AMOS OZ, the great Israeli novelist and peace activist, talks about the Hamas victory and what it means for those who seek an end to the Israeli occupation. Amos Ozs new book is How to Cure a Fanatic.
READ JON WIENER’s Q&A WITH AMOS OZ at TheNation.com
Plus: our post-mortem on Bushs State of the Union address with HAROLD MEYERSON, who will comment on the surprising news that we are winning in Iraq — as well as Bushs statement that we can only preserve freedom with a renewed commitment to spying on Americans. Harold writes for the LA Weekly, the American Prospect, and the Washington Post op-ed page.
Also: The politics of country music: Chris Willman explains why, during the 2004 election, the entertainers campaigning for Bush were almost exclusively the country stars, and how the rightward drift of country music has parallelled the transformation of the once-Democratic south into the heart of the Republican mainstream. Well also talk about the great exceptions, from Willy Nelson to the Dixie Chicks. Chris Willman is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly; his book Rednecks & Bluenecks is out now frrm The New Press.
Web extra: The dilemma of the mainstream journalist: How does one report the facts when the facts themselves are biased? asks Rob Corddry on The Daily Show. Facts in Iraq have an anti-Bush agenda, he says maybe thats why its so hard to find them.
