Pacific Standard March-April 2013 Cover

The Dictator’s Learning Curve: David and Goliath Tales for Our Times

July 16, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
Bust of dictator Stalin

How have struggles between authoritarian governments and their challengers changed since the Cold War? And why do moves toward democratization proceed smoothly in some settings but stall out or get reversed in others? These are the kinds of questions that veteran journalist William J. Dobson, an editor at Slate, sets out to answer in The Dictator’s Learning Curve, his intelligent and informative first book. They are certainly timely ones. Events such as Arab Spring led TIME Magazine to dub 2011 the “Year of the Protester”; headlines from a few months ago told of a loosening of ... Read More

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When Extreme Animal Rights Activists Attack

March 16, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment

This is the third of several stories exploring the contentious relationship between the scientific community, which insists animal research is essential to medical progresss, and the animal rights activists working to abolish animal experimentation. Earlier pieces included the effort to shift the debate from sidewalks to courtrooms, and efforts to establish the “personhood” of species like apes and whales. Daniel Andreas San Diego joined Osama bin Laden on the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” watch list in 2009. Bin Laden is gone, but San Diego remains. Listed as “armed and ... Read More

More like this: Legal Affairs
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Reintroducing Paul Goodman, the ‘Public Intellectual’

October 18, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment

Once upon a time, there was something called a "public intellectual," and writer/pacifist/political radical/bisexual Paul Goodman was practically its template. Brilliant and witty, a New Left guru and regular TV presence on shows like William F. Buckley's Firing Line, Goodman was particularly famous thanks to his enormously influential 1959 book, Growing Up Absurd, in which he argued that society was so morally corrupt, youthful rebellion and disaffection actually signified mental health. "He's a wonderful example of an intellectual who was active as a citizen, who cared about young people, ... Read More

More like this: Culture, Moving Pictures
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What Will 10/10/10 Add Up To?

October 14, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
People Power Can Drive Climate Action

Say you're an alien anthropologist studying human behavior on Earth. Understandably, you are perplexed by the events of Oct. 10, 2010. Dutch women partying in their old wedding dresses to celebrate re-using and recycling. One-hundred-sixty eighth-graders in Cape Town walking the length of the beach leaving only one set of footprints to symbolize their future commitment to reducing waste. A hilarious visual collage: "What can one person do when 6.8 billion are frying the planet?" And then there were the “carrot mobs,” where businesses — say an ice cream shop in California ... Read More

More like this: Environment, Voyage of Kiri
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Expecting Justice and Hoping for Empathy

June 20, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment

What kind of justices do the American people want on the U.S. Supreme Court? As the country awaits the Senate's decision on whether Elena Kagan should replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the nation's highest court, discussions about the desirable attributes of judges have been reignited. This debate is particularly important at this point in history because the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have become an unusually homogeneous bunch. Hailing from Harvard or Yale, having served on the lower federal judiciary, but also having precious little experience in any politics but the politics ... Read More

More like this: Legal Affairs
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The Anatomy of a Boycott

May 16, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment

During the height of last summer's firefight over health care reform, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal sensibly pointing out what he felt were policy flaws in the current incarnation of the bill. The reaction from his more liberal customers was swift and well publicized — they began a boycott of Whole Foods. But perhaps more ironic than the store's most loyal customers turning on the company was how quickly a counter boycott (or "buycott") was organized. Tea Partiers and formerly indifferent shoppers flooded stores in several Midwestern states, ... Read More

More like this: Findings, Politics
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Merely Qualified Need Not Apply

April 14, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
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Republicans on the Senate judiciary committee took to the Sunday morning talk shows over the weekend to lay out the parameters for what type of judge they would confirm this summer to replace John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. If the nominee is "clearly outside of the mainstream, then I think every power should be utilized to protect the Constitution," said Sen. Jeff Sessions. Republicans, offered Sen. John Kyl, won't have to filibuster the nominee if the president will simply appoint "someone who is mainstream enough." "Mainstream," it seems, is this year's litmus test, the ... Read More

More like this: Politics, The Idea Lobby
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Get Politically Engaged, Get Happy?

February 14, 2010 • By • 2 Comments

As the United States gears up for midyear elections, getting involved in a campaign might not only be a great opportunity to participate in democracy — it might make you feel better. Two psychologists — Malte Klar, a practicing psychologist in Germany, and Tim Kasser, professor at Knox College — have found a clear link between political activism and a person's sense of well-being, and have shown that even a very small engagement with political activism can boost one's sense of vitality. "Activists live a happier and more fulfilling life than the average person," said Klar, who ... Read More

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Inside the Cyberwar for Iran’s Future

December 18, 2009 • By • 1 Comment

On Friday, June 12, Iran voted. On Monday, June 15, Tehran erupted. In the face of fast ballot counting that credited high levels of electoral support to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the dense urban centers and Azeri communities known to back opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, the country exploded in demonstrations and violence. Over the next few days, Tehran and other major urban centers saw the largest street protests and rioting since the 1979 revolution. Domestic politics has often interfered in the administration of elections in Iran, where even competing at the ballot box requires ... Read More

More like this: Culture, January-February 2010, Media, Politics, Rational Argument
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Americans Quite Tolerant of Activist Judges

July 16, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment

"Judicial activism" is a phrase one often hears in the context of nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court (and other judgeships). Typically, "judicial activist" is a disparaging term — the last thing some people want as a judge is an activist. Defenders of activism seem to be few and far between. But just what is a judicial activist? As the term is used in contemporary politics, an activist is often nothing more than "a judge with whom I disagree on policy matters." If activism means nothing more than an ideological opponent, then the term has little if any value in discussions of ... Read More

More like this: Legal Affairs
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