AFF's Doublethink

The word “onanism” has its genesis in Genesis itself, from the story of Onan, a man killed by God for “spill[ing his seed] on the ground” rather than impregnating his widowed sister-in-law according to the laws of his tribe. Originally interpreted as a warning against the practice of coitus interruptus, the story’s cautions were repurposed [...]

The recessionary release of Finnish writer/director Aki Kaurismäki’s Proletariat Trilogy through the Criterion Collection’s Eclipse Series—”a selection of lost, forgotten, or overshadowed classics in simple, affordable editions”—is a case of prescient timing.  Worth viewing in any economic climate, this blue-collar suite carries particular resonance in our current era of toppling markets and tightening belts.

A little more than a month has passed since the FBI released its cache of evidence against Bruce E. Ivins, the Army microbiologist accused of planning and executing 2001’s anthrax attacks-by-mail. A closer look at what we know doesn’t exactly instill confidence in the Bureau’s case.

With the recently-passed FISA legislation, Congress has in large part forfeited its ability to check the power of the Executive. This should worry us much more than any specific rights we might have lost as citizens.