Code words frame the debate. But when they’re used, it’s important not to get caught up in them. But when the users of these code words get drawn into the deception themselves, things fall apart.

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Posted at 23 June 07 at 12.06 in Politics, Books

In “Grand Avenues,” the story of the design and designer of Washington, DC, Scott Berg sets us straight. While the roads in Washington did not end up quite the way designer Pierre L’Enfant intended them, they were certainly planned for grandeur and beauty – not for repelling invaders.

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Posted at 19 June 07 at 05.06 in Culture, Books

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has declared himself the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution in South America. Considering the great lengths to which Chavez has gone to pick a fight with the United States over its policies on that continent, it is worthwhile to spend some time studying the man whose name Chavez has appropriated.

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Posted at 15 June 07 at 18.06 in Books

Insider accounts of the Bush administration have said that the President sees himself as a Truman-esque figure – unpopular in his time, but presiding over a new order that will set the stage for generations to come. The odds seem stacked against him.

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Posted at 10 June 07 at 15.06 in Politics

Despite the support of the United States, the United Nations decided Friday that no controls should be placed on fishing endangered sharks. On Thursday, it declined to limit trade in certain types of timber. Shocker: it turns out that America isn’t the only country that votes against stuff that will harm its economy.

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Posted at 09 June 07 at 17.06 in Politics