contributions

By A. O. SCOTT
Respect for the president is a longstanding American tradition and one that is still very much alive, as the weeklong national obsequies for Ronald Reagan recently proved. But there is also an opposing tradition of holding up our presidents, especially while they are in office, to ridicule and scorn.
Which is to say that while Michael Moore’s "Fahrenheit 9/11" will be properly debated on the basis of its factual claims and cinematic techniques, it should first of all be (…)

The right wing is going all out to stop "Fahrenheit 9/11" — but it’s not working.
By John Gorenfeld
They’re back! OK, the "vast right-wing conspiracy" Hillary Clinton warned about never really went away. But they’ve found new purpose in the campaign to stop the distribution of "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore’s latest documentary. And just as the energetic conservative elves succeeded in making Bill Clinton ever more popular with the American public, so do they seem to be driving up (…)

Walmart is not alone, and together with other large service sector employers is defining the new industrial landscape and the structure of the U.S. working class. Although the portion of large companies in the U.S. has remained relatively stable over the past decade, the industrial composition of the largest companies has continued to shift dramatically from relatively high-wage, unionized industrials to low-wage, nonunion retailers.
New data from the U.S. economic census and private (…)

We know about Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib but until now Bagram and America’s secret network of Afghan jails have come under little scrutiny. In a major investigation, Duncan Campbell and Suzanne Goldenberg discovered a familiar pattern of violent abuse and sexual humiliation
Duncan Campbell and Suzanne Goldenberg
Syed Nabi Siddiqi, a 47-year-old former police officer with piercing eyes and a long black beard, is lying with his face pressed to the floor, his arms stretched painfully behind (…)

Another hostage, another horrible execution and like their Western counterparts Arab newspapers can only watch in horror.
The Arab News in Saudi Arabia set the tone: "It is with grim satisfaction that we must hail the success of the Saudi security forces in killing [the Saudi al-Qaeda leader] Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin and his three henchmen after they had dumped the body of their victim, Paul Johnson, in Riyadh.
"This has been a major blow to the fanatics who imagined that they could hold the (…)

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said today he was appalled by the beheading of a South Korean translator in Iraq and called for the release of all others being held hostage in the country.
"The secretary general condemns in the strongest terms this heartless crime, which no political or other cause can justify," his spokesman said in a statement.
"The secretary general is appalled by the murder of Mr Kim Sun-Il," the statement said.
"On this sad and painful occasion, the secretary (…)

A SOUTH Korean hostage in Iraq was killed and his body was found between Baghdad and Fallujah, west of the capital, South Korea said today. The South Korean Foreign Ministry confirmed a report on the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera station that Kim Sun-il, a 33-year-old man whose captors had threatened to behead him, was dead.
Kim’s body was found by the US military between Baghdad and Fallujah at 10.20pm Tuesday Korea time (5.20pm Iraq time, 23.20 AEST), said Shin Bong-kil, spokesman for the (…)

By Sophie Hares
CANBERRA (Reuters) - The threat from terror groups and failed states means Australia needs a high-tech, rapid deployment defence force, the defence minister says.
Robert Hill said terrorism remained Australia’s greatest concern and had forced the government to spend heavily in improving counter-terrorism capabilities to ensure the country had the ability to defend itself from external threats.
"Any suggestion that we should aim to defend Australia just in Australia is (…)

Fifty-two per cent of Americans believe the Iraq war was not worth fighting in what amounts to a repudiation of President George W Bush’s argument that winning in Iraq is key to prevailing in the war on terrorism, according to a new opinion poll made public.
The joint survey by ABC News and the Washington Post also indicated that seven in 10 Americans found US casualties were "unacceptable", while the number of those confident the war has enhanced long-term US security has slid 11 points (…)

By Alison Rehn
THE US was not trying to influence the outcome of the Australian election, US Ambassador to Australia Tom Schieffer said yesterday.
Appearing before a Senate inquiry into Australia-US defence relations, Mr Schieffer rejected claims US President George W. Bush tried to influence the outcome when he told Australian journalists that pulling troops out of Iraq would have disastrous consequences.
Opposition Leader Mark Latham has repeatedly called for the troops to come home (…)