The latest issue of the Village Voice features a piece by veteran investigative reporter James Ridgeway on Uncle Sam's use of mercenaries in Iraq. Particularly timely, in light of the killing of those civilian contractors over there yesterday.


So Ralph Nader is running, even though every single American progressive I know of is against it, including the ones who supported him in 2000. The man is self-deluded enough to make himself believe that he can actually get votes from disgruntled Republicans. Even if he could get some, does he really think he would get enough of those to make the smallest dent in the GOP's numbers?


Poor Erin Brokovich. She was nailed really bad by California reporter Norma Zager and by the Columbia Journalism Review. This is so far removed from the image of the muckraking, crusading, hellraising single mom played by Julia Roberts in that movie, what was its name? It doesn't surprise me. Hollywood just loves to add lots of fiction to movies based on real events and real people's lives. Examples: A Beautiful Mind, Black Hawk Down.

Have any of you checked out the Barcelona 2004 Forum? It seems like an outrageously naive, decaffeinated, light version of the Porto Alegre-Mumbai fora. It will feature light speakers like Gorbachev and Bill Clinton, and light music by Phil Collins. I've been wanting to find some critical perspectives on this VH1-type event but all I found was a piece in Alternet by someone who seems to be very moved and impressed by the whole thing. I tried the Barcelona Indymedia site, but it's all in Catalan. As far as I am concerned, the World Social Forum remains the real thing.