Nation Topics - World | The Nation

This article reflects on the National Security Agency wiretapping controversy as well as the brutal interrogation policies for prisoners held at the United States Guantánamo military base in Cuba. It argues that despite the President George W. Bush administration's insistence that it is following the Geneva Conventions, Guantánamo has become a torture camp that should be closed down. It also highlights efforts to expand the powers of the Patriot Act by incorporating wiretaps into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or by simply making them legal.

The article reflects on protests in Islamabad, Pakistan over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that were published in several European newspapers. The article suggests that the demonstrations are also a challenge to Pakistani President-General Pervez Musharraf. His main challenger is the Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a parliamentary coalition of Pakistan's main Islamist parties. It insists that the large-scale protests were instigated by the Jamaat Islami, the dominant faction of the MMA, which has forged an alliance with its middle-class cadre and alienated youth.

This article reflects on the Palestinian elections in which Hamas gained control of the Palestinian Authority's legislature. It argues that the United States' insistence that Hamas recognize Israel, renounce violence and agree to abide by Israeli-Palestinian agreements or suffer a cutoff of all aid to the country is short-sighted and dangerous. The author believes that respect for the United States in the Arab world, already in short supply, will suffer further if Washington refuses to accept the results of the free and fair Palestinian elections.

This article reflects on illegal immigration to the United States. In December of 2005, the House passed the Sensenbrenner bill, which the article suggests is one of the most draconian pieces of anti-immigrant legislation in a generation. Vigilante Minutemen, no longer content to patrol the borders looking for illegal immigrants to arrest, have taken to chasing day laborers at pickup sites. Two-thirds of the American population think that illegal immigration is a serious problem.

This article reflects on David Horowitz and his book "The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America." The article describes Horowitz as a right-wing political reformer who wants to muzzle liberal professors that he believes are dominating faculties and bullying conservative students. The article names several contributors to the magazine who appear as some of the "101 Most Dangerous Academics." The author suggests that Horowitz is a man of questionable accuracy.

This article discusses the raising and hunting of bobwhite quails and United States Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of his friend and fellow hunter Harry Whittington while hunting the birds. Quality-of-life indicators for the little bird have been on a steady downward tangent ever since the late nineteenth century. Quail habitat in Texas is minimally improving, as ranch managers try to adapt the terrain from the needs of cattle to quail and other hunting targets.

This article reflects on the withdrawal of Paul Hackett, an Iraq War veteran, from a race for an Ohio Senate seat the Democrats desperately want to win. Hackett insists he was pressured to quit the race by members of his own party. The article suggests that his challenger, Sherrod Brown, is a favorite of grassroots labor, civil rights and antiwar voters and is a better candidate who will bring more energy than Hackett, who had failed to make many inroads among Democrats outside of Ohio.

This article looks at Haiti and the victory of presidential candidate René Garcia Préval. During the February 2006 elections, guns went underground, kidnappings stopped and Port-au-Prince streets that had been extremely violent became accessible to voters. Haiti soon dissolved into protest, confusion and angry when it looked like Préval, the leading candidate, would be denied the election. Haiti's people were concerned that his fate would be the same as Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was twice voted in and both times forced out by military coups.

This article reflects on a court decision in Brooklyn, New York stating that United States courts will not interfere with the torture of suspects in the "war on terror" despite previous court decisions to hold officials of other countries responsible for the torture of people in their own lands. The article suggests this is another example of American exceptionalism and cites the example of a man recently detained and interrogated at John F. Kennedy airport on his way home to Canada from Europe.

The article looks at the investigation by the United States Congress into the President George W. Bush administration's post-Hurricane Katrina response. The article analyzes Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown's testimony, where he explained the problem in response as a disconnect between FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. The author states the real problem is weak leadership from the White House and declares the need of an independent investigation.