2 02, 2021

The Ethics of Belief: It’s not just Trump supporters who believe wrongly—it’s all of us

By |2021-05-14T18:31:18+00:00February 2nd, 2021|Practice, Theory|0 Comments

Many of people’s most cherished beliefs—on important matters such as religion, health, science, ethics, justice, and more—are not based on strong evidence.

11 12, 2020

The Hidden Success of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

By |2021-01-29T17:19:51+00:00December 11th, 2020|Practice|0 Comments

For the first time in international law, a credible investigation into a terrorist assassination has been followed by a credible trial proceeding. With its judgment, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) became first ever international proceeding to prosecute a terrorist crime (the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005). Although largely overlooked in the wake of the deadly Beirut port explosion, food shortages, anti-government protests, and pandemic, this is a milestone in Lebanese and judicial history.

13 11, 2020

The Ecstatic Agony of Jeffrey Toobin

By |2020-12-11T21:12:58+00:00November 13th, 2020|Practice, Theory|0 Comments

Mr. Toobin is a celebrity.  Therefore, he has no right (as it were) to lower himself to our level or at least not in such a way that we are made aware of it. Discretion is the better part of ardor, especially for those in the public eye. Since those who wield power (control over other people’s destinies) belong to the priestly caste of society, they must relinquish the life of the peasant in exchange for their rank as sanctified members of the hierarchy. The peasant is no better than an animal; the priest must not descend to the level of the peasant, or be witnessed doing so, lest the peasantry become disillusioned, and begin to question their lack of status, let alone, rebel against priestly authority. That violates the tacit social contract (or unstated Freudian bargain) that we make with our living symbols of supernal grace.

13 11, 2020

What Does Joe Biden’s Win Mean For Africa?

By |2020-11-16T15:16:19+00:00November 13th, 2020|Practice, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Biden’s win means that multilateralism is the new game in town. Trump preferred unilateral pursuit of American national interests through bilateral trade negotiations with individual countries on the continent. Ironically, individual countries on the continent gained great traction with the Trump administration. Now policy makers are not sure how the new administration will approach these negotiations.

23 10, 2020

Why I Signed the “Dump Trump, then Battle Biden” Open Letter

By |2020-11-20T18:42:00+00:00October 23rd, 2020|Practice, Theory|1 Comment

I surprised myself, because the position of advocating a lesser-evil vote – not for myself in Massachusetts, but for those in “battleground” states – is one that I would not ordinarily take. But this is not an ordinary moment, and the allowance for this kind of exception finds strong precedents, including in the strategic thinking of Marx.

8 10, 2020

When Is The Right Time To Nominate a Supreme Court Justice After One Has Passed Away – A Flowchart by the RNC

By |2020-10-31T15:33:04+00:00October 8th, 2020|Arts & Letters, Practice|0 Comments

A totally non-partisan and not-at-all-self-serving flowchart to SCOTUS nominations beginning with the question: Which Party has Control of the Senate?

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