online archive

The war on terror, economics and race and immigration

The introduction to The Cultural Contradictions of Democracy: Political Thought since September 11 by John Brenkman. Deciding what to do with jihadist operatives is the country's most urgent legal question. But there's little sign that the presidential candidates have given it much thought. The Worst of Both Worlds: Dahlia Lithwick on the false choice between treating terrorists as criminals or soldiers. The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist: The real threat to the West is not from foreign jihadis but from unremarkable civilians within our societies, says an insightful new report from the New York Police Department. From City Journal, an article on The Coming Urban Terror: Systems disruption, networked gangs, and bioweapons. A list of the 6 most over-hyped threats to America (and what should scare you instead). The Yoda of 9/11: Pat Curley slices through the loony conspiracy theories at his influential "Screw Loose Change" website. Secrets and Lies: John Young is the man behind the world's most dangerous website, "Cryptome".

From Mute, with the prospect of earning over the odds on derivatives trading, hedge fund managers are employing ever more high-tech means to calculate risk and predict stock market activity. But Wall Street’s faith in its own predictive powers often blinds investors to the fundamental laws of investment; and would a financial crisis mean recession, depression or revolution? And haven’t we been waiting a long time for this liberating, or devastating, catastrophe? Jeff Strahl surveys the prophets and naysayers and gives his own take on "a global crisis of unprecedented proportions". Debtonation: The global financial crisis exposes the failure of the economic model that rules the world. A review of The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market’s "Perfect Storm" by Robert F Bruner and Sean D.Carr. From Foreign Policy, an interview with Steve Forbes on private equity. Daniel Gross on How To Speak Hedgie: What hedge-fund managers mean when they talk about challenges.

Andrew Taslitz (Howard): Racial Blindsight: The Absurdity of Color-Blind Criminal Justice. Matt A. Barreto (Washington): "Si Se Puede! Latino Candidates and the Mobilization of Latino Voters. Cristina Rodriguez (NYU): The Significance of the Local in Immigration Regulation. Our Town: In the Illinois town of Carpentersville, a slate calling itself the All American Team won seats on the village board by vowing to crack down on illegal immigrants. Now all sorts of people don’t feel at home. Latin boon for Brand Canada: Divisive immigration politics in the U.S. are pushing talented Latinos further north. The Minutemen's Own Riefenstahl? Christie Czajkowski is more than a political activist fighting against a perceived Mexican invasion; she's the movement's videographer. A review of Border Film Project: Photos by Migrants & Minutemen on the U.S.-Mexico Border by Rudy Adler, Victoria Criado, and Brett Huneycutt. Is "American Owned" a sign of patriotism or xenophobia?