States succeeding at theft and violence
"...democracy
has shown its real face in the Balkans like nowhere else in the world..."
writes Nebojsa Malic.
After years of occupation, socialism, disintegration and war, the Balkans are
being labeled "failed states." But the problem is, according to Malic,
that "they are entirely too successful at what
states do: theft and violence."
Operation
Apartment Snoops
Has
your landlord spent more time "inspecting" your apartment? If so, Roger
Jacobs suspects that they may be working for the government in a new wing
of the TIPS program. Remember to hide your Korans and Lysander
Spooner literature. Oh yeah, and delete your internet
bookmarks....
Out
Now!
Pat
Buchanan remembers what conservatives used to believe:
"War
is the health of the state, it has been said. Our Civil War, the two World Wars
and the Cold War all brought vast expansions of state power. While the government
receded after each war, it never returned to prewar size and now eats up 20 percent
of our gross domestic product and intrudes in all aspects of our daily lives."
Now
if only the rest of the conservative movement would get over its collective amnesia.
"Stringing
President Bush Along"
A
letter addressed to Trent Lott, signed
by Jude Wanniski, demands that the Senator maintain his stance against aggression
towards Iraq. Given today's
hearings, and how it
is stacked, Wanniski's requests may go unheeded.
Iraq:
Why not do nothing?
...asks
Mark Lynch. . The Pentagon seems
to agree – or else who's leaking all those attack plans?
"Hawking
Repackaged Turds"
Paul
Fallavollita contests that the White House's new department – Office
of Global Communications –
meant to "add 'thematic and strategic value' to 'public diplomacy'"
is nothing but... er, see above title.
Did
you say "military industrial complex?"
Michelle
Ciarrocca explains: "The 1990s bout of government-backed 'merger mania'
in the military industry accomplished one thing: it resulted in a slightly leaner,
considerably meaner, and much more politically powerful corporate military
sector (emphasis added)." After
a new merger, there remains three major defense contractors, each with an
interest in war, intervention and "defense."