Mano Singham

Tornado forming

Mano Singham — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:17:31 +0000

I am fortunate to have never been near a tornado. The deadly ones that hit Oklahoma yesterday were massive. There is a breed of people called tornado chasers who actually seek them out to follow and photograph, some for scientific purposes, others just for the thrill of it. But now that people have cell phone …

Corporate tax dodgers

Mano Singham — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:52:01 +0000

For a long time, Apple successfully built up an image as the good guys, cool and hip compared to the stodgy and evil Microsoft, beginning with its classic ’1984′ ad that aired during the Super Bowl of that year I like Apple products. Users of any product, especially if it is pricey, tend to want …

Are you a ‘liberal imperialist’?

Mano Singham — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:12:19 +0000

Stephen R. Walt takes on those whom he calls ‘liberal imperialists’. Are you a liberal imperialist? Liberal imperialists are like kinder, gentler neoconservatives: Like neocons, they believe it’s America’s responsibility to right political and humanitarian wrongs around the world, and they’re comfortable with the idea of the United States deciding who will run countries such …

Supreme Court to hear case on prayer at government meetings

Mano Singham — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:17:54 +0000

I went as a guest to a big function recently that was organized by a major corporation to honor its long-service employees. There must have been close to a thousand people in the ballroom. The program began with a prayer, as if the organizers did not care that in such a large group there would …

Using the morality clause to split up gay couples

Mano Singham — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:16:24 +0000

I wrote two weeks ago how the acceptance of adoption of children by same-sex couples preceded that of same-sex marriage because courts changed the standard for awarding custody to that of the best interests of the child. So as people started coming out openly as gay following a divorce, courts did not automatically disqualify them …

Unduly harsh punishment

Mano Singham — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:52:09 +0000

I was not aware of this but apparently the use of all electronic devices is banned in federal courts. Maurtez Prince, 22, of Cleveland, learned this the hard way when he was sentenced to 30 days in jail for contempt for tweeting and taking photographs of a friend of his during the latter’s sentencing hearing …

The whistleblowing arms race

Mano Singham — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:13:17 +0000

President Obama has presided over one of the most opaque administrations in history, even worse than the Bush administration that was so bad that Obama’s promise to have the most transparent administration ever was greeted with great hope and optimism by advocates of open and clean government. But as a consequence of his complete reversal …

The puzzle of rising IQ scores

Mano Singham — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:16:33 +0000

Nearly three decades ago, work by James R. Flynn revealed that average IQ scores in developed countries were rising at a stunning pace, of the order of 0.3 points per year or more. Later work showed similar explosive gains in developing countries and that the rise (now dubbed ‘the Flynn effect’) is still continuing. How …

Film review: War on Whistleblowers

Mano Singham — Sun, 19 May 2013 20:32:21 +0000

I just watched the latest work by guerilla filmmaker Robert Greenwald. He is developing a new form of journalism that makes documentaries on important issues that are timely because they are low-budget and filmed on a short schedule, and then sells them (or even gives them away free) directly to people, bypassing the usual channels …

The Washington scandal machine

Mano Singham — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:31:54 +0000

The Washington media talking heads had a wonderful week with the trifecta of scandals that suddenly engulfed the Obama administration. I paid just cursory attention to them, following my rule that the things that get the most attention from the chattering classes are the ones of least significance. The main consequence is to distract attention …