What balance between individual freedom of choice and the common good does American democracy require? To what extent is the press entitled to free speech? How much of a role should the government play in making medical decisions for citizens? These questions add philosophical depth to the conflict between those who refuse to vaccinate themselves […]
Archives for May 2015
The Womb of Asia No Longer: Thailand Bans Commercial Surrogacy
During much of the 2000’s, Thailand was branded “the womb of Asia” thanks to its incredibly lucrative commercial surrogacy business. However, on February 19, 2015, the Thai legislature voted 160-2 in favor of banning commercial surrogacy. This new law prohibits all foreign and same-sex couples from seeking surrogacy within Thailand and places severe restrictions on […]
Fixing the Powerhouse of the Cell
The headlines are attention grabbing: “House of Lords Legalizes Three-Parent Babies”. But what exactly is a three-parent baby? And what does their legalization mean? Three-parent babies could be the answer to one of the most common and deadly genetic mutations. Mitochondrial mutations within a developing fetus can lead to crippling diseases throughout the child’s adult […]
Islam with an Austrian Character
Is an authentic, local Islam to be brought about via legislation, or should it come organically from within communities? In the resort town of Lech, Austria there is only one story late in the ski season. Beneath the warm spring sun, torrents of beer flow from the taps, and the après-ski crowd share the day’s […]
Why The Chapel Hill Shooting Won’t Be Called A Hate Crime
It would hardly seem controversial to assume that religion was a factor in the triple homicide of three young Muslims in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, last month, mostly because there aren’t many other explanations for the shooting. The victims were hardworking and valued members of their communities; Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, was planning to enroll […]
Richard Zuley: The Interrogator
“I’m going to do everything I’m allowed to break you.” Between moments of agony and unyielding interrogation, Mouhamedou Ould Slahi lies waiting in his cold Guantanamo Bay cell, anticipating his torturer’s arrival and praying fruitlessly for his unlikely release. Since 2002, Slahi has been rotting in Guantanamo Bay, awaiting charges, and living as a daily […]
The Upcoming British Elections Explained
On May 7th, 2015, the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will vote in one of the most tightly contested elections in British history. The next Prime Minister will either be Ed Milliband of the center-left Labour party or David Cameron of the Conservative party, returning for a second term […]
6 Crazy Things You’ll Never Believe About Vox, Ezra Klein, and the Future of News Media
What is good journalism? Or perhaps the question belongs to the realm of proper nouns; Good Journalism, a brand in and of Itself, always ready for consumption by the ravenous masses. History seems to tell us that It moves in waves, slowly rising from the ashes of John Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Empire, eventually finding Its […]
How Red Bees Took Down the Cherry King of Red Hook
For years, cherry kingpin Arthur Mondella tended his own secret garden. A highly illegal one.
The Peshawar Massacre & The War On Education
On December 14th of this past year, there was an attack made by the Pakistani Taliban on an English-medium, army-run public school in Peshawar. The school had roughly 1,100 students ranging in age from 8 to 18 and was on the outside, and in many ways functionally, just like any junior-high or high-school complex you […]