Truth & Justice
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Real-Life Superheroes or Masked Activists?
It sounds like a ridiculous premise for a bad Hollywood script. A very, very bad Hollywood script. But a confluence of forces over the past two years could be contributing to a bizarre rise in real-life, mask-and-spandex super heroes. With a heightened sense of online activism and large-scale cuts in a number of police forces, these pseudo-superheroes appear to be part vigilante, part activist. That's right, superhero activists. Read More
March 15, 2010
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When Police Are Smarter Than the Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi made a bold claim a few weeks back that he was preparing to launch a plan to eradicate the entire Italian Mafia. Indefinitely. So it would be logical to assume that the 26 Mafia arrests made this week in Sicily and various U.S. cities were somehow linked to this plan, right? Wrong. The crackdown was actually part of ongoing joint investigative efforts by U.S. and Italian authorities that beg… Read More
March 11, 2010
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Legal Punishment For Your Psychological Crimes
The French approved a measure to criminalize “psychological violence” as part of a law designed to protect victims of domestic abuse. Critics have said the measure is pointless because of how tricky the prosecution of such crimes can be, but the existence and symbolism of the law might be more important than its implementation. Read More
February 28, 2010
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New Torture Revelations Rock UK Government
Despite the British Government’s best efforts, damning Court of Appeal findings about the “dubious” treatment of former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Binyam Mohamed, have been made public. This followed from attempts by the Government, and an appeal by Foreign Secretary David Miliband to keep the findings secret. Read More
February 26, 2010
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Making Life Fairer, From Election Day to Your Birthday
Still miffed about the 2000 election? Or even the 1992 election? Steven Brams feels your pain—and has developed a system that could prevent similar voter aggravation in the future. As the NYU politics professor explains in his Big Think interview, "approval voting" would dampen the spoiler effect of candidates like Ralph Nader and Ross Perot, while benefiting centrist politicians over ideologues. If political fairness isn't your thing, Brams has also discovered a solution to a more mundane problem: divvying up Read More
February 25, 2010
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There is an irony, although it is hardly surprising, that a very English Revolutionary and devout Parliamentarian, John Hampden, and the family name of "Hampden," is better remembered in the Americas than in his own country. There are towns bearing the name of Hampden in Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine, but in his own county of Buckinghamshire, only Hampden House, not far from where I am sitting, still carries his name. Read More
February 10, 2010
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The EU and Honor Killings in Turkey
The struggle to earn a bid to join the European Union has forced Turkey into improving a number of its policies and relationships with other countries. It could also help reduce the number of “honor killings” – grisly acts in which women and girls are killed by family members for what they believe is dishonorable behavior by religious definitions. Read More
February 7, 2010
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Greensboro Four Commemorated By International Civil Rights Center & Museum
My mother was a black college student back in the late fifties, when African Americans were protesting segregation and joining together in protest marches all across the country. So when the documentaries begin to air in February during Black History Month, she often shares a favorite story. Read More
January 31, 2010
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How Could A Corporation Be My Constitutional Equal?
“Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.” —Oscar Wilde If I may borrow a word from this Oscar Wilde quote, I believe the Supreme Court has malevolently bludgeoned the distinction between living breathing human beings and the convenient legal fictions we have relied on up until now to allow corporations to assume a state known as "corporate personhood." Read More
January 24, 2010
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What the Berlusconi Attack Means for Justice in Italy
I wrote last week that being hit in the face during a political rally might be the best thing that’s happened to Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi in many months. His approval rating has since skyrocketed, and now, sympathetic to its wounded leader, the Italian Senate has backed a bill that will retroactively put an end to his corruption and tax fraud trials. Read More
January 22, 2010
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Royal Caribbean International is continuing to dock its luxury cruise ships on the beaches near Labadee in Haiti, near the epicenter of the earthquake. Some passengers are queasy about this. As one put it: "I just can't see myself sunning on the beach, playing in the water, eating a barbecue, and enjoying a cocktail while there are tens of thousands of dead people being piled up on the streets" only 60 miles away in Port-au-Prince. But these feelings raise an important question about the human mind:… Read More
January 22, 2010
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I Guess They Could Call It The International Non-Cross
Do you want to help suffering Haitians, but find yourself hesitating, because someone might thank God for your good deed? I didn't think so, but the Richard Dawkins Foundation has decided you're out there. It just set up Non-Believers Giving Aid, a "religion-free'' disaster-relief fund, where donations help counter "the scandalous myth that only the religious care about their fellow humans.'' Because, you know, the first question victims ask after a natural disaster is always "what are the theological views of the people who p… Read More
January 17, 2010
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The "Mother" of the Civil Rights Movement
William Chafe explains how Ella Baker nurtured the movement—and sometimes challenged its male leadership. Read More
January 15, 2010
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Are those who seek power inherently unethical? And how can the rest of us avoid being manipulated by them? Read More
January 14, 2010
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Obama as Tough as Bush on Terrorism
Duke University Professor David Schanzer says President Obama has largely maintained the Bush administration's anti-terrorism tactics and personnel. Read More
January 13, 2010
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Ron Bluntschli, an American who works with Haitian farmers through the organization Beyond Borders, told me this story years ago: Read More
January 13, 2010
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From Junior Capitalist to Social Activist
Raj Patel initially thought a global economy could combat poverty but eventually realized that the root causes of inequality need to be addressed. Read More
January 12, 2010
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A Big Think Interview With Raj Patel
A conversation with the British author and activist. Read More
January 12, 2010
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Why Friends Make All The Difference
A developmental psychologist explains the surprising cognitive effect of having friends near. Read More
January 5, 2010
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The Unexpected Link Between Family Conflict and Puberty
The Temple professor initially believed that early puberty caused conflict between girls and their parents. Then he was “blown away” when his research showed the reverse connection: family conflict led to early maturation. Read More
January 5, 2010
