The Nation Oct-06-14

Bread, Not Bombs
 Re “Slippery Slope in Iraq?” [Sept. 1/8]: unfortunately, this entire episode of military disaster is panning out like many of us feared it would back in 2003 when it started. The United States is left holding the bag for an event that will never have a clear end. Doesn’t the time frame of eleven years since this fiasco began say to a jaded public, “We need to find other solutions”? W., Cheney and Rumsfeld are madmen/sociopaths with all the wrong values for who we are. More bombs won’t help. Walter Pewen
 _________________________ Too Big to Jail
 Regarding the sidebar “Why the Bank Settlements Don’t Add Up” accompanying “Jamie Dimon’s $13 Billion Secret,” by William D. Cohan [Sept. 1/8]: there is another question that needs to be answered,…

Too often in the United States, when responding to international crises, we equate “doing something” with “doing something military.” In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, George W. Bush gave a traumatized American public two options: either we go to war, or we let the terrorists get away with it. 
 Faced with that choice, it’s hardly surprising that a vast majority of Americans supported war. 
 But when there are no military solutions—which is most of the time, including on September 12, 2001—the alternative is not nothing, but active, nonmilitary engagement. Diplomacy becomes even more important. President Obama has repeatedly said there is no military solution to the overlapping conflicts in Syria and Iraq. He’s right—but now he’s surrendered to an unholy alliance of neocon armchair warriors, liberal interventionists…

I f you read enough news or watch enough cable television about the threat of the Islamic State—the radical Sunni Muslim militia better known simply as IS—you will inevitably encounter a parade of retired generals demanding an increased US military presence in the region. They will say that our government should deploy, as retired general Anthony Zinni demanded, up to 10,000 American boots on the ground to battle IS. Or as in retired general Jack Keane’s case, they will make somewhat vaguer demands, such as for “offensive” airstrikes and the deployment of more military advisers to the region.
 But what you won’t learn from the media coverage of IS is that many of these former Pentagon officials have skin in the game as paid directors and advisers to some of…

Michael Bloomberg is a case study in the reputational value of thirty-five or so billion dollars. His foray into gun control apparently stalled by the National Rifle Association’s vise-like grip on US legislators, the former New York City mayor has announced that he will now return to running the massive media and technology corporation that bears his name.
 Bloomberg News employs many fine journalists who rightfully take pride in their work, but it has a rather odd rule—for journalists, that is—when it comes to its own actions. As stated by Matthew Winkler, the company’s editor in chief, Bloomberg News does not cover itself, because doing so is “an inherent conflict of interest and no outlet does it well.” Instead, when other news organizations cover its activities, Bloomberg News employees are…

It’s been thirteen years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but Muslim Americans from South Asia are still treated with suspicion and outright hostility, according to a new report by South Asian Americans Leading Together.
 For example, more than 80 percent of the hate violence that researchers uncovered was motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment.
 But there’s hope: the US South Asian community is growing. This fact, the researchers say, has enabled South Asian Americans to make crucial allies in government and civil society who can ensure productive—rather than hateful—discussion following events like the Boston Marathon bombing.
 —Jamilah King
 Colorlines.com…

Columbia University students are attempting to make college more affordable with an old but largely untried idea: a student credit union.
 Credit unions are an alternative to traditional banking: profits go to providing better rates and lower fees. Members become shareholders in the institution.
 Created in 2013, the Lion Credit Union Initiative (LCUI) is led by a team of twenty-two students and has a strong base of support. The LCUI is currently seeking approval by the National Credit Union Administration as well as the endorsement of the university. The credit union would be open to anyone who has studied at or worked for Columbia.
 “It’s about connecting a community while saving each other money,” says Jared Greene, the LCUI’s director. “It’s how it’s supposed to be.”
 —Hélène 
Barthélemy…