Let Us Awake Now
B.R. Merrick
2009-06-04 03:00
Exclusive to STR
On May 30, 1962, a modern musical masterpiece premiered in England ’s newest cathedral, built next to the remains of the cathedral that was destroyed when the Nazis bombed Coventry . Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem" combines two choirs, two orchestras, three vocal soloists, and the Latin religious funeral text with...
The Abolitionist Argument in 35 Seconds
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Glen Allport
2010-06-21 03:00
Exclusive to STR
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". . . a power too great and terrible to imagine."
The Lord of the Rings trilogy was released on Blu-Ray in April, which reminded me that I hadn't seen the first installment, The Fellowship of the Ring, since its theatrical release in 2001. While watching the film again I was struck anew with its abolitionist message – a message that is clear,...
Who Is Afraid of a Real Inquiry?
Uri Avnery
2010-06-21 03:00
If a real Commission of Inquiry had been set up (instead of the pathetic excuse for a commission), here are some of the questions it should have addressed:
1. What is the real aim of the Gaza Strip blockade?
2. If the aim is to prevent the flow of arms into the Strip, why are only 100 products allowed in (as compared to the more than 12 thousand products in an average Israeli...
Public vs. Private
Paul Hein
2010-07-19 03:00
By Paul Hein.
Exclusive to STR
The two terms have always confused me. In general, public means the people considered as a whole, the populace, the citizenry, etc. Private, on the other hand, refers to particular individuals. So public ownership means ownership by everyone, which is a bewildering concept, to say the least. Private ownership, on the other hand, is...
Had Enough Government 'Regulation' Yet?
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Glen Allport
2010-08-19 03:00
By Glen Allport.
Exclusive to STR
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The Blessings of True Regulation in a Civil Society
Many things should be regulated – for health and safety, for protection against fraud, and for other reasons.
Regulation is a normal function of civil society. We don't want to get electrocuted when we touch a toaster or vacuum cleaner, for example, and the makers of...
Blame Wikileaks?
Patrick Coleman
2010-08-27 03:00
By Patrick Coleman.
Exclusive to STR
The media controversy concerning the recent leak of over 91,000 military reports, termed the “Afghan war diary,” by Wikileaks.org has focused very much around the supposed moral culpability of Wikileaks as an organization, its founder, Julian Assange, as well as the accused leaker, Bradley Manning, who now faces 52 years in prison for...
Why People Believe Government Is Here to Help Us
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Paul Bonneau
2010-08-27 03:00
By Paul Bonneau.
Exclusive to STR
The tenacity of the meme, that government is here to help us and protect us, is hard to understand. All evidence throughout history points in the opposite direction--that government is here to prey on us, and that if there is anything we need protection from, it is our own governments. Why do people cling to this harmful meme?
A...
Declare 9-11 'Government Blowback Day'
Lawrence M. Ludlow
2010-08-31 03:00
By Lawrence M. Ludlow.
Exclusive to STR
This September 11, let’s help to change the “meme” that has been used by the U.S. government to terrorize Americans into submission and to cynically manipulate the grief of those who lost loved ones in the 9-11 attack of 2001. This year in your community, join hands with others who understand the meaning of the event. Carry...
The Fake TV Challenge
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B.R. Merrick
2010-09-02 03:00
By B.R. Merrick
Exclusive to STR
In spite of my opposition to The War on Certain Kinds of Drugs, I wish to inaugurate a new war against another one. I have good reasons for doing so. This drug is cheap. It is everywhere. It is insidious. Once it is in your bloodstream, it is nearly impossible to extricate. It becomes infused with the cells of your body...
Aristophanes' Law
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tzo
2010-09-24 03:00
Column by tzo.
Exclusive to STR
Some 2,400 years ago, the Greek playwright Aristophanes put forth an idea in one of his plays that I would like to codify into a law of human behavior. Here are the pertinent lines from his play "The Frogs":
The course our city runs is the same towards men and money.
She has true and worthy sons.
She has fine new gold and ancient...