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Randall Amster, J.D., Ph.D., teaches Peace Studies at Prescott College, and serves as the Executive Director of the Peace & Justice Studies Association. His most recent books include the co-edited volume Building Cultures of Peace: Transdisciplinary Voices of Hope and Action (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009) and Lost in Space: The Criminalization, Globalization, and Urban Ecology of Homelessness (LFB Scholarly, 2008).
SHARE Friday, January 22, 2010 Invasion of the Body Scanners
The matter of full-body scanners presents a critical cultural referendum on basic questions of freedom and autonomy. The circumstances under which the issue is being presented -- a climate of fear instilled by a well-hyped reminder of the shared trauma of 9/11 -- make it almost impossible to have confidence in a sound and sober resolution. Now is the moment to rein it in while we still have a window of self-determination.
SHARE Saturday, March 14, 2009 Rush: Still Shovel-Ready After All These Years!
My fellow Americans, if we're looking for shovel-ready projects to stimulate the economy, well ... there are some pretty big piles inside Rush's studio that need to be cleaned up. The good news is that this apparently is a renewable resource, so at least these will be long-term jobs.
(6 comments) SHARE Sunday, February 15, 2009 Brave New World Order: A Googlement Above, Around, and Ahead of the People
Conspiracy theorists have mused about a "shadow government" working its machinations from secret locales with a cloak-and-dagger ethos. But it's a more sophisticated logic that could lead Google to conquer the earth, and with governments on the verge of financial collapse anyway, who else would you want keeping track of stuff, watching your back (and front), and making the trains run on time? Next stop, Googletopia!
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, February 6, 2009 Worst in Class: How Education in Arizona Became an Economic Casualty
Despite strong public support, the education situation is grim here in the desert right now -- scarce resources are literally drying up, and opportunistic politicians are using the financial crisis for ideologically-driven purposes. While the nation talks about economic stimulus, in Arizona we're looking at educational retrenchment instead.
(2 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Exit Stage Right: Cheney Wheels Off to Final (un)Disclosed Location
A chair-bound Cheney leaves an indelible image of enfeeblement in the minds of viewers, preemptively casting a pall on attempts to lay the blame for Bush's failures at his feet. Yes folks, that was Dick Cheney, born-again ADA activist and differently-abled former dictator, heading off to an (un)disclosed location for the final time.
(1 comments) SHARE Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Exit Stage Right: Cheney Wheels Off to Final (un)Disclosed Location
A chair-bound Cheney leaves an indelible image of enfeeblement in the minds of viewers, preemptively casting a pall on attempts to lay the blame for Bush's failures at his feet. Yes folks, that was Dick Cheney, born-again ADA activist and differently-abled former dictator, heading off to an (un)disclosed location for the final time.
(2 comments) SHARE Sunday, January 25, 2009 Barack to the Future: It's Electric!
Remarkably, over a century ago the cutting-edge transportation technologies were electric vehicles and bio-diesel fuels. The impetus of the petroleum economy, and the undemocratic nature of the power wielded by its proponents, have taken humanity on a planet-wide regressive arc with repercussions ranging from perpetual resource wars to runaway climate change.