America and Cuba Today: The Coming of Age of the Cuba Embargo Under the Obama Administration
In retrospect, the Cuban embargo was presumably logical. World order was essentially polarized into two distinct categories: Capitalism vs. Communism. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the USSR, this approach seems worthless in terms of achieving peaceful, stable relations with Cuba in contemporary international relations. In short, the Cuban embargo […]
Labour 2010: Not So Rosy
In May 1997, after a surprising election victory, a young, charismatic man named Tony Blair settled into his new office at 10 Downing Street in London as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister. This signaled the beginning of the Labour Party’s hold on the Premiership. However, after nearly thirteen years in power, Labour’s grasp on Downing […]
Iraq’s Huddles Masses: Iraqi Refugees and the Special Immigrant Visa Program
Many Iraqis face certain danger from armed militias and terrorist groups if they work for the American military or contractors. These groups threaten, hunt down, torture and kill Iraqis whom they know or suspect have worked for Americans. Realizing this heinous trend, the US made it easier for Iraqis to come to America. In 2007 […]
What’s Easting U.S.? : Michelle Obama’s War on Childhood Obesity
First Lady Michelle Obama introduced a new ambitious national goal to her agenda this past February. Childhood obesity rates have steadily risen in the United States and Obama plans to solve the alarming increase of the disease within the next generation so that today’s children will be able to live adulthood at a healthy weight. […]
REAL ID Considered: Is the REAL ID a Real Solution?
The United States Federal Government has considered the concept of a national identification program for several years and the interest has only increased since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The current system, with information of varying quality collected, stored, and utilized by the individual states, is inefficient at best and a significant hindrance at […]
Public Security in Private Hands: American Intelligence Goes Corporate
In 2006, under considerable pressure from the public to provide information about the use of tax dollars in matters of national security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) conducted the first comprehensive study of the use of private intelligence contractors since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Alarmingly, it found that […]
Un Prophéte: 2009 French Film
The romantic allure of Paris often obscures American perceptions of French film. French cinema can be as gritty and moody as that of any other country. In recent years, critical favorites, such as Marion Cotillard’s Oscar-winning performance in La Vie en Rose (140min, 2007) and the cult hit Amélie (122min, 2001), have allowed French movies […]
The Voice of the Dolphins, and Other Stories
The Voice of the Dolphins, by Leo Szilard, brings into question the many sociopolitical paradigms exposed at the height of the Cold War, since shuffled behind a red curtain stained with shapes of hammers and sickles. The hardheaded diplomacy of the 1960s clouds the vital questions that the ideological struggle was essentially based on: the […]
The Politics of Sound
Words have never been enough. While the brain can process thousands of feelings and sensations every minute, spoken language will forever be a bottleneck that retards the sharing or expression of sensations from one person to the next. Think about it – how often are you left struggling to relay a thought to a colleague […]
A Little More Conversation: Reshaping the Abortion Debate on Campus
This March, NU Right to Life faced a series of hostile attacks after hosting the University’s first “Respect Life Week”. The organization, seeking to promote a culture of life amongst the student population, found itself under fire from students who felt that Student Activities Fee (SAF) money should not be spent on what they considered […]