online archive

War and ideology, economic class and the environment

From Dissent, a review of The Enemy at Home The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11 by Dinesh D’Souza. No, it's the dog that wags the tail: A review of The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt (and an interview). Hooked on War: Norman Solomon on the secret addiction of Thomas Friedman. From Counterpunch, an article on intellectuals and the "War on Terror": An Occident waiting to happen. From New Left Review, Alexander Cockburn investigates the disappearance of the anti-war movement: co-opted by the Democrats, captive to the logic of the War on Terror. Can we handle the truth? America's selective memory and massacres long since forgotten: An excerpt from Howard Zinn's A Power Governments Cannot Suppress. Noam Chomsky has peered into the abyss of the future with the eye of a true skeptic, and a review of Interventions.

From New Statesman, John Pilger on how class allows us to connect the present with the past and to understand the malignancies of a modern economic system based on inequity and fear. Role models aren't only middle-class: The instinct of any caste or class is to reproduce itself, and so it is with the black and urban middle classes. An excerpt from The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America. Sweet charity? When a government fails its poor, giving can become a radical act. Big Gifts, Tax Breaks and a Debate on Charity: Though the rich are giving more than ever, some ask whether the public benefits of philanthropy are commensurate with the tax breaks that givers receive. A review of Are the Rich Necessary? Great Economic Arguments and How They Reflect Our Personal Values by Hunter Lewis. A review of Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas. Hey, Big Spenders: Will the rich save the economy?

From NYRB, Michael Tomasky reviews The Assault on Reason by Al Gore. Neutrality is cowardice: Journalists who provide a platform for climate change sceptics should summon up the courage needed to help defend the planet. A review of The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock. Arctic Land Grabs Could Cause Eco-Disaster: After nations carve up the fast-melting region, will there be anything left? From Orion, an article on Lessons from the New World: Success is beginning to look a lot like failure. Consider Using the N-Word Less: Voluntary actions didn't get us civil rights, and they won't fix the climate. Eco-capitalists save Mother Nature by charging for her services: The eco-capitalists are coming, and they aren't wielding Thoreauvian platitudes about the sanctity of nature. 4 robots that are saving the world: Smart machines help fix humanity's ecological screwups. A review of The World Without Us by Alan Weisman.