Charity: Why It’s the Thought That Counts
Do we treat giving presents and giving to charity too differently?
Read MoreFrom Ivory Coast to Ivory Tower
The former president of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbabgo, did little to enhance his democratic credentials by refusing to step down from power after defeat at the polls. President Barack Obama, it has recently transpired, tried to encourage him …
Read MoreBelgium: where rapists and muffin thieves are treated alike
Some recent prison sentences in Belgium, as reported in several articles in De Standaard, one of the major Flemish newspapers: Repeated rape of 13-year old stepdaughter: 2,5 years Repeated rape of 15-year old girl:2 years Rape of 2 men…
Read MoreShould Journalism be Amoral?
George Orwell was not a peace journalist; he was a proper journalist! Jean Seaton, professor of media history at the university of Westminster and official historian for the BBC, hurled the comment from her seat in the audience onto the s…
Read More‘No smoking’ signs trigger urge to light up: Communism, Marriage, Evidence-Based Medicine and the Fate of the World
Before you read the blog, please take: General Knowledge Ethics Quiz What is the main cause of climate change? What is main cause of global poverty? Why does terrorism exist? What caused the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster? Write your an…
Read MoreShould the US have Killed Osama Bin Laden?
I heard the news that Osama Bin Laden (OBL) had been killed by US forces on the BBC World Service this morning. In the hour or so before I left for a conference I was struck by the absence of discussion of whether this was morally justified…
Read MoreWhy Wills and Kate must breed
As some may have noticed, today there is a wedding. It has been immensely costly, and while I do not for a moment resent that expenditure, the cost has an important ethical corollary. The money has been spent primarily to ensure dynasti…
Read MoreWould the End of the World really be so Bad?
As always, we sentient beings on earth are at risk of being wiped out by some global catastrophe. Some of the risks – diseases or meteorites – are old; others – nuclear weapons or global warming – are more recent. They are discussed very we…
Read MoreCould Groupons Save the World?
Two-and-a-half year old web start-up Groupon is a stunningly successful company. It reportedly turned down a six billion US dollar buyout offer from Google in December, and Reuters reports that is now planning an initial public offering tha…
Read MoreFor sale: one womb
In a world where you shouldn’t have to wait for anything, why wait nine months for your child to be born? This is the marketing pitch of Silver Sling, a Manhattan-based surrogacy clinic. Silver Sling offers ‘chemically accelerated births’ t…
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