Best Articles On...

     I try to read 10 articles on X or Y, and link to the one with the most facts and the least propaganda.  If I get to 20 articles, I feel pretty good.  I did close to that for the Ukraine peice.  Far less for Egypt.  I highly recommend the exercise.

• Unpeeling the Orange:  My estimation: Yuschenko is more beholden to western market liberalization forces than people realized.  One article reported only 37% of Ukrainians think these folks are better than the Kuchma government.  Another reported that the "goddess of the revolution," (Timoschenko) has already joined the opposition to Yuschenko.  But the best article is from Peter Goodspeed at Canada's National Post.  The BBC has a round up of the E. European and Russian press, showing a clear bias.  Business-oriented newspapers seem to be supportive of the newly appointed PM, Yekhanurov, described elsewhere as a "liberal economist" but who is also a regional governor.
• Mubarak wins 80% in the polls, turnout expected about 30%.  Nothing to read about, really.  This editorial in the Washington Post makes some serious allegations, but, oddly or not, they aren't repeated in other press accounts.  Not sure I'd bother.  The most amazing thing about this story is the praise from US officials.  For example, E Wisner, Ambassador assigned by RW Reagan to Egypt, called it "an historic day." and S McCormack, current US State department spokesperson said "I think it's safe to say that Egyptians have not seen presidential elections like the one you have just seen in their lifetimes." which could be a way of saying "we've never seen Hosni Mubarak run for a fifth term before."
• Oh, in news that seemed strange to me, along with H Kissinger, Noam Chomsky has a column in the UAE's Khaleej Times.  The link is to whichever is the newest title, so it will go wrong soon.  The article I am talking about is the September 3rd's "Doctrine of good intentions."