Articles From Today's NYTimes

There's some interesting stuff in today's Times which you need the free subscription to read but which are worth going through the registration process if you haven't already.

To start with the most provocative (or, really, incendiary). The deate surrounding Mel Gibson's The Passion-- about Christ's crucifixion-- has been pretty intense, and Frank Rich has a pretty broad condemnation of the debate as Gibson-provoked media publicity. Admittedly, Gibson hasn't been particularly 'sensitive' in his statements about the film or about his and its critics, but it does seem to me that Rich's argument is of the level of snide retort that tends to undermine the points he does make. I also find it suspicious that Gibson's critics keep bringing up his father, which seems like visiting the ideological sins of the father upon the son. It'll be interesting to see the consensus of reaction when the film is finally released.

Maureen Dowd has a surprisingly sympathetic column on the (*sigh*) difficulties of being Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Paul Krugman has a good article on the difficulties in Iraq, and he makes a good case, that the dangers of policing Iraq are not going to be relieved until the US administration finds a way to keep the silent majority of Iraqis convinced that what is happening is not a typical American involvement, but a 'long-haul' attempt to create a new Iraq. In short, Iraqis need to be convinced that they're not just going to end up like the people of Grenada-- or Afghanistan in the 1980s.

And here is a good discussion of the resume of Democratic candidate General Wesley Clark. Whatever else he is, Clark is an interesting figure, and it'll be something to watch how handles the process of campaigning. He's the one 'unknown' in the equation right now, and it's always good sport to watch the unknown determine itself.