US Opinion and Commentary

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Showing Archived Posts

‘We Didn’t Just Come Here to Talk, But We Came Here to Act’

Posted April 2nd, 2016 at 9:48 am (UTC-4)
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The president summarizes his fourth – and final – Nuclear Security Summit

How We Can Make Our Vision of a World Without Nuclear Weapons a Reality

Posted March 31st, 2016 at 2:06 pm (UTC-4)
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“I believe that we must never resign ourselves to the fatalism that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable.” President Barack Obama

The Thin Line Between Privacy and Security

Posted March 29th, 2016 at 3:21 pm (UTC-4)
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After the horrific and deadly terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California at a work holiday party, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began its work: what drove the suspects – a Muslim couple with an infant – to kill 14 people? Were they acting at the behest of ISIS? Investigators found the iPhone of Syed Farook, but couldn’t get past the passcode to examine his contacts. Apple CEO Tim Cook refused an FBI order to create a coded “backdoor.” Critics called foul, accusing the FBI of looking for a case with which it could set a legal precedent. Cook held firm. Privacy protests erupted. This week, the FBI announced it used a third party to successfully hack the smartphone. Obvious questions were immediately raised: why did U.S. authorities try to legally compel Apple to create a backdoor? Who wins in such cases? Are we safer when officials can force digital companies to make hackable products? Or, must personal privacy always trump security?

How Terrorists Convince Themselves to Kill

Posted December 10th, 2015 at 6:03 pm (UTC-4)
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The less we empathize with someone, the easier it is to kill them. Jihadist culture is exceptionally good at decreasing empathy for outsiders, Muslim and non-Muslim alike…