| The Ridenhour Prizes | more > | | "Of all the awards in my life—and I've received many over my 21-year military career—this is hands-down my most cherished award. I'm being recognized for an act of conscience."
- Matthew Diaz, recipient of The Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling
On April 3, D.C.'s National Press Club was packed for the luncheon ceremony of the fifth annual Ridenhour Prizes. This year's recipients were broadcast journalist Bill Moyers, winner of the Courage Prize; author James Scurlock, the Book Prize; and former Navy JAG officer Matthew Diaz, the Prize for Truth-Telling. These courageous individuals were recognized for defending the public interest in each of their fields, in the spirit of fearless truth-telling epitomized by Vietnam War veteran Ron Ridenhour, in whose honor these prizes were created. Each prize carries a $10,000 cash award. For more information about the prizes and the recipients, click here.
In his Salon column, Institute Fellow Joe Conason argued that if there is any justice, Diaz should be pardoned. Last week, NPR interviewed the former lieutenant commander on All Things Considered and Alternet posted his remarks; The Huffington Post ran Bill Moyers' acceptance speech, which was also reprinted on Common Dreams. | | More Awards For Institute Writers | more > | | Jeremy Scahill, author of the New York Times bestseller Blackwater, has won the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism. Investigative journalist Joshua Kors (whose two-part Nation series on veterans with PTSD being denied medical benefits was underwritten by the Investigative Fund) has won the prestigious Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) magazine certificate for his article, Thanks for Nothing. The Nation was also shortlisted for a National Magazine Award for the article. | | Investigative Fund Projects | more > | Another KBR Rape Case
By Karen Houppert, published in The Nation Houppert's interview with Dawn Leamon didn't just make the news, it might help in making new laws. The Nation ran Leamon's devastating story—being raped at a camp in Iraq run by the Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown and Root; and being instructed not to talk about it. Shortly after the story appeared, Leamon was invited to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at an April 9 hearing on "Closing Legal Loopholes: Prosecuting Sexual Assaults and Other Violent Crimes Committed Overseas by American Civilians in a Combat Environment." Following her testimony, the story was picked up by ABC News and popular news aggregator, BuzzFlash. The Ms. Magazine newswire and progressive blogs Daily Kos and Think Progress referred to the story, and Democracy Now! interviewed Houppert along with Leamon and an earlier rape victim, Jamie Leigh Jones. A New Deal in Pakistan
By William Dalrymple, published in The New York Review of Books Contrary to expectations, victory in the recent Pakistan elections did not go to religious extremist groups. Best-selling author and historian William Dalymple, observing that secular, moderate parties won the day, dares to challenge the stereotype that compares Pakistan (typical Islamic failure) unfavorably with India (growing democratic success story). "Pakistan is not going to fall apart," he concludes. Could the Republicans Pick the Democratic Nominee? The Untold Story of How the GOP Rigged Florida and Michigan
By Wayne Barrett, published on The Huffington Post Political journalist and blogger Wayne Barrett picks apart Howard Dean's "two-fisted handling of this two-state controversy," and argues that Michigan and Florida could become the Ralph Nader of 2000. His article was picked up by several influential political blogs, including MyDD (and cross-posted at Daily Kos), TalkLeft, Daily Politics, the political blog of the NY Daily News, Democratic Underground and more. Killing ourselves in Afghanistan
By Matthew Cole, published on Salon Recent headlines have drawn a lot of attention to the billions of dollars poured into Pakistani government coffers by the Bush administration. Not enough scrutiny has been paid to what Musharraf has been doing with all that money. Cole contends that the South Asian state has been playing a double game: receiving the money to go after the Taliban, while simultaneously pursuing its own, anti-American agenda in Afghanistan. In a conversation with Cole, a Taliban commander says, "If you had tried to interview me this time last year, I would have killed you." Cole was interviewed on Chicago Public Radio, his article was excerpted as a "must-read" on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations and highlighted on the Reuters blog on Pakistan. | Recent article appearances An important part of The Nation Institute's mission is to support and strengthen independent media and, whenever possible, to publish articles in the mainstream press. Articles by Nation Institute writers frequently appear in numerous print, online and broadcast outlets such as: The Nation, Salon, ZNet, Truthout, Common Dreams, The Huffington Post, The New York Review of Books, Alternet, Asia Times, Antiwar.com, the History News Network, Mother Jones and BuzzFlash. | | TomDispatch.com | more > | Empire or Humanity?
What the Classroom Didn't Teach Me About the American Empire
By Howard Zinn Here's something you might not have known about historian, author and playwright Howard Zinn: he served as a bombardier in the Second World War. Here's something else: it was in a classroom years later that he realized that his country was an empire. Find out other things you may not have known about Zinn in the video that accompanies his latest book, A People's History of American Empire, and a sneak preview of his autobiographical cartoons. Zinn's article was reprinted on Alternet (top story), Asia Times, the History News Network and Antiwar.com. Blowing Them Away Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry: Globalization Bush-style
By Tom Engelhardt It's the ultimate double standard, Engelhardt points out. We recognize the barbarism of suicide bombings, but don't even blink when U.S. air strikes kill innocent civilians. His commentary was the lead story on Alternet, and was featured on Common Dreams, Truthout, Antiwar.com, Mother Jones and ZNet. | | Who is Reading Us? | more > |  Chuck D, rapper, composer, actor, author, radio personality and producer, best known as the frontman of hip-hop group Public Enemy, praised I See Black People by Kristal Brent Zook: "A powerful comment on how black media has gone from the reflective voice of the under-mass to the dictated programming that we hear and see today."
Photo: Air America | | Nation Books | more > | In The News
The Man Who Pushed America To War: The Extraordinary Life, Adventures and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi
By Aram Roston  Aram Roston's new book, The Man Who Pushed America to War, is a highly unauthorized—and already highly acclaimed—biography of Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi exile and fraudster who was instrumental in propelling America to war. The book got rave reviews.
• Jon Stewart: "You gotta get this book, it's phenomenal."
• Salon: "The central question raised by Roston's book, and why it's essential reading for understanding this tragic period in our history, is not how could one man have so much power, but how our vastly powerful democratic nation could have acted so ineffectually and deceitfully."
• Read other reviews in the Financial Times, Mother Jones and Publishers Weekly.
• Aram Roston was a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, NPR's Fresh Air, NBC Nightly News and Democracy Now!
• He was also interviewed by Mother Jones in their blog, and by Harper's.
Featured Title
Antiwar Soldier: How to Dissent Within the Ranks of the Military
By Jonathan Hutto  Everything you want to know about protesting in the military but were too afraid to ask, from Jonathan Hutto, who draws on his own experience as an activist and a Navy Petty Officer to provide guidance and expertise for those who wish to speak out. His how-to guide for soldiers—an excerpt from the book—was reprinted on Common Dreams. | | Institute Fellows | more > | Eric Alterman
 Eric Alterman is a columnist at The Nation and at Media Matters. He is the author of seven books, most recently, Why We're Liberals: A Political Handbook for Post-Bush America. Alterman is currently on a multi-city U.S. book tour, which will take him from New York to California.
Lou Dubose
 Meet Lou Dubose, one of the latest additions to the Fellows Program, who co-authored several books about George Bush with the late Molly Ivins. He was the editor of The Texas Observer and currently edits the semi-monthly Washington Spectator. Dubose divides his time between Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. His final collaboration with Ivins was Bill of Wrongs, a survey of the executive branch's assault on the Bill of Rights. | |
I See Black People:
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