by bmckernan In recent months, proposals for “fat taxes” have gained growing popularity amongst certain academic and political circles. Proponents for such measures suggest that such policies would help lower America’s obesity rate and/or help fund a public healthcare plan. A series of articles from Slate.com invoke (in part) a seemingly Foucauldian lens in examining … Continue reading »
Filed under Political, Economic and Urban Sociology …
The BNP meets the BBC
by paulabowles For the past few weeks the British media and public have hotly been debating the rights and wrongs of allowing the controversial British National Party [BNP] leader to appear on the BBC’s ‘flagship’ politics programme Question Time. Despite attempts to halt Nick Griffin’s appearance, the programme finally aired on Thursday 22 October 2009, … Continue reading »
When Prosumption is Law, the Prosumer is King (for Now)
by pj.rey Smokers, if I told you that I could get you high-quality cigarettes for half the usual price, you’d probably smartly ask, “What’s the catch?” “The catch,” I might respond, “is that I need five minutes of your labor-time per pack.” This is precisely the bargain customers are making with a Brookline, New Hampshire … Continue reading »
Renegotiating the Gender Contract
by ChristinaBlunt According to a recent article in the New York Times, the single mothers of South Korea are beginning to mount a battle to reclaim not only their rights but also their identities. The social stigma surrounding unwed motherhood in South Korea is particularly fierce. According to the report, in 2007, 1.6 percent of … Continue reading »
Peace Prize Choice Celebrated and Criticized
by smteixeirapoit The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that President Barack Obama will receive the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The Committee commended President Obama for encouraging international diplomacy, engaging in nuclear disarmament dialogue and arms control negotiations, and providing global citizens with an optimistic outlook on the future. Additionally, the Committee supported President Obama’s position that … Continue reading »
When method becomes a matter of life or death
By Rachael Liberman While public school violence has been an ongoing epidemic in Chicago, the recent murder of 16-year-old Derrion Albert, showcased on YouTube and other various Internet sources, has repositioned its priority level to urgent. However, as weeks have passed, the public is still wondering: what and when is something going to be done? … Continue reading »
Net Neutrality: Must Freedom Be Organized?
The first 25 years of → Internet governance began with technicians at the helm. The 1990s saw an emerging struggle over the US government’s escalating attempts to dominate the Internet. Initial opposition came from the Internet’s technical community, but later a number of national governments also began to challenge the US strategy. The European Union (EU) largely backed the US. While some issues were resolved by the mid-2000s, others were likely to stay contested for a considerable time. (Many acronyms, all explained below, were generated in this process.)When the term “Internet governance” was introduced in the 1980s, it was used mainly to describe the specific forms of the technical management of the global core resources of the Internet: → domain names, IP addresses, Internet protocols, and the root server system. The term “governance,” rather than “government,” signaled the difference between Internet regulation, mainly technical in nature and self-organized, and the legal regulation of telecommunications and broadcasting (→ Information and Communication Technology, Development of; Internet, Technology of).Internet pioneers rejected any government role in the emerging cyberspace. MIT’s Dave Clark proclaimed in 1992: “We believe in: rough consensus and running code.” Tim Berners-Lee (1998), world wide web inventor, insisted: “Our spiritual and social quest is for a set of rules Continue reading »
The Paradoxical Invocation of Humanity
nmccoy1 This week, Republican Congressman Terry Franks invoked humanist philosophy to simultaneously defend pro-life (anti-abortion) and question President Obama’s humanity and citizenship. It would be laughable logic if this trend were not so prevalent and effective. Franks called Obama an “enemy of humanity” referring to Obama’s decision to support international aid to organizations that perform … Continue reading »
Case Closure
by ChristinaBlunt On September 23, the Chicago Tribune reported that Christopher M. Stevens, the convicted killer of Zachary Snider, has been re-sentenced to life in prison without parole after his death sentence was overturned. Stevens was charged with sexually molesting and murdering 10-year old Snider in 1993. However, in 2007, a federal appeals court set … Continue reading »
The Future of American Television Part 2
by bmckernan A few weeks ago, I wrote a post on Sociology Lens entitled “Is Jay Leno the future of television?” Using Leno’s new prime time variety show as a backdrop, the post examined some of the current issues facing the television industry in America, particularly the decline in network ratings and the increased segmentation of … Continue reading »
