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[Nov 15]
Tony Blair calls on Bush to alter
its Iraq strategy and engage Syria and Iran
(and more). Michael Kinsley
on why the Baker commission won't fix Iraq.
Advice from former Pentagon insider Dov Zakheim for the incoming Defense
secretary, who inherits two tough wars and low morale. Fred Kaplan
on what Robert Gates can achieve in the next two years.
From Salon, who needs Wyoming, Utah, Texas or Vermont?
Senate seats should go to states that matter;
what Democrats can learn from the failure of the gay marriage ban in Arizona;
and the party is doing fine, winning the Northeast, the West and the
Midwest. So why is James Carville still pushing a Southern strategy?
While there is much talk about the electorate wanting to move politics back to the
center, the recent elections actually thinned the ranks of moderates in Congress.
Joe Conason on how campaign
tactics reveal the true character of the
GOP. Three cheers for dirty tricks: The remarkable thing about Election 2006 is just how respectable it was. Chad
Castagana, the man arrested for sending envelopes containing "fake anthrax" to anti-war celebrities, journalists, and politicians may have ties to
Free Republic. Why do senators think that
they have to run for
president? People are passionate about Senator
Clinton. For 2008, is that the problem or the solution?
From New York, an article on The Death of (the Idea of) the Upper East Side: How New York’s most prestigious neighborhood lost its place atop the social hierarchy;
and there may be a minor revolution under way in our city's Latin American
population, according to new census data.
The New York Stock Exchange’s supremacy could be sliding away to a crop of booming exchanges attracting some of the world’s biggest companies.
Super-wealthy businessmen are looking to buy papers like the
Los Angeles Times from struggling conglomerates. But is it good for the industry?
New editor James
O'Shea: "We probably will be
purchased". The Rise and Fall of the "Bus Plunge" Story:
What killed this former
New York Times staple?
Eric Alterman on abolishing
the editorial page. A review
of Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate. And more
and more
on Ellen Willis [Nov 14] From Der Spiegel, phone calls by a top Iranian official tapped by a Western intelligence service apparently indicate that Iran has set aside a secret fund to expand its nuclear program; and an interview with Richard Haass: "Iraq is not winnable". When "oops" isn't enough: Would it really kill the neocons to apologize for the Iraq war? Martin Walker on what to expect from the Iraq Study Group. Iran Hawks Reorganize: Meet the Iran Enterprise Institute. Its name might sound familiar. James Traub reviews Anatol Lieven's and John Hulsman's Ethical Realism. More on The War of the World by Niall Ferguson. A review of The American Way of Strategy by Michael Lind. From The New Yorker, a veteran of the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans heads to Capitol Hill—as a Democrat; and an article on the military reforms at the heart of Rumsfeld’s failure. A look at the War Crimes case against Donald Rumsfeld. Will Nancy Pelosi put Alberto Gonzales behind bars? Jane Harman is the natural choice to chair the House Intelligence Committee. So why is Pelosi promoting Alcee Hastings? The publication Investor's Business Daily says Rep. John Conyers is "leading a Democrat jihad to deny law enforcement key terror-fighting tools" and "is in the pocket of Islamists". Bye-bye, bullies! From Allen to Santorum, Rummy to Rush, last week's big losers personified a GOP culture of scorn and intimidation rejected by voters. Hendrik Hertzberg on the meaning of voters’ crushing rebuke to Bush. James Surowiecki on the Democrats and the markets. Niall Ferguson on his former student Borat, Blue Dogs and the GOP joke. Christopher Hitchens on how Borat reveals the painful politeness of American society. An article on the inevitable Borat Backlash and PC hyper-sensibility. From The New York Times Magazine, a special issue on movies and comedy. The guess men: There’s no such thing as a sure-hit movie any more. The man who understood teenagers: A new documentary appeals to AWOL filmmaker John Hughes to come back. If you think superstars are overpaid and a symbol of society's decay, your opinion needs adjusting. And the Trash Princess: Kay S. Hymowitz on why Americans love to hate Paris Hilton [Nov 13] From the Northern Mariana Islands, an article on a vision of global governance; and two excerpts from Turning Point for All Nations. A review of The International Struggle Over Iraq: Politics in the UN Security Council 1980-2005. A look at how a proposed UN agency would be "dramatic step forward" for women. The UN Human Development Report is a vital resource. But the currently fashionable language of human rights and decentralisation can be an obstacle to development. A look at why clean water is a right, but it also needs to have a price. A review of Bitter Chocolate: Investigating the Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet (and more). How trustworthy is the experts' verdict on governments' honesty? From Sunday Herald, a series on the midterm elections: What it means for America; why it happened; and what it means for Blair. Bush's party may have suffered a defeat at the polls on Tuesday, but reports of the death of the religious right were an exaggeration. Ellen Goodman on the new spin on the values vote. Jonathan Chait analyzes the GOP's postelection spin. Ramesh Ponnuru on the real message of the last few elections: Social issues help the Republicans and economic ones the Democrats. Michael Tomasky on how Democrats rebuilt their historically popular left-center coalition. The GOP needs more than an electoral strategy to get itself out of the woods. It needs to rethink the meaning of conservatism. A review of America Alone by Mark Steyn and The Conservative Soul by Andrew Sullivan. This is Team America: Last week a voters' revolution swept through Washington. Now a new group of powerful figures has emerged to reshape the future of politics in the US. Lawrence Summers on how history shows that a humbled president and a transformed Congress can find a successful way forward. A vigorous examination of the Bush administration’s conduct is the politically necessary response to voters’ overwhelming rejection of the current Congress. The problem is not with the technology of running our elections but rather with the people running them. An Average Surprise: Where Kevin O'Keefe's search for the most common man ended. And sex and the American politician: Pols 210 years ago were just as randy as today's [Weekend 2e] From Namibia, an essay on scholars and social commitment. From Spain, an unusual business model employs disabled workers and turns a convincing profit. From Kyrgyzstan, a new constitution is signed into law by President Kurmanbek Bakiev. From Russia, an article on the microeconomics of traffic. If countries competed in a league for clean government and free media, the Commonwealth of Independent States would be stuck at the bottom. From Cafe Babel, a series of articles on Turkey's EU membership bid. Speculation mounts on the possible death of Osama bin Laden. From National Journal, even before their Election Day sweep, Democrats seemed to be preparing to run a far smarter majority than they did in the past, one that has learned its lessons; and a look at The Democratic Agenda: Legislative Priorities. A look at how Nancy Pelosi parlayed Democrats to power (and more and more on the pride of Baltimore). A look at how Republicans' strategy of redistricting may have backfired. Joe Conason how Howard Dean's "crazy" strategy of rebuilding the Democratic Party across all states helped it ride the national wave against the GOP. Paul Waldman on the Democratic center. A look at how George W. Bush will nickname every one of his new, non-Republican buddies in Congress. Don't blame Rove: Even his enemies say the GOP would have done worse without him. Can Karl Rove have his media critics jailed? Jeffrey Rosen investigates. Michael Tomasky reviews The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. An interview with Fritz W. Ermarth, who worked closely with Robert Gates during his intelligence and policy career. And Rumsfeld exits, so does comedy: Satire hits tough times when much-maligned politicians get the urge to spend more time with their families [Weekend] Potpourri: From France, an obituary: Jean Jacques Servan Schreiber, principled journalist and politician who co-founded L'Express. From Canada, new conservative prime minister Stephen Harper is forging ties with US conservatives and evangelicals as Canada moves toward an Americanized Christian state. Preach your children well: Christian conservatives in the US want kids educated at home, where they can use the Bible as the ultimate reference book - and shape future conservative leaders. Let’s go back to the future we envisioned, and keep on tearing walls down. From Texas Monthly, a profile of Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense nominee. So what if Hillary is Machiavellian: We need "Princess". A review of Point to Point Navigation by Gore Vidal (and more). Friends and colleagues remember Ellen Willis, political essayist, journalist, rock critic and contributor to The Nation. An interview with Kevin Drum of The Washington Monthly. The politics nerd is showing signs that he may be going to stop teasing John Lanchester quite soon. He blames the blogs. Web’s creator doesn’t fear for its future: After discussing reputation and the blogosphere, Tim Berners-Lee found his words turned upside down. America's record in expanding broadband communication is so poor that it should be viewed as an outrage by every consumer and businessperson in the country. The Colbert Retort: How to beat the host at his own game. What is the difference between Google and Borat? The latter knows how to make money from YouTube. A review of iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon -- How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It by Steve Wozniak. David Geffen is now attempting to fulfil a new ambition - by becoming a newspaper baron. You've gotta love a magazine article that includes the phrase "siphoning bison," especially when the story is about the mean, rotten, evil things that married people do to each other. And this little paper just goes Onan on: No subject is too far afield for the Times Literary Supplement [Nov 10] From Germany, a mass punch-up broke out in the main square after youths urged a woman trying to commit suicide to go ahead and jump off the roof; and a review of Decisions, the memoirs of former chancellor Gerhard Schröder. A review of In the Line of Fire: A Memoir by Pakistan’s president Pervez Musharraf (and more). Terror Then and Now: Three glittering European cities illustrate the thin line between normality and chaos. Forget Borat. Kazakhstan is hoping to become a powerhouse in Central Asia. President Nursultan Nazarbayev has built himself a brand new capital city. Hungry titans: An article on the new power of the mining giants. An excerpt from The Uncomfortable Dead by Subcomandante Marcos and Paco Ignacio Taibo II. The Pacific Ocean has given birth to a new volcanic island near Tonga, according to ocean-going eyewitnesses. From MR, an article on Post-American Geopolitics. From Foreign Policy, can we expect to see a dramatically different foreign-policy agenda take shape? Hardly. In truth, the Democrats have more in common with President Bush than they care to admit. Bush is still "the decider": Tuesday's election results aren't likely to change his mind on foreign policy. Can House Democrats affect Bush's Iraq policy? Lawrence Kaplan investigates. What will the new Democratic-controlled Congress and the new Pentagon have to accomplish over the next two years to bring the Army — and the other services — back “with” us on Iraq? Phillip Carter on Rumsfeld's biggest blunders and how they've harmed America. Fred Kaplan on why Robert Gates is the best man for Rummy's job. On America's role in the world and the use of military force, it is hard to detect in Robert Gates's record many far-reaching, principled differences with the present administration. An Iran-Contra episode Robert Gates might prefer to forget. The Way Out of War: George S. McGovern and William R. Polk on a blueprint for leaving Iraq now. From CJR, a special series on Reporting Iraq; and the Death of Supply Column 21: David Halberstam finds a lesson in the Vietnam War on the press, the military, and authority. A review of Journalists Under Fire: Information War and Journalistic Practices. And what ever happened to patriotic reporters? James Q. Wilson on the press at war [Nov 9] From Nepal, communist rebels sign agreement to join interim government. From Ethiopia, an article on Addis Ababa as a city in delicate balance. From Italy, the violence just won't go away. Over a dozen people have been murdered in Naples since the end of October. Nicaraguans have lived with their new president Daniel Ortega for three decades but still do not know where he will lead them. A review of Hugo Chávez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge to the U.S. From NPQ, an interview with Samuel Huntington on revisiting the clash of civilizations. What is a "hard power progressive"? Michael O'Hanlon investigates. Michael Lind on how the Powell Doctrine is set to sway presidents. A review of Failing to Win: Perceptions of Victory and Defeat in International Politics. From The Mises Institute, an article on small states and the global economy: Is empire necessary? A review of The Scandal of Empire: India and the Creation of Imperial Britain; Empire and Superempire: Britain, America and the World; and Among Empires: American Ascendancy and its Predecessors. An excerpt from Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945. From US News, a special series of articles on the efforts to remake US intelligence. Spy agencies now share the Wikipedia way: It is hoped that the new software will make collaboration easier. Fred Kaplan on decoding the Military Times editorial. Inside Bomber Row: How America's most dangerous criminals mix with a Who's Who of the global jihad in a Colorado prison. And the Islamic Society of North America gets its first woman president, who is also the first convert to occupy the position [Nov 8] Globalization, political economy and climate change: From The Globalist, Pascal Lamy on globalization and global governance and Martin Hutchinson on globalization's caution flags. An excerpt from Globalization Challenged: Conviction, Conflict, Community by George Rupp (and an interview). An interview with Warren Hoge on Ban Ki-moon. The predicament of the UN is the mismatch of large responsibilities and few powers to fulfil them. The solution is to be activist not fatalist. Where do we go on polio? The WHO wants to wipe out the disease, but there is a rising voice for control rather than eradication. The announcement that Josette Shiner will head the World Food Program bodes ill for the idea that competence is more important than political loyalty. We Are the World: If the U.S. insists on running things, everyone on earth should get to vote in US elections. Form Dissident Voice, an article on plugging the gaps in the global map. Will the US finally get serious about punishing human rights abusers? James Traub wants to know. From Monthly Review, an article on the explosion of debt and speculation. Joseph Stiglitz on the tyranny of King Cotton, and an interview with The Progressive. Jagdish Bhagwati on why Asia must opt for open regionalism on trade. A look at how protectionist stances are gaining clout in Congress. From The New Yorker, Stern Warning: An article on the economics of global warming. Dubner and Levitt on what global warming might do to us. Jeffrey Sachs on how the environment fights back. Global warming must be addressed within a framework of commitment to global justice. Simon Jenkins on how to save the planet: tax the poor back onto their bicycles. Efforts to tackle global warming through politics are falling short: Ideas dismissed just a few years ago as weird science are now getting a serious hearing. An essay on another inconvenient truth. Kofi Annan on how skeptics on global warming should be seen for what they are: out of step, out of arguments and just about out of time. The Great Barrier Reef is fading to white because of increasing water temperatures. The government though has a few ideas. And Earth's before and after pics: Old family albums reveal close-ups of climate change [Nov 7] From Kyrgyzstan, is the country undergoing a second "tulip revolution"? From Russia, an article on state versus market: Forever a struggle? From Canada, it's the choice between Rae and Ignatieff -- the fox and the hedgehog -- that offers the biggest prospect of a return to majority Liberal government (and a "purple patch" on the statesman as artist by Isaiah Berlin); a review of Right Side Up: The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper's New Conservatism; a review of Full Circle: Death and Resurrection in Canadian Conservative Politics; and Pearson and the myth of neutrality: How Canada's crucial role in the Suez Crisis had little to do with peacemaking. From India, economic rehabilitation is an important part of giving victims of trafficking a new life. An NGO in Goa shows the way; the governing party revives the poverty eradication battle cry of Indira Gandhi, but as India’s economy rapidly improves, will the plight of its poor?; and a review of The Last Mughal. A review of Finding George Orwell in Burma and The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma. 500 years after expelling its Jews but with Jewish roots now prized, Spain has begun rediscovering the Jewish culture that thrived t here for centuries. A review of The Prince: The Secret Story of the World's Most Intriguing Royal. If there were any doubts before about Hezbollah's seriousness in promoting a fundamentalist Islamic perspective after the conflict it initiated with Israel, there should be none now. John Quiggin on how Iraq exit will also be costly. Richard Haass on why withdrawal in Iraq does not preclude success elsewhere in the world. Misinformation Intern: Willem Marx on his summer as a military propagandist in Iraq. After the Saddam verdict: The former dictator is told he will hang and the world is divided; while Richard Falk calls it a questionable verdict, Christopher Hitchens says Saddam shouldn't be hanged; Phillip Carter says the verdict will inflame the insurgency; and National Review hosts a symposium on justice served. And a court has decided Saddam Hussein's fate. Now American voters have to decide what to do about his former collaborators, the Republicans [Nov 6] American politics: Michael Kinsley reviews Take This Job and Ship It; State of Emergency; Is Democracy Possible Here?; Does American Democracy Still Work?; The Broken Branch; Activism, Inc.; Losing Our Democracy; Our Undemocratic Constitution; Stealing Democracy; and Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen? Six ways of watching the election: The various midterm battles are occurring along an uneven front, touching issues both the ideological and spatial. Decision 2006: Itchy or Scratchy for Senate? Exceedingly social, but doesn't like parties: Bernie Sanders aims to move out of the House. If the Democrats sweep in, it won’t be because "all politics is local." A look at how Democrats can win without the South. Veteran writes respond to either outcome on Nov. 7: Democrats win or GOP holds on. A review of One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century. The GOP's reliance on its base may not be enough this time. Social Adjustment: Washington’s young conservatives ponder life in the minority. Christopher Hitchens laments the tawdry midterm elections and gets out and about in his SpongeBob suit. Kerry botched a joke, but the controversy shows how powerful the Republican media machine is. A review of Heist: Superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, His Republican Allies, and The Buying of Washington. A look at a possible brief window of bipartisanship, and an essay on the competitive problem of voter turnout. In election polls, response time speaks louder than voters' words. When elections are tight, we should go back to the polls. Gorilla Political Marketing: What would happen if 18-24 year-olds actually voted? Digital Utopia: A new breed of technologists envisions a democratic world improved by the Internet. YouTube? That's so yesterday, and a look at why the web era in politics isn't as new as you think. The cost of voting by mail: How the rapid growth of absentee voting is changing elections, and not necessarily for the better. A review of Brave New Ballot: The Battle to Safeguard Democracy in the Age of Electronic Voting. Ballot Roulette: Computer scientists and mathematicians look for better ways to vote. And Estonia's lead in e-voting offers the world a glimpse of what the elections of a new era might look like [Weekend 2e] From Australia, behind Rawls's veil of ignorance, what Nussbaumian capabilities would we see as essential to a just work regime? From Great Britain, if our teenagers are the worst in Europe, it's because we place too much emphasis on individual achievement and not enough on solidarity. A review of City of Laughter: sex and satire in 18th-century London. Fancy a career change? Why not be a psychologist? It seems everyone else is. Psychology is now the fastest-growing major subject in the UK. So why do we all suddenly want to become shrinks? Belfast is certainly infamous for its black humour, but that phenomenon is finding its way into the darkest of places - the graveyard. Long one of Europe's also-rans, Spain is about to join the big league; Italy is going in the other direction. A survey finds Germans are losing faith in democracy and social justice. From Asia Times, love your children, those little terrors: An inability to employ its legions of youth characterizes the key difference between Islamic societies and those of China and India. Can a nanny state really rock? Singapore has long been a city that expatriates in Asia either liked or lampooned. North Korea has joined the nuclear club, and everyone else claims they are upset. Are they really? Courting controversy at home: A review of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe. An interview with Robert Spencer, author of The Truth About Muhammad. And the first chapter from Journeys to the Other Shore: Muslim and Western Travelers in Search of Knowledge [Weekend] Foreign policy and stuff: From Vanity Fair, as Iraq slips further into chaos, the war's neoconservative boosters have turned sharply on the Bush administration. Richard Perle, Kenneth Adelman, David Frum, and others play the blame game with shocking frankness. The Bush administration is weak on terror: Despite the tough talk, Bush's regime has more to help the terrorists than hurt them. here's how. How not to handle the facts: An article on Max Boot’s pretzel logic on Iran. From The Globalist, Puritans and imperialism: An excerpt from Robert Kagan's Dangerous Nation; and an excerpt from Niall Ferguson's The War of the World. A review of The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World; State of Denial; Fiasco; Cobra II; and The End of Iraq. Will James Baker save Bush's Iraq policy--or bury it? Ryan Lizza investigates. Rick Perlstein on Henry Kissinger, Oval Office therapist. A review of John Yoo's War by Other Means. A review of Inside Iraq's Green Zone; Blind into Baghdad: America's War in Iraq; Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War; and The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power. Revenge by the book, it's the rage: White House insiders no longer keep silent out of loyalty. Now there are tattletales. An interview with Tyler Drumeller, author of On the Brink: An Insider's Account of How the White House Compromised American Intelligence. Why are counterterrorism officials channeling Tom Clancy? Marisa Katz wants to know. The number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans getting treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder nearly doubled from fall 2005 to this summer. The antiwar GIs: A new protest movement inside the military -- including active-duty soldiers back from Iraq -- is calling on Congress to end the war immediately. Suckers for a Uniform: It makes perfect sense for progressives to champion military officers' criticisms of Bush war policy. It should just be done with a note of caution. And Keith Olbermann on why Bush owes the troops an apology, not Kerry [Nov 3] News from around the world: From Mexico, just as the teacher’s strike in Oaxaca appeared ready to end, paramilitary violence breaks out. From Argentina, Wal-Mart is making life difficult for Oscar Brufani, a man who makes his living delivering potato chips in Buenos Aires. One of the corporation's store managers thinks he looks like Osama bin Laden -- and won't let him come near her store. From Colombia, the government suggests that super-model Kate Moss is responsible for all kinds of crimes—sort of. Most Caribbean governments, and particularly those faced with a transition out of sugar, have begun to recognise to varying degrees that a new Caribbean economy beckons. From Sign and Sight, capital of the underclass: Jens Jessen on Berlin, the urban insult to Germany's faith in hard work; and what to do with mother? On the trials involved in putting one's parents in an old age home. An article on Europe's growing social conservatism. The euro is supposed to be one of the world's most reliable currencies. So why are euro bills literally disintegrating in people's hands? From Transitions, there will never be a better time for Central European governments of all stripes to push for speedy euro adoption. The former Soviet republic of Georgia is determined to antagonize Russia, and it thinks the United States has its back. It had better think again. From Der Spiegel, for almost half a century, Turkey has been pursuing EU membership. With negotiations now started though, enthusiasm is waning. And the influence of Islam is on the rise. The Israeli military is unhappy with the principles of the UNIFIL mission -- it says they allow the arms shipments to Hezbollah to continue. Palestinians are prepared to enter into a truce, a “hudna”, to bring about an immediate end to the occupation and to initiate a period of peaceful coexistence. Ian Bremmer on defusing Iran's oil weapon. As Iran and the US trade insults and America presses for Iranians to rise up, educators, students and women's rights groups may pay the greatest cost. Stop calling it the "war on terror": Timothy Garton Ash on how the term was wrong from the start, and now it's linked with a disastrous real war in Iraq. And from Foreign Policy, Megaplayers vs. Micropowers: Moisés Naím on why rising instability is good news for the little guy—and bad for everyone else [Nov 2] American politics: The New York Times has surfaced a classified US military briefing that concludes, in chart form, that Iraq is veering toward "chaos". Watching from afar: How the rest of the world sees America's mid-term elections. Six isn't great: Fred Barnes on the historical trouble with sixth-year elections. Majorities in Congress are determined largely by one often-overlooked minority group: the mostly white and mostly conservative voters who live in America’s small towns. The GOP's superior microtargeting proved critical in the turnout wars of the last few election cycles. Dems swore they'd work to catch up this year. Have they? Harold Meyerson how the GOP lost the North. From Reason, the Ownership Society and Its Discontents: You can't count on George Bush and the GOP congress to transform the welfare state; Butch Otter, Idaho' next governor, demonstrates the possibilities -- and limits -- of libertarian politics in the Republican Party; and divide the spoiled: A Republican defeat is the best hope for limited government. Rick Santorum is lagging behind his Democratic foe. But influential Catholic conservatives are already crafting a post-Santorum strategy. Courting the bigot vote: The GOP turns to its caricature of the Democrats as the party of "blacks, Jews and gays" to boost turnout. Pelosi's liberal label is all relative: Though a favorite target of red-staters, she's seen as a centrist in her home district of San Francisco. Poisoned politics: The ads this year are worse than ever. Both sides aren't to blame. "Calling All Wingnuts" blogger Mike Stark is assaulted by staffers of George Allen after Stark asked combative questions. From Salon, an investigation reveals that dozens of federal judges gave contributions to President Bush and top Republicans who helped place them on the bench. A review of Uncompromising Positions: God, Sex, and the U.S. House of Representatives. And what if we're to blame? Robert Samuelson on why following the will of the people leads to muddled, ineffective policies no matter which party is in power [Nov 1] News from around the world: From Mexico, government forces move to retake Oaxaca. From Brazil, the poor love him. On Sunday, that support translated into a landslide election victory for Lula da Silva. He now has reform on his mind. From Nicaragua, with elections set for Nov. 5, Daniel Ortega is the front-runner. US officials have expressed concern, but Ortega says he has become a different kind of leader. How different? From Serbia, voters approve a new constitution for the country. The document asserts the claim to Kosovo and may make final-status talks more difficult (and more). From Yemen, in the aftermath of the recent presidential election, the government has begun discrediting, arresting, and harassing opposition leaders, activists, and voters. Iranian Moolah: How can you have a revolution when everyone is watching TV? From Japan Focus, an essay on The Emerging Russian Giant: The US, Eurasia and Global Geopolitics. From Der Spiegel, Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski repeats the demand for an agreement to put an end to either side seeking war reparations. Merkel's 'no' underlined strained relations; and Israel versus Germany: Confrontation off Lebanon leads to questions. The biggest crime of Tony Blair, argues Oliver James, has been to spread the affluenza virus - and its attendant depression, epidemic of New Labourites confessing their condition. Liars, hypocrites and crybabies: David Runciman on Blair v. Brown. A look at why France shouldn't legislate Turkey's history. And why has Iceland resumed commercial whaling, when no one wants to eat the meat? Whale watching is far more important to the small nation's economy. But then there's national pride |
[Nov 15] From
TAS, an article on America's
democratization projects abroad: The successes versus the failures. Phillip Carter and Laura
Miller discuss
Max Boot's War Made New. Jeffrey
Goldberg interviews Kenneth Adelman: "The
Donald Rumsfeld of today is not the Donald
Rumsfeld I knew, but maybe I was wrong about
the old Donald Rumsfeld". Dennis Prager on the
smugness of the war's opponents. From The
Economist, an article on business
life at the top: Not poor, but increasingly nasty, brutish and short.
From
Slate, a series of
articles on philanthropy. From Technology Review, James Surowiecki
on philanthropy's
new prototype and Nicholas Negroponte (and part
2). Hype vs. Hope: Is
corporate do-goodery for real? Bill McKibben
investigates. Thanks to an ever diversifying market, our consumer choices are supposed to reveal precisely what we prefer.
But is all this choice overwhelming our personal preferences and sweeping us up into futile
overconsumption?
So what is the best approach to finding happiness in your job?
How do you measure people skills? A review
of Daniel Goleman's Social Intelligence.
A review
of Strong Father, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should
Know.
The interesting thing about racist jokes, or knowing jokes about
racism: much depends on who is telling them. Is America to racist
for Barack? Too
sexist for Hillary? And are
we ready yet? S.R. Sidarth speaks out: "I
am Macaca". A question for Democrats: Is
winning winning? A True Blue Libertarian: An article on Stan
Jones, the also-ran who changed the hue of politics. Colbert King on
lawmakers
who won't be missed. Lame ducks wing it: Election
losers test the waters of the job market. Dear supporters of Republican politicians voted out of office:
Yes, it feels terrible, but it won't feel this way for long.
Social science, ideology and evangelicals: A review
of The Truth About Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe.
An interview with John
Moe, author of Conservatize Me. Donkey vs. Donkey:
Matthew Continetti
on why there are at least two Democratic parties.
How many wins make up a "wave"? Political
scientists debate the scope of Democrats'
victory. The prediction markets stumble: The
"wisdom of
crowds" crapped out in Election 2006.
And phew, glad those elections are
over... (pause
for four seconds) |
[Nov 15] Religion,
science and education: John
Finnis (Notre Dame): Religion and State: Some Main Issues and
Sources.
A review
of A History of the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book of the Bible
Changed the Course of Western Civilization. From Scientific
American, bowling for God: Is
religion good for society?; did humans
invent right and wrong? A review
of Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved by Frans de
Waal;
and a review of recent stories about the mind and some of the body.
I Can't Believe It's Science: Crazy gene names get an overhaul, children like lucky
people, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are the best band ever.
A review
of The Philosophy of Science and Technology Studies by Steve Fuller,
and a review
of Fuller's Kuhn vs. Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science.
From The Chronicle, David Barash on the
social responsibility in teaching sociobiology.
A review
of The Single Helix by Steve Jones. A review
of The Robot's Rebellion Finding Meaning in the Age of Darwin.
An interview with Michael
Shermer, author of Why Darwin Matters.
Humanderthals!: We mated with
Neanderthals. Can we breed with other animals, too?
In the heart of America's Midwest, an Australian is building
the world's first museum based on the idea that the creation of the world as told in the Book of
Genesis is based on fact. When Polish student Michael
Gromek went to America on a student exchange, he found himself trapped in a host family of Christian
fundamentalists and a six-month hell of dawn church visits and sex education talks as his new family tried to banish the devil from his soul. Here's his story.
Even in the US, where there is a proliferation of Bible
colleges, there is one that stands out. A review
of Religion in Schools: Controversies around the World.
A review
of The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges -- and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates by Daniel Golden.
Methodology Matters: Harvard's Edward
Glaeser on method and changes to the Core. In
a revealing interview, Harvard's Swanee Hunt explains
why women should be more politically active and what she learned from her infamous oil tycoon father.
And from Canada, two academics win a right to
smoke marijuana at work [Nov 14] David Abraham (Miami): The Bush Regime from Elections to Detentions: A Bootstrapped Moral Economy of Carl Schmitt and Human Rights. From The Independent Review, a review of Michael Walzer's Arguing About War; a review of Understanding Institutional Diversity by Elinor Ostrom; a review of Understanding the Process of Economic Change by Douglass North; an article on An Ancient Stateless Civilization: Bronze Age India and the State in History; and did the United States create democracy in Germany? From TNR, a review of An Infamous Past: E.M. Cioran and the Rise of Fascism in Romania. By What Power am I Called Hither? Geoffrey Robertson on the impunity of kings and presidents. A review of Monarchy: From the Middle Ages to Modernity, and a review of Sovereign Ladies: The Six Reigning Queens of England. A review of A Great and Godly Adventure: The Pilgrims and the Myth of the First Thanksgiving. A review of The War for all the Oceans: From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo. A review of Homo Britannicus: The Incredible Story of Life in Britain; Blood of the Isles: Exploring the Genetic Roots of Our Tribal History; and The Origins of the British: A Genetic Detective Story. A review of The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic — and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson. What makes Doctor Johnson great? His character illuminates every word he wrote. A review of Paul Johnson's Creators. A review of Falling Upwards: Essays in Defense of the Imagination by Lee Siegel. A review of The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel. From Inside Higher Ed, if professors check out the popular video site YouTube, they will find numerous curricular tools, and learn about “macking on cupcakes” as well. Like it or not, and Phyllis Schlafly doesn't, public schools define American culture. An excerpt from Two Americas, Two Educations: Funding Quality Schools for All Students. A review of Making Multiculturalism: Boundaries and Meaning in U.S. English Departments. A look at how universities are moving to hide work from US Patriot eyes. And from HNN, what exactly are we celebrating on Constitution Day?; and a profile of historian Linda Gordon [Nov 13] From Artforum, an interview with Alain Badiou on Matters of Appearance. From Edge, Hubert Burda on how people see themselves. A review of Seen/Unseen: Art, Science, and Intuition From Leonardo to the Hubble Telescope. A review of The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization. From The Chronicle, an article on the risks of multiracial identification. For readers, there's a new forum for Black literature. An interview with Henry Louis Gates Jr., head of Harvard's African American studies department. A review of Cross-X: The Amazing True Story of How the Most Unlikely Team From the Most Unlikely of Places Overcame Staggering Obstacles at Home and at School to Challenge the Debate Community on Race, Power, and Education. The introduction to A Place on the Team: The Triumph and Tragedy of Title IX. From date rape to racism to gay rights, America's universities have long provided a forum for openly debating our most divisive and controversial issues. so why can't they talk rationally about Israel? Across US, Catholic colleges are searching for their identity. A review of Prisoners: A Muslim and a Jew Across the Middle East Divide by Jeffrey Goldberg. The dark side of the Good War: World War II myth obscures the widespread racism and gruesome atrocities committed by Allied and Axis powers. A review of Nuremberg: Evil on Trial. A review of The Berlin Wall: 13 August 1961 – 9 November 1989. A review of Europe at War 1939-1945: No Simple Victory and Europe East and West by Norman Davies. Clive James has abandoned television for a new role — as an online guru with a brief to save western culture. How to be less stupid: Thomas (Tad) Homer-Dixon is the giant-killer of overwhelming issues. He has tackled population explosion, ecological crisis, and a perilous "ingenuity gap" that humans face in dealing with an ever more complex and out-of-control world. Will Self grapples with our uneasy relationship with technology as he takes "the vehicle of the future" for a spin. The next small thing: An article on little advances that are changing the way we eat, shop, drive, work and play. Bengalooru-ed: An article on the politics of English in India's IT capital. And the view from Norway: John McWhorter on bilingual ed [Weekend 2e] From the latest issue of The Philosophers' Magazine, Jeremy Stangroom reviews Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell; an article on The War For Children's Minds; and Ophelia Benson on the New Darwin War and the evolution of an academic feud. The Discovery Institute complains that the Journal of the History of Biology is ignoring the Intelligent Design movement. From Discover, an article on the battle for #2 in primate IQ: Who is our smartest relative? An article on how some animals seem to have an inherent sense of fairness and justice. When two minds think alike: Simon Baron-Cohen discusses how a powerful new idea may give us valuable insights into the cause of autism. The number of cases of voluntary euthanasia is rising in Belgium, four years after the introduction of a law allowing the practice under strict conditions. From Prospect, the radical humanist: Clifford Geertz turned anthropology away from sociology and towards humanism. A review of The Selected Writings of Eqbal Ahmad. A review of Descartes: A Biography. From Newropeans, an article on teaching "Reason and Faith" at Harvard University. Scott McLemee on why Benjamin Franklin was really revolutionary. A review of The Russian Roots of Nazism: White Russians and the Making of National Socialism, 1917-1945. A review of My Father Il Duce: A Memoir by Mussolini's Son by Romano Mussolini. A review of Madame Chiang Kai-shek: China's Eternal First Lady. You will want to know something about Mikhail Bakunin if you’re interested in how Oaxaca so rapidly mutated into a candle flame for the moths of North America’s counterculture left. And from TLS, a review of From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism [Weekend] Potpourri: Edwin Fruehwald (Hofstra): Postmodern Legal Thought and Cognitive Science. From The New York Times' "Education Times", some new books ask what is really going on inside the ivory tower and whether giving people tenure is such a good idea; six common statistics that students in search of a quality college should parse carefully; a look at the more racially and ethnically diverse of the nation’s larger four-year institutions; the new college checklist: linens, laptop, water purification tablets. These days, preparedness means anticipating the worst-case scenario; and the Overconnecteds: What does it mean to be in touch with all those friends, all at once, all the time? Listening in on students' digital conversation. From nth position, what's so funny? Why do we laugh? How many ludicrous ways can Bugs Bunny humiliate Elmer Fudd? And why is feckless Fudd funny? Leaps of Faith: A writer endeavors to learn exactly how ordinary people arrive at their systems of belief and disbelief. Vermont reporter-turned-advocate Stephen Kiernan spreads the gospel of dying well in Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life From the Medical System. Although vegetarians claim the moral high ground, meat-eating can be ethical. The least harmful meat is that from sustainably culled wild animals, ideally animals that you have killed yourself. A review of In Defense of Hypocrisy: Picking Sides in the War on Virtue. A review of Epictetus' Handbook and the Tablet of Cebes. Guides to Stoic Living. An economist shows good fences do make good neighbors: Contrary to popular belief, space between residents increases interaction. Many have been convinced that market exchange diminishes our humanity, but working together, and trading with each other, is morality in action. Two lawyers, three opinions: On the Jewishness of law, and vice versa. A review of Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die. Tim Moore learnt the rules of solo travel. Here he explains its many pleasures... and the odd pitfall. A look at how to survive a plane crash. And a review of Gunpowder: An Explosive History [Nov 10] From LRB, Eric Hobsbawm reviews Journey to a Revolution: A Personal Memoir and History of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; Twelve Days: Revolution 1956; A Good Comrade: Janos Kadar, Communism and Hungary; and Failed Illusions: Moscow, Washington, Budapest and the 1956 Hungarian Revolt. From Bryn Mawr Classical Reviews, a review of The Household as the Foundation of Aristotle's Polis. A review of Aesthetic Democracy. A review of Modernism and the Language of Philosophy. A review of Buddhisms and Deconstructions. From n+1, Nikil Saval on Building Miss Brooklyn and Jonathan Liu on A Sporting Chance. From Slate, a review of Nicholas Lemann's Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War. A review of Typecasting: On the Arts & Sciences of Human Inequality. In wake of Michigan vote on affirmative action, proponents of racial and economic justice in higher education need a new approach. Jay Matthews on seven ways politicians are dumb about education. An article on the thrill of sneaking back into college. A review of College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Coeds. From The Brooklyn Rail, the new psychedelia: A review of Timothy Leary: A Biography; 2012: The Return of the Quetzalcoatl; and The Visionary State. From Seed, Who Wants to Be a Cognitive Neuroscientist Millionaire? BU's Ogi Ogas uses his understanding of the human brain to advance on a popular quiz show. A review of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings, Jeopardy! star. An article on a neuroscientific look at speaking in tongues. A review of Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking. A new issue of the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation is out, including a review of Cities and Complexity: Understanding Cities with Cellular Automata, Agent-Based Models, and Fractals. Like human beings, computers make mistakes and they lie -- unlike human beings, they radiate an aura of truth and certainty. A review of The Last Man Who Knew Everything. From Time, here's a look at the Best Inventions of 2006. And from New Scientist, solved: An article on the perfect way to cut a cake [Nov 9] Book reviews: From Global Law Books, a review of Martti Koskenniemi's From Apology to Utopia: The Structure of International Legal Argument; and a review of United States Practice in International Law. A review of The Struggle for Europe's Constitution. A review of The Old Way: A Story of the First People. A review of The Greek Praise of Poverty: Origins of Ancient Cynicism. A review of The Roman Clan: The Gens from Ancient Ideology to Modern Anthropology. A review of Cicero: on Academic Scepticism. A review of Amerigo: the Man Who Gave His Name to America by Felipe Fernández-Armesto. A review of Nicholas Dent's Rousseau. A review of Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King. A review of Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France. A review of George Mason: Forgotten Founder. A review of The Friendship: Wordsworth and Coleridge. A review of William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism. A review of The Politics of the Irish Civil War. A review of Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War. A review of Road to Suez: The Battle of the Canal Zone; Suez 1956: The Inside Story of the First Oil War; Ends of British Imperialism: The Scramble for Empire, Suez and Decolonization; and After Suez: Adrift in the American Century. A review of The Beautiful Fall: Fashion, Genius and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris. If Jane Austen did history, this would be it: A review of Nixon in China: The Week that Changed the World. And a review of The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-Hatred, and the Jews by David Mamet [Nov 8] Timothy Waters (Bard): Group Thinking: Antique Models of Community for Modern Religious Rights Regimes. From Christianity Today, and so it has come to this. Philosophy is now in the hands of a Slovenian madman, Slavoj Zizek. A review of Tony Judt's review of Leszek Kolakowski's Main Currents of Marxism on NYRB. From The Chronicle, Stanley Fish on The Trouble with Tolerance. A review of Mary Astell: Theorist of Freedom from Domination. A review of Spinoza's Ethics: An Introduction. A review of Inner Presence: Consciousness as a Biological Phenomenon. From The New Criterion, (reg. req., make sure to read the print versions), Paul Johnson on the human race: success or failure? On the precarious survival of humanity; Kenneth Minogue on seduction & politics; Ronald Radosh reviews All Governments Lie: The Life and Times of Rebel Journalist I. F. Stone; Victor Davis Hanson reviews Mark Steyn's America Alone; a review of Europe’s Physician: The Various Life of Theodore de Mayerne by Hugh Trevor-Roper; and Mark Bauerlein reviews What’s Liberal about the Liberal Arts? by Michael Bérubé. From Dissent, as long as education remains a topic that practitioners and “intellectuals” rarely join in discussing, it seems unlikely that we will use schools to pass on the democratic idea; Michael Kimmel on the war against boys; and an essay on high-stakes testing and dropout rates. Stuck between Heidegger and Deirdre's Casebook: "You're doing a doctorate at Oxford. How much clever stuff can any one person take?" College football is the most important sport in America. Period. From Technology Review, learn while you sleep: Researchers find that by using the right timing and electrical stimulation, they can improve a person's ability to remember facts. Spillover effect: Why we end up spending more when we think we’re saving. Why do we ignore public warnings and advertisements about the dangers of smoking, alcohol, stressing out and otherwise persist in habits and behaviours that we know aren't good for us? A review of Richard Layard's Happiness: Lessons from a New Science. And thanks to laziness or misconstrual, sayings that used to mean something get dumbed down to oversimplified sound bites [Nov 7] Jedediah Purdy (Duke): People as Resources: Recruitment and Reciprocity in the Freedom-Promoting Approach to Property. A review of Law and New Governance in the EU and the US. A review of Does American Democracy Still Work? by Alan Wolfe and Our Undemocratic Constitution by Sandy Levinson. An interview with Joshua Foa Dienstag, author of Pessimism: Philosophy, Ethic, Spirit. A review of Risk in Social Science. A review of Free Will and Luck. A review of Heraclitus and Derrida: Presocratic Deconstruction. A review of Sufism and Deconstruction: A Comparative Study of Derrida and Ibn 'Arabi by Ian Almond. From Discover, blinded by science: What a twins convention in the Midwest tells us about the future of humanity. Not in Kansas anymore: If you think the creationists are bad in the US, check out Turkey -- and now Poland, too. As Europe shifts to 3-year bachelor’s, US universities mull how to treat such "Bologna degrees" and whether to treat Europe and India the same. The LSE is embroiled in a row after one of its lecturers, Satoshi Kanazawa, published a paper alleging that African states were poor and suffered chronic ill-health because their populations were less intelligent. Penn President Amy Gutmann's Halloween party picture with a student dressed as a suicide bomber causes a stir. The Philosopher Complex Throughout History: Philosophy majors learn pretty quickly that the love of wisdom rarely gets the attention it deserves. A review of Passionate Minds by David Modanis. A review of I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg and The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice First Journals and Poems (1937-1952) by Allen Ginsberg. A review of Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression. A review of Visual Shock: A History of Art Controversies in American Culture by Michael Kammen. A review of The Paris Review Interviews. Jonathan Littell, author of Les Bienveillantes, becomes the first American to win France’s most prestigious literary award, the Prix Goncourt. And on cyber-neologoliferation: In the age of the Internet, the Oxford English Dictionary is coming face to face with the boundlessness of the English language [Nov 6] From Index on Censorship, parallel lives: We may live in a multicultural society, but we need a more positive approach to breaking down segregation; is multiculturalism a failed experiment? Commonality is all very well but it must must work both ways; All history is the history of migration: Migration and exile have characterised the world since the beginning of time; the search for home begins where we have arrived. By laying claim to a place, we find our identity and begin to change that of the world around us; and cities of migration: How do outsiders negotiate the new urban space in which they arrive? How do they make it their own? A review of The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization. A review of The Meaning of the 21st Century. More on The Human Touch: Our Part in the Creation of a Universe. From The Washington Post, here's the latest Education Review. Only in America: To save lives in school shootings, a would-be Oklahoma superintendent proposes bulletproof books (after some real fun testing, of course). A review of The Real Animal House: The Awesomely Depraved Saga of the Fraternity That Inspired the Movie. A review of Over Here: How the G.I. Bill Transformed the American Dream. Black-White test scores: Research suggests neighborhoods, not schools, matter most. Radical politics and campus racism: A review of Black Girl / White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates (and more). When a white man was charged with using a racial slur while beating a black man, the defense called Randall Kennedy, a Harvard law professor and author of the book Nigger, to the stand. But not everyone understands why. From India, an article on remembering Hannah Arendt in her birth centenary year, and a review of Ayn Rand at 100. Do changes in science mean the traditional great-man science biography is going the way of the dodo? An op-ed on why there's no such thing as Western science. Even the grand cosmologies cannot fully take care of life’s paradoxes and ironies. There is something bigger about life, something even indescribable that should make us sceptical about neat categorisations and systems of thought. And finding the formula that bridges two cultures: A review of Contemporary Poetry And Contemporary Science [Weekend 2e] From PUP, the preface to Shouldering Risks: The Culture of Control in the Nuclear Power Industry, the first chapter from Power, Speed, and Form: Engineers and the Making of the Twentieth Century, and the introduction to The Mathematical Century: The 30 Greatest Problems of the Last 100 Years. From New Scientist, an article on the state of denial on climate change. Emission statement: An interview with Al Gore. Stuart Eizenstat on how creating financial incentives to protect forests and promote tree planting would be attractive to poor nations but also to American companies and farmers. Planet saved?: Why the green movement is taking to the streets. From Seed, Hwang Woo-Suk, the South Korean cloning expert on trial for faking his research, insists he could still prove he cloned human stemcells for the first time. Mirrors of the mind: Elephants join an elite club of creatures that can recognise their own reflections. Eyeing up the collaboration: The whites of the eyes suggest early humans were co-operative. When top dogs need leashes: A review of Alpha Male Syndrome. A review of The Last Curtsey: The end of the debutantes. From Johns Hopkins Magazine, the Accidental Pundit: Political science professor Matt Crenson didn't set out to be the guy reporters call first. But no matter: These days, his phone is always ringing. A new issue of Economic Sociology is out. From The Economist, winds of change: A look at why economists love empires. And an obituary: Ralph Harris, economist and freedom-fighter [Weekend] From America, a review of The Way That Leads There: Augustinian Reflections on the Christian Life. From Commonweal, a review of The Rule of Benedict. More on Sacred Causes by Michael Burleigh. From The Chronicle, the critical distinction between science and religion: An excerpt from Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine. Thank goodness: Daniel Dennett on an anecdote to ponder. A review of Moral Minds by Marc Hauser (and an excerpt). A review of The Human Touch: Our Part in the Creation of a Universe by Michael Frayn. From Financial Times, to harness the two cultures for the common goals of humankind remains, half a century after C. P. Snow brought up the issue, the greatest challenge we face; women may have already overtaken men at schools and universities, but perhaps they will not do so in the boardroom until they can reliably delay pregnancy into their fifties and sixties; and right-hand driving is the creation of Napoleon, Mussolini and Hitler and anti-democratic forces of all kinds. Say it loud: I'm a linksrijer and I'm proud. Hell for dummies: The Vice Guide to Travel takes you to Chernobyl, the Congo, the worst slums of Rio and other places you’ll likely never go. From Cabinet, the Scale and the Spectrum: An article on a history of color-music; an essay on A.C. Hobbs and the Great Lock Controversy of 1851; not a happy fraction of a man: An article on phantom limbs and the imagined security of the body; the Beavers and the Bees: An essay on intelligent design and the marvelous architecture of animals; and it's a fruit, goddamn it! The old man and the tomato. And from Print, the newest publishers from Los Angeles are transforming the very format of the art magazine—with paintbrushes, 3D glasses, and limited-edition porn-star air fresheners; novels aimed at young single women may know the sales pitch, but they haven’t come a long way, baby; psychedelia is making a triumphant return. But in the updated Age of Aquarius, data is the new LSD; a review of Spy: The Funny Years; and a review of Comics as Art; We Told You So [Nov 3] A new issue of Culture Machine is out, on "Community", including an editorial; Kuisma Korhonen (Helsinki): Textual Communities: Nancy, Blanchot, Derrida; Ignaas Devisch (Ghent): The Sense of Being(-)with Jean-Luc Nancy; Marie-Eve Morin (Winnipeg): Putting Community under Erasure: Derrida and Nancy on the Plurality of Singularities; Timothy Deines (MSU): Bartleby the Scrivener, Immanence and the Resistance of Community; Paulina Tambakaki (London): Global Community, Global Citizenship?; Angela Mitropoulos (Melbourne) and Brett Neilson (Western Sydney): Cutting Democracy’s Knot; and Dorota Glowacka (King's College): Community and the Work of Death: Thanato-ontology in Hannah Arendt and Jean-Luc Nancy. From Tikkun, a tribute to Hannah Arendt, with contributions by Seyla Benhabib, Michael Hardt, Elisabeth Young-Bruehl, and others. From CTheory, the full text of the online book Born Again Ideology: Religion, Technology, and Terrorism, by Arthur Kroker and the full text of the online book Left Behind: Religion, Technology, and Flight from the Flesh by Stephen Pfohl. Christianity: You’re Soaking in It: Alex Golub considers how and why he uses a faith that isn’t his own to teach anthropology. From Seed, a cover story on Edward O. Wilson, who is aiming to reconcile science and religion over the cause of biodiversity. An interview with David Quammen on science, religion, and The Reluctant Mr. Darwin. Politics may not be in the blood, but it could be in the genes. That's the theory a team of political scientists and geneticists is trying to prove. An article on research that may help explain why child abuse in humans often perpetuates from one generation to the next. From New Scientist, an interview with Tony Blair on science. From The University of Chicago Chronicle, an interview with Saskia Sassen. Steven Pinker on George Lakoff's tendentious theory of everything. A review of Dangerous Knowledge: Orientalism and its Discontents by Robert Irwin. The introduction to U.S. History Uncensored: What Your High School Textbook Didn’t Tell You. There’s a new reason to worry about students with cell phones in your classes. RateMyProfessors launches a new feature for photographs. And selling literature to go with your lifestyle: Publishers are pushing their books into butcher shops, carwashes, cheese shops, even chi-chi clothing boutiques [Nov 2] From the Journal of Social Science Education, a special issue on international perspectives on human rights education. From Postmodern Culture, Carsten Strathausen (Missouri): A Critique of Neo-Left Ontology; a review of Judith Butler's Undoing Gender; and a review of Susan Sontag's Regarding the Pain of Others. A review of Becoming a Subject: Reflections in Philosophy and Psychoanalysis. A review of Contemporary Debates in Cognitive Science. A review of Contemporary Debates in Moral Theory. A review of Robert Dahl's On Political Equality. A review of Richard Hofstadter: An Intellectual Biography by David S. Brown. Eric Rauchway reviews Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War and Democracy Reborn: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equal Rights in Post-Civil War America. A review of The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World. A review of The Black Death, 1346–1353: The complete history. Obituary: Clifford Geertz. From The Guardian, the current vogue among publishers to tell reviewers what they ought to think about new releases is both arrogant and harmful. The critical process may not be perfect, but it's the best system we've got. Reading Like a Writer will inspire you to read like a writer, but not to write like one. A review of The Road of Excess: A History of Writers on Drugs. From The Nation, college presidents are living in baronial splendor, some with salaries, benefits and perks of $1 million or more. And you wonder why the cost of tuition is so high; and college GOP flames out: Mocking animal rights, barbecue's grasp for attention goes up in smoke. A review of The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter. From Discover, meet the new continent: In only a million years we'll have an eighth: East Africa. From New Scientist, research finds it's better to mate like crazy and let the sperm fight it out. Have sex while you sleep! It's the sticky new medical condition that's sweeping the nation! And it doesn't stop there [Nov 1] Jack Balkin (Yale) and Sanford Levinson (Texas): Law and the Humanities: An Uneasy Relationship. From Ameriquests, a special issue on " Quests Beyond the Ivory Tower: Public Intellectuals, Academia and the Media", including an introduction; Toby Huff (U Mass): Popularizing the Social Sciences: Sociological Episodes; James C. Morrison (MIT): Marshall McLuhan: No Prophet without Honor; David Morrison ( NASA): Carl Sagan: The People’s Astronomer; Asghar Qadir (NUST): Science Fiction and Popular Science from Ancient to Modern Times: Scientists Versus Laymen; Carol Flynn ( Tufts): How to Be A Public Person of Letters in the 21st Century; Robert F. Barsky ( Vanderbilt): The Chomsky Effect: Episodes in Academic Activism; David Suzuki (UBC): An Erratic Journey Through Science and Society; Gerald Early (WU-St.L): Partisanship, Race, and the Public Intellectual; William H. Calvin (U. of Washington): Filling the Empty Niches; and comments by Alan Lightman and Steven Pinker. From The Chronicle of Higher Education, Carlin Romano on how both Emma Lazarus and Why Arendt Matters mark a welcome, growing, parallel commitment of today's female scholars to dismantling simplifications of past female intellectuals. A review of The Cambridge Companion to Schleiermacher. Economics you can bank on: The battle between left and right over Adam Smith's philosophy could be brought to a head when his image appears on an English banknote (and the first Scot). And from Law & Politics Book Review, a review of The War on Terrorism and the Rule of Law; and a review of International Relations – The Path Not Taken: Using International Law to Promote World Peace and Security |
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