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[Oct 31] From
Newsweek, Fareed Zakaria on Rethinking
Iraq: The Way Forward. Would dividing Iraq decrease ethnic infighting or
lead to more fighting and inflame the Middle
East? Juan Cole ants to know. Diversity's Oppressions:
Thomas
Sowell on why Iraq has proven to be so hard to pacify.
How Jesus endorsed Bush's invasion of Iraq: An excerpt
from The Theocons: Secular America Under Siege by Damon Linker.
From The Telegraph, Con Coughlin on how the neo-cons lost the war. If we leave Iraq, what happens to the supporters of democracy?
Christopher Hitchens
on rushing for the exit. Iran sounds an awful lot like Iraq:
There is a disturbing sense of déjà vu in Washington's actions and rhetoric.
Islamist movements' entry into the electoral arena is changing them from within,
making the choice for their western adversaries
stark, says Olivier Roy. From the Carnegie
Council, Vali
Nasr on The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future;
and Niall Ferguson
on The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West.
From Time, it's lonely at the top: How the election became a referendum on an isolated
President--and how it is likely to reshape American politics.
1958 and today's GOP: Voters booted Republicans from Congress during Eisenhower's second
term. Could we see a repeat this year? Midterm Meltdown:
It ought to be a
no-brainer, but it’s not. From HNN, should Democrats
pay
attention to all the advice they've been
getting? Dueling Democrats: No matter what happens election
day, Democrats are in for a wild ride in 2007.
Of Course: Madison Avenue helps the White House refine its message.
GOP sleaze merchant Scott Howell has racked up a startling Democratic body count with his singular manipulative style.
Can this machine be trusted? New voting systems are
only as good as the people who program and use
them. Next week could be interesting. Hold, Hamper, Hinder: A primer on
the organized effort to suppress voter turnout next week.
Remember to vote, hope
it counts. Billionaires for Bush are increasingly outnumbered by billionaires who hate Bush.
And Objectivist John Lewis will not vote for any
Republican, with
reasons based on those offered by philosopher Leonard
Peikoff. A straight Democratic vote is the only rational choice
he can make [Oct 30] From The Hindu, the anti-Islamic polemic: The study of the Muslim world by the West has never been neutral or scholarly. If Iran gets the bomb, what will it do with it? Is there a Shiite urge for apocalypse? Is atomic warfare suicide bombing writ large? Noah Feldman investigates. An article on how to spot a terrorist on the fly. This is Baghdad. What could be worse? The partition of Iraq is not the solution, but a US policy czar might help. The experience of American soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan shows what a counterinsurgency can, and cannot, do. From The Washington Post, here are 5 myths about turning out the vote; and who needs to "help" America vote? George Will wants to know. A review of Absentee and Early Voting: Trends, Promises, and Perils. Polls show that the public trusts Democrats as much as Republicans to handle foreign affairs. But Democrats are torn between two visions of their history. "It's not the economy, stupid": Despite the sunny talk and favorable numbers, voters aren't happy with the economy. Michael Kinsley on the return of the Yellow Dog. Winning women? Being a female Democratic candidate in Western states is no liability. An article on the strangest Senate race of the year. Dick Armey on where the GOP went wrong. A look at how hypocritical rebel libertarians are trying to save "conservatism" itself from going down with this administration. A review of Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency. A review of Kingdom Coming, American Theocracy, Kingdom Come, God Won't Save America and A Jew Among the Evangelicals. Foxing the elephant: Are Republicans gaining votes because of Fox News? A study says that's likely. Limbaugh outfoxed: Here we have two completely different notions of reality. Tony Snow seems to have becalmed the White House press corps. But it’s not easy being the spokesman for an administration under siege. This time around, many of the most powerful political ads are funny: 2006 marks the Comedy Centralization of politics. The Boston Globe's "Ideas" invites five prominent observers to offer their perspectives on what’s at stake on Nov. 7. Massachusetts produces many candidates but few presidents. Is a curse at work? And Whiz wit? The Philly cheese stake is the star of a lawsuit [Weekend 2e] From Der Spiegel, the UN wants to keep weapons on the global market from falling into the hands of despots and guerrillas. A resolution passed this week could pave the way for a treaty regulating international arms deals. David Ignatius on why making the United Nations effective enough that it can compel the common good is the right answer to Mancur Olson's paradox of collective action. Think inside the box: Co-ordination is not just for the global elite but for those who deal with them. It used to be that industry could do little without first getting the support of the unions. With the globalization of the labor market though, unions have lost their power -- and many of their members. Organized labor is on life support. Lunch with the FT: Otmar Issing lives in Germany, but his monetary theories have traveled further. Like crabs in a bucket: Why do poor countries remain stubbornly underdeveloped? Growing consensus indicates that poor countries lack the necessary institutions. A review of The J-Curve by Ian Bremmer. The walls tumbled by time: From China to Berlin, fences have failed to exclude or contain. From Economic and Political Weekly, an essay on Imperialism, Intellectual Networks, and Environmental Change. Slow Food is not a leisure pursuit of the privileged but a new social movement with a creative, sociable and fulfilling project to enrich people’s lives. A review of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan. There is a clear contradiction between owning useless but doted upon animals and caring about the planet’s future. So can pets ever be green? Living large, doing good: Madonna in Malawi. It’s a hoot. But when did you last think about Malawi? And recent news that Madonna had adopted a boy from Malawi triggered a torrent of global commentary. But has the global media been asking the right questions? [Weekend] From Great Britain, it's 39 years since abortion was legalised in this country, yet these days it's rarely discussed without mention of "shame", "mental trauma" or "viability". Rights could soon be under threat; and as anti-abortion laws make the headlines again, we must stop pussyfooting around and expose opposition to women's rights for what it is. From Kazakstan, the idea of adopting Latin script for Kazak has been revived, and some believe the switch could help the language develop. The Suez crisis was a divide in the history of the Middle East, a moment when America pushed out the Europeans and then tried to take their place, and the reverberations are still felt today. The extent to which some European states turned a blind eye to the more sinister aspects of the United States' war on terror is becoming ever more apparent. Judith Miller interviews Massoud Barzani, president of Iraq's Kurdistan. A lot of people are now willing to claim they warned that an invasion of Iraq would turn into another Vietnam. Some of them may even be telling the truth. From The Progressive, which Democratic Party? Is it the party of anti-war populists or the elite in Washington?; and an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. From In These Times, go Midwest (and border state), young progressives. There's electoral gold in those hills: Have the Democrats struck the mother lode in the Rockies? Clive Crook on the neglect of the libertarians. From Salon, an interview with Camille Paglia. A nasty little secret of American democracy is that, in every national election, ballots cast are simply thrown in the garbage. The Red Side of Brown: A look at Jerry Brown's very radical friends. Michelle Cottle on watching Rush Limbaugh squirm. Battlestar Galacticons: A close look at the right's scary affinity for sci-fi foreign policy punditry. From Nerve, here's some sex advice from Republican activists. Virginity or Death: An interview with Katha Pollitt, and when discussing the dearth of women in opinion journalism, don't let editors off the hook. And love me, I'm a journalist: Jack Shafer on a profession's romance with itself [Oct 27] From India, an interview with Jagdish Bhagwati: "Discarded socialists have come back". From Iran, the government continues to clamp down on basic freedoms of expression and access to information that were among the hallmarks of the reformist Khatami administration; and an article on sexuality in the world of spiritualism. From Brazil, after a nasty campaign, Lula will have to seek consensus and reform, and an article on the Crypto-Jews of Brazil: 500 years after Jewish conversos reached Brazil, their descendants begin reclaiming their birthright. What dictators collect: What drives the need for dictators to collect material possessions that are over the top? "Whether you like it or not, I am the vice president of Sierra Leone," Soloman Berewa uttered. It was quite a stunning start for a man who many expected had little or no sense of humor. White trash, fast food: How globalization is creating a new European underclass. Be prudent, Gordon: Brown's respect for a philosophy based on Victorian values draws him closer to the neocons. A morose France has fallen behind its competitors. But there is nothing inevitable about its decline: all it needs is political will. A review of France and the French: A Modern History. A review of Murder in Amsterdam by Ian Buruma and Power and the Idealists by Paul Berman. Europe, Russia and in-between: Russia's “near abroad” is becoming Europe's neighbourhood. Comrades, come rally: Fifty years after the crushing of the Hungarian uprising, communism is thriving. A review of Seize the Hour: When Nixon Met Mao by Margaret MacMillan. From Salon, Tennessee Democrat Harold Ford Jr. goes after the GOP's faithful base in the state with the most white evangelicals in the nation. Polls show his campaign is resonating in the pews. In attempting to make history in Massachusetts, Deval Patrick can't avoid the Bay State's fraught racial legacy. Obamamania: Barack Obama is unlikely to get a better chance to run for president, and more from Harper's, and in the past 10 days, he has turned American politics upside down. Prerecorded campaign calls don't work: Does anyone actually think machines interrupting dinner to ask for your vote are persuasive? And here's an open letter from the American Statistical Association on statistical issues in elections [Oct 26] From Colombia, Julián Andrés Hurtado, a university student leader, was recently killed under suspicious circumstances. Many peers suspect police involvement and mobilized to protest. An interview with former Putin advisor Andrei Illarionov on how basic human rights are denied in Russia. From Open Democracy, what is this newfound relationship between economics and peace? And why has Muhammad Yunus, along with the Grameen Bank he founded, been awarded this prize? Will France ever integrate its Muslim immigrants? A review of Integrating Islam. An interview with Vali Nasr on the conflict between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq and Tehran's rise as a regional power. From Foreign Policy, an interview with Theresa Hitchens on the Bush administration’s new space policy. George Packer on how new strategies for Iraq are being discussed in Washington, but not where it matters. In today’s America, the very sight of Arabic on T-shirts alarms some citizens, as well as Homeland Security. A look at why New Jersey's gay marriage ruling won't cause a backlash. Get it right, says Judith Levine -- Mark Foley is a sexual harasser, not a child molester. Michelle Cottle on why the House Republicans need a good spanking. Christopher Shays's disclosure problem: In 2003, the stickler for House ethics rules took a trip to the Middle East. But who paid for it? MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is on quite a roll with his must-see "Special Comments," his Murrow-esque rejoinders to the various and ongoing depredations of the Bush administration and its allies. From The New York Observer, hey! Remember us? Reconstituted former spymasters Graydon Carter and Kurt Andersen have returned with their naughty crew as self-retrospecting logrollers; and a look inside TNR's firing of Spencer Ackerman. And Lyndon LaRouche reports on the fascist penetration of the Democratic Party with the help of the Schmittian Telos and the Ayn Rand Institute [Oct 25] From Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to run for president in a changing, secular country caught between eastern and western traditions -- and his headscarved wife may be an image problem. Did French troops facilitate the 1994 slaughter of some 800,000 in Rwanda? A military tribunal is currently addressing accusations that they did. Is Russia finished as a major power? Far from it. Russian men are allegedly their own worst enemies, unable to adapt: A review of Men in Contemporary Russia: The Fallen Heroes of Post-Soviet Change? A review of A People’s History of Iraq: The Iraqi Communist Party, Workers’ Movements, and the Left 1924-2004. A review of The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future by Vali Nasr. From Foreign Affairs, a review of Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic; Jets or GIs? How Best to Address the Military's Manpower Shortage; and how we fight: Even in Iraq, the American way of war is less hellish than people think. President Bush and his aides are annoyed that people keep misinterpreting his Iraq policy as "stay the course." Where would anyone have gotten that idea? Bush renames his Iraq plan, but doesn't try to fix it. Jawbone George: The Bush administration can't grasp a crucial truth -- in real diplomacy, talk is cheap. From Salon, there may be no spot in the U.S. more Republican than Madison County, Idaho. But even in this overwhelmingly white, Mormon enclave, the doubts are creeping in. Gail Collins couldn’t do bupkis for women in journalism. That's because there's only so much journalists themselves can do about the problems of women and punditry. From Nerve, "I was a a single woman in Washington -- and lived!" An exposé on the sexual mores of D.C.'s most powerful men. Conscience Rap: In the wake of the Source trial, hip-hop staffers ponder their contribution to the culture. And an article on the Hip-Hop Generation, raising up its sons [Oct 24] From Foreign Policy, here's the 6th annual Globalization Index. It took about 1,500 years for France to emerge from the Roman empire. Becoming European may not be much faster, but for some individuals, it is now well underway. An interview with ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroder: "I'm anything but an opponent of America". From Cafe Babel, a series of articles on 1956: What Hungary thinks. October 23, 1956 The Hungarian Revolution: impotent, poignant, personal. For a young girl, joy and terror met in Budapest, 1956. From The Atlantic Monthly, we can't just withdraw: Robert Kaplan on how Iraq may be closer to an explosion of genocide than we know. Andrew Sullivan on how Iraq is no Vietnam – it's far worse than that. Matthew Parris on why it's time for the neocons to admit that the Iraq war was wrong from the start. Niall Ferguson on how the US doesn't have the military manpower and fiscal solvency of its imperial predecessors in Iraq. Sebastian Mallaby on a nadir of US power. Richard Holbrook on how "stay the course" is a slogan, not a strategy. The real choice in Iraq comes down to escalation or disengagement. Peter Beinart on choosing the least bad option in Iraq. Here are 5 ways to prevent Iraq from getting even worse. Fareed Zakaria on one last thing to try. From PS: Political Science and Politics, a symposium on Political Corruption in Theory, Practice and in the Public Mind: As voters head to the polls, will they perceive a culture of corruption?; an article on political corruption as duplicitous exclusion; and from Thucydides to Mayor Daley: Bad politics, and a culture of corruption? pdf. President Bush's six-year effort to create an enduring Republican majority based on a right-leaning coalition is on the verge of collapse. Where the seats are: The upcoming election guarantees gains for the Democrats. They won’t be coming from the South. How the West was won: Is Montana Senate candidate Jon Tester the new face of the Democratic party? Frank Rich on why Barack Obama is not a miracle elixir. Why not Obama? Richard Cohen wants to know. Enjoy the media wave, Senator, it'll get worse. Doug Patton thinks Obama is the most dangerous man in America. And booted by MSNBC, is Eric Alterman making a pitch to be Obama's press secretary? [Oct 23] From The Hindu, a review of In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India. A review of Betrayal: France, the Arabs, and the Jews by David Pryce-Jones. A review of Why the French Don't Like Headscarves: Islam, the State, and Public Space. The Scottish invasion: Who rules London? Joseph Stiglitz on corrupting the fight against corruption. The Chinese go after corruption, corruptly: Efforts serious and dubious to counter a slide by a country with gobs of gains to be ill-gotten. Radioactive nationalism: Even after 9/11, power politics and the risky maneuverings of states continue to shape history. Especially on the Korean peninsula. Northern Comforts: How Mercedes sedans and Hennessy cognac help keep Kim Jong Il in business. A review of Rescuing Afghanistan and Love and War in Afghanistan. From The New York Times Magazine, a cover story on a journey through the tribal borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where drug smuggling, anger at warlords and age-old resentments could be preparing the way for a restoration of the radicals; and Noah Feldman on the mere midterms: Even if voters send President Bush a strong message, he is not likely to listen. A review of The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008. Barack Obama is becoming a big draw everywhere; should Hillary Clinton be worried? and more on The Audacity of Hope. Rahm Emanuel wants a victory for the Democrats so bad he can almost taste it. If only he had time to eat. Duty Bound: Assessing the civic-republican tradition that has defined Ned Lamont's family history. Mr. Compassionate Conservatism: An interview with Michael Gerson, former Bush speechwriter. Political reporters love asking hypothetical questions, almost as much as politicians hate answering them. Doonesbury's war: Garry Trudeau gives us tantalizing clues about what's behind his venerable comic strip's recent burst of genius, and pain. Help the warmongers help themselves: A Vanities cover-flap public service. Want to know what's going on in politics? Forget the news: Comedians are filling the gap where serious debate used to be. And once upon a time, nobody expected the Spanish Inquisition: The Monty Python jokes are on us, and they’re nothing to laugh about [Weekend 2e] Potpourri: From Bulgaria, the Le Pen syndrome: Voter apathy may prompt a runoff in the presidential poll and give the most extreme candidate priceless exposure. From Der Spiegel, sex is a taboo in conservative Islamic countries. Young, unmarried couples are forced to seek out secret erotic oases. Books and play that are devoted to sex incur the wrath of conservative religious officials and are promptly banned; and ever get the feeling that traditional hardcore is just plain boring? Then alt porn may be the genre for you. Goths, punks and skaters have emerged out of the Internet and into the cinema. From New Statesman, why we must ration the future: You can't bargain with the planet because it doesn't care whether or not targets are "politically acceptable". Here are top ten ways for a politician to fake as a conservationist. US population: Is bigger always better? Lester Brown examines the myriad effects of a growing population. As America's population hits 300 million people, will we re-live the Summer of Love? A look at the average American, 1967 and today. Despite trends, there is no compelling reason for cities not to continue serving as primary centers of the nation’s economic and cultural life. For one thing, 10% to 15% of 400 million is not exactly chopped liver. A Tale of Several Cities: What explains why Boston flourishes while Philadelphia flounders? Stealing bases, not jobs: Are you cheering for the immigrants in the World Series? And the kind of survival-oriented disaster preparedness thinking that once flourished in subcultures like Soldier of Fortune seems to be going mainstream [Weekend] From Canada, from books to soundbites: Intellectual Michael Ignatieff struggles to adapt to a political campaign. From the Australian Review of Public Affairs, an essay on social democracy in northern Europe: Its relevance for Australia. A review of Europe in the Global Age by Anthony Giddens. Henning Melber, Executive Director of the Dag Hammarskjoeld Foundation, on The Politics of Memory in European Migration Societies: Consequences for citizenship education. Master of the Island: Which country is the best colonizer? The young British South-Asian Muslim women who veil Saudi-style are rejecting not just mainstream British society, but their parents’ and grandparents’ accommodation with its values. From Foreign Affairs, Richard Haass on The New Middle East. Coalitions of the unwilling: Resistance to the West, and rejection of Israel, are the pillars of a rapidly strengthening alliance in the world's most volatile region. From TNR, an article on the coming Israeli-Saudi alliance. From National Journal, sectarian violence in Iraq is increasing, US casualties are mounting and hope is slowly fading. Iraq may have started as a war of choice for the Bush administration, but it has become a conflict of great and unintended consequences. Washington's worst-kept secret: Changes are coming in Iraq policy after the elections. The Lancet study that estimated 655,000 Iraqis killed since the US invasion of 2003 was based on some of the most solid research methods possible, but that didn't stop the American press from trying to say it wasn't so. From CFR, surviving a revolution in military affairs: America's military needs to achieve the agility necessary to face both low-intensity guerrilla wars and high-intensity conventional conflicts. At the same time it is lecturing North Korea and Iran about abandoning their nuclear weapons programs, the US is pressing ahead with plans to build a new stockpile of 2,200 deployed nuclear weapons. Graham Allison on why the first step for the countries confronting North Korea is to recognize that their diplomatic strategies haven’t worked. A nuclear Korea, a futile Iraq war, and an aggressive Iran -- such is Bush's progress on the "axis of evil". And from The New York Observer, in my PowerPoint war zone, it’s hurry up and Kuwait [Oct 20] From Germany, the Bionade story is the David and Goliath story of the soft-drink industry. Meet the people who brought lemonade home. France, a self-portrait: Sixteen French men and women reflect on modern France. From Newropeans, more the origin of Europe and the esprit de géométrie. From Bits of News, an essay on Spengler, Byron, and Towards a European Patriotism. A look at what Britain's debate about the Islamic veil has in common with France's bill on Armenian genocide. The right to deny genocide: Passing laws that criminalize denying past atrocities is no way to address historical grievances. When life intimidates art: Fear of reprisal by religious fanatics raises questions about freedom of expression. A Clash of Civilizations in Europe? Sensitivity over every perceived slight to religion pits Islam against European secularism. From Prospect, an article on why the Pope was wrong; and is foreign aid working? Hilary Ben and William Easterly debate. Norman Borlaug's story is a saga of the greatness of America during the 20th Century - of opportunity, individuality, courage and achievement. As the Dead Sea slowly shrinks towards extinction, fears are growing that the saltiest body of water on earth will not disappear without taking a few lives along with it. From Der Spiegel, a special series on War for Wealth, including how globalization drives down Western wages; Protectionism! The West must defend itself; putting profits before human lives; the welfare state is dead. Long Live the Welfare State!; and an argument for a trans- Atlantic free-trade zone. Panama wants to widen its often clogged canal. The planned expansion has triggered a dispute over the benefits and beneficiaries of global trade, and more from The Economist. Russia's combative "resource nationalism" is a reaction to the frontier capitalism of the 1990s. The west should look, learn and reform. A look at China's quest for energy. Paul Kennedy on how, after six centuries of isolation, a China hungry for raw materials renews its historic friendship with Africa. Shain Izadi on Global Poverty: Facts, Responsibilities, and Motivations. From The Globalist, an article on the three rounds of globalization. And on why Ban Ki-moon should immediately embark on an ambitious reform agenda [Oct 19] From Power and Interest News Report, an analysis of the demise of the global arms control regime. From Lebanon's The Daily Star, here are sensible ideas on why to engage Tehran. Atomic Balm: An article on why Japan won't soon go nuclear, while polls find Japanese still welcome American alliance. A new issue of Foreign Service Journal is out, with a focus on public diplomacy. How many civilians have died in Iraq? Iraq Body Count and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health give widely different answers. A look at what is at stake. The science of counting the dead: STATS looks at how scientists figure these numbers out, how their methods compare to other counts, and whether criticism of the numbers is justified. The Thin Green Line: Phillip Carter on what the latest violence reveals about the failed US strategy in Iraq. The more force you use, the less effective you are: Michael Schwartz on 9 paradoxes of a lost war. Bush's Iraq disaster is taking the GOP down, and his father's old pal James Baker is about to tell him what to do with a specially commissioned task force said to be considering a call for a major change in US policy on Iraq. Did Bob Woodward botch the story behind the Iraq war? David Greenberg and David Corn investigate. Jonathan Chait on the cult of Donald Rumsfeld: A tour through the hilarious bygone world of Rumsfeld worship. From Prospect, Michael Lind on The World After Bush. An excerpt from Mark Steyn's America Alone. A review of Robert Kagan's Dangerous Nation: America’s Place in the World From Its Earliest Days to the Dawn of the Twentieth Century (and more). Anatol Lieven on why America's world role has to be realistic and moral. From Vanity Fair, William Langewiesche on Rules of Engagement and the Haditha killings. An excerpt from Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA's Rendition Flights. Bill Clinton's call for court-approved "torture warrants" hasn't drawn the same outcry as a similar proposal by Alan Dershowitz from a few years back. Abandon hope, all who enter here: Moazzam Begg, a falsely accused "enemy combatant", describes his imprisonment in Guantanamo. From The Atlantic Monthly, Christopher Hitchens reviews A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962. And a review of Sacred Causes: Religion and Politics from the European Dictators to Al Qaeda [Oct 18] From Prospect, breeding for God: Eric Kaufmann on how Europe will start to adopt a more American model of modernity. From Policy Review, Peter J. Katzenstein (Cornell) and Robert O. Keohane (Princeton): Anti-americanisms: Biases as diverse as the country itself; an essay on the French path to jihad; and a review of The Legacy of Jihad. A look at how French TV fudged the death of Mohammed Al Durah. For years, the private lives of French politicians remained just that. No longer. Both Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal have opened up in the hopes of winning the presidency, as Sexus Politicus catapults to the top of the best-seller lists, a reflection of the erosion of privacy in French public life and the appetite for a gossipy read. From PS: Political Science and Politics, essays on Forecasting the 2006 Elections for the United States Senate; Forecasting the 2006 Elections for the U.S. House of Representatives; and National Coalitions, Strategic Politicians, and U.S. Congressional Elections: Using the Generic Vote to Forecast the 2006 House and Senate Elections pdf. From Governing, wired to win: The 2006 campaign is being fought with digital weapons — and candidates aren’t always at the controls. Hacking Diebold: John Allen Paulos examines the questions raised about some voting systems. Paul Krugman on why this is a one-letter election: D or R, that's all that matters. From Crisis, Deal W. Hudson on how to vote Catholic. With revelations that Bush aides mocked members of their Christian base, it has become increasingly clear to many evangelicals that their alliance with the Republicans is not paying off. An excerpt from Tempting Faith by David Kuo. Theo-Panic! Rich Lowry on emotional, self-righteous, and close-minded politics. How classic GOP campaign advantages -- attack ads, savvy political operatives, a sleepy press -- have helped to do in the moderate Republican opponent of Bernie Sanders. Black Helicopter Down: Have we seen the last of the great right-wing extremists? From National Review, Ryan Sager says the Republican coalition is self-destructing. Is he right? Who or what is to blame? And Peter Berkowitz reviews Whose Freedom? by George Lakoff [Oct 17] From Israel, rape allegations against President Moshe Katsav deepen political woes. Hugo Chávez's vigorous campaign to secure a UN Security Council place for Venezuela is based on outmoded views of national sovereignty and human rights. From Newropeans, an essay on the origin of Europe and the esprit de géométrie. From The New Federalist, who wants to live forever ? Time to abolish NATO. From Outlook India, the NPT is dead, and the West is equally to blame for turning the world into a nuclear jungle. Hans Blix on why, for North Korea to back down, the US must ratify the test ban treaty and offer a security guarantee. A New Nuclear Age: An article on the fallout from North Korea’s test. Foreign Policy takes a look at the Next Nuclear States. From Slate's Book Club, Bill Emmot and Fareed Zakaria debate The J Curve. From Foreign Affairs, Tamar Jacoby on Immigration Nation. The 300 millionth American: How do we find him? Climate change, the defining issue of 21st-century politics, barely registers in the United States's pre-election debate. The reason lies in the current grain of American politics. Looking to the 2008 presidential race, there is still time to for progressive candidates to consider a fresh approach to running for office. From Time, a cover story by Joel Klein on Barack Obama, the Fresh Face, and a review of The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (and an excerpt). Could the Democrats lose? With these poll numbers, they look like a lock—but don’t forget, they’re the Dems. And winning may bring its own set of problems. On every issue you can name, victorious Democrats would face an enormous task just picking up the pieces from the wreckage that Bush has left. What difference will a Democratic Congress make? Immanuel Wallerstein investigates. Jonathan Chait on why we should dump the electoral college. Why don't American like to vote? Politics are only one reason. A look at how blogger Bill Kerr put himself in the middle of the Mark Foley story. An excerpt from Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back. And here are apt quotes from some of the most eloquent Bush critics in our era, from Howard Zinn to Barbara Ehrenreich [Oct 16] From Russia, here's something you don't hear about much in the Western press: Putin's economic promises and policies are succeeding beyond your wildest Western nightmares; and nepotism, Putin-style: what sort of job do you offer the sons of the Kremlin elite? Gee, that's a tough one. Can Russia recover Alaska? Russia did not lease the northern territory to the United States, but sold it. New books about Hungary 1956 are rolling off the presses, and memories of those far-off days are being dusted off by those who lived through them or simply watched in horrified fascination. The 1994 United States-North Korean nuclear agreement known as the Agreed Framework delayed the acquisition of nuclear materials by North Korea. To argue otherwise is to play politics with history. A review of books on North Korea, and more reviews of books on North Korea. Ayaan Hirsi Ali on multiculturalism, Islamic fundamentalism, and EU economic reform. A look at how Islamic schools test the ideal of integration in Britain. Misunderstanding multiculturalism: Anthony Giddens on how much of the debate on the perceived problems of diversity is crass, ignorant and misconceived. From Newsweek, Jonathan Alter on the myth of the "values" voter: The term is loaded and unfair. It implies that people who "do not share our values" aren't just wrong but morally inferior. Voters' allegiances, ripe for a picking: FDR won a Democratic majority; Reagan, GOP dominance. And now? (and a graphic) The border dividing Arizona: The leading edge of a new American nativism? The big Republican divide? Or just a line that voters will ignore next month? Who cares about civil liberties? If Democrats gain big in the midterm elections, it won’t be due to outrage over domestic spying or the treatment of terrorism suspects. Does defending civil liberties have to be a political nonstarter? While the media focuses on scandals and blame, voters rank the economy as their biggest concern. National Journal examines the Republican record and asks a group of distinguished economists to grade the GOP on its performance. A review of The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power. And an interview with Bill Moyers |
[Oct 31] The
first
chapter from Why Trust Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of American Liberalism
by Marc J. Hetherington.
Sebastian Mallaby on the
decline of trust. The need to renew democracy after the Bush fiasco has inspired a manifesto reaffirming core liberal
values. Bruce Ackerman explains. Among the
Intellectualoids:
James
Bowman on Immanuel Kant for Dummies. From TNR,
how evangelicals fell for Bush: Alan Wolfe reviews
Tempting Faith by David Kuo; is the GOP the party of ideas?
Jonathan
Chait investigates; were
the Clintonites wrong about the economy? (and part
2); Robert Rubin and Peter Orszag explain the baffling economy;
and Peter Beinart on the two faces of Lou
Dobbs. A look at the myth that low
taxes and liberty go hand in hand. A review
of The Evolution of the Trade Regime: Politics, Law, and Economics of the GATT and the
WTO. Globalization anxiety: Lawrence Summers
on how the world is richer than ever
before, but the vast middle class isn't getting many of the benefits. Consumers
are killing the welfare state: An excerpt
from World War for Prosperity. Can cultural
values save the environment? A panel
forum on the publication of Forging Environmentalism: Justice, Livelihood, and Contested Environments.
If governments do nothing, climate change will
cost more than both world wars and render swathes of the planet
uninhabitable. Can the world find the will to act? Top economist Sir
Nicholas Stern counts future cost of climate change. God's green earth: What environmentalists and evangelicals have in common.
There aren't many tyrants in history who can truthfully say
they put the entire future of civilization at risk just to make a buck -- but Dick Cheney can.
Here's a
fool-proof plan to save America from fascism,
at least for a while. From the scariest presidential candidate to the scariest billionaire to the scariest cop,
these truly are the worst America has to offer.
The kindler, gentler Satanist: The devil sells out, moves to suburbia and dons a fluffy bunny suit.
From Reason, lay off the fatties: A review
of Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America’s Obesity
Epidemic and The Diet Myth: Why America’s Obsession With Weight
is Hazardous to Your Health. More
on Beauty Junkies by Alex Kuczynski. And
against feminist orthodoxy: In The Female
Thing, Laura Kipnis airs the dirty laundry of the women's liberation movement |