While traditionally privacy has referred to our ability to decide what to disclose and what to keep secret, it also entails the right to self-presentation. In Europe, this right is considered so important that members of the European Parliament have proposed enshrining a “right to be forgotten” in new privacy legislation. Such a right would … Read more
The Affordable Care Act rollout has been the latest speed bump in the disastrous public relations game surrounding the landmark legislation. The ACA has been the albatross of the Obama administration, a prize piece of legislation that has become the deadweight on the White House. The ACA is severely misunderstood, and many of its key … Read more
The Affordable Care Act’s “rollout debacle” has claimed headlines over the past six weeks—just ask the average nightly news viewer what’s going on in Syria right now. However, the most poignant aspect of the hoopla surrounding website malfunction and coverage termination was the apology issued by President Obama during his interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd: … Read more
For two weeks the United States Government was closed for business. Two weeks of stagnation because one half of the members of one chamber of one section of the United States Government decided it would be a good idea to shut the whole thing down—in order to repeal a law that has made it through … Read more
The Crimson’s recent editorial extolling the decline of the humanities reveals a deeply flawed understanding of the field. The Crimson’s editors would have us accept the fall of the humanities because “people will continue to seek truth in philosophy, solace in music, and company in the pages of books.” Like many commentators arguing both in … Read more
On July 18, 2013, just two weeks after former Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi was ousted, Interim President Adly Mansour gave his first address to the nation. In his speech, Mansour explicitly stated his commitment to establishing security, stability, and basic human rights in this transition period, as Egypt again attempted to create a democratic state. … Read more
“Remember the firemen are rarely necessary. The public stopped reading of its own accord.” Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, eerily resembles the most recent instance of censorship in Pakistan. The All Pakistan Private Schools Federation has banned Malala Yousafzai’s bestselling memoir, I Am Malala, from private schools across Pakistan. The Federation’s president, Mirza Kashif, … Read more
People go to Paris to see what is there, but also what is not there. Haussmann’s boulevards, the Louvre’s glass pyramid, and the spires of Notre Dame would not amount to much if they had to compete with modern skyscrapers. While most cities grapple with slums and industrial sprawl, Paris has also had to sweep … Read more
Detroit has seen a lot of press lately. I remember as a high school student in the city when Time embedded a team of reporters and photographers to keep an eye on it in 2010. It was big news around town. The general response was interest; what did outsiders want to see so badly that … Read more
Dear Readers, “Anything Could Happen at Harvard.” It’s the latest viral video sweeping campus, and it is generating all kinds of buzz among the student body. Students, feeling everything from disillusionment to unbridled optimism, look to the video as either a serious misportrayal of the Harvard experience or spot-on encapsulation of undergraduate life. After watching … Read more