politics

Please, History, Don’t Repeat Yourself…

I recently viewed the excellent documentary “The Fall of Fujimori” about Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. Fujimori was elected President in 1992 on a populist platform, during a time when Peru was being sacked by both radical insurgent groups and abject poverty. As you can probably see from the photo (left), Fujimori’s win was surprising, as…

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Death By Red Tape

I know that we all have our own horror stories of bureaucratic asphyxiation…but recently in my life, I have found myself increasingly strangled by red tape. I suspect that it may be a particularly pronounced struggle in academia–maybe politics is as bad, but it can’t be much worse–and I’ve found my patience (and diplomacy) wearing…

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Whatever Happened To Righteous Indignation?

so i heard (again) on NPR today a debate about the morailty of torture. and this is what i have to say about these debates in general, which i am hearing all-too-frequently thse days: ARE YOU KIDDING ME? IS THIS REALLY AN ETHICALLY “GRAY” AREA? WHEN DID IT BECOME DIFFICULT FOR US TO SAY– WITHOUT…

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