PASSINGS

Peter Kornbluh writes: The international community lost a world-class citizen when John O’Leary died of Lou Gehrig’s disease at age 58 on April 2. O’Leary, a former mayor of Portland, Maine, served as US Ambassador to Chile during the period when General Pinochet was detained in London and eventually charged in Chile with human rights crimes. An avid Nation reader, O’Leary championed the declassification of more than 24,000 US government documents on Chile, presented copies to the Chilean national library and insisted that the documents all be posted on the State Department website. He helped to recover history; he helped to redress history, and in so doing he helped to make history.

ON THE WEB

Watch the recent debate between The Nation and The Economist on “What’s Good for Wal-Mart Is Good for America?” (www.freespeech.org). It will also be broadcast on C-SPAN, date to be announced.

NEWS OF THE WEAK IN REVIEW

One witness not heard at John Bolton’s confirmation hearings was Jesse Helms, who said in January 2001: “John Bolton is the kind of man with whom I would want to stand at Armageddon, if it should be my lot to be on hand for what is forecast to be the final battle between good and evil in this world.”