October 30, 2006 | The Nation

In the Magazine

October 30, 2006

Cover: Cover photograph by Christian Parenti, design by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels

Browse Selections From Recent Years













The Editors skewer new Labor Department rules, Peter Plagens considers the limits of public art, William D. Hartung argues for a new security strategy.



Portland, Ore.


OK, market forces control oil prices. But market forces--with a lot of push from Republicans--are driving down the price of gas. And you can be sure they'll rise again after the election.

If Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk is a political writer, it is by virtue of his sympathy for what is old and faded, for what no longer matters, or what never did.

The Swedish Academy bestowed this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus, the father of microcredit. It's easy to believe Yunus's low-interest loans to the poor are a silver bullet against global economic injustice. But it's not that simple.

If Israel is to fulfill the Zionist vision of being a state like any
other, it must take responsibility for the ever-more explosive Middle

The killing of Anna Politkovskaya has rallied her journalistic
colleagues and fellow citizens in a way few other recent events have.


Bush's NLRB has redefined what it means to be a supervisor, and as a
result some 8 million healthcare, construction and manufacturing workers
no longer have the right to organize. Labor plans to fight back.

his hand the same pitiless weapon possessed by a growing number of



The carnage the US has visited upon Iraq in the name of fighting terror has taken more than 600,000 lives. We are not building democracy, we are creating mayhem.


Bring back Saddam. Spring him from the slammer and put the old dictator back to work. Otherwise, we're never gonna get out of Iraq.

How can the MSM maintain they hold themselves to higher standards than
the Drudge-driven political blogosphere when they ape its most
irresponsible practices?

A right-wing radio host on the vanguard of the English Only movement
provides a platform for religious crazies to keep them from ruining the
funeral of murdered Amish girls.


Democratic House candidates who once were long shots now have a crack at winning. Will party power-brokers lend them a hand?


The Google/YouTube merger is not just a big media deal: It's the leading
edge of a data-driven marketing system that will follow our every move
and immerse us in interactive marketing messages.

If Democrats take control of the House, they could revitalize national politics by convincing reluctant senators and presidential candidates to embrace a more
progressive agenda.

rebuild Afghanistan, there are few signs that senior Administration
officials are engaged.

How will the GOP woo back values voters after the Foley scandal? How
about a purge of gay Republicans in Congress? That's the Rev. Don
Wildmon's idea.

The failure of Bush's foreign policy should open the way for Democrats to
present substantial alternatives and rethink what makes us safe. Sadly,
that is not happening.

Despite the split following the 2004 election, labor groups are gearing
up for the November elections like never before.

If the corruption of Karzai's government is Afghanistan's new cancer,
then the Taliban are increasingly seen as chemotherapy: an unpleasant
but necessary remedy.

Books & the Arts


Four new books explore the impact of Bush appointees on the newly
politicized Supreme Court and the power they wield over our
public and private lives.


Sandy Tolan's The Lemon Tree is a novelistic account of two intertwined lives, one Palestinian and one Jewish, and a house with two histories.


when taxpayer money can be used to support public art.

3rd Party Article

The Secretary of Education's latest report doesn't get an "A" grade.

One of the most recognizable faces in news answers questions about Daniel Pearl, the documentary, and the state of journalism in our society.

In the latest feminist battle, men should do more than observe.