Home

What is this?

Archives

Music reviews

The Archives: November 2003

Sunday, November 30, 2003

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Revisiting Cold War Coups and Finding Them Costly Stephen Kinzer The New York Times Several dozen scholars say that coups in Iran and Guatemala — the first that the C.I.A. carried out — had terrible long-term effects Smugglers Enticed by Dirty Bomb Components Joby Warrick The Washington Post Radioactive Materials Are Sought Worldwide Patriot Act stirs worry, but it's been little-used Raja Mishra The Boston Globe Although this seems like a broad power, according to declassified Justice Department records, federal agents have not used it once since Sept. 11, 2001 An image of U.S. lawlessness Richard Gwyn The Toronto Star (Toronto, Canada) The deformation of, the official treatment of, and public attitudes toward, civil rights in the U.S. thus may well be deep Iraqi Leaders Say U.S. Was Warned of Disorder After Hussein, but Little Was Done Joel Brinkley and Eric Schmitt The New York Times The fact that the administration embraced their encouragement to go to war but apparently discounted their warnings is an insight into the Pentagon's prewar planning A Conversation on Tiptoes, Wary of Mines John F. Burns The New York Times For now, to gauge the real mood of Iraqis, a visitor must listen carefully Bush plans new nuclear weapons Paul Harris The Observer (UK) The United States is embarking on a multimillion-dollar expansion of its nuclear arsenal, prompting fears it may lead the world into a new arms race Torturers who live among us must be caught and face justice William D. ''Bill'' West The Miami Herald Last month, a federal jury in U.S. District Court in Miami rendered a hugely significant verdict in the case of Armando Fernández Larios	Election Is Now for Bush Campaign Dan Balz and Mike Allen The Washington Post President Bush's reelection team, anticipating another close election, has begun to assemble one of the largest grass-roots organizations of any modern presidential campaign Democrats Laud Pelosi's Style Juliet Eilperin The Washington Post House Minority Leader Commended for Focus on Party Unity Military could be swing vote in '04 Scott Shepard Cox News Service The Atlanta Journal-Constitution GOP can't assume support is there, analysts warn The Productivity Paradox Stephen S. Roach The New York Times The official productivity numbers are, in effect, mistaking work time for leisure time Gertrude Stein was right Christie Blatchford The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) The truth is that the anonymous, homogenuous suburbs are all the same, interchangeable one with the other, and that this is bloody Middle America, like it or not Dissing Government Jim Hoagland The Washington Post The relentless and prolonged assault by politicians and the public on the competence and motives of their government bureaucracies is slowly but surely undermining democracy in the Americas and Europe
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
	Hello, my name is Amplifico Joshua Glenn The Boston Globe EARLIER THIS MONTH, the BBC reported that an effort to mock the "corporate rebranding" trend -- remember when Bell Atlantic became Verizon? -- had backfired Saruman to "Take Control" of Iraq The Brains Trust (UK) In a stunning move designed to rescue America's faltering position in Iraq, the Brains Trust has learned that the United States will transfer control of Iraq to "Saruman, Wizard of Isengard"

Saturday, November 29, 2003

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
The Bubble of American Supremacy George Soros The Atlantic A prominent financier argues that the heedless assertion of American power in the world resembles a financial bubble—and the moment of truth may be here Abizaid of Arabia Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. The Atlantic General John Abizaid has driven big changes in the American military. Now, as he commands U.S. forces in the Middle East, his ideas are being put to the test November Deadliest Month in Iraq Bradley Graham The Washington Post More U.S. troops have died in Iraq in November than in any month since the war began in March, according to Defense Department figures Iraq Exit Plan: New Obstacles Steven R. Weisman The New York Times At stake is whether the administration can reconcile President Bush's desire for a speedy transfer of sovereignty to a friendly Iraqi government next year, with the need to have some sort of electoral process to ensure that government's validity in the eyes of Iraqis and the rest of the world A Prisoner Of Panic After 9/11 Michael Powell The Washington Post Jailed the night of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the Algerian air force lieutenant with an expired visa has spent the past 26 months in federal prisons, much of that time in solitary confinement	Bush trip reminder of clout of office Bob Kemper The Chicago Tribune With Election Day less than a year away, President Bush's secret Thanksgiving Day trip to Baghdad served as a not-so-subtle reminder to his political rivals of the awesome power he can flex as the incumbent president Two See Iowa as Crucial Battleground Dan Balz The Washington Post The Dean-Gephardt fight is rich in substance and symbolism, offering a window into the state of the Democratic Party and the power of its resurgent liberal wing The End Of Equality George Packer TomPaine.com Does it matter that America keeps getting economically more unequal? Florida is of special interest to Bush for '04 Charlie Savage The Boston Globe The administration is paying intense attention to Florida, which went to Bush by only 537 votes in 2000 and could prove to be the decisive swing state again next year The secret resignation letters of fed-up Bush officials Arianna Huffington Salon.com It's a collection of resignation letters written by disaffected members of the Bush administration who so disagreed with administration policies that they preferred the uncertainty of the unemployment line to toeing the party line The risks of the short view David Gergen U.S. News and World Report It is thus with a heavy heart that one watches the unfolding drama of the Bush administration. Its embrace of short-termism first became apparent early on when it canceled--without warning to allies--America's signature to the Kyoto treaty on global warming
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
That Man in the White House Andrew Ferguson The Weekly Standard George W. Bush has had the same effect on his political enemies that Bill Clinton had on his. He has driven them crazy; the nuthouse lately vacated by the Clinton-haters has suddenly filled with Bush-haters Where are the conservatives? Gloria Borger U.S. News and World Report Conservatives understand that, too. They're holding back now because George W. Bush has been very, very good to them, but just wait

Friday, November 28, 2003

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
Some Understand Covert Journey; Others Fear Bad Precedent Howard Kurtz The Washington Post Although the White House lied to much of the press to conceal President Bush's Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad, many journalists and analysts yesterday were willing to give the administration a pass An Indelible Moment in A War and Presidency Dana Milbank The Washington Post While the troops cheered the moment, it is too soon to know whether the image of Bush in his Army jacket yesterday will become a symbol of strong leadership or a symbol of unwarranted bravado An Iraqi's Likely Story David Ignatius The Washington Post Bush administration hard-liners have a dangerous habit of selectively using intelligence to support the policy conclusions they favor. The latest example of that tendentious approach comes in the leaked Pentagon memo on alleged operational links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda that was summarized last week by the Weekly Standard The Politics of Indignity Christopher Dickey Newsweek.com When proud people feel like afterthoughts they get angry, whether in restive Iraq or rural America. And some get violent The Good News Paul Krugman The New York Times I keep coming back to the big good news of the past 25 years: in a world with more or less free trade, development is possible Pushing Technology And Fighting Skeptics Bradley Graham The Washington Post Missile Defense to Be Deployed in Election Year	Sleeping With The Enemy David Corn TomPaine.com Why do the Democrats insist on helping the Bush camp win its fights? Clark's True Colors Matt Taibbi The Nation Like a turtle resting on a rock in the middle of a pond, he simply seems never to move, no matter how long you stare. But then, just as you're about to pack up your picnic basket and go home, you catch him Why I'm for Dean William Greider The Nation Howard Dean is an odd duck, certainly, in the milieu of the contemporary Democratic Party
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The Democrats!: Beloved Series Nears End of Run Daniel Henninger The Wall Street Journal The primary race makes clowns of serious men

Thursday, November 27, 2003
Happy Thanksgiving

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
9/11 Panel May Seek Extension Dan Eggen The Washington Post "Unfortunately, the production of a timely report no longer seems to be possible, in large part because of the delays caused by the administration and the agencies that report to it," the group's statement said Garner admits US errors in Iraq BBC (UK) The man the US initially put in charge of governing Iraq says mistakes were made after the coalition took charge Attacks on G.I.'s in Mosul Rise as Good Will Fades Dexter Filkins The New York Times It was not supposed to be this way in Mosul, an ethnically diverse city of two million people and the economic and cultural center of northern Iraq
The Right Wing	Funny stuff

Wednesday, November 26, 2003

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics / Election 2004
The Vanishing Case for War Thomas Powers The New York Review of Books The invasion and conquest of Iraq by the United States last spring was the result of what is probably the least ambiguous case of the misreading of secret intelligence information in American history Media Silence on 9/11 Danny Schechter, Colleen Kelly Alternet.org Why has the mainstream media paid so little attention to the ongoing investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks? The Crisis of Feith Jim Lobe Foreign Policy in Focus If the administration is looking for a scapegoat for the situation it faces in Iraq, Douglas Feith is the most likely candidate Fragments of the Future: The FTAA in Miami Rebecca Solnit tomsdispatch.com Alternet.org What went down in Miami was a dramatic example of how hallowed American rights are being dismantled in the name of the war on terrorism Spoilers Gatecrash the Iraq Spoils Party Herbert Docena Foreign Policy in Focus Despite new offers for broader participation in Iraq's reconstruction bonanza, the United States-convened donors' conference on Iraq ended in stifled disappointment Editorial: Boeing's Tawdry Deal The New York Times New revelations about Boeing's $20 billion deal with the Air Force suggest that the Pentagon's procurement process is vulnerable to corruption Reviving Mideastern Democracy Saad Eddin Ibrahim The Wall Street Journal We Arabs need the West's help to usher in a new Liberal Age	The Wrong Target Robert Borosage The American Prospect Democratic candidates obsessed with Bush's deficits are missing a free shot at his greatest economic vulnerability: the lack of jobs Treason's Greetings William Saletan and Jacob Weisberg Slate.com The GOP calls Democrats soft on terror America's enemy within Naomi Klein The Guardian (UK) Armed checkpoints, embedded reporters in flak jackets, brutal suppression of peaceful demonstrators. Baghdad? No, Miami A Day to Toast Common Bonds David S. Broder The Washington Post Be thankful this Thanksgiving that no civil war looms, for the divisions are everywhere to be seen
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Gen. Franks Doubts Constitution Will Survive WMD Attack John O. Edwards NewsMax.com Gen. Tommy Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government The War on Terror's Newest Bad Cliche Matt Labash The Weekly Standard.com " . . . or the terrorists will have won" is replaced by a new, equally-annoying trope Bush speaks the language in Britain John O'Sullivan The National Review online As things turned out, his state visit was little short of a triumph Reviewing Reviewers David Frum The National Review online By agreeing to let the President be bottled up inside the palace, the trip’s planners reduced the risk of confrontations – but only by broadcasting to the British public their tacit acknowledgement that the visit was unpopular and unwelcome	Court Upholds Same-Religion Jewish Marriages Art Levine Beliefnet Calif. court says marriages between Jews 'should be honored'; Jewish men wonder, 'Can we still date shiksas'?