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Responses to School Shootings
2008-02-16 03:37:00
News of the campus shooting at Northern Illinois University on Thursday revived the national discussion of violence in schools and what can be done to stop it. Is stricter gun control the answer, or should students be allowed to carry weapons for their own defense? What security measures can be taken to make schools safer? Does the media overhype these crimes, effectively glamorizing them and increasing national anxiety? In many ways, the debates surrounding school shootings reflect more generalized anxieties about the state of the nation.
More About: School

The Album
2008-02-15 07:23:00
There has been much speculation that the advent of digital music signifies the death knell of the album, both as a physical and conceptual entity. Download services such as iTunes allow the consumer to pick and choose songs they like. The music industry is experimenting with ways to make digital albums more appealing, and Radiohead’s pay-what-you-like download experiment with their latest album proved that, for known bands, the album can survive on the internet. But is an album still an album if you can’t hold it in your hands? And how will the decline of the album affect how we experience and process music?
More About: Album

Paying Our CEOs
2008-02-15 04:56:00
Since the 1980s, the salaries of American executives have increased exponentially. With income inequality growing more pronounced, this development has become a source of contention. Some argue that it is a corporation’s prerogative to pay its CEO what it wishes, and that high CEO salaries are a very effective method of motivating the entire workforce. Others feel that such high salaries are not commensurate with a CEO’s impact on a company’s bottom line, and point out that these high wages are rarely cut when corporations fail to perform.

Valentine's Day
2008-02-13 12:22:00
Today is Valentine ’s Day, the name day of several early Christian martyrs, which evolved into a celebration of love by historical happenstance. Difficult as it seems to find controversy in candy and cards, many scoff that Valentine's Day is excessive and perpetuates constrictive gender roles. The holiday has become an excellent case study in how social behaviors are judged by cultural context. In Saudi Arabia, where the holiday is effectively banned, the same celebrations deemed conformist in the West are acts of rebellion.

FISA & Telecom Immunity
2008-02-12 17:01:00
Yesterday’s Senate vote on proposed reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA ) closed a major chapter in the NSA wiretapping scandal, striking down an amendment that would have denied telecom companies immunity for assisting with surveillance. While many decry the lack of accountability for violations of the law and attribute the outcome to the telecom industry’s lobby, others argue that protecting those who play a vital role in combating terrorism is fair.
More About: Telecom , Immunity

Cultural Symbolism of Islamic Headscarves
2008-02-11 17:34:00
Turkey's recent controversial decision to allow Islamic headscarves in universities contrasts starkly with France's school ban in 2004. In Turkey the ability to wear a headscarf represents religious freedom and secularism (no legislation regulating religious representation), but in France headscarves are religious symbols and have no place in public schools. Meanwhile, in the US, a recent study reveals the enormous symbolic weight of headscarves and the social perceptions they invoke.
More About: Symbolism , Cultural

Superdelegates and the Democratic Nomination
2008-02-11 07:15:00
The close race for the Democratic presidential nomination has focused national attention on the Democratic superdelegates, elected officials and committee members who comprise about one-fifth of all delegates, and the possibility that they could function as tiebreakers. While skeptics argue that superdelegates have never voted against the frontrunner after the primaries and won’t start now, many question whether, in this election cycle, the party elite could overrule the popular will.
More About: Nomination

China is in Africa
2008-02-09 10:27:00
In 2006, China 's trade with Africa totaled $50 billion, and that figure is on the rise. For African nations, this business relationship has brought increased prosperity and improved infrastructure, with the added bonus of dealing with a country that does not intervene in their domestic affairs. It is this "strictly business" policy that has incensed the international community, who argue that China is ignoring and allowing the human rights violations perpetrated by their new partners.

Artificial Intelligence
2008-02-08 08:22:00
Since the technological advancement in the 50s, artificial intelligence researchers promised that humanoid robots were not only feasible, but that they would be inventions of the not-too-distant future. When the science of creating a computer with a human-like brain proved more difficult than anticipated, research funding dried up and public enthusiasm waned, as most dismissed the prospect as little more than a sci-fi pipe dream. In spite of these setbacks, research has continued, and while a human-like robot doesn't seem to be close on the horizon, the attempts to develop artificial intelligence and consciousness have led to many accidental discoveries that have forever impacted modern life.
More About: Intelligence , Artificial Intelligence

Americans Can't Stop Spending
2008-02-07 17:03:00
Americans have grown increasingly credit dependent, saving far less than other Western nations. The result: a national crisis of debt and an uncertain fate for Americans planning for their futures. How much of this is caused by personal fiscal irresponsibility, as opposed to government initiatives that encourage reckless spending? Are there solutions to this epidemic, and if so, who should bear the burden of implementing them?
More About: Spending , Stop , Americans

The Emerging Ethics of Meat
2008-02-06 17:01:00
The ethics of meat consumption have become much more complex than a standoff between devoted carnivores and vegetarians who espouse the value of animal rights. Humane treatment of animals by the meat industry and the environmental and humanitarian implications of meat consumption are also on the table. With the issues of world hunger and the future of the ecosystem growing more pressing, meat consumption is at the center of a convergence of timely ethical questions.
More About: Meat , Ethics

Super Tuesday
2008-02-05 16:56:00
As the votes come in, John McCain has commanded a dominating lead, but with so many states still to report Mitt Romney could surge. On the other hand, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are neck and neck. McCain could win it all tonight, but for Clinton and Obama, it will be a long bout.
More About: Super , Tuesday , Super Tuesday

Defining Online Privacy
2008-02-04 15:57:00
The ever-increasing amount of personal information used in e-commerce transactions and exchanged on social networking sites changes how we define "privacy." As emails and online diaries can now be subpoenaed by judges and identity scams have become more common, activists, lawyers and politicians are acting to establish a protective framework for Internet users. But as the debate continues, the conflict between safety, privacy, convenience and self-expression becomes more pronounced.
More About: Online Privacy , Privacy , Online

The Power of Endorsements
2008-02-03 14:44:00
All the major candidates have enjoyed endorsements, but just how helpful (or hurtful) are these political sponsorships? For John McCain, the support of Arnold Schwarzenegger was good news, as the Governor is popular in the key California. But MoveOn's endorsement of Barack Obama is questionable because the liberal organization may alienate moderate voters. Meanwhile, many wonder whether endorsements are more than tokens of political support and actually translate into votes.
More About: Power

International War Crime Trials
2008-02-02 18:30:00
International courts like The War Crime s Tribunal at The Hague prosecute political leaders for crimes against humanity. In the past decade, these courts have become far more successful at bringing leaders to trial, but many still question their efficacy. Do they deter other leaders from committing similar atrocities or help psychologically heal war-torn nations? Or are they mere spectacles that distract from the West’s apathy towards current humanitarian crises?
More About: International , Trials

Gender & Demographics
2008-02-01 18:33:00
Populations across the world are experiencing increasing gender gaps. Women outnumber men in most Western nations, while in countries like India and China young males outnumber their female counterparts. There has been much speculation and research of the causes of these phenomena, and even more about what the impact of these gender gaps will have on economics and society. In the end, only time will tell what the future of gender imbalanced nations will be.
More About: Gender , Demographics

Shredded Stasi Files
2008-02-01 12:58:00
The Stasi , the East German secret police, conducted one of the most extensive surveillance operations in history. At its height, in 1989, 91,00 people spied on a nation of 16.4 million. As the Berlin Wall fell, agents destroyed documents. 16,000 bags of shredded files (roughly 5% of all the Stasi’s paperwork) were preserved in an archive. For the past 13 years, restorers have reassembled documents by hand, but at its current rate the project will take 700 years to complete. Now new computer algorithms are expediting the process and unearthing more of the secrets of the German Democratic Republic.
More About: Files

Understanding The Congo Conflict
2008-01-30 16:23:00
Over the last 10 years the Democratic Republic of the Congo has suffered from varying degrees of civil strife and an estimated 5 million people have died as a result. Perhaps more than any other widespread conflict, the war in the Congo is largely unreported and rarely understood. Despite years of stalemate, a recent peace treaty is an encouraging sign that this historically-rooted war may have an end.
More About: Conflict , Understanding

The Future of The GOP
2008-01-29 17:48:00
With a minority in Congress, an outgoing president with low approval ratings, and no clear frontrunner in the primary race, there is little debate that the Republican Party faces significant challenges. Since the Reagan years, the GOP has relied on a coalition between its socially and fiscally conservative wings. With these segments becoming ever more polarized, the question of the party's future is an urgent one.
More About: Future , The Future

The Science of Aging
2008-01-28 16:34:00
Research indicates that drastically extending human life may be possible. At the forefront of this field is the controversial gerontologist Aubrey de Grey, who believes there is no reason that human life cannot be measured in centuries instead of decades. Despite the axiomatic assumption that we all want to live longer, some question the social, political and cultural effects of such longevity. And as drug companies develop anti-aging medication, others question the possible impact on America's capitalist health system.
More About: Science , Aging

The Future of NATO
2008-01-27 13:47:00
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in 1949 to create a united military force to counterbalance the then growing Soviet Union. But since the end of the Cold War, many Americans have questioned the practical function of a multinational organization outside the UN. Critics argue that NATO polarizes world politics and costs America billions with no added security. Supporters claim that NATO allows for joint military action without the sluggish UN bureaucracy.
More About: Future , The Future , Nato

Detainment & Torture
2008-01-26 18:41:00
After 9/11, many citizens, who had long believed in the value of civil rights questioned whether these rights could not be suspended in order to protect our country. This debate turned into a national scandal when reports of prisoner torture and dubious detainment of "enemy combatants" became common. Are the techniques practiced by military interrogators, many of which violate either the Geneva Conventions and American law, creating a new generation of terrorists or protecting our country from another attack?
More About: Torture

West Nile Virus
2008-01-25 17:01:00
West Nile , a potentially fatal virus spread by mosquito, became a media obsession in the summer of 2004. Despite the initial surge and subsequent lack of coverage, human cases of WNV have increased steadily since 1999, reaching 4,261 in 2006 and dropping off to 3,510 in 2007. Although there are a few drugs in testing phases, the most effective check of WNV is controlling and limiting mosquito populations.
More About: Virus , West , West Nile

Carbon Offsets
2008-01-24 15:55:00
By purchasing carbon offsets, polluters can choose to neutralize the environmentally damaging emissions of their car, house or vacation. Depending on the calculated size of your carbon footprint and the fee you pay, for-profit companies and non-profit organizations plant trees or invest in renewable energy. Critics argue that carbon offsets ignore the lifestyle and cultural changes necessary for a long term solution and many suggest a conflict of interest when for-profit companies make money by helping the environment.
More About: Carbon

The Media's Political Influence
2008-01-23 16:42:00
Ever since the suggestion that Nixon’s stubble in the first televised presidential debate lost him the presidency in 1960, the extent to which media coverage influences elections has been a concern. The proliferation of mass media, 24-hour news channels, and Internet reporting makes the issue more pressing. Does the constant barrage of information and updates lead to voter fatigue? Do major news outlets focus more attention on high-profile candidates, effectively determining the outcomes of party nominations?
More About: Media , The Media , Political , Influence

Islamophobia
2008-01-22 16:56:00
The term, which first appeared in the 1980's but didn't enter discourse until after September 11th, describes an irrational fear of Islam. Islamophobia has become a controversial term that, for the left, symbolizes a dangerous overreaction to a minority of Muslims. But for the right, the word Islamophobia undermines a justified skepticism of religious motivations and marginalizes a cultural clash that may define our time.
More About: Phobia

Markets & Recession
2008-01-22 15:35:00
This morning the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to 3.5% after a global sell off caused by fears of a US recession. As economic optimists become more scarce and the chance of recession seems increasingly imminent, the markets may have started to follow the larger economic trends. Recession , however, is predicted far more often than it occurs. Is this a steep correction, or the start of an anticipated recession?
More About: Markets

Martin Luther King
2008-01-20 16:52:00
On Martin Luther King day, we celebrate not just the accomplishments, passion and philosophy of one man, but the universal acceptance of Dr. King's ideals. While everyone agrees with King's vision of racial unity and equality, many dispute the extent to which America lived up to promises of reconciliation. On one hand, the improvement since the segregated 60's is undeniable, but perhaps our standards for indisputable progress are too low.

Steroids
2008-01-18 18:20:00
This past week, disgraced Olympian Marion Jones was sentenced to prison and Congress reconvened its investigation of the baseball doping scandal. For most fans, the prevalence of performance-enhancing drug use among athletes sullies the integrity of competition but skeptics argue that the practice is virtually unstoppable. Now that human growth hormone use has also become popular among musicians, widespread steroid abuse raises questions about the pressures placed on public figures and the risks we’re willing to take to reach superhuman perfection.
More About: Steroids

Patriotism & Politics
2008-01-18 13:59:00
Who owns patriotism? Conservative voices like Bill O'Reilly would say Republican politics are more American. Similarly, liberal commentators like Keith Olbermann argue that liberal dissent echoes the true American ideals. Regardless of how you define patriotism, its rhetorical role in partisan politics cannot be denied. But whereas the the use of patriotism has been largely divisive in past years, the oncoming election is showing signs of hope. Candidates like Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama have enjoyed surges of success by connecting Americanism, pride, and unity.
More About: Politics , Patriotism