race and whip the Senate Democrats into shape. And is Hillary Clinton hot? Does it matter?: An article on Hillary’s sex appeal

[Aug 22] From Dissent, David Plotke on Bush's decline and American conservatism; put a conservative in the driver's seat, and he can sound like a utopian Marxist: Free-market theory meets the highway lobby; a review of The Disposable American by Louis Uchitelle; a review of Elizabeth Borgwardt's A New Deal for the World: America's Vision for Human Rights; Princeton's Anson Rabinbach on Totalitarianism Revisited; Harold Meyerson reviews Peter Beinart's The Good Fight; Joanne Barkan reads Dissent from the 1950s to determine the failures and successes of cold war liberalism; and Michael Walzer argues that regime change did not justify the Iraq War (and a response by Jean Bethke Elshtain). From Tomdispatch, here are 7 facts making sense of our Iraqi disaster. A review of The Best War Ever: Lies, Damned Lies, and the Mess in Iraq. A review of The Prince of Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq (and more). Iraqi soldiers are underpaid, underequipped and frequently AWOL. And then there’s the problem of serving a government that hardly exists in a country that’s tearing itself apart. An excerpt from Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias: The Warriors of Contemporary Combat (an an interview). A review of Lawless World: American and the Making and Breaking of Global Rules from FDR's Atlantic Charter to George W. Bush's Illegal War. An interview with George Soros on The Age of Fallibility: Consequences of the War on Terror. A review of Murder in Samarkand: A British Ambassador's Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror. Killing won’t win this war: There is a difference between killing insurgents and fighting an insurgency. A review of Celsius 7/7 and Dying to Win. Niall Ferguson on how two tragic stories of war show the problems of coming to terms with the past by using today's standards. And P.W. Singer on how there's only one rule in naming wars: The winner picks the one that sticks

[Aug 21] A review of What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Terrorist Threat and Dying to Win: Why Suicide Terrorists Do It by Robert A Pape. A review of Unknown Soldiers: How Terrorism Transformed the Modern World. James Q. Wilson on how America will almost certainly suffer further terrorist attacks. We must be prepared to take reasonable steps to protect ourselves. And scared to think of what the government's response to another terrorist strike would be? Before the next attack, Bruce Ackerman says, we should act to create a new legal framework for federal emergency powers. The Post-8/10 World: Are you still a civil liberties absolutist? A review of books on Lincoln and civil liberties. Susan Rice on global poverty, weak states and insecurity. A review of Planet of Slums. A review of Reviving the Invisible Hand: the Case for Classical Liberalism in the 21st Century and The Long Tail: How Endless Choice is Creating Unlimited Demand. From TAP, Wal-Mart has become a useful poster child for the problems of the modern American economy. But reforming it would only be a drop in the bucket. Wal-Mart may not appreciate the honor,