January 4, 2010 Issue

Cover art by: Cover image: Europe after a 75 meter rise in sea level; design by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels, based on a map by Dave Pape/State University of New York, Buffalo

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Feature

Swapping Politics for Science on Drug Policy

President Obama has lifted the twenty-year ban on federal funding of needle exchanges. But if he wants to promote public health–over politics–on substance abuse, there are plenty of other bold steps his administration should take.
Beth Schwartzapfel
Earth: Too Big to Fail?

It’s dumb machines, not the smart ones of Terminator 2, that could do us in.
Rebecca Solnit
In Copenhagen, a New World Order on Display

Fundamental new global realities have been obscured by the frenzy to declare winners and losers.
Barbara Crossette
Taxpayers Lose in Citi’s Payback Plan

Taxpayers are getting a raw deal in Citigroup’s plan to repay its bailout funds. But you would never know it from reading the news.
Zach Carter
Obama’s Copenhagen Deal

How the deal at the Copenhagen climate change summit came about–and why it may not be a real deal.
David Corn and Kate Sheppard
The Gaza I Know

Later this month thousands of international solidarity activists will take part in the Gaza Freedom March to end Israel’s blockade. They deserve your support.
Nancy Murray
US Army Depends on Afghan Security Firm for Protection

Escalation in Afghanistan means a surge in contractors, which means that thousands more Afghans will be hired to work at US bases, guard US installations and participate in US training programs.
Jeremy Scahill
ICE Agents’ Ruse Operations

ICE agents regularly impersonate civilians–OSHA inspectors, insurance agents, religious workers–in order to arrest longtime US residents who have no criminal history.
Jacqueline Stevens
Shell Games in Nigeria

Prospects for lasting peace may depend on the oil company’s dubious pledge to clean up its act.
Sasha Chavkin
A Master of Disaster

John Dugan helped create the “too big to fail” economy–so why is he still regulating our banks?
Zach Carter
America’s Secret ICE Castles

Immigration agents are holding US residents in unlisted and unmarked subfield offices.
Jacqueline Stevens

Editorial

Caged Tiger

The teachable moment of the Tiger Woods circus: if you front for the worst, don’t expect anyone to have your back.
Dave Zirin
Peace and War in Oslo

Obama’s Nobel speech offered a distorted view of America’s role in the world and a shallow understanding of just war.
David Cortright
A Planetary Movement

The Copenhagen summit has witnessed the coming of age of a genuine, global and muscular mass movement on behalf of climate action.
Mark Hertsgaard
Gaming Healthcare

Dropping the public option and Medicare expansion means breaking the promise of health reform: better care at lower cost.
The Editors
Noted.

John Nicholson Houston’s new lesbian mayor, Jon Wiener on Howard Zinn’s The People Speak, Ari Berman on Editor & Publisher closing its doors
The Editors
Ten Things for the Holidays

One lesson we’ve learned from the economic crisis is that it’s even more crucial during the holiday season to give more meaningfully.
The Nation
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Column

Demonizing Dean Won’t Absolve This Healthcare Sham

Howard Dean was roundly condemned for casting aspersions on what even many of its more ardent supporters admit is an obviously flawed bill.
Robert Scheer
The Courage to Say No

The G-8 powers are willing to do just about anything to get a deal in Copenhagen. But the urgency doesn’t come from a desire to stop climate change.
Naomi Klein
Time to Get Out Those Checkbooks

Economists agree: Christmas presents are a waste of money. Give to these worthy charities instead.
Katha Pollitt
From Nicaea to Copenhagen

The leaked “Climategate” e-mails undermine climate activists’ claim to the moral high ground.
Alexander Cockburn
Blackwater, Blackwater

No one keeps track–so let’s take a crack.
Calvin Trillin

Books & the Arts

The Resistance of Painting: On Abstraction

To speak of a movement of abstractionists would be a contradiction in terms, like speaking of a church of atheists.
Barry Schwabsky
Human Traffic

Sister Ping turned a variety store in New York’s Chinatown into a lucrative business by making it a headquarters for human smuggling.
Ted Conover
Lessons of Darkness: On Peter Maass

For Peter Maass, oil is not a drug so much as a Pandora’s box. Tap a well and base instincts spew.
Mark Sorkin
Unidentified

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

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Letters

Letters

Adieu, Swank Filer!
Pullman, Wash.
Our Readers

Crossword

Puzzle No. 258

ACROSS

1 Remembers what one does when the line is busy. (7)
Frank W. Lewis

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January 4, 2010 Issue

Feature

President Obama has lifted the twenty-year ban on federal funding of needle exchanges. But if he wants to promote public health–over politics–on substance abuse, there are plenty of other bold steps his administration should take.

It’s dumb machines, not the smart ones of Terminator 2, that could do us in.

Fundamental new global realities have been obscured by the frenzy to declare winners and losers.

Taxpayers are getting a raw deal in Citigroup’s plan to repay its bailout funds. But you would never know it from reading the news.

How the deal at the Copenhagen climate change summit came about–and why it may not be a real deal.

Later this month thousands of international solidarity activists will take part in the Gaza Freedom March to end Israel’s blockade. They deserve your support.

Escalation in Afghanistan means a surge in contractors, which means that thousands more Afghans will be hired to work at US bases, guard US installations and participate in US training programs.

ICE agents regularly impersonate civilians–OSHA inspectors, insurance agents, religious workers–in order to arrest longtime US residents who have no criminal history.

Prospects for lasting peace may depend on the oil company’s dubious pledge to clean up its act.

John Dugan helped create the “too big to fail” economy–so why is he still regulating our banks?

Immigration agents are holding US residents in unlisted and unmarked subfield offices.

Editorial

The teachable moment of the Tiger Woods circus: if you front for the worst, don’t expect anyone to have your back.

Obama’s Nobel speech offered a distorted view of America’s role in the world and a shallow understanding of just war.

The Copenhagen summit has witnessed the coming of age of a genuine, global and muscular mass movement on behalf of climate action.

Dropping the public option and Medicare expansion means breaking the promise of health reform: better care at lower cost.

John Nicholson Houston’s new lesbian mayor, Jon Wiener on Howard Zinn’s The People Speak, Ari Berman on Editor & Publisher closing its doors

One lesson we’ve learned from the economic crisis is that it’s even more crucial during the holiday season to give more meaningfully.

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

Column

Howard Dean was roundly condemned for casting aspersions on what even many of its more ardent supporters admit is an obviously flawed bill.

The G-8 powers are willing to do just about anything to get a deal in Copenhagen. But the urgency doesn’t come from a desire to stop climate change.

Economists agree: Christmas presents are a waste of money. Give to these worthy charities instead.

The leaked “Climategate” e-mails undermine climate activists’ claim to the moral high ground.

No one keeps track–so let’s take a crack.

Books & the Arts

To speak of a movement of abstractionists would be a contradiction in terms, like speaking of a church of atheists.

Sister Ping turned a variety store in New York’s Chinatown into a lucrative business by making it a headquarters for human smuggling.

For Peter Maass, oil is not a drug so much as a Pandora’s box. Tap a well and base instincts spew.

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

Letters

Adieu, Swank Filer! Pullman, Wash.

Crossword

ACROSS 1 Remembers what one does when the line is busy. (7)

Adieu, Swank Filer!
Pullman, Wash.

ACROSS

1 Remembers what one does when the line is busy. (7)