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[Jun 30]
From Yemen, President Ali
Abdullah Saleh reneges on democracy.
From Uzbekistan, with their crackdown on
advocacy groups and international media organizations, the
authorities stem the teaching of English to much of the
population.
From Iran, the government's
failure to deliver economic improvement is fuelling discontent among
Iran’s non-Persian minorities.
An article on the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, the only major international organization
from which the US is excluded. From Open
Democracy, the determination of Britain's political elite to maintain the country as a
nuclear weapons state is
rooted in a half century of military planning to which the possibility
of tactical and first use of nuclear weapons is
central; and on the thistle and the rose:
300 years after their marriage by treaty, are England and Scotland
heading for a "velvet divorce"? Thomas Brussig on
the healthy new German patriotism.
Forced democratization?
Some lessons from postwar Germany.
From a new series by the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs,
an essay on stopping
the bleeding of American legitimacy.
Andrew Bacevich
reviews The Good Fight.
Peter Beinart on
how Karl Rove is losing Iraq. From NCR, a look at
the three faces of Dick Cheney. Should the president pardon Scooter
Libby? Why
even administration critics should favor a pardon.
Draw the line on redistricting mischief:
Take the legislative map out of the politicians' hands and give it to
an independent panel.
"Culture of corruption" is real: Norman Ornstein on how
much of Congress's behavior these days is unethical and repugnant. From Government
Executive, is it all hooey?
The best management theory might simply be to take your own advice.
Diminutive, charisma-free liberal billionaire Michael
Bloomberg plots his path to the White House.
From Media Matters, a look at
the top falsehoods about The New York Times and the Bush bank-tracking
program. Wealthy and wise:
Jacob Weisberg on Warren Buffett's lesson to the
rich. From Wired, a cover story on Rupert
Murdoch and MySpace; and here are
six trends driving the global economy. And
is
Google making
Microsoft irrelevant? [Jun 29] From Burma, a band of heavy metal Christians speaks of liberty between the lines: Rock the Junta. From Pakistan, an article on the fictional economic man. A review of Bangladesh: The Next Afghanistan? An interview with Ameerah Haq, UN Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan. The EU's search for economic advantage in Turkmenistan and central Asia may be undermining its commitment to human rights. Megaplayers vs. Micropowers: How rising instability is good news for the little guy, and bad for everyone else. Enrique Krauze on how a Lopez Obrador win could usher in a form of Latin American leftism as yet unseen: messianic populism. Here are ten reasons to watch and seven questions on the Mexican presidential race. From Foreign Policy, a guide to the ambitions, nuclear and otherwise, of some of the key figures in Iran; and what if the long and bloody road to creating a two-state solution was abandoned in favor of a new concept of statehood? It’s called a "dual state," and it’s more realistic than you may think. From TNR, an article on why Israel's attack on Gaza isn't enough; and Martin Peretz on the politics of famous names. Amartya Sen on why the time has come for the world as a whole to turn a page, through effective controls on the global arms trade. Richard Holbrooke on turning to the UN, again: It still serves US foreign policy interests in many important ways. John Bolton gambles that wreaking havoc pleases constituency: The mustachioed "reformer" is a bully in china shop. An interview with George Soros on America the Dangerous. An appeals court renders a severe blow to the Homeland Security Department's attempt to curb collective bargaining rights for employees. Robert Scheer on the president's jihad against the press. Macho, Macho Man: Don't get distracted by the erectness of President Bush. It's all for show. Joe Conason on how Bush’s supporters will libel any foe. Let's give credit where credit is due: Nobody knows how to take the worst political hand imaginable and turn it to their own advantage like the Republicans. And a look at the muddled symbolism of a MoveOn attack ad [Jun 28] From Great Britain, AC Grayling on the opportunistic populism of Tony Blair David Cameron on the Human Rights Act; and slowly, Gordon Brown is growing impatient with Tony Blair. From The Progressive, Greg Palast interviews Hugo Chavez, as the US launches a diplomatic offensive to block Venezuela's bid for a two-year rotating seat on the UN Security Council, and while the National Rifle Association opposes a UN plan to halt the spread of guns. When the cure is worse than the malady: Attempts to halt globalization can cause more harm than global economic integration itself. "N.Y. very polite, Asia quite rude": Asians lack politeness in a survey of world cities. Does North Korea want to launch a missile or start a conversation? Fred Kaplan finds out. Iraqi PM Maliki scales back a proposal to forgive insurgents. Here's what he is and isn't offering. To understand why reflexively associating terrorism with Arabs is ill-advised, consider the arrests in Miami last week of seven men, none of whom were Arab. Video thrilled the radio star: Fighting terror with Jack Bauer and Rush Limbaugh. Depending on which administration official you, um, believed, the Iraq War was going to cost anywhere from $200 million to zero. But it’s going to fly over $1 trillion. Alberto Gonzales is so adept at crying wolf and mouthing the administration's line that he simply cannot be believed any more. The World According to Grover: Newt, Hillary, and the “low-maintenance coalition”: A conservative strategist handicaps 2008. DeLay may be gone, but his legacy isn’t, and more on The House: The History of the House of Representatives. Karl Rove on lessons from a larger-than-life president. Live by Wal-Mart. Die by Wal-Mart: That could be the fate of the Republican Party this November. There are thousands of bars in the U.S. but only a handful are eligible to be included in the National Trust Historic Hotels of America. From Der Spiegel, an interview with Adidas's CEO Herbert Hainer on World Cup commercialism. World Cup Game Theory: Tim Harford on what economics tells us about penalty kicks. And a look at why diving makes soccer great: In defense of soccer's biggest villains [Jun 27] From Chile, massive student protests are forcing Michelle Bachelet to address inequalities implanted during the country's long Pinochet dictatorship. From The Economist, at the start of the Brazilian presidential race, Lula remains the firm favourite, but there is a dark horse in the running, Geraldo Alckmin. A look at the work of Hernando de Soto of the ILD in Peru. Thomas Friedman on Peru and global warming: "The world is hot". Tropical Messiah: Mexican historian Enrique Krauze on Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador; and they hate him, but they made him: Policies that favored Mexico's wealthy spawned the populist presidential candidate. An interview with Mumia Abu-Jamal on Hispanics. Overbearing government and the welfare state are hurting the United States' poorest citizens in Puerto Rico, and a response by the island's governor. A review of Friendly Fire: Losing Friends and Making Enemies in the Anti-American Century. Ernesto Zedillo on how the failure of the Doha round would threaten the WTO itself. From Australia's Policy, an article on the rise of the opinionators: Labor’s strongest support is no longer in the working class, but among education, arts and social professionals; and Jeremy Shearmur on why free speech is not a licence to disregard the sensibilities of others. What news is moving the markets? Robert J. Shiller finds out. The incredible shrinking newspaper: Newspapers are dying, but the news is thriving. National Review says The New York Times should have their access to government reduced. How to neuter the Republicans: Can netroots bloggers bring down the GOP? The War's Left Front: Daily Kos thinks the politics of Iraq will help him shape the Democratic Party. Blogofascistas: A modern-day Hannah Arendt identifies the new threat of our era. Do we have the will to fight it? An interview with Jaron Lanier on Digital Maoism. A review of Terror on the Internet: The New Arena, the New Challenges. A look at why the Web isn’t all predators all the time. And blogs are either a fantastic liberation, or a self-indulgent waste of time. Why then is the BBC launching one? [Jun 26] From East Timor, Prime Minister Alkatiri gives his version of what exactly led to the chaos in Dili in late May: An attempted coup? From China, a look at how Communist Party officials are employing brutal methods in dealing with difficult citizens. From India, a review of Tremors of Violence: Muslim Survivors of Ethnic Strife in Western India; and the cultural impoverishment of educated Asian professionals in the West leads to some surprising, and sad, consequences. Who would have believed that Estonia and the Netherlands, two small-seized EU partners, would become entangled in a serious diplomatic dispute? What David Cameron is endorsing now is usually known as libertarian paternalism. In the year since the 7/ 7 terror attacks, Tony Blair’s government has tried a combination of hard power (expanding the role of the police) and soft power (reaching out to local Muslim leaders) to prevent a next time. But the more that officials learn, the scarier things seem. One of these days Tony Blair will step down as prime minister. But then what? An article on weighing up the options. A review of The Union Jack: The Story of the British Flag. Obituary: Charles Haughey, four times taoiseach of Ireland. An article on France's military as a campaign issue, and a look at sex and politics, a la Francaise. Spaniards used to be famed as fervent Catholics. But a new socialist government seems determined to change all that. A review of The Sack of Rome: How a Beautiful European Country With a Fabled History and a Storied Culture Was Taken Over by a Man Named Silvio Berlusconi. Instead of defending narrow commercial interests at exorbitant expense, the US and Europe should promote prosperity and stability among the world's poorest nations. Mosques with foreign flags: An article on Islam in Europe and America. An article on Al-Jazeera as American as apple pie. Iran's oppositionists are divided over what kind of government should follow the Islamic republic. Herewith a brief guide to the leading Iranian activists in Washington DC. Nat Hentoff on a devastating Council of Europe report on CIA involvement with kidnapping and torture. How goes the war on terrorism? On two key fronts – the shifting nature of jihadist networks and the war of ideas – there's plenty to worry about. And Jonathan Alter on how Democrats can beat the "cut and run" rhetoric [Weekend 2e] Media news: From Editor & Publisher, top writers and editors debate newspapers' future. Do newspapers deserve to have a future? Mark Crispin Miller on the death of news. From AJR, as they struggle to stem the circulation decline, newspapers are taking new approaches to what they put on page one. Heather McDonald on how it's now clear that the New York Times is a national security threat, and here's the case for the prosecution. An interview with Danny Schechter, author of When News Lies: Media Complicity and the Iraq War. Journalism is about playing around, doing mischief, having adventures, taking risks, undermining the powerful, and chortling darkly the whole time. Eric Boehlert on how all political reporters read ABC's The Note, and that's why they keep missing the story. An interview with Tom Engelhardt on how the MSM works and how to read the news (and part 2 ). Newspapers can get statistics showing which stories attract the most attention. Will those numbers heighten the tabloidization of America’s newspapers? The Web's yellow DNA: Online punditry harkens back to Old Media's populist roots. News is produced by trained journalists. But the rise of the "citizen journalist" is rivalling the authority of traditional reporting. Virtual reality: John Judis defends the blogosphere. What's wrong with Slate? Michael Wolff, Eugene Volokh, David Talbot, Jonah Goldberg take turns. Screamfests are so old media: Bloggingheads' low-key political chat is sharp and surprisingly fun to watch. From The Chicago Tribune, here's the Fourth Annual 50 Best Magazines. From Open Democracy, free culture and the internet: an introduction to a new semiotic democracy. What does Jurgen Habermas think about the internet? The Internet isn't that big a deal, neither is the PC: A review of FutureHype: The Myths of Technology Change. An interview with Bill Gates. And for the first time, a major company has gone on record laying claim to customer calling and Internet records as its own property [Weekend] From France, Andre Glucksmann looks at the spread of the abomination of abominations: the war against civilians; and Ségolène Royal emerges as early star. From Monthly Review, a look at Three Moments of the French Revolt. What's an idealistic Trotskyite to do in Paris now? Three decades after Serge July founded Liberation, his career in journalism is over. Chancellor Angela Merkel calls Germany a "basket case", angering many. Is she right? Germany's relationship with the recent past is not as happy as its present, flag-waving mood would suggest. Historian Geoffrey Hosking examines Russians' complex of strong, ambivalent and unresolved feelings about their national past. A review of Conversations of Russia: Reform from Yeltsin to Putin. Finland's presidency of the EU will find the experience of its unique cold-war history valuable in the effort to improve relations with Russia and the Muslim world. From Tikkun, an article on the use of force in Jewish tradition and in Zionist practice. A review of Standing With Israel. From FT, a review of The Parliament of Man: The United Nations and the Quest for World Government. Who will be the next Kofi Annan? An interview with Shashi Tharoor, head of public relations for the UN. The selection of a new UN Secretary General is too important to be engineered by the whims and prejudices of John Bolton. On Bolton v Gore, it's a question of priorities: hunger and disease or climate change? From Time, a look at the Miami Seven: How serious was the threat? The high-profile scandals involving Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Tom DeLay, Alan Mollohan and Jack Abramoff all have one thing in common: the use of charities as political subterfuge: An in-depth look. Are Republicans stingy but principled while Democrats are generous but racist? And is John Stewart bad for democracy? An article on Dave "Mudcat" Saunders as the Democrats' Dixie huckster. Michelle Cottle on why Ann Coulter really is the most hated woman in America, but she may have a point, kind of. And SWF seeks friendship--possibly more--with adventurous, nonsmoking lover of William F. Buckley. A TNR reporter in the world of conservative dating [Jun 23] News from around the world: From Nepal, two astounding months have crushed a king and put Maoists into office. From Afghanistan, unable to win on the battlefield, the Taliban are fighting to prevent half the country's children from getting an education; and is the country sliding back into chaos? Amid a fresh outbreak of violence, Al-Qaida's number two leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, calls for an uprising against the forces that ousted the Taliban. From Pakistan, once you are in the domain of public policy, down from the Olympian heights, life presents itself in terms that cannot afford much philosophising anyway. From Egypt, a number of factors indicate that democratisation is back to square one, unless the opposition can force the government's hand; more on the struggle for democracy; and the latest issue of Al-Ahram quarterly "Beyond" is out. From India, brash, messy and sexy, Bombay embodies the nation's ambition; and from Economic and Political Weekly, an essay on The Bomb, Biography and the Indian Middle Class pdf. From the Overseas Young Chinese Forum's Perspectives, an essay on China and the Changing Dynamics of World Oil Market pdf. A review of China Shakes the World: the rise of a hungry nation. China grooms a strategic relationship with the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. The success of the Grameen Bank's microcredit model in Bangladesh has spawned similar programs throughout the world, and Burkina Faso is one such example. There is a silver bullet for Africa's malaria epidemic: An article on why the Bush administration won't pull the trigger. A year on from the G8 and Live 8, parts of Africa are making good progress. But it's not thanks to the money and the debt relief that often prop up the wrong kind of leader. Residents of Mbour in Senegal have found a new source of income: smuggling West Africans 800 miles to the Canary Islands of Spain. From The Economist, contrary to fears on both sides of the Atlantic, integrating Europe's Muslims can be done; and on why so many Muslims find it easier to be American than to feel European. Bush's Austria trip has underscored just how much Europeans dislike the US president. And on why dollar hegemony is unhealthy: The world’s dangerous dependence on the US dollar risks hurting all [Jun 22] Great Britain, Europe, and Foreign Affairs: From The Telegraph, wrong, defeated, humiliated: why the Left still hates Lady Thatcher. From The Guardian, liberalism failed to set us free, indeed, it enslaved us: The doctrine was meant to get the state off our backs, but instead it has granted the government licence to interfere. A new issue of The Commoner: A Web Journal of Other Values is out, on re(in)fusing the commons. A new issue of Progress is out. From Prospect, one year after 7/7, a challenge to the traditionalist, literal reading of the Koran is gathering strength as a younger generation of Muslims seeks a less insular and more western faith, and an interview with Tariq Ramadan; what kind of foreign policy can we expect from Gordon Brown as prime minister?; and stuffed full of Locke-quoting philosophers and particle physicists, the civil service elite is the last refuge of the British intellectual, but is this to be celebrated? A review of Plundering the Public Sector: How New Labour Are Letting Consultants Run Off with £70 Billion of Our Money. From New Statesman, European institutions are now judged by our once-enthusiastic PM in terms of how little they can interfere, rather than what they can achieve. Why is a political Europe desirable? Because it would serve the interests of everyone. Tzvetan Todorov tells us why. A look at the new EU directive on telephone and Internet surveillance through the lens of Michel Foucault's theory of the Panopticon. An interview with Timothy Garton Ash on Europe, the US and his old friend Michael Ignatieff. And from Foreign Affairs, Vali Nasr, author of The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future on When The Shiites Rise; a review of Minxin Pei's China's Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy; Gurcharan Das on The India Model, but is India America's new strategic partner? Ashton Carter finds out; Richard Holbrooke reviews The Good Fight; Jack Snyder reviews The Peace of Illusions: American Grand Strategy From 1940 to the Present and Reluctant Crusaders: Power, Culture, and Change in American Grand Strategy; a review of Lessons of Empire: Imperial Histories and American Power and Among Empires: American Ascendancy and Its Predecessors; a benign revolution: A defense of Hugo Chavez; and William Easterly responds to Amartya Sen [Jun 21] From Slovakia, Robert Fico will probably be the next leader. There is probably little cause for fear. With talks on Kosovo going nowhere, concerns are growing that a mass Serb exodus would result should the province be granted independence. An essay on the "Soft War" for Europe's East. In response to growing media reports of illegal CIA prisons in Eastern Europe and secret flights at European airports, the EU Parliament sets up a commission to investigate. Hollywood in the World: America's once-winning story is now losing. Foreign Policy takes a look at the major insurgent groups in Iraq. The US military recovers the bodies of two missing soldiers, Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker. An interview with Michael Berg, father of Nicholas, about his congressional campaign. Frank Rich on how Karl Rove beat the Democrats again. An article on the problematic legacy of Michael Gerson, Bush's departing speechwriter. Former White House official and Abramoff associate David Safavian is found guilty. Kevin Drum reviews The Broken Branch by Mann and Ornstein. A review of The House: The History of the House of Representatives. The mantle of "possible presidential candidate" holds much more allure than "little-known congressman." Some companies see Democrats having more sway in Washington after the elections, and shift contributions to the left. What if three admitted adulterers run for president and no one cares? Jonathan Chait has questions for the anti-estate tax Democrat. As Joe Lieberman demonstrates, principles are only good if you’ve got the right ones. Is there a fight brewing among conservatives on the Supreme Court ? EJ Dionne investigates. Cathy Young on why Ann Coulter isn't a national treasure. It is often said that liberals don't have a sense of humor. What is this, a joke? Politics is the last laugh: Washington DC is unmatched as America's entertainment center. From The New Yorker, James Surowiecki on the failures of world soccer. An article on Ronaldhino and the art of being the world's best player (and part 2). Famous upsets in sports abound, but it is still soccer whose results are so entangled with a nation's history and sense of identity. And the World Cup would have fascinated Adam Ferguson, who understood group psychology and the dynamics of nationalism [Jun 20] From Der Spiegel, Airbus has owned up to another delay in production of its prestige jumbo jet, the A380. The debacle will cost billions and open old wounds in French-German relations. A slim majority of nations on the International Whaling Commission votes in support of whaling, a symbolic victory for pro-whaling nations. An interconnected planet creates both need and opportunity to see the world and ourselves anew: An article on the "interdependence day" project. Interviews with Mexican presidential candidates Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Felipe Calderon. An excerpt from Yankee No! Anti - Americanism in U.S. - Latin American Relations by Alan McPherson. Robert Kagan on anti-Americanism's deep roots: The current wave of hostility will ebb, but this is about more than the Iraq War. A review of Überpower: The Imperial Temptation of America. An interview with King Abdullah II of Jordan. From Foreign Policy, an interview with Said T. Jawad, Afghanistan's ambassador to the US; and is the United States winning the war on terror? Not according to America’s top foreign-policy hands. People like to say that the world changed on 9/11, that it became a more confusing place. But for two men, the world became much clearer. A whole new mini-industry is providing instantaneous translation and analysis of terrorists' Web sites. Karl Rove's master plan was to make George W. Bush the William McKinley of the 21st century. Why didn't it work? The Internet is an economic and social triumph; who could possibly wreck it? The Bush administration, natch. With "Me Media", users generate the content, creating their own space online. How has it changed the face of social interaction? Slate celebrates its first decade with all-time favorite articles, lots of self congratulation, and a few sharp critiques. What makes Slate slatey? It's a Web site. It's a magazine. It's a club. Founding editor Michael Kinsley looks back at the first 10 years, and a timeline. As the Internet grows up, the news industry is forever changed; Jay Rosen on Web users opening the gate; and here's a brief history of washingtonpost.com. And the Independent Press Association was founded to champion alternative magazines, but now its members say it has become the kind of hard-hearted corporation it once opposed [Jun 19] Potpourri: From Popular Science, here are 10 steps to end America’s fossil-fuel addiction. There is simply no credible way to attack climate change without raising the cost of carbon emissions, says Jeffrey Sachs. Carlo Petrini's protest against McDonald's has grown into an international movement that has revolutionised the way we eat and farm. Author of The Trial: A History, from Socrates to OJ Simpson Sadakat Kadri on animal rights. Linda Hirshman unleashes the wrath of stay-at-home moms. Feminism has given women more freedom and men the opportunity to be stay-at-home dads. But just how many Mr. Moms are out there? A Theory of Idleness: An excerpt from Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums in America. What if Superman weren’t a WASP? What if he were Jewish? Would that have mattered? The Smartest Superheroes: Just because they look super in tights doesn’t mean some heroes don’t have super brains too. Years after she first emerged from the Batcave, Batwoman is coming out of the closet. Whatever happened to the superheroes of old? And Pow! Shazaam! It’s “Minoriteam”! In These Times goes behind the scenes of a controversial new Cartoon Network show [Weekend 2e] From South Africa, the 30th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Uprising provides an occasion to reflect on the legacy of these remarkable events. From India, a review of Dalit Phobia: Why Do They Hate Us? From Australia, Christopher Pearson on why cultures are not all equal. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit ended with fine words among the east-central Asian partners, but the subtext reveals continuing great-power rivalry between Russia and China. From MR, some comments on the class foundations of the Occupation. A group of academics and security experts propose the creation of an international rapid reaction force that could be deployed within 48 hours of a green light from the UN. Here's the latest update on The State of Iraq. The cream of the US intelligence community's strategic analysts recently huddled behind closed doors in Washington, with academics and experts from the US and Europe, to talk about building global democracy. Shuttle diplomacy: How are stressed astronauts stopped from fighting? An interview with British Petroleum's CEO Lord Browne: "We take the problem of climate change seriously". From Time, an 87-year-old retired farmer and former SS member, Theodore Junker, has erected a shrine to honor Hitler. Mark Warner flops with the Kossaks, gets a bounce with the MSM, and learns that courting the Democratic netroots is no simple thing. Knives, rifles and a whip. Are Bush's gift-givers trying to say something? A review of Public Editor #1: The Collected Columns (With Reflections, Reconsiderations, and Even a Few Retractions) of the First Ombudsman of The New York Times by Daniel Okrent. From Rigas Laiks, sport's primitive allure provides a rare and necessary outlet for people desperate to rally behind a cause other than the national economy and making a living. Director of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations Pascal Boniface on the geopolitics of football. A review of books on football. And for 30 days much of the planet will watch the World Cup. But how do you choose who to cheer for when your own team isn’t playing? [Weekend] Europe: From Great Britain, Tony Blair's political debt to Karl Marx is disclosed in a 22-page letter to Michael Foot written almost 25 years ago-- a tad adolescent, but it certainly served its purpose; and Hobsbawm, Straw, Benn and others on whether Marx still matters; London is often hailed as a true multicultural city. But in the shadows of this multi-coloured carnival lurks a cast-iron ethnic division of labour; and once liberal, Melanie Phillips is now known for her scathing criticism of modern Britain, immigration and the anti-semitism. What's all that about? (and more on British multiculturalism). From Spain, Catalonia votes in a referendum offering it even greater autonomy. From France, the smaller parties that tripped up the Socialist Party challenge in 2002 by drawing off left-wing support are once again on the march; and Libération discovers even Maoists need money. From Georgia, President Mikhail Saakashvili rules with a heavy hand. Long the darling of the West, concerns are growing about human rights violations and threats of war. Despite turning Slovakia from pariah to champion, Mikulas Dzurinda has become the latest reformer in central Europe to face the prospect of electoral defeat. From Germany's Merkur, the rationalist critique of religion needed the means of mockery if it was not to become toothless. But mockery was and is only rational when used as a weapon against power and oppression. Charles Kupchan, author of The End of the American Era, has long been a courageous advocate for Europe. Now that he is changing his mind. And a new issue of Europe's World is out, including a look at why religion is the wild card in transatlantic relations; an article on how things turned nasty for the nice guys of the OSCE; articles on scenarios for escaping the constitutional impasse, treating Europe's Ills, diagnosis and prescription, and six priorities for tackling the EU crisis; and a section on Views from the Capitals pdf [Jun 16] From Japan, the rising sun leaves some in the shade. From Egypt, chairman of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies Saad Eddin Ibrahim on the domestic wars of Hosni Mubarak. From Zimbabwe, leading playwright Cont Mdladla Mhlanga is arrested. The Nongqawuse syndrome: A dozen years after apartheid ended, a dangerous mix of populism, nativism and millenarian thinking is inviting South Africans to commit political suicide. An essay on the distribution and redistribution of land in Africa. The social movements in France: An article on political lessons from the last 10 years (and part 2). An agreement on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region seems unlikely in the near future. The Kosovo genocide has ended, but the ethnic strife continues. How has Latin America moved left? Immanuel Wallerstein wonders. China's love market is another unexpected offspring of communist tradition and modern market economics. From Newsweek, the administration is seen as weak, distracted and drained over Iraq—and foreign leaders are taking advantage of it. The Pew Global Attitudes Project has released results of its annual global public-opinion polls for 2006, shows increasingly negative views toward the US. Do you suppose the rest if the world just assumes George W. Bush is a moron when he goes overseas? From The Economist, an article on the rich, the poor and the growing gap between them: The rich are the big gainers. America's war for hearts and minds: Mind your language, a little politeness goes a long way. Bush's favorite author Michael Gerson is leaving the White House. Google is making its move on the federal government with Google US Government Search. Google dominates the lucrative market for web-search, but its rivals are setting out to change that. Pioneering blogger Robert Scoble moves on to the next big thing. Daily Kos goes to Vegas: Liberal bloggers descend on the Strip for some heavy petting, and a look at what was missing at YearlyKos. And invite the public to dream up frightening terrorist attacks for an internet competition, and you'll get some spectacular recipes for destruction |
[Jun 30] From National
Review, a
review of The End of Commitment:
Intellectuals, Revolutionaries, and Political
Morality in the Twentieth Century. Terry Madonna
and Michael Young on
the genius of America's political temperament.
We're all Progressives now: Jonah Goldberg on how
both conservatives
and liberals are finding faith in the power of
the state. A review
of George Lakoff's Whose Freedom? The Battle Over
America's Most Important Idea (and
more). From The Weekly Standard,
a
review of The Party of Death by
Ramesh Ponnuru. A look at why
Christian conservatives are souring on the GOP.
On the surface, Republicans
Shawn Stuart and Ralph Reed have little in common,
but both have bigotry at the core of their
campaigns. From MR, the question now
for leftists is this: do we begin
an active campaign for an election boycott in the US,
in order to delegitimize the system? Do
election-night predictions reduce voter turnout?
Jack Shafer investigates. Here's the
story behind Glenn Greenwald's How
Would a Patriot Act? From Alternet, a
look at those air conditioners that keep things cool
and comfortable inside are helping make the outside world
even nastier as they put a chill
on community spirit,
aids the cause of anti-enviros, and just
might have given us Bush. Katha Pollitt on the Mommy
Wars, Round 587: On Linda Hirshman's Get to
Work. A ruling by Bush's NLRB could weaken
labor protections for hundreds of thousands of workers,
and here are the minutes from a Intergalactic
Transformers Union, Local 760 meeting. Thirty
years ago, SCOTUS decided Gregg
v Georgia, reaffirming the death penalty. Fifty
years ago, the National System of Interstate and
Defense Highways, "the
greatest public works program in the history of the world", was
created: Time to watch "Taken
for a Ride" again then? Ben Stein
writes to Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson: "It's time to
raise taxes"; and an article on looking
for the incentives that will prompt Americans to
save more. A look at why
high earners work longer hours. A
review of 100 Bullshit Jobs...And How to Get Them.
Childhood games like tag, dodgeball and rock paper
scissors are being reclaimed by adults.
Is there some deep societal reason why
people are returning to kiddie fun? And what was
Hegel writing about? Perhaps
work experience on a fashion magazine
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