mind trippin'

http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F10717FD35550C738EDDAF0894DE404482

an inconvenient truth, a recent documentary and book by al gore, documents the increasing scientific consensus on global warming. gore maintains that the climate crisis presents the single, most significant crisis we have faced. research demonstrates that as the ice caps continue to melt, the sea level continues to rise. as the seas and oceans rise, low land plains and marshes will begin to flood. for example, gore explains that southern florida and lower manhattan will completely flood.

critics maintain that extant science is inconsistent, and that global warming trends may mirror earlier global temperature swings. however, gore explains that current trends far outpace historical changes and significantly skew natural weather patterns, including hurricanes. in "Next Victim of Warming: The Beaches", cornelia dean surveys current water levels on beachfronts on our coast. she identifies current consequences, including a dramatic increase in sea walls constructed to stem tides. however, "boxed" seas will continue to rise, and crowded sands will crawl over shorelines.


"Mexico's Populist"
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F00911F83A550C748DDDAF0894DE404482

the recent debate on illegal immigration obscures an important issue: local politics in mexico has failed. vicente fox proposed a series of reforms to promote business and open trade. however, his reforms have largely benefitted a clustered elite, and poverty in mexico continues to increase.

the article connects obrador's candidacy to a rising independence in latin america. yet, he feels obrador is distinguished from recent populist leaders in venezuela, bolivia, and peru by his pragmatism. obrador hopes to industrialize mexico's economy and end systemic poverty and corruption. for example, he suggests policies to stem poverty through working class reforms, including a high sales tax which disproportionately impacts the poor. profiles mexican presidential candidate andrés manuel lópez obrador. o obrador is very spiritied, and he compares this election to the 1910 revolution of porfiro diaz against the noble elite.


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http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=612
deja vu in iraq

the death of al Zarqawi, the former chief of al qaeda in iraq, is an important accomplishment for our military. al Zarqawi has spearheaded a consistent, militant terrorism that has disrupted american efforts for peace. is the united states gaining traction in iraq? the military has developed a safe and secure capital in the green zone, and iraq now has a positive track of early democratic governance.

yet, we also know that Zarqawi's death will not end terrorism against our troops, Iraqi policemen, or Iraqi civilians. In American Prospect, matthew yglesias argues that israel's example proves that there is no military solution against terrorism. yglesias writes: "Better tactics, better operational counterterrorism, doesn’t alter the strategic situation -- the attacks keep on coming. What’s needed to end the war isn’t better tactics, but an end to the war, a political settlement of the issues in dispute." israel has tracked and killed multiple major leaders of multiple major terrorist organizations; however, attacks in the territories persist. indeed, palestinians recently rejected fatah, a moderate, secular political party, to elect Hamas, a radical militant organization.

for example, he explains that the most successful american operation in iraq was the coordinated agreement with muqtada al sadr. while sadr was pinned by United States forces, his militia holed into a mosque for protection. while the american military initiated action, ayatollah sistani pressed the u.s. to arrange a political settlement.

american military initiated . . . however, yglesias maintains that american military involvement may be aggravating the terrorist insurgency and preventing iraqi society from expelling the terrorists.