Posts Tagged ‘Politics’

Lawrence Lessig interview on corruption

Sunday, October 7th, 2007


Lawrence Lessig talks about his shift from fighting for better copyright law to his new efforts in stopping government corruption.

Politicians in Washington

Sunday, October 7th, 2007

“There are people who want to be in Washington, and there are people who want to do in Washington. Sadly the former vastly outnumber the latter.”
A friend of Samantha Powers

Samantha Powers’ new book

Saturday, October 6th, 2007

Samantha Powers finished the Pulitzer Prize-winning “A Problem From Hell”: America in the Age of Genocide back in 2002, and since finishing that astonishingly-good book has written quite a few articles and advised Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. But she’s working on a new book as well, one that her job-related profile describes as “a political biography of the UN’s Sergio Vieira de Mello.” However, the info page accompanying a 2006 commencement speech of hers describes her next book as “on the causes and consequences of historical amnesia in American foreign policy.” I don’t know which one takes precedence - or whether they’re both describing the same project - but I have to say that the latter description sounds incredibly interesting.

Chris Matthews is a sociopath

Thursday, October 4th, 2007


Chris Matthews is a sociopath.

The Situation in Nigeria Seems Pretty Complex

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007


A perfect encapsulation of so many of the college classrooms I’ve been in.

Remnick on Kasparov

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

The New Yorker recently featured what was ostensibly a profile of Gerry Kasparov, former chess champion and current opposition leader in Russia. But it was written by David Remnick, the current editor-in-chief of the publication and long-time reporter on Russia since winning the Pulitzer Prize for his book-length account of the fall of Communism. The result is a thorough, engaging report on the current state of Russian politics aka. Vladimir Putin, one that goes well with his earlier profiles on Putin and others in Reporting, Remnick’s recent collection of New Yorker pieces.

Chinese-Made Toothpaste

Sunday, September 30th, 2007

A man in Panama found a tube of toothpaste which listed a dangerous chemical in its ingredients, which he brought to the attention of authorities there. This innocuous action led to subsequent international recalls of the toothpaste and the beginning of the current fervor over the safety of Chinese-manufactured items. So much for one person being inconsequential.

San Diego’s Mayor on Gay Marriage

Sunday, September 30th, 2007


San Diego’s Republican mayor switches his stance from civil-unions-only to gay marriage in a remarkable and emotional statement to the press.

The Shock Doctrine Short Film

Saturday, September 29th, 2007


Book Trailer for Naomi Klein’s new book The Shock Doctrine, which postulates that culturally-traumatic events have been used to push extreme forms of capitalism upon foreign nations.

Hillary’s Presidential Campaign Tactics

Monday, August 13th, 2007

Politico has an excellent piece analyzing some of Hillary Clinton’s campaign tactics and comparing them to Bush’s. While the latter portion might put it in the league of a hit-piece, it’s still a very revealing analysis and useful for sifting some larger strategy out of the week-to-week churn of campaign stories.