Most of what I did this summer is confidential, that is, at least until the time the shows I worked on actually hit the air. Still, while working at CBS News’ “60 Minutes” I did engage in some interesting discussions about ethics and practice. Aptly, I was following HBO’s The Newsroom during my internship. A … Read more
Charles C. Mann, author of the 2005 study 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus and the subsequent 2011 volume 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, has a clever method for dealing with the controversial nomenclature surrounding any discussion of the pre-Columbian Americas: he calls peoples by the names which present-day members call themselves, and stays … Read more
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was envisioned as, in the words of first and current Prosecutor General Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the achievement of a “dream”: an imperative of creating an international system of justice. Established in the 2002 Roma Statute, the ICC’s creation was seen as a groundbreaking development after a century in which, as stated … Read more
Governor Christie’s claim that we’ll see a massive turnaround in the race after the first debate on Wednesday seems hyperbolic at best. Reports from the Romney camp in Boston certainly indicate that Governor Romney has been preparing feverishly for these debates – as well he should. Nevertheless, at this stage in the game, President Obama … Read more
Most Americans would recoil at the idea that Hollywood had once held hands with Hitler. Could such reassuringly American films as Inglourious Basterds and Schindler’s List have been prefaced by years of cooperating with the Nazis? Yet Ben Urwand’s The Collaboration and Thomas Doherty’s Hollywood and Hitler were released last year, the controversy was intense. … Read more
When it comes to the pre-debate PR spin, both campaigns’ policies have been clear: build up expectations for the other candidate in the hope that he fails to fulfill them. Not so for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Regardless of whether Governor Romney rises to Christie’s expectations, it’s unrealistic to characterize any presidential debate as … Read more
Wednesday’s debate will mark a monumental change in the election cycle. For the first time in the campaign season, Governor Romney will appear alongside the president on stage, as a fellow candidate, challenger, and peer. Regardless of how many people actually watch the debate, this moment is crucial for Romney. The way Governor Romney handles … Read more
Governor Christie’s claim that we’ll see a massive turnaround in the race after the first debate on Wednesday seems hyperbolic at best. Reports from the Romney camp in Boston certainly indicate that Governor Romney has been preparing feverishly for these debates – as well he should. Nevertheless, at this stage in the game, President Obama … Read more
When it comes to the pre-debate PR spin, both campaigns’ policies have been clear: build up expectations for the other candidate in the hope that he fails to fulfill them. Not so for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Regardless of whether Governor Romney rises to Christie’s expectations, it’s unrealistic to characterize any presidential debate as … Read more
The Ancient Greek poet Archilochus wrote: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” As intellectual historian Isaiah Berlin later explained in his 1953 essay The Hedgehog and the Fox, Archilochus’ words indicate the way in which different people see the world. Berlin lumped thinkers such as Dante, Plato, Hegel, Dostoevsky, … Read more