Published on
13 May 2011
The slaying of Osama Bin Laden by US Navy SEALS earlier this month has generated much commentary in the media, and provides us with an opportunity to assess the quality of our public discourse on moral matters. Since the reported rumours that ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ yielded information which may have contributed to tracking down bin […]
Published on
11 March 2011
To the delight of many of his foes, and no doubt to the chagrin of many who voted him, Barack Obama has announced the resumption of Bush-era Military Commissions for trying detainees held at Guantánamo Bay. Long after the deadline passed for the President to deliver on his pledge to close Guantánamo within a year […]
Published on
28 February 2011
Posted in Abortion, Human Life, United States of America
‘I am one of those who helped usher in this barbaric age’, said Bernard Nathanson, the former abortionist who died this week. Nathanson co-founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws in the U.S.A., and was director of the Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health in Manhattan, then the largest abortion clinic in […]
Published on
3 February 2011
Posted in Abortion, Culture, Human Life, Human Rights, United States of America
Type the name of serial killer Harold Shipman into the search function on the BBC News website and you will find 587 news items. Crossing the Atlantic, and more recently, try a search for ‘Tucson shootings’ and you find 37, while a search for murdered abortionist George Tiller turns up 17 stories. Type in ‘Kermit […]
Published on
24 January 2011
Posted in Abortion, Civil Liberties, Human Rights, Legal Affairs, Liberty, United States of America
It was fifty years ago this week that John F. Kennedy delivered his famous inauguration speech. Despite our current love affair with increasingly younger and more photogenic leaders in the West, Kennedy remains the youngest man ever to be elected President of the United States, and probably ranks among the most handsome. He is often […]
Published on
23 June 2010
Posted in Conscience, Military Ethics, United States of America, World Affairs
General McChrystal has done it again. The American military leader in Afghanistan has once more spoken out about his superiors in the media, adding to a chain of escapades in the public arena. He has offered his sincere advice on military policy in Afghanistan to anybody who will listen. This conjures up an age-old conundrum […]
Published on
14 April 2010
Posted in United States of America
Justice John Paul Stevens’s long-rumoured retirement has finally been confirmed and has, as tradition dictates, caused much speculation in Washington, D.C., and in the Anglo-Saxon media. Naturally, the debate is centring on who President Obama will nominate to replace Stevens on the nine-strong Supreme Court. This is hardly surprising given the weight and influence the […]
Published on
10 March 2010
Posted in Latin America, Social Commentary, United States of America
Questions about the complex political status of Puerto Rico as a commonwealth within the United States are, once again, on the table in Washington, D.C., and in San Juan. The road to becoming the 51st State seems to be wide open for the island. It has, no doubt, been cleared and paved by a Democratic […]