Politics
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The Rumpus Interview with Craig Walzer
“We need to be able to digest and give people who are very far away the time and space to tell their story in their own words
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Pictures From Pakistan
The Denver Post publishes a collection of stills by Emilio Morenatti, an Italian photographer for the AP who currently covers South Asia. We hear a lot about Pakistan these days: a taliban putsch, terrorism, civil unrest, angry lawyers, madrassas, honor…
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Lynndie England Sues Tortured Biographer
Former Army reservist Lynndie England, the international face of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, is suing her biographer for seizing control of what was intended to be a shared copyright. In July, writer Gary S. Winkler abruptly resigned from the…
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Writing New Orleans
In the introduction to Guernica Magazine’s New Orleans-themed September edition, editor Pia Ehrhardt writes: “When friends from out of town come to visit, my husband, Malcolm, and I put them in the car and drive. Driving is the only way…
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Glenn Beck is the New John Updike
“For the past nine months, ever since a certain somebody seized the White House, conservative pundits have dominated the ranks of nonfiction. … It would be easy enough, and rather predictable, to lament this state of affairs and to find…
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Mexico May Be Having A Tough Year
With the Grand Guignol that is the drug-fueled civil war gripping the country. The LA Times, trying to summon the glory of its former self as a top notch international paper, is covering its backyard well, with timelines, indexes, interactive…
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Health Care Links
“I still believe we can do great things.” Obama’s health care speech. Senator Ted Kennedy’s letter to Obama about health care (delivered after Kennedy’s death): ‘At stake is the character of our country.’ Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who shouted out…
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A Quick Look at the Google Book Search Settlement
US district court judge Denny Chin will be ruling in a case on how we access printed books in the future. Who’s in the middle of a bid for our literary heritage? Google, of course.
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Health Care Links
“Sick and Wrong,” a look at how Washington is screwing up health care reform. Robert Reich makes the case for public option in 150 seconds. Paul Krugman does it in 499 words. Conservatives are using an old talking point to…
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“We Got Off on Being Puppeteers.”
Tamler Sommers of The Believer recently interviewed Dr. Phil Zimbardo about his infamous Stanford Prison Experiment. The 1971 experiment randomly assigned intelligent, normal, healthy young men to the role of prisoner or guard. What began as an investigation into the…
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HAPPY LABOR DAY: AN OXYMORON
Labor Day. The Rodney Dangerfield of holidays. Nobody knows why it’s treated like the runt of the celebration litter. Maybe it has to something to do with our biological clocks being stuck on elementary school time. Deep down in our…
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Rebecca Solnit on Writing What Matters
In The Believer, Rebecca Solnit gives some advice I hope to someday learn to follow completely: “Apolitical is a political position, yes, and a dreary one. The choice by a lot of young writers to hide out among dinky, dainty, and…