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[Feb 28] From Foreign Policy, why the world isn’t flat: Globalization has bound people, countries, and markets closer than ever—or so we’re told. The data reveals a world that’s just a fraction as integrated as the one we thought we knew. In fact, more than 90 percent of all phone calls, Web traffic, and investment is local. In many parts of the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, the problem of children growing up amid conflict has seen an upsurge since the end of the cold war. The International Court of Justice for the first time calls the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995 an act of genocide, but determined that Serbia itself was not guilty of the enormous crime. Justice delayed: Serbia has been cleared of genocide, but in the kangaroo court that passes for international diplomacy it was found guilty long ago. The international court has set an unrealistically high standard of proof for finding Serbia complicit in genocide. Naming names: The ICC names its first suspects for mass murder in Darfur. New Council of Foreign Relations fellow Angelina Jolie on justice for Darfur: What the worst people in the world fear most is justice. That's what we should deliver. The Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations was the culmination of pioneering work by the international women's movement. But rather than a vehicle to advance women's human rights, it has become a vehicle of global political interests. Debating how to boost its birth rate, a proposal to expand public daycare by Ursula von der Leyen -- the conservative family affairs minister who is herself a mother of seven -- has enraged a bishop. Is Germany turning women into "breeding machines"? From Sign and Sight, in praise of dissidence: Ulrike Ackermann on how Ian Buruma and Timothy Garton Ash have gotten lost somewhere along the "third way. Why is the left so gauche? The left in France seems determined to ignore one of history’s enduring lessons. A review of The Fist Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It. From The Atlantic, more on That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present. An article on the real reason Tony Blair is pulling out of Iraq. Bruce Ackerman and David Wu on The Half-Trillion Dollar Solution: Want to end the Iraq war? Place a hard and fixed limit on the president's war appropriations. Time for a national debate on Plan B: If the surge fails, what next? The Khyber Impasse: Tariq Ali on  the case for withdrawal from Afghanistan. Ally or Adversary? The Atlantic recently asked a group of foreign-policy authorities about Pakistan and its president, Pervez Musharraf. The world can't wait: As the Middle East's immediate western neighbour, Europe should act now to prevent an attack on Iran. And George Lakoff frames it: If the Bush administration were to insist on a sure "success" in Iran, then the "attack" would constitute nuclear war. That's right, nuclear war, a first strike nuclear war [Feb 27] From Ovi, the International Organization for Standardization was founded 60 years ago. Most people have heard of ISO, but not many know exactly what standardization bodies actually do. The first chapter from All Politics Is Global: Explaining International Regulatory Regimes. From Foreign Affairs, Daniel W. Drezner on The New New World Order. From Open Democracy, the cloistered, fetid world of United Nations negotiation over Iraq convinces Carne Ross of the need for more open, accountable global diplomacy. An interview with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon: "It's Iran's turn to make a move". The US might be warmongering with Iran, as the left is right to point out. But the threat from Tehran should not be underestimated. Robert Parry on Gore's other global warning: Iraq War. You Know Me, Al: David Remnick on the man who might have been—and could still become—President. From TAP, with a hostile Congress pushing back against White House initiatives, what's a president to do? Govern by executive fiat and (anti-)regulatory edicts. Courting Loopholes: A little-noticed federal ruling has made it harder to punish public officials who exchange favors for gifts, meals, trips and other goodies. Three liberal outfits seeking to flex the power they hope to have in a Democratic-controlled Congress relocate to K Street, the boulevard of dreams for lobbyists and influence peddlers. From New York, it’s a long way from 9/11/01 to 11/04/08. New Yorkers may be surprised by how far Rudy Giuliani has come already. But that’s only because we know him. Respect Conservatism: Ross Douthat & Reihan Salam on Rudy Giuliani's distinctive brand. The CEO Candidate: Daniel Gross on how Mitt Romney's corporate success explains his campaign—and his flip-flops. Outraged by his failure to stick to a far-right agenda as he pursues the presidency, Senator John McCain's conservative base in Arizona is abandoning him. Can you trust a moderate Republican? If elected president, a "maverick" like John McCain, Mitt Romney, or Rudy Giuliani is sure to enact conservative policies. After all, he won't have a choice. With such a stellar line-up of Democratic presidential contenders and such a problematic crop of Republican ones, it promises to be a revolutionary political year. The not-so-nice words for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman keep coming: David Sirota on why Dems should hope Lieberman joins the GOP. From Newsweek, which presidential candidate has the best Web site? You can surf them all, or just go to techPresident.com. Where’s the Beef.com? Michael Barone take a tour of the presidential websites. Before Amanda Marcotte's short-lived tenure as blogger for the John Edwards campaign, Lindsay Beyerstein was offered the job. Here's why she said no. And the wisdom of crowds: The blogosphere offers something that remains an undesirable to columnists: close proximity to a complex audience that answers back [Feb 26] From Foreign Affairs, Ray Takeyh, author of Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic, on Iran: Détente, Not Regime Change; and Stanford's James D. Fearon on Why the U.S. Can't Win Iraq's Civil War. A review of Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb. David Petraeus wrote the book on counterinsurgency. Can he follow it? Peter Galbraith on how the surge will not change the truth that the President so desperately wishes to escape: George W. Bush launched and lost America's Iraq war. More sabers to rattle, perhaps fewer to thrust: Are we really too stretched for other wars? It’s unclear, but the risks are greater. Disobeying the prez: Will generals say no to risky Iran strike? Some "will quit" if Bush orders the attack. What Iraq tells us about ourselves: The Bush administration, the Iraqi people, and Iranian meddling have all been blamed for the mess in Mesopotamia. But the American people themselves are the true root of the problem. From Slate, does Bush know what neocon means? That isn't a rhetorical question. From National Journal, a cover story on the authenticity sweepstakes: From George Washington to George W. Bush, political candidates have sought to woo voters with "authentic" personalities. Current presidential candidates are struggling to find their real selves before the smear campaigns begin. Jonah Goldberg on the Beer Test: Who is the more likable presidential candidate? Taking our leaders at face value: A new study suggests that how we respond to a candidate's face could determine who we vote for. A look at why running for president is a bit like having sex. An article on why intuition is not your (or President Bush's) best friend. Jonathan Alter on the case for staying uncommitted: Of course the candidates are trying to muscle endorsements early. Why public officials should hang loose. Beware of celebrities bearing gifts: Why politicians keep going back to Hollywood for fund-raisers, even at their peril. Frank Luntz on how the GOP can get moving again: Drop the dirty politics and get real. Why pandering matters: It doesn't matter if the top Republican candidates don't have socially conservative pasts. Party pressure means they'll have conservative futures. From Rolling Stone, the most honest man in news: Keith Olbermann is mad as hell -- and unlike Rush Limbaugh, he's not faking it, and here are the Top Five Rants of Keith Olbermann. From Comment, here's 50 things to love about politics. As the stomach turns: Jan Freeman on a usefully ambiguous political challenge. And it’s unfair. My argument should be as loud as yours [Weekend 2e] News from around the world: From Liberia, a year after electing Africa’s first female president, things may be looking up for this war-torn nation founded by former slaves. On a dilemma in the Horn: Should the West go on helping a repressive Ethiopia?  Eritrea can help or hinder progress towards peace in the Horn. Malaysia at a Crossroads: The culturally diverse nation is struggling to strike a balance between its secular constitution and its Muslim majority; and the world's most populous Muslim nation is in the throes of a religious revolution: What does the future hold for Indonesia? In the Middle Ages, many Islamic scholars were women. Will their rediscovery have an effect on Muslim women today? Until Borat put it on the map, few people knew much about Kazakhstan, the world’s ninth-largest country. But Central Asia’s powerhouse has big plans, billions of barrels of oil and a young population hungry for education and music. Guns and steel on the Silk Road: China is sending more troops to the mostly Muslim province of Xinjiang in the far west. Concerns are rising in Beijing of ethnic unrest in the border region. Its plans for economic development there may be in trouble. How to strip-mine Shangri-La: The Chinese are ecstatic over newly discovered mineral deposits. But they are in Tibet, where the ecology is fragile and human rights even more so. Here's a tale of a journey on China's controversial new train to Tibet. It’s often said that China is walking a tightrope: Its economy depends on foreign money, its leadership is set in its ways, and its military expansion threatens the world. The immediate dangers run deeper than you realize. Many North Koreans are so desperate to escape they are prepared to risk their lives. For women the choice is stark: to die of hunger or be sold as brides in China. From Eurozine, the journal Arche has received a second "warning" from the Belarusian Ministry of Information. The offence: failing to notify the Ministry for the Press and Mass Media about changes in publication frequency one month in advance. Russian blogs are flourishing as alternative media and launchpads for an emerging civil society, but corruption and government manipulation are flourishing as well. Who's killing Putin's enemies? A report on the corruption and gangsterism gripping Russia (and part 2). Who will be ruling Russia next year? And what of the democracy that will decide that? From The New Federalist, the Nordic countries are often perceived as being hesitant with regard to the European construction. And even though some of these states actually became members of the EU, one knows that they often remained being wary. And the single market is the European Union's pride and joy. But it is in need of an update [Weekend] From Paraguay, the desire to spearhead political change in the country has compelled former bishop Fernando Lugo to renounce his church ministry for a probable presidential run. An interview with Jean-Bertrand Aristide, former president of Haiti. The Moses of Haiti: A review of Toussaint L'Ouverture: A Biography (and more). From the The African Review of Books, a review of Obsolescent Capitalism: Contemporary Politics and Global Disorder by Samir Amin; a review of Planting Rice and Harvesting Slaves: transformations along the Guinea Bissau coast, 1400-1900; a review of Mimi and Toutou go Forth: The Bizarre Battle of Lake Tanganyika. The strange disarray of Quebec separatism: Federalism can sometimes work—even in Canada. A review of The Howard Factor: A Decade that Transformed the Nation and The Longest Decade. Emboldened by the Palestinian struggle, an emerging movement in Israel wants full equality for the country's Arab citizens. India's democratic experiment, with all its flaws, and the often-dismissed version of Nehru-Gandhian secularism are things Indians can be proud of. But these are seldom the things that Indians are asked to be proud of. From New Statesman, secrets, lies and diplomats: We know next to nothing of how our overseas embassy staff operate in our name. In an astonishing exposé, a former high-flying official reveals the vanity, elitism and lack of moral purpose in Britain's diplomatic service. A review of Yo, Blair! by Geoffrey Wheatcroft (and more). And fighting in Baghdad: The British also announced themselves as liberators, not conquerors, when they marched into Baghdad 90 years ago [Feb 23] Jeffrey Sachs on why preventing the spread of war will depend on strategies that recognize the shared interests of adversaries. Global capitalism now has no serious rivals. But it could destroy itself: Timothy Garton Ash on how our planet cannot long sustain the momentous worldwide embrace of the manufacture of desires. America against itself: The US predicament is that one side of its dualist face has come to predominate. But bullying will not forever eclipse idealism. An interview with Noam Chomsky on Iran, Iraq, the Democrats and climate change, and a review of Hegemony or Survival and Tariq Ali's Pirates of the Caribbean. A review of Reading Legitimation Crisis in Tehran by Danny Postel. What scares Iran’s mullahs? What the unilateral and increasingly quixotic American embargo could not do in more than a decade, a limited United Nations resolution has accomplished in less than a month. Cheney's star may have faded at the White House, but his doctrine of preventive war remains Bush policy. Does this mean Iran is next? And James Fallows on the prospect of war on Iran: "Am I being too rational?" In for the long haul: The Petraeus plan will have U.S. forces deployed in Iraq for years to come. Does anybody running for president realize that? Peter Beinart on how he got the Iraq war wrong. Let's Go Baghdad! When it comes to thrills per capita, Iraq's capital is second-to-none. So throw on a flak jacket, grab your camera, and follow us! If the United States were a company, would George Bush be our CEO? The first MBA president probably wouldn't keep his job if he had to face a board of directors. But short of impeachment, what can be done to rein him in? It's too soon to judge the current one, but for past presidents, the verdict is in. U.S. News has averaged the results of five polls to make a gallery of the worst chief executives. Was 2006 a turning-point election? Steve Fraser is on the road to 2008. From Mother Jones, fiery populist rhetoric, promises of universal health care, and passion galore: Wait, these are Democrats? Pelosi rides high: Madam Speaker is turning out to be one of the Democrats' best assets. From The Politico, an article on the new GOP attack machine. Waiting for Al: As voters weary of the front-runners, what a chance for Al Gore. As Hillary Clinton runs, old foes like Richard Mellon Scaife stay on sideline: "Clinton wasn’t such a bad president. In fact, he was a pretty good president in a lot of ways". The battle between Bill Clinton's wife and Barack Obama could have a far-reaching impact on the former president's long-term legacy. The lineup of potential presidential candidates is a mishmash of senators, governors, former big-city mayors and a retired four-star Army general. But nearly all of them share one title: published author. Why isn't Bill Richardson's presidential candidacy taken seriously? The "Sliming Bowl" is well under way, and Fox's influence is too big -- and too damaging -- to ignore. Can the progressive Internet media and blogosphere bring it down? Plus: A brand new video! From Editor & Publisher, is The Washington Post a liberal newspaper? An interview with Len Downie [Feb 22] News from around the world: From Australia, on Aboriginal culture and assimilationist policies: A review of Another Country. Jagdish Bhagwati reviews The Writing on the Wall: Why We Must Embrace China as a Partner or Face It as an Enemy by Will Hutton. As the 70th anniversary of The Rape of Nanking approaches, China and Japan are trying to mend historical fences. Toyota will soon produce more vehicles than General Motors. How did a Japanese company that started out making textile looms become not only the best automaker in the world but also maybe the best corporation? When it comes to their country's "love hotels", the Japanese have a saying: "The end of the money is the end of the relationship". From The Hindu, India's relations with other countries and security issues are of never-ending interest to T.V. Paul. Why is Russia so nasty, and India so nice? Russia is spoiled by oil; India blessed with less. No Cold War, perhaps, but surely a lukewarm peace: US "unilateralism" meets Russian swagger, as the blocs begin to build. A Very Special Relationship: Why do US presidents go weak-kneed for their Russian counterparts? Tony Blair's successor will have to fashion a foreign policy that's less obsessed with the US. From Sign and Sight, don't blame the postmodernists: Stuart Sim answers Paul Cliteur, defending postmodernism and arguing that scepticism can contribute to a new European story. Why no one questioned the implications of bringing large Muslim populations into a secularizing West: A review of Sacred Causes by Michael Burleigh. A review of Testimony: The English Version of the Bestselling Temoignage by Nicolas Sarkozy. From Der Spiegel, the American pop singer Dean Reed was a superstar in the communist bloc, but unknown outside it. A new documentary tells the bizarre story of "The Red Elvis". Will capitalism fall victim to its own success? Timothy Garton Ash on how Karl Marx's solutions haven't worked, but he was right about the global reach and potential unsustainability of capitalism. Robert J. Samuelson on what's unnerving about the global money bazaar: It's not what we know, it's what we don't know. Robert Shiller on inequality and its discontents. Nafta should have stopped illegal immigration, right? The agreement wrongly assumed that the markets would act rationally. Hispanic American immigrants are filling the population gaps and bringing the Andes to... Madrid. A review of Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past. A review of The Last Forest: The Amazon in the Age of Globalization. Northern exposure: As the Arctic melts, vast deposits of oil and gas may be opened up for exploration. And are we trapped in a failed worldview? A review of The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future [Feb 21] From Libya, Harvard's Michael Porter wants to revamp Qaddafi's creaky economy. But will privatization and "mini-MBAs" prevail over statism and red tape? From Yemen, although the national economy is growing at a slow but steady pace, the problem of homelessness and poverty are actually getting worse due to the large influx of refugees from neighboring countries. Alfred Stepan on how Senegal has long been one of the Islamic world's most tranquil countries but now its democracy hangs in the balance. An excerpt from Frontline Pakistan by Zahid Hussain. A review of Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter; The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe; and The Iron Cage by Rashid Khalidi. An interview with Tariq Ramadan on the modern Muslim, and a review of The Messenger: The Meanings of The Life of Muhammad. A review of Infidel, Murder in Amsterdam, In the Name of Honour, and Shame. A review of American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion. They're baaack: Defeating Osama bin Laden's resurgent terrorist network requires far more than military might. From The American Conservative, don’t believe the White House denials, and watch the carrier groups converging in the Persian Gulf; spychip-enhanced passports make life easier for al-Qaeda and tougher for American travelers; a look at how Israel helped to create Hamas; the Battle of Baghdad may look less like Algiers than Stalingrad; and veterans of the Iraq War make unlikely but effective protesters. EJ Dionne on the anti-war rallying point. From Mother Jones, Iraq 101: Everything you wanted to know about Iraq but were afraid to ask. From Slate, Fred Kaplan on four bewildering remarks from the Bush administration. Dick Cheney under the microscope: Here's a glimpse into the vice-president's secret world. Could someone please explain why Scooter Libby is the only person on trial in the Valerie Plame leak investigation? Half a shield is better than none: A serious journalist-source privilege should be held hostage neither to hypothetical nightmare scenarios nor to the press’s stubborn, if principled, insistence on more than it really needs. An interview with William Safire on his days as a Nixon "leaker" to the press. The New JFK Film: A close look at the moments before the assassination. Changing the world, one laugh at a time: An article on "The Daily Show" and political activism. Why TV is better than the movies: Film has always been the Four Seasons to television's Motel 6. Not anymore. Here's how the small screen ended up so much bigger—and bolder—than the big one. From The Politico, a look at when presidents are funnier than comedians; and here's a Washington guide to late-night comedy. I Am George Jetson: New Yorkers, stop waiting for the future—You’re in it! But where are those flying cars? And the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, an old working-class area along the East River, is becoming hyper hip. That isn't such good news for many residents [Feb 20] From Vanuatu, one of the world's last surviving cargo cults is celebrating its official 50th anniversary on Tanna island. From Pakistan, an article on the allure of Western culture. Why Iran "meddles" in Iraq: Is Tehran's supposed involvement malign, or are its interests in the war legitimate? The dragon may be a universal symbol of the Middle Kingdom, but does it have a place in modern China? Reformers argue that China would be better off dropping the dragon as the national symbol. From The Journal of Military Ethics, an essay on Thucydides’ Three Security Dilemmas in Post-Soviet Strife. A review of War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda and Chemical Warfare: A Study in Restraints. From Peace Journalism, where have all the global statesmen gone? The good old days of the Cold War: Don't wax too nostalgic, says Paul Kennedy, the world was once a much more dangerous place. Just when you think society can’t get much worse - oooops, it does. And so it goes throughout time. Ignore the people who talk about all the terrible things that are going on in the world and how things are getting worse and worse. It’s not true ; things are getting better and better. From Sign and Sight, the logic of tolerance: In questions of reason and freedom, societies, like individuals, have to make a choice, says Swedish author Lars Gustafsson. If all EU business were conducted solely in English that would not mean that we shouldn't speak French in France, or German in Germany or Spanish in Spain. But in Brussels we should surely speak English. A review of Irish Freedom: A History of Nationalism in Ireland by Richard English. The Great Global Power Transfer: Ten years of news watching reveals a definite trend, and it’s not to the advantage of the American and British peoples. A poll finds the clash between Islam and the West is political. Rudy Giuliani as foreign policy guru? His tough-guy swagger may be attractive, but it's the same attitude that got us stuck in Iraq. Niall Ferguson on Obama's muddled stance on foreign intervention. Redefining "black": Obama's candidacy spotlights the divide between native black culture and African immigrants. A clue to Washington's cluelessness: The "null hypothesis" explains why Washington pundits are usually wrong. Is there any hope for the future of newspapers? Steven Rattner investigates. You Must Be Streaming: In a sudden reversal of fortune, newspapers have taken to online video and might just beat TV news at its own game. Do they still want their MTV? Finding the edge was simpler before competition for its core demographic started coming from all fronts. And the Incredible Shrinking Model: Why are models dwindling in size? Because they’ve dwindled in stature—from bodacious superstars to nameless, faceless manual laborers [Feb 19] From Lebanon, by demanding a national unity government and a veto power over major decisions, Hezbollah and its allies are sticking to the consociational (multi-confessional) letter and the republican (patriotic) spirit of the Lebanese constitution; and with traditional nationalism on the wane, Hizbullah appears well-placed to take a few cues from the body of political theory and philosophy. Eyes Off the Prize: As Iraq dominates U.S. attention, China, India and Iran are emerging as the next world powers. From Open Democracy, a question of moral legitimacy: Global cooperation is sorely needed in the face of America's diplomatic and strategic failings. It's the right answer – and the only answer. Fighting fires: Is American foreign policy increasingly ad hoc? Let’s go back and image what the world would have been like if we’d had a different president in 2001. Former Gannett chief and USA Today founder Al Neuharth calls Bush the worst president ever. Here's a fun activity the entire family can enjoy: Who was the worst vice-president ever? A reviews of history’s candidates who could reach for Cheney’s crown. Shafted: A look at how the Bush administration reversed decades of progress on mine safety. Balanced Budget Baloney: Robert Reich on the nonsensical quality of our budget debates. An article on Al Franken, FDR's freedoms, and the Third Way. Let's Play 20 Questions: Reason on a set of stumpers, nags, and insults for the 2008 field. Narrowing the religion gap? In this presidential race, it could be Democrats, not Republicans, who are most at ease in church. Beware, Brangelina. Barchelle has your number: The Obamas (Barack + Michelle) steam up newsstands. An interview with Bill Maher on Hillary and Obama and why he's so over McCain. Can liberal bloggers be both partisan kingmakers and independent journalists? The blogstorm over the John Edwards campaign points to some tough lessons. Arthur Sulzberger sees the future, and it’s not black-and-white. Prisoners of YouTube: Meet the most hilarious people ever to lose their jobs, friends, livelihoods, and their dignity—all for your personal amusement. And from The New Yorker, analysts unspooled: How well do the movies understand psychotherapists? [Weekend 2e] International issues: From Open Democracy, "the world is not getting so small that there is room for only one story": The changing spatial dimensions of human life and thinking are creating the need for a new imagination and politics of space. The plot in favour of America: Does Ban Ki-Moon's latest appointment put truth on the rumours of a US-dominated United Nations? There's much at stake. Testing times: The influence of the International Criminal Court is growing and the events of the next few weeks could be crucial for its future. Major sovereign powers should not be setting the world order, says Richard Falk. The US, reinforced by the UN and the rule of law, needs to give way to global institutions and alliances. Major casting changes forthcoming for the world stage: Within two years, four of the Big Five world powers will have new leaders. Rich nations pledge $1.5 billion to create an artificial market for pneumococcus, a neglected global killer. From Foreign Policy, developing countries could earn tens of billions of dollars from pollution credits thanks to climate change—and make foreign aid a thing of the past in the process.  Help Not Wanted: By pushing their alternative development model, wealthy nondemocratic regimes effectively price responsible aid programs out of the market exactly where they are needed most. An interview with Jagdish Bhagwati on why the US must rethink demands on developing states to spur Doha. From Der Spiegel, the transatlantic dispute over subsidies to aircraft-makers Airbus and Boeing could be the longest and most bad-tempered case ever heard by the World Trade Organisation’s dispute panel. The Franco-German management of aerospace company EADS is bickering over the restructuring plans for beleaguered airplane maker Airbus. The Steel Sailors: A ride-along with the men who move the raw materials that make the world go round. And from Business Week, a radical plan to manage globalization: Calling free trade "as outdated as the dodo," economist Vladimir Masch offers solutions to what he sees as big problems for the US (and a response on trade truths for turbulent times by Philip Levy) [Weekend] News from around the world: From China, yes, it would be easy to make fun of "Queuing Day". Pathetically easy. The Greatest Human Migration: Hundreds of millions of Chinese are gathering for the ultimate New Year's celebration. From Japan Focus, an essay on postwar Japanese intellectuals’ changing perspectives on “Asia” and modernity; and an article on the rise of China: Harbinger of a new global order, or in the footsteps of pre-crisis Japan and the Asian tigers? As their country is ravaged by Aids, some Papuans are reviving age-old beliefs in evil spirits … with murderous results. A new Moroccan plan to grant substantial autonomy to its restive Western Sahara region offers the best chance to end a damaging stalemate and resolve Africa's oldest territorial dispute. From The Globalist, a look at why bad loans are good for Africa. After so many deaths, too many births: Rwanda, still haunted by genocide, faces up to the threat of overpopulation. South Africa's democracy isn't looking too good these days. Not only is violent crime rampant, but so too is corruption in the upper echelons of government. Feminist, eco-warrior Nobel-prizewinner, Wangari Maathai remains Unbowed. But can her ideas really achieve anything? From Policy Review, Fatos Tarifa and Peter Lucas on the end of Balkan history: Serbia should let go of Kosovo and move on; and a review of The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe 1801-1805. Paris is the anti-Berlin: While the world's writers and artists are flocking to the ugly German capital, others are drawn to Paris to pursue their work in freedom and impeccable style. May 1 will mark the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union between Scotland and England: A reflection on the rise in nationalism on both sides of the border. A review of Europe's Physician: The various life of Sir Theodore De Mayerne by Hugh Trevor-Roper. And more on Europe at War 1939-1945: No Simple Victory by Norman Davies [Feb 16] The Greater Middle East:  From Uzbekistan, President Islam Karimov has been clever about staying in power but less so about making life better for his people. From Bangladesh, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus announces he is forming his own political party. From Lebanon, four stylish young women, an open-topped car, the rubble of war-torn Beirut, but where is the real power of Spencer Platt's prize-winning World Press Photo image? From The Nation, a review of Killing Mr Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East; Rafiq Hariri and the Fate of Lebanon; Heart of Beirut: Reclaiming the Bourj; and All Honourable Men: The Social Origins of War in Lebanon. Prelude to Progress: Daniel Levy on how to respond to the Palestinian Mecca deal. Israel's surge of despair: Top Israeli officials admit last summer's war against Hezbollah was a failure -- and denounce President Bush's actions in the Middle East. The Road to Reformation: Al Qaeda had hoped to rally the entire Muslim world against the West, but now it is in the middle of a dirty sectarian war within Islam. Tariq Ramadan on what the West can learn from Islam. A review of The Caged Virgin by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Shattering the Stereotypes. Public Diplomacy, TV-Style: Three Arab men go "On the Road in America" for a Saudi-owned TV network. From Policy Review, Bruce Berkowitz on a strategy for a long struggle: The threats are more resilient; conflict is more likely; Thomas H. Henriksen on security lessons from the Israeli trenches: A half-century of counterterrorism. The Roving Eye's grim world view: A review of Globalistan by Asia Times' Pepe Escobar (and 5 excerpts); and Spengler on the lighter side of national extinction. A review of Genocide: A History. How do we stop genocide when we begin to lose interest after the first victim? Paul Slovic urges review of the 1948 Genocide Convention to define the time to act. From Eurozine, an interview with Susan Neiman and Andreas Huyssen on the role of the public sphere in guiding a politics of memory in relation to Turkey's increasingly fraught Armenian issue. The New Transcaucasian Railway: Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan have signed an agreement to build a rail corridor that they hope will eventually link Europe with Asia. However, one country in the region, Armenia, is being left out

[Feb 28] Potpourri: Who do you think we are? A sneak peak at the latest results from the General Social Survey, a slowly developing snapshot of American thought and action in our time. An article on the perilous fantasy of energy independence. Why are conspiracy theories so popular? We may not always believe what we're told, but we still can't resist listening to them. The answer may lie deep within us all. With Congress set to take up the contentious issue of immigration reform, Business Week asks experts to weigh in with some constructive thoughts. From Details, a look at why gay men make the best bosses. An excerpt from Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben. Latin America’s new Label: An introduction to the magazine Etiqueta Negra. The first chapter from Containment: Rebuilding a Strategy against Global Terror by Ian Shapiro (and an interview). A review of The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times. Inside Bush's prosecutor purge: Why has the administration fired U.S. attorneys with sterling track records? To make room for its political loyalists, critics say, and exert its last shred of control. Marrying Absurd: An article on the Bush administration’s attempts to encourage marriage. A review of Indians and Emigrants: Encounters on the Overland Trails. Where were you that summer of 2001? Frank Rich wants to know. A review of History of Madness. Legislating against scepticism is a slippery slope: "What is truth" is not a question for politicians -- they are the worst equipped to recognise it. More and more and more and more on Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World by Margaret Macmillan. An interview with Brian Doherty, author of Radicals for Capitalism. Abuseless: Dahlia Lithwick on how the Padilla case proves the futility of mistreating prisoners. An interview with Eric Foner on Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction. The Shape of Faith: The sign of the cross is a reminder of whose we are. A onetime scourge of political correctness offers an ultra-PC view of Islam: A review of Dinesh D'Souza's The Enemy at Home. Marriage isn't enough: Why are any of us interested in registering the state of our intimate relationships with the government -- and why would a reasonable government want us to? A review of Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West. The Gay Grenade: Are ERA proponents agitating for women's rights at the expense of gays and lesbians? An interview with Andrew Roberts, author of A History of the English Speaking Peoples since 1900. A review of House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest. More on Canadian media giant CanWest's purchase of The New Republic. A review of The $800 Million Pill: The Truth behind the Cost of New Drugs. The Holland-America Line: An introduction to the magazine Ode. The Imperfect Sex: Why is Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz not a saint? And billions over Baghdad: Sending US cash to Iraq was one of the war’s big successes [Feb 27] From The New Yorker, is the Administration’s new policy aiding our enemies in the war on terrorism? Seymour M. Hersh investigates (and a video). From The Atlantic, James Fallows writes to Dick: "Dear Vice President Cheney. Go home, and shut up". Condi on Top: Finally, she’s wrested control of US foreign policy from Dick Cheney. But if she can’t hold on, get ready for an attack on Iran. Paul Johnson doesn't envy those in Washington whose duty it is to resolve the dilemma between idealism and realpolitik. Mark Schmitt on how Bush's is the certainty of a coach exhorting his players when they're down by 28 points. From FT, in most professions, a record of failure counts against you: From the guys who gave you the Iraq war, another fine idea. Geoffrey Wheatcroft on how the invasion of Iraq was foolish, illegal and finally catastrophic, and the only people who seem not to know this are our rulers. The war against Iraq has produced thousands of Mandaeans refugees. Who are they, and how many should be taken in by the United States? 737 US Military Bases = Global Empire: An excerpt from Chalmers Johnson's Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic. A review of Commander-in-Chief: How Truman, Johnson, and Bush Turned a Presidential Power Into a Threat to America’s Future. More on Joe Conason's It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril In The Age of Bush. A review of Law as a Means to an End: Threat to the Rule of Law. A review of Bruce Ackerman's Before The Next Attack: Preserving Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism. Who needs Jacques Bauer? The Napoleonic Code is more conducive to counterterrorism than the U.S. Constitution. Stuart Taylor Jr. on The Case for a National Security Court: The United States needs a new way to try enemy combatants for the good of the war on terrorism.  From Writ, the Supreme Court is at the tipping point: Should a Democratic Senate prevent Bush from creating a solidly conservative court? More on John Patrick Diggins' Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History. Lew Rockwell on the Republicans and their doomed ideology. A review of Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution. From Political Affairs, an article on the free enterprise system as ideology for monopoly. Does going green finally make economic sense? An article on the new math of alternative energy. An interview with Peter Barnes, author of Capitalism 3.0. Paul Conkin, author of The State of the Earth: Environmental Challenges on the Road to 2100, on the moral dilemma of the 21st century. The den mother of ecology: Ruth Patrick has been immersed in environmental science since before the term existed. At 99, she's making plans for the next decade. Since the early days of American history, so-called utopian communities have been a defining feature of our cultural landscape. Photographer Joel Sternfeld has captured 60 of them in his new book, Sweet Earth. A review of In Dream: Re-imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy. And a liberal dose of gloom: Ask 100 thinkers to consider the future and what do you get? Utter pessimism [Feb 26] From Prospect, the Big Question: We asked 100 writers and thinkers to answer the following question: Left and right defined the 20th century. "What's next?" Almost nobody expects the world to get better in the coming decades, and many think it will get worse. A review of Non-violence: The History of a Dangerous Idea. A review of The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American Power; Kofi Annan: A Man of Peace in a World of War; and Complicity with Evil: The United Nations in the Age of Modern Genocide. From Open Democracy, concerts and silly seasons: Michael Lind's proposed "concert of power" has no chance of being realised, argues David Rieff. Can Sam Nunn, head of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, do more now to curtail uranium smugglers, loose nukes and the proliferation of nuclear states than he could as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee? From Monthly Review, an interview with Stephen Duncombe, author of Dream: Re-imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy. Joel S. Hirschhorn, author of Delusional Democracy: Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government, on why national prosperity does not translate into prosperity for most citizens. Why brand obsession is the new status quo: A review of The Cult of the Luxury Brand. More on Affluenza: How to be Successful and Stay Sane by Oliver James. A review of The Gruesome Acts of Capitalism. Can free trade be a fair deal? It is in northern Europe, with open trade and lavish welfare states. For the United States to achieve that balance wouldn't be cheap. Robert Reich on a proposal for labor standards in trade deals that would help workers in America and abroad alike. Short of arguing that poor nations have no right to become rich, then, there is no way to slow greenhouse warming unless the rich countries help the poor manage their emissions during some period of transition. Enter Thomas C. Schelling... Warning on Warming: Bill McKibben reviews Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis: Summary for Policymakers by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. A review of The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement and The End of the Wild. Maybe we're looking for global warming leadership in the wrong place. Maybe looking in the mirror is the right place to start. And climate change is pushing ski resorts around the world to save their snowy whites -- by turning green. As the Aspen Ski Company demonstrates, these efforts extend well beyond the mountains themselves [Weekend 2e] From Armed Forces Journal, to destroy a nation is to destroy the very objective of peace; consequently, the less destruction, the more complete to the winner is the victory; a review of Counterinsurgency and the Global War on Terror: Military Culture and Irregular War; when it comes to winning small wars, air power is more than putting steel on target; how U.S. strategists lost sight of the purpose of war: A review of Finding the Target: The Transformation of American Military Policy by Frederick Kagan; an essay on the challenge of expanding U.S. land forces; rebels and religion: Ralph Peters on how fighters become fanatics; and a look at how Homer's Greek epic offers leadership lessons for modern warriors. Form Air Force Magazine, two editorials on how stronger defenses are only as unaffordable as we want them to be and on why you cannot wish away the realities of the nuclear age. From Freezerbox, who would Jesus deport? A look at how evangelicals seamlessly incorporate anti-immigrant rhetoric with their traditional odes to God and country. From The Spectator, a review of An Un-American Life: The Case of Whittaker Chambers by Sam Tanenhaus. From Alternet, an excerpt from Joe Conason's It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush. In this age of lazy moral equivalence, American Fascists seems like a hyperbolic title, but it is an outrage that people like The Guardian's Tobias Jones and the John Birch Society continue to maintain that it is atheists who have all the explaining to do. From American Renaissance, here are personal accounts of what led readers to racial consciousness; and a review of The Grey Book: Blueprint for Southern Independence. From Psychological Science, a look at how scriptural violence sanctioned by God can increase aggression, especially in believers. From Der Spiegel, murder and terror do not figure in the teachings of the monotheist world religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yet time and again, their fanatical followers embark on bloody rampages, their rage fired up b  y zealous priests and religious scholars. Slavery split apart American churches. Now could the fight over homosexuality do the same? A marriage made in heaven? Amid talk of a merger between Catholicism and Anglicanism, a look at how the two businesses might fit together. Religion and politics: John Derbyshire on who believes what, and why. Hubbard love: Barry Didcock puts his scepticism aside and goes in search of the truth behind Scientology, one of the world’s most controversial religions (and more). Neale Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God, responds to biologist Richard Dawkins’ assertion that God does not exist in any form. And a review of Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and The Battle for America's Soul [Weekend] From NYRB, Michael Tomasky reviews The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008; Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time; The Plan: Big Ideas for America; Take It Back: A Battle Plan for Democratic Victory; The Moral Center: How We Can Reclaim Our Country from Die-Hard Extremists, Rogue Corporations, Hollywood Hacks, and Pretend Patriots; Blue Grit: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians; and Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South. Rick Perlstein on how Mitt Romney is winning over conservative Republicans. Rudy Can Fail: He's a leader, not a manager. A review of Bringing Down the Mob: The War Against the American Mafia. A new report shows that New York City has the heaviest tax burden of the nine largest American cities, but what do New Yorkers get for what they pay? Americans have proven stubbornly resistant to life without the one-dollar bill. Will a series of "dead president" coins reverse the trend? The federal government is always the butt of jokes; now comedian Naomi Johnson wants to find some bureaucrats who can tell one. The New Republic, the left-leaning weekly magazine whose circulation has been hurt by the Web, has a new ownership and a new publishing schedule. False profits: Jack Shafer on when bad financial news for newspapers is good news for journalism. A review of Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media. Instead of stepping up coverage of international affairs, American newspapers and television networks are steadily cutting back. And a review of Can We Trust the BBC? and "Scrap the BBC!": Ten Years to Set Broadcasters Free [Feb 23] From TNR, Alan Wolfe on Peter Berkowitz, Dinesh D'Souza and the meaning of verbal firebombs. More on The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subcultures by Louis Theroux. A review of Alexis De Tocqueville: Prophet of democracy in the age of revolution. Breaking the chains: Britain abolished the slave trade 200 years ago this week. Its landmarks are an abiding legacy of cruelty. And to whom does William Wilberforce belong? As with many historical figures, his mantle is contested by devotees of different political hues. From The Nation, Eric Foner on Lincoln's antiwar record: Looking for a model lawmaker who called a President to account for launching a war on fabricated grounds? Consider Illinois Representative Abraham Lincoln's rebuke of James Polk. America tortures (yawn): In just a few years we've grown disturbingly comfortable with the fact that the US practices torture. From Discover, dead men walking: What sort of future do brain-injured Iraq veterans face? A review of Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis—and the People Who Pay the Price. Throwing away the key: Across the US thousands of ex-cons who have served jail time for sexual offences are kept incarcerated on questionable grounds. Prisoners of the Census Bureau: How and where the U.S. counts inmates has huge, and unsettling, consequences. If you're writing about prisoners, remember this: hell hath no fury like an inmate scorned. From The Economist, time is running out for George Bush to leave a positive mark on America. A look at the chances of reform in five key areas: education, health care, Social Security, immigration, and the environment. Green Theft Auto: We liberals need pacification measures that are, to use a slang term of ours, broad-based and comprehensive. A conservative conservationist? South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford on why the Right needs to get invested in the search for climate change solutions. The first of five reports from the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual gathering looks at the threat of being hit by an asteroid. From New York, the Jane Jacobs of the South Bronx: Majora Carter, MacArthur genius and community activist, thinks the era of Robert Moses is back, and her job is to do something about it. Why do we skew tax breaks to favor richer people and more profitable businesses? There is a way to avoid incentive inequity. A review of Poor People by William T. Vollmann. The soulful science: Economics is an exciting, innovative discipline that has moved far beyond the arid stereotypes of its critics. (Can't Get No) Satisfaction: The new science of happiness needs some historical perspective. The road to happiness: Issues of wellbeing are at the forefront of politics, but do our politicians have anything to contribute beyond warm words and policy gimmicks. That's what friends are for: The ancient Greek philosophers put a high value on friendship and we should learn from this in the wellbeing debate. The family care burdens shouldered by working women isn't personal--it requires a political fix. And spending hours stuffing political leaflets through letterboxes may not sound like an ideal way to spend a Saturday, but there are young activists who, far from being disengaged with the political process, positively enjoy it [Feb 22] The politics of sex and gender - American history: From TAP, could a redesigned diaphragm not only become popular among American women, but also save lives in HIV-ravaged nations? Rites and wrongs: Is outlawing female genital mutilation enough to stop it from happening in the US?  The decline of rape: What the sharp decline in reported sexual assaults reveals about today's youth. From PopMatters, even the most die-hard homosexual would probably be a little disconcerted should his or her doctor flit into the room exclaiming, "Girlfriend! Your X-rays look faaabulous!" A review of Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics by Jennifer Baumgardner. Brokeback mutton: William Saletan discovers what gay sheep tell us about human sexuality. Human Like Me? Emily Bazelon on the New Jersey Supreme Court case that could define the fetus. Psst! Ask for Donor 1913: As competition increases, sperm banks reveal more and more about donors. Thanks to DNA testing, Sally Hemings is fully part of national history. Scott McLemee considers the work of Mia Bey, a scholar who fears the real story will be whitewashed. A review of Adopted Son: Washington, Lafayette, and the Friendship That Saved the Revolution. Moonshine Patriot: John Fund on George Washington, whiskey entrepreneur. A review of George III: America's Last King and A Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings. A review of The Great Negro Plot: A Tale of Conspiracy and Murder in Eighteenth-Century New York. A review of Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer. From Chronicles, the Lincoln story qualifies as fable rather than myth. The interesting question to be asked is, why was the fable created, and what purpose does its false story serve? (and part 2 and part 3). A review of This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War by James M. McPherson. A review of John Brown, Abolitionist: The man who killed slavery, sparked the Civil War, and seeded civil rights and Redemption: The last battle of the Civil War.  A review of Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans From Colonial Times to the Present. Carlin Romano reviews The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Awakening of a Nation. One of the reasons it is so difficult to thwart modern-day racism is that black people are increasingly denied the specific language necessary to define it. From American Heritage, why did President Roosevelt strip Japanese-Americans of their freedom? A review of First Into Nagasaki: The Censored Eyewitness Dispatches on Post-Atomic Japan and Its Prisoners of War. A review of Firestorm: Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden. And Paul Kennedy reviews Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World [Feb 21] From In These Times, a politically correct lexicon: Here's a look at your "how-to" guide to avoid offending anyone. Leftward, Ho? On the American left, talk of a — stutter, clear-throat, perish-thought — liberal resurgence. More on A Bee in the Mouth Anger in America Now by Peter Wood. A review of Joe Klein’s Politics Lost: How American Democracy Was Trivialized by People Who Think You’re Stupid. Glenn Smith, author of The Politics of Deceit: Saving Freedom and Democracy from Extinction, on the children of Rousseau and Hobbes. A review of The Silence of the Rational Center: Why American Foreign Policy is Failing. From TAP, there was no "smart" way to invade Iraq: Liberal hawks are stuck on blaming Bush's incompetent handling of the Iraq war instead of arguing that we should never have invaded in the first place, and the debate over the war in Congress this winter is likely just a rehearsal. A review of Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them. If you're worried about terrorism, upset about the war in Iraq, and depressed by global chaos, violence and death, cheer up. The US military just invented a weapon that fires a beam of searing pain. More on Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic by Chalmers Johnson. Americans have reason to doubt the future of their democracy: An excerpt from Joe Conason's It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush. A review of American Homeland: A Journey to the Heart of America's Conservative Revolution. From Reason, an article on remembering the 20th century's most influential libertarian, Milton Friedman. There is basis on which the fusionist might make his case, namely the philosophy of a thinker admired by conservatives and libertarians alike: F. A. Hayek. But would-be fusionists have to ask themselves how much of it they can accept. The first chapter from The Education of Ronald Reagan: The General Electric Years and the Untold Story of his Conversion to Conservatism. A review of Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History by John Patrick Diggins. The forgettable Millard Fillmore: The 13th president shows that the country's highest office is remarkably indestructible. From First Things, Joseph Bottum and Michael Novak debate the leadership of George W. Bush; and Hadley Arkes on the Kennedy Court. Benjamin Wittes on how conservatives still can't transform the Supreme Court. A review of The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America by Jeffrey Rosen. It is a measure of how far we have come as a nation that military commissions, once seen as a great stride forward for American principles of justice and the rule of law, will now for ever after be associated with the abridgement of rights. And Peter Singer on hypocritical America: Whatever US courts say about it, abducting people all over the world, locking them up for years without establishing that they are guilty of anything, and subjecting them to harsh and abusive treatment is a flagrant violation of international law [Feb 20] Is America too damn religious? Barry Lynn, Susan Jacoby and Alan Wolfe debate Jean Bethke Elshtain, Albert Robateau and William Galston. An interview with Paul Kengor, author of God and George W. Bush: A Spiritual Life, on religion and the Presidency. The ambiguous legacy of William Jennings Bryan: Was Bryan's social gospel an aberrant episode in the history of the evangelical moral economy? A review of American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges (and an interview). From Town Hall, here's a Letter to a Stupid Atheist. A review of In Defense of Atheism: The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam by Michel Onfray. For Gods and Country: The Army chaplain who wanted to switch to Wicca? Transfer denied. A review of My Year Inside Radical Islam: A Memoir by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross. Mr. Counterintuition: An interview with Thomas Schelling, and why America is safer with sophisticated enemies. From Alan Keyes' Renew America, an article on the rise of conservatism and the decline of liberalism. Some justified criticisms and the wrong conclusions: A review of What’s Left? by Nick Cohen, who braves the wrath of latte man, but faces some unpalatable facts. Excommunication for Thee: Peter Berkowitz on Alan Wolfe's self-incriminating attack on Dinesh D'Souza. Folk music and a collection of feminist poetry may well be dead giveaways that there is a liberal in the house. But what about an ironing board or postage stamps or a calendar? An article on investigating links between personality and politics. The Romantic Life of Brainiacs: College-educated, highly successful women have long had a reputation for marrying less (and having lousier sex). But in a historic reversal of past trends, these women now triumph in matrimony. Marriage historian Stephanie Koontz explains. Illegitimate Complaints: The Anna Nicole Smith story hardly represents a more depraved morality than the “dignified silence” that surrounded deviations from the family values and marriage customs of the past. A review of Sarah Igo's The Averaged American: Surveys, Citizens, and the Making of a Mass Public. From IEET, an article on precarity and experimental subjection. Is the new UN global warming report too conservative? Brett Clark and John Bellamy Foster investigate. Who invented the environment? Gerald Owen investigates, and more on eco-Plato and Atlantis. Not if, but when: Business lobbyists are scrambling to figure out how best to position their clients amid what appears to be an unstoppable push to write global-warming legislation. And it might seem very odd to look to a long-dead Russian anarchist for business advice. But Peter Kropotkin's big idea--that there are important human motivations beyond what he called "reckless individualism"--is very relevant these days: Business try to find how much work people will do for free [Feb 19] From Tomdispatch, the undertaker's tally: Whatever their other ties, Rumsfeld and Cheney were two of the era's visceral reactionaries in the classic sense of the term, and more on the power and the glory. Stanley Kurtz on marriage and the terror war: Better learn up on your anthropology if you want to understand the war (and part 2). From Time, a look at The Grassroots Abortion War. Jim Wallis on why the Religious Right's era is over. From Der Spiegel, just what do non-believers believe in? Despite all the tempting spiritual goodies our world offers, enlightened skeptics still seek to practice a secular, humanist morality. But the lure is growing hard to resist: Even pious Catholics are starting to dream of reincarnation. Let's build an international secular movement! Azar Majedi on why the civilized world needs it. Who took the "Judeo" out of "Judeo-Christian"? Carlin Roma