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LATEST ARTICLES ( 1483 )

• The World Until Yesterday – What Can We Learn From Traditional Societies?

  

  Jared Diamond authored Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, tackling big questions of the human story. His latest is The World Until Yesterday: What Can We... Read more

  Posted on 27 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Peter Watson: The Age of Atheists: How We Live Without God

  

  The other day I presented a review, at the Albany Public Library, of Peter Watson’s book, The Age Of Atheists: How We Have Sought to Live Since the Death of God... Read more

  Posted on 24 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Ukraine Plane Shame

  

  The world knows perfectly well who did it. All talk of investigation and forensic evidence just muddles moral clarity. This isn’t a criminal trial requiring... Read more

  Posted on 21 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The New Gaza War: What Is The Point?

  

  I am no pacifist. Some say war never solves anything; I say it sometimes does; and there are things worth fighting for. But about this latest round of... Read more

  Posted on 19 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Female Genital Mutilation and Islam (WARNING: Graphic Content)

  

  Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s beautiful and inspiring memoir is titled Infidel. Born in Somalia, she escaped to the Netherlands from an arranged marriage; became a member o... Read more

  Posted on 15 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Mexico and India: Some Good News For a Change

  

  The world is always full of bad news, but here’s something in line with this blog’s title.Background: Mexico had a big revolution/civil war a century ago. Read more

  Posted on 13 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Social Safety Net Or Bed of Nails? It’s Costly Being Poor

  

  Being billed for room and board in jail might sound like a joke. It is not. In fact, it’s increasingly common in America, among cash-strapped local governments. Read more

  Posted on 09 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Hateful Jews

  

  The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity — W. B. YeatsI almost titled this, “I Hate Those Jews. Read more

  Posted on 06 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

  

  A book group can expose one to hidden treasures and unforeseen pleasures. Here’s a great example.Harold, 65, recently retired, lives with longtime wife Maureen... Read more

  Posted on 03 July 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• I’m Going to Die

  

  (A version of this appeared on the Albany Times-Union’s “Faith Values” page, June 21)America’s deaths are projected to rise (baby boomers being mortal) from... Read more

  Posted on 30 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Why Both Left and Right Are Wrong

  

  The Left’s calling itself “progressive,” while in some ways annoying, isn’t entirely wrong. A key element is caring about other people, including those outside... Read more

  Posted on 27 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Lawn Fetishism Revisited – “I See Nothing”

  

  Behind my property is a small tract stranded between houses, apparently unsuitable for siting another. So, unattended, it grows into a mini-jungle. Behind that... Read more

  Posted on 24 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Superbugs and Evolution: Losing the War on Germs

  

  A recent PBS Frontline documentary spotlighted “Superbugs” – bacteria resistant to antibiotics, a growing menace. Despite some great victories in our war agains... Read more

  Posted on 20 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Iraq’s Tragedy: “Nothing Is Written”

  

  Iraq’s civil war is a metastasizing of a 7th century religious dispute over whether Ali was the first caliph or the fourth.Now, obviously, the “firsters” are... Read more

  Posted on 17 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Mind, Memory, and Movies

  

  The human brain has about 85 billion neurons, most connected to thousands of others, making for trillions of connections – the most complex object known. I’ve... Read more

  Posted on 15 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Journalist Ethics: An Oxymoron?

  

  I heard a talk by Rosemary Armao, a journalism professor at SUNY Albany, investigative editor in Eastern Europe and other foreign locales, and a regular WAMC... Read more

  Posted on 12 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• The Two Americas: Which is Exceptional?

  

  “The Two Americas” was the refrain of a past presidential candidate, contrasting U.S. affluence with its lack; certainly a familiar theme lately. Read more

  Posted on 09 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• June 6, 1944

  

  On this day 70 years ago the greatest invasion force in the history of the world, led by the United States of America, set out to liberate Europe from barbarism. Read more

  Posted on 06 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Chris Stedman: Faitheist

  

  Chris Stedman’s career is in “interfaith work,” but his book, Faitheist, is addressed mainly to his fellow atheists, urging them to lighten up.It centers upon... Read more

  Posted on 02 June 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY

• Lessons From the VA Scandal

  

  Suppose you’re Eric Shinseki (Veterans Administration head).Actual VA photoYou learn of huge problems – a vast backlog of unprocessed paperwork (partly because... Read more

  Posted on 30 May 2014 CULTURE, POLITICS, SOCIETY