December 31, 2007 Issue

Cover art by: Cover by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels

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Feature

A Hoax Exposed at Princeton

When a strait-laced Princeton student claimed he was attacked by liberal thugs, the conservative establishment rallied around him–until it turned out to be a lie.
Max Blumenthal
USDA Bets the Farm on Animal ID Program

A plan to implant farm animals with electronic tracking tags gives corporate agriculture a monopoly on the future of food, and it has sparked political backlash in rural America.
William Pentland and David E. Gumpert
Farmworkers and Students Take On Burger King

The fast-food giant’s insistence on paying poverty wages to tomato pickers could backfire, as student activists’ campaign for fair food cuts into their business.
Michael Gould-Wartofsky
Al Jazeera Goes Mainstream

The Arabic and English satellite broadcasts are giving voice to Arabs who challenge their governments, and ours.
Ned Lamont
Permalancers, Unite!

Freelancers staged a walkout at Viacom this week, instigating one of the most unlikely and successful labor campaigns in recent memory.
Anya Kamenetz
Waiting for Godot in a Wasteland

The most devastated neighborhood in America makes an ideal backdrop for a morally ambiguous play about abandonment.
Billy Sothern
GWOT: Thailand

Fear of terrorism has enabled Thailand’s military dictatorship.
Noy Thrupkaew
GWOT: Pakistan

As the Taliban gains strength, a nascent democracy in Pakistan withers.
Shahan Mufti
GWOT: The Philippines

Since 9/11 the Philippines have seen an explosion of political killings.
Luis H. Francia
GWOT: El Salvador

A new anti-terrorism law gives El Salvador carte blanche to stifle dissent.
Wes Enzinna
GWOT: Egypt

America’s “war on terror” has strengthened Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s stranglehold on civil liberties.
Negar Azimi
Forum: What GWOT Has Wrought

George W. Bush’s “global war against terror” unleashed a wave of repression felt around the globe. Reports from Egypt, El Salvador, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan.
The Editors
The Obama Effect

Have the dreams of the civil rights movement been realized or deferred?
Gary Younge

Editorial

Locked Up in Limbo

In California, sex offenders face the specter of incarceration without end.
Laura Mansnerus
Post-Annapolis Pitfalls

Washington must abandon the fantasy that an Israeli-Palestinian agreement can be reached in the face of deep divisions between Fatah and Hamas, the United States and Israel have fostered.
Henry Siegman
Rights of Passage

How can momentum be restored to the struggle for human rights? Begin by drawing the world’s religions into the conversation.
Eyal Press
Playing the God Card

It’s not Romney’s Mormon faith that threatens the core values of a secular nation. It’s Huckabee’s messianic candidacy.
John Nichols
Noted.

The Drum Major Institute talks politics with big-city mayors; what do we say when we talk about torture?
The Editors
Crime and Cover-Up

The CIA tapes’ destruction and violation of anti-torture statutes they recorded require a special prosecutor.
The Editors
Subprime Politics

Keep people in their homes and start re-regulating the banking industry to end the conflicts of interest that fueled the debacle.
The Editors
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Column

The Mitchell Report Is a Fraud

George Mitchell’s long-awaited report on steroids in baseball slanders players, gives owners a pass and never acknowledges its author’s conflicts of interest.
Dave Zirin
Ho-Ho-Holiday Donations, 2007 Edition

Multiply your good fortune by giving generously to these progressive organizations and charities.
Katha Pollitt
Congress to CIA Torturers: ‘If Only You’d Told Us’

The agency’s secret destruction of tapes is a parable of the futility of oversight.
Alexander Cockburn
I Want a New Drug

Peter Kuper
George Bush, Upon Hearing That the Iranians Abandoned Their Nuclear Weapons Program in 2003

All fired up and nowhere to go.
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

The Secret Library of Hope

Twelve authors on war and peace, dissent, the environment and the empowerment of the poor provide inspiration to transform the world in 2008.
Rebecca Solnit
Permalancers, Unite!

Freelancers staged a walkout at Viacom this week, instigating one of the most unlikely and successful labor campaigns in recent memory.
Anya Kamenetz
Memorable Gestures

Michael Ondaatje shows off his trademark narrative tricks in his new novel Divisadero, but the magic is wearing thin.
Tony Eprile
Edward Hopper: August in the City, 1945

You’ve got to learn how to dance and speak lots of languages and pull ideas out of your hat.
Ernest Farrés
Lippmann and the News

In the early 1900s Walter Lippman laid the groundrules for public debate in America. Have the US media followed his prescriptions?
Michael Schudson
Tilted Ash

A retrospective exhibition of Martin Puryear’s sculptures reinvents MoMA’s signature atrium space as a site for spiritual longing.
Arthur C. Danto
Waiting for Godot in a Wasteland

The most devastated neighborhood in America makes an ideal backdrop for a morally ambiguous play about abandonment.
Billy Sothern
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Letters

Letters

BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT BUT BUTTON UP

Hadensville, Va.
Our Readers and Brian Morton

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December 31, 2007 Issue

Feature

When a strait-laced Princeton student claimed he was attacked by liberal thugs, the conservative establishment rallied around him–until it turned out to be a lie.

A plan to implant farm animals with electronic tracking tags gives corporate agriculture a monopoly on the future of food, and it has sparked political backlash in rural America.

The fast-food giant’s insistence on paying poverty wages to tomato pickers could backfire, as student activists’ campaign for fair food cuts into their business.

The Arabic and English satellite broadcasts are giving voice to Arabs who challenge their governments, and ours.

Freelancers staged a walkout at Viacom this week, instigating one of the most unlikely and successful labor campaigns in recent memory.

The most devastated neighborhood in America makes an ideal backdrop for a morally ambiguous play about abandonment.

Fear of terrorism has enabled Thailand’s military dictatorship.

As the Taliban gains strength, a nascent democracy in Pakistan withers.

Since 9/11 the Philippines have seen an explosion of political killings.

A new anti-terrorism law gives El Salvador carte blanche to stifle dissent.

America’s “war on terror” has strengthened Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s stranglehold on civil liberties.

George W. Bush’s “global war against terror” unleashed a wave of repression felt around the globe. Reports from Egypt, El Salvador, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan.

Have the dreams of the civil rights movement been realized or deferred?

Editorial

In California, sex offenders face the specter of incarceration without end.

Washington must abandon the fantasy that an Israeli-Palestinian agreement can be reached in the face of deep divisions between Fatah and Hamas, the United States and Israel have fostered.

How can momentum be restored to the struggle for human rights? Begin by drawing the world’s religions into the conversation.

It’s not Romney’s Mormon faith that threatens the core values of a secular nation. It’s Huckabee’s messianic candidacy.

The Drum Major Institute talks politics with big-city mayors; what do we say when we talk about torture?

The CIA tapes’ destruction and violation of anti-torture statutes they recorded require a special prosecutor.

Keep people in their homes and start re-regulating the banking industry to end the conflicts of interest that fueled the debacle.

GET UNLIMITED DIGITAL ACCESS FOR LESS THAN $3 A MONTH!

Column

George Mitchell’s long-awaited report on steroids in baseball slanders players, gives owners a pass and never acknowledges its author’s conflicts of interest.

Multiply your good fortune by giving generously to these progressive organizations and charities.

The agency’s secret destruction of tapes is a parable of the futility of oversight.

All fired up and nowhere to go.

Books & the Arts

Twelve authors on war and peace, dissent, the environment and the empowerment of the poor provide inspiration to transform the world in 2008.

Freelancers staged a walkout at Viacom this week, instigating one of the most unlikely and successful labor campaigns in recent memory.

Michael Ondaatje shows off his trademark narrative tricks in his new novel Divisadero, but the magic is wearing thin.

You’ve got to learn how to dance and speak lots of languages and pull ideas out of your hat.

In the early 1900s Walter Lippman laid the groundrules for public debate in America. Have the US media followed his prescriptions?

A retrospective exhibition of Martin Puryear’s sculptures reinvents MoMA’s signature atrium space as a site for spiritual longing.

The most devastated neighborhood in America makes an ideal backdrop for a morally ambiguous play about abandonment.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

Letters

BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT BUT BUTTON UP Hadensville, Va.

BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT BUT BUTTON UP

Hadensville, Va.