Oct 05
From Pakistan’s point of view, India is an existential threat, says Thom Shanker, a correspondent covering the Pentagon and national security policy for the New York Times. Pakistan has fought several wars against India. No wonder it fears its neighbor. Hold on, India is not a threat, says Shashi Tharoor, an elected member of the Indian Parliament. …
Sep 28
The Big Question: Is It Okay for the United States to Assassinate Its Enemies? Yes, says author Parag Khanna. Dictators like Gaddafi in Libya have the capability of doing create harm and, in the right circumstances, they should be killed. Society is better without them. No, says Juan E. Mendez, former president of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. …
Sep 21
Recognition will do nothing, says Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN. The Palestinian economy won’t change. Its institutions will not get stronger, and the country will not have more autonomy. Wrong, says Maen Rashid Areikat, Palestinian Representative to Washington. If there will be no change than why are the United States and Israel so against recognition? …
Sep 14
Organic food is only about marketing, a convenient way for manufacturers and farmers to charge more for their products, says British food critic AA Gill. It creates a two-tier system: The rich can afford the nicely labeled packages and the poor cannot. No, says author Anna Lappe. Organic food can feed the world and make …
Aug 31
Back in 2009 George Kembel, cofounder and executive director of the Stanford design school, the d.school, discussed a unique student project. Citizens of Nepal asked his students to solve a pressing need: affordable incubators that could save the lives of newborns. The students developed their first prototype–a $25 “sleeping bag” that could hold and retain …
Aug 24
Witch burning, mutilation, slavery, and genocide are mandated in the Old Testament, says Christopher Hitchens. Religion is not only untrue, it produces immoral beliefs. Monotheism is akin to living in a dictatorship like North Korea. Hold on, says Dinesh D’Souza. Christianity was a force for good in India. It enabled individuals to escape the caste …
Aug 17
Political pundit James Carville says Mitt Romney has the best chance of winning. After all, he’s the ‘old white guy.’ Since 1944, old white guys have never failed to win the nomination, he says. Who was more old and white than McCain in 2008? No way, says New York Times columnist Gail Collins. Romney is …
Aug 10
This week in London anarchists used social media tools to coordinate widespread looting and vandalism. That’s not surprising, says Evgeny Morozov, author of The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. New technology can be used for good and bad purposes and often it’s the latter that rules the day. But wait, says author and …
Aug 03
Researchers in the field of behavioral genetics have asserted claims for a genetic basis to numerous behaviors, including aggression, alcoholism, and nurturing. Evolutionary biologist Steve Jones says the genes responsible for circulating testosterone in men are also to blame for most violent and criminal behavior. He argues, however, that the environment in which a person …
Jul 27
Is Google+ a Facebook killer? After little success with services like Buzz and Wave, Google has a less-than-stellar track record in the social network space. The recent release of Google+ has us wondering if it will be able to keep up with the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner and Hollywood superagent …