All Commentaries
Too Many Guns
We’ve heard a lot about gun control and the second amendment in this election season. A McCain-Palin poster, featuring Alaska’s 44-year-old governor with a big gun and the viewer in her rifle sights, is just one of the more graphic indications that gun control is a lightning-rod issue that distracts, distorts, and dismays.
Why the U.S. Must Help Cuba
The latest humanitarian crisis in Cuba presents the Bush administration with a rare opportunity to stave off a looming migration crisis here and simultaneously boost the U.S. image abroad. Unfortunately, the Bush government seems inclined to pass on the opportunity.
Big Oil’s Last Stand
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from the introduction to The Tyranny of Oil: the World’s Most Powerful Industry, and What We Must Do To Stop It (William Morrow 2008). Within days of the New Year, 2008 began with three landmark events. Oil reached $100 per barrel for only the second time in history as […]
Art of Torture
The Bush administration will forever be remembered as “the administration that tortured.”
Distorting Obama’s Views on Israel
Barack Obama has alienated key sectors of his progressive base with statements and policy proposals regarding Israel in which he allies himself with right-wing Republicans.
Challenging U.S. Global Dominance
The five-day Russo-Georgian war in the Caucasus brought into sharp focus many conflicts rooted in the region’s history and in aggressive U.S.-NATO policies since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Notable among these were the military encirclement of Russia and attempts to control energy resources in areas long dominated by the Soviet Union. The net effect was to hasten a dangerous new era of rivalry between the world’s two most powerful nuclear states, one that will be shaped hereafter by the current global recession and the changes it is bringing about in the economic practices of all states.
‘Prelude’
Prelude
The Art of Democracy
The Crisis and the Environment
Given the magnitude and scope of the current economic crisis, the world will no doubt experience a significant economic downturn — of what degree and duration, no one can say — profoundly affecting all aspects of U.S. and international society. Of the many areas that will be impacted by the downturn, the environment stands out in particular. It’s closely tied to the tempo of resource consumption, and significant efforts to ameliorate environmental decline will prove very expensive and out of reach for already-stretched budgets. The question thus arises: Will the crisis be good or bad for the environment, especially with respect to global warming?
Interview with Daniel Heyman
[Daniel Heyman, “They Put me in an Animal Cage,” gouache on nishinoushi paper, 2008.]