From Scientific American, new nukes are good nukes? What does it mean when the U.S. government announces plans to create the first new nuclear warhead in two decades? On the horizon appears an approaching religious [and scientific] furor so contentious, any clash of civilizations may have to wait. On one side, a manuscript titled: The Final Freedoms, against all the gravitas religious tradition can bring to bear.
A review of Chalmers Johnson's Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire. Michael Lind on reviving the republican way of war. A review of Collusion: International Espionage and the War on Terror. Spencer Ackerman reviews At the Center of the Storm: My Years In the CIA by George Tenet. Woodward vs. Tenet: Jeffrey Goldberg on the new intelligence war. An interview with Tara McKelvey, author of Monstering: Inside America’s Policy of Secret Interrogations and Torture in the Terror War.
First They Came for the Latinos: Heard rumors of civilians rounded up, locked up, and searched for papers, lately? Don't worry. That only happens in another America. Defining Hate in the United States: Despite widespread public support, hate crime law across the country remains inconsistent and the crimes often go unpunished. Bully pulpit: Are anti-bullying laws gay? Restoring Legal Accountability: The doctrine of limited liability is central to the rise of unfettered, irresponsible corporate power. It must be challenged in the interests of individual freedom, equality before the law and shared prosperity.
The Enron Enablers: It looks like the financial firms that helped the company cook its books just might get away with it. A new wave of militant consumer is rising, hitting large corporations where it hurts - in the wallet. They're middle-class, sick of bad service and they're not taking it any more. Where consumer culture doesn't quite reach: A study explores squatter communities on outskirts of rapidly developing urban areas. Rich countries may be largely to blame for adding climate change to Africa's litany of problems, but the continent's own politicians have yet to take it seriously.
The World After Oil: As the planet warms up, eco-friendly fuels can't get here fast enough. The latest figures on flights are a disaster for the environment: There is only one way to turn things around: a reduction in the capacity of airports. Thinking Outside the Fox: Rupert Murdoch launches effort to green News Corp.'s operations and programming. John Allen Paulos on global warming, genies and torture: What do they have to do with each other? Maybe a lot.
And from NYRB, Wretched of the Earth: Nicholas D. Kristof on Poor People by William T. Vollmann, and Understanding Poverty; and what's wrong with doctors: A review of How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman
