Can we define terror, or should we let terrorism define us?

In May 2013, the renowned International Institute for Counter Terrorism, the ICT, held a global workshop of legal scholars, experts, analysts, in order to work toward an international definition of terrorism. Without exception, all panelists worked against the effort led by Dr. Boaz Ganor. In his closing remarks, he lamented the frustrating and sterile experience. “We will never reach the level of counter …

JOSEPH NATOLI – Psychotic Shooters on the Open Frontier of Profit

“Each of the Republican candidates for the presidency declared last week that we should deal with school shootings by providing aggressive treatment of people with mental illness — not to alleviate the suffering of the mentally ill, but to protect other people from the mentally ill.” Andrew Solomon, “The Myth of the `Autistic Shooter,’ The New York Delusions are the belief in …

Paul Buchheit – The Evidence Keeps Pouring In: Capitalism Just Isn’t Working

To followers of Ayn Rand and Ronald Reagan, and to all the business people who despise government, ‘community’ is a form of ‘communism.’ Even taking the train is too communal for them. Americans have been led to believe that only individuals matter, that every person should fend for him/herself, that “winner-take-all” is the ultimate goal, and that the winners have …

Matt Taibbi – In the Age of Trump, Will Democrats Sell Out More, or Less?

ver the weekend, polls showed that that the Trump-fueled collapse of the Republican Party is reaching historic depths. According to CNN, the GOP’s approval rating is now down to 32 percent, the lowest level in over two decades. It probably won’t be trending up anytime soon, either, now that the Trump campaign is turning “you can’t rape your spouse” into …

The war on drugs has reached into the womb – and threatens abortion rights – Jessica Valenti

What does the war on drugs have to do with the war on abortion? More than you’d think: the anti-choice movement has been successfully using drug laws to give fetuses legal personhood rights for years. Today, 18 states consider drug use while pregnant to be child abuse – a standard that not only punishes pregnant women who need help, but that has …

A Happy Life or a Meaningful One? They Are Not the Same

Americans and the American social scientists who study them are obsessed withhappiness. What gets less attention is the perhaps deeper experience of meaningfulness. The two experiences are correlated – people who feel happy often feel that their lives are meaningful. Yet, a happy life is not the same as a meaningful one. In research(link is external) designed to distinguish between a happy …