online archive
1:55PM
JUN 14 2007
Human rights, academia, science, religion and history
Zanita Fenton (Miami): The Paradox of Hierarchy – or Why We Always Choose the Tools of the Master's House. A review of Constitutional Democracy: Creating and Maintaining a Just Political Order by Walter F. Murphy. A review of Is Democracy Possible Here? by Ronald Dworkin. A review of Lynn Hunt's Inventing Human Rights: A History.
From Human Rights & Human Welfare, a review of Freeing God’s Children: The Unlikely Alliance for Global Human Rights by Allen D. Hertzke; a review of The Human Rights Reader: Major Political Essays, Speeches and Documents from Ancient Times to the Present; a review of Understanding Human Rights: An Exercise Book by Elisabeth Reichert; a review of Human Rights in the World Community. Issues and Action; a review of Health and Human Rights: Basic International Documents; and a review of Global Ethics and Civil Society.
From Democratiya, Nick Cohen reviews Orwell in Tribune: As I Please and Other Writings 1943-7; and an essay on Edward Said and the Iranian Revolution. An academic late bloomer moves on: Superstar historian Margaret MacMillan muses on her ascension, her powerful ancestors and "poor little Britney". He could be the most important economist of the past fifty years. Yet, notwithstanding his Nobel Prize, Douglass North's work is little known and little recognized, even within the economics profession.
Norman Finkelstein, the famed critic of Israel, has been denied tenure by DePaul University. What does it mean for academic freedom? "Now everyone talks about the union in the open": Workers score a victory at Harvard. High school students in Connecticut weren't allowed to discuss the war, so they wrote a play about it. "Voices in Conflict" was quickly banned by the school, but made it to New York where it brought the audience to tears.
Journey to the Center of the Earth: We know more about the edge of the universe than about the core of our planet. Could a crazy mission get to the bottom of things? An excerpt from Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind by Dorothy L. Cheney and Robert M. Seyfarth. A study provides first evidence that chimpanzees pass along newly learned behaviors and customs to other communities. Scientists discover 3,000-pound Gigantoraptor dinosaur in Mongolia. One scientist's junk is a Creationist's treasure: Without your "junk DNA" you might be reading this article while hanging upside down by your tail. The 1 Percent Genome Solution: Tiny slice of genome reveals bustling activity in the gaps between genes.
An excerpt from Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science and Religion by John Polkinghorne. A review of The Physics of Christianity by Frank J. Tipler. A review of Early Christianity by Mark Humphries. A review of A History of the Later Roman Empire AD 284-641: The Transformation of the Ancient World by Stephen Mitchell. A review of Youth in the Middle Ages. An excerpt from Tulipmania: Money, Honor, and Knowledge in the Dutch Golden Age by Anne Goldgar. A review of The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815 by Tim Blanning.
1:55PM
JUN 14 2007
Iraq, media, health care, sex and crime, religion and ideology
From Radar, sure, Britain's still in. But what about Mongolia? Checking in on the "Coalition of the Willing". The US's new plan for Iraq is to withdraw all but a post-occupation troop force in 2009. But can you spot the oxymoron? Post-traumatic Iraq syndrome: The war is lost. Americans should begin to deal with what that means. Do past empires hold lessons for U.S. foreign policy today? Alex Cooley has thoughts on a debate. A review of The Pentagon: A History by Steve Vogel.
The Case of the Iraq War: An excerpt from When the Press Fails: Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina by W. Lance Bennett, Regina G. Lawrence, and Steven Livingston. An interview with Greg Palast, author of Armed Madhouse: Who’s Afraid of Osama Wolf? China Floats, Bush Sinks, The Scheme to Steal '08, No Child’s Behind Left, and Other Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War (and another interview).
From Business Week, is Europe's health care better? U.S. health care has been declared a disaster. Britain's subsidized NHS is little better. France's hybrid system works, but faces rising costs; The Sorry States of Health Care: A state-by-state study shows who has the best and worst grades on 32 health indicators, and even the best are none too good. From Democracy, a review of Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis - And the People Who Pay the Price by Jonathan Cohn; and Unsafe at Any Rate: If it's good enough for microwaves, it's good enough for mortgages. Why we need a Financial Product Safety Commission.
From In These Times, at what price victory? In order to pass their budget, House Democrats have proposed increasing the funding of a harmful abstinence-only program. What medication can't achieve: Paedophilia is a continuum that covers a range of behaviours - and chemical castration isn't the solution. A review of American Furies: Crime, Punishment, and Vengeance in the Age of Mass Imprisonment by Sasha Abramsky. The Fame and Misfortune of Celebrity: Why Paris Hilton does not belong behind bars. Siege of Paris: Christopher Hitchens on the creepy populism surrounding high-profile defendants.
From Butterflies & Wheels, a review of God is Not Great. A review of Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — and Doesn’t by Stephen Prothero. Research shows that the more secularists there are living near evangelicals, the more politically conservative those evangelicals will be. Might the secular start developing this same kind of tribalism? From The Village Voice, a neo-Nazi field trip to the Met: White supremacists from across the country gather in New Jersey and New York for barbecue and culture. Michael Kazin reviews Comrades! by Robert Service . The Party Never Stopped: An exhibition profiles the leaders of the Communist Party U.S.A. as they pose for portraits and chat about politics with a Russian emigre painter.
1:55PM
JUN 14 2007
Asia, Europe, nuclear weapons and American politics
From CT, a review of Governing China's Population: From Leninist to Neoliberal Biopolitics by Susan Greenhalgh and Edwin A. Winckler and China's Longest Campaign: Birth Planning in the People's Republic, 1949-2005 by Tyrene White. A review of Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China by Kang Zhengguo. Loose tongues foil Laos plot: An alleged plot to overthrow the communist government of Laos began to unravel almost from the moment it was hatched by Hmong leaders in the US last winter.
Wounded, but still dangerous: Indonesia cracks down on terrorists. Three Christians tried to get Muslim children to change their faith. Was their imprisonment just punishment for a sensitive crime or religious persecution? Pakistan: Back to the Dark Ages? An excerpt from Journey Into Islam: The Crisis of Civilization by Akbar Ahmed. A review of Feminism in India by Maitrayee Chaudhuri. From Finance & Development, a special issue on The Economic Power of Women.
From Eurozine, on the aims of discourse: Politically motivated narratives about the Hungarian past stand in the way of social consensus. Such a consensus would be an essential component of a society that was reconciled to itself. The French left is reeling from its defeat in the presidential election and faces a repeat in the two-round vote for the national assembly. But how ready are Socialist Party activists to change in the interests of victory next time? Philippe Legrain on the case for opening Europe’s borders. An excerpt from Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America by Andrei Markovits (and a review).
A Catch-22 Nuclear World: The more we invest in, and maintain, a vast nuclear arsenal, the more we slot those weapons into our strategic and tactical planning, the more such weapons will proliferate. More and more on The Atomic Bazaar: The Rise of the Nuclear Poor by William Langewiesche. Past the Paranoia: While policymakers create another panic in the Middle East, the streets of Tehran offer more than malice and fanaticism. An interview with Ladan Boroumand, research director at The Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy in Iran.
From New York, if we’re not afraid, have the terrorists won? An assessment of past terror threats. In The Line of Fire: John Rizzo wants to be the CIA's top lawyer. But he'll have to get past a posse of angry senators first. Robert F. Bauer on the progressive case for a Libby pardon.
From Slate, my vote means nothing: Nearly 20 states are moving up their primaries, but it won't change a thing. For months, the presidential wannabes have been churning out serious, talking-to-the-camera videos for YouTube. So far, viewers prefer the spontaneous, unauthorized, less flattering fare. The Politics of Search: For the 2008 presidential candidates, the Web is the newest place to stump for votes. Surprisingly, Republicans are more "Googly" then Democrats.
1:55PM
JUN 14 2007
Literature, fiction and gender, world art and more
From TLS, an essay on James Baldwin's letters to Istanbul; and a review of Performing Shakespeare's Tragedies Today: The actor's perspective and This Wide and Universal: Shakespeare in performance then and now by David Bevington. A review of Shakespeare the Thinker by A.D. Nuttall.
A new issue of ForeWord is out. Haruki Murakami's existential musings: Sophie Ratcliffe reviews After Dark. Room for enlightenment: Fifty years after Jack Kerouac published On The Road, Lowell celebrates a native son who helped define a generation. A review of What Is the What by Dave Eggers (and more). The real price of everything: A review of The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History by Linda Colley. Suffer, fight, become a saint: Excelling at submission has often been a way for women to compete with men.
An excerpt from Manliness by Harvey C. Mansfield. The Sopranos and the End of Masculinity: Six years of tough-guy posturing haven't gotten Tony anywhere. Our society's inability to recognize depression in men is putting their relationships and physical health in jeopardy. The male must get through: When a man's life falls apart, where does he turn?
From Asia Times, China's current artistic renaissance has been likened to the emergence of Western Modernism more than 100 years ago. While this may be a questionable comparison, there is no doubt that something dynamic and vibrant is happening in the world of Chinese art. Chinese artist Ai WeiWei is bringing 1,001 of his compatriots to Germany to take part in the prestigious Documenta art show. The live exhibits, who will form an installation called "Fairytale," will wander around Kassel — but are not allowed to leave the city.
Stuff of memory: Scholars are drawn to Eastern Europeans' growing nostalgia for the material culture of the Communist era. World Monuments Fund unveils 2008 "Watch List": The list of endangered sites includes areas threatened by political conflict, unchecked development and, for the first time, climate change. From Archeology, a cover story on How to Build a Pyramid: Hidden ramps may solve the mystery of the Great Pyramid's construction.
Don't Mess with My Genre: A fan of comic books wants to clean house. From Cracked, a look at the 13 most ridiculous TV shows to ever get green-lit. Comedy Central's new cartoon farce, "Lil' Bush: Resident of the United States" could be "SpongeBob SquarePants" for the wonky set if the jokes weren't so easy. An article on Josh Marshall’s optimistic leap to Web TV. Sacha Zimmerman on the environmental disasters of reality TV. A review of Money for Nothing: A History of the Music Video From the Beatles to the White Stripes by Saul Austerlitz.
Ears to David Lynch! Obsessive? Artist Christian Tomaszewski rebuilds the world of Blue Velvet. Filming the American Novel: From The Great Gatsby to Sister Carrie, writers tell stories of social climbers and fortune hunters. Classy fiction should make room for toffs: By refusing to take any aristocrats seriously, contemporary novelists impoverish their work.
