News and the empowerment of citizens

This article argues that we need to take the democratic promise of news seriously and find ways to advance that promise. It begins by considering both the importance of news to democratic citizenship, and its failure to deliver in ways that do not compound social inequalities. It argues against more optimistic accounts of the state of democratic citizenship, but finds that the notion of public service journalism often lapses into a class-specific discourse for the information-rich. Meanwhile, current news values are contradictory and incoherent, allowing us space to build upon the democratic ideals in journalistic philosophy. The article then argues that citizenship should be brought from the margins of news to its centre. This means implicating citizenship into the news’s mode of address, of going beyond the narrow narratives of current news values and addressing broad citizenship concerns

Divine gender transformations in Rebbe Nahman of Bratslav

In several passages in the tales and teachings of Rebbe Nahman of Bratslav, the divine undergoes a process of gender transformation. “The holy one blessed be he”, becomes female, and the Shekhinah temporarily takes on a male persona. Characterizations of Hasidic thought as androcentric generally apply to R’ Nahman. There is an accepted hierarchy and polarization of gender which informs much of his oeuvre. This article argues, however, that in these particular passages R’ Nahman disrupts this hierarchy. Whereas Kabbalah and Hasidism normally view the feminine as an outer “garment” for the divine masculine, in these passages the devotee discovers the hidden inwardness of God, which turns out to be feminine. This radical imagery is nourishing for followers of R’ Nahman’s controversial brand of Hasidism. In particular, it provides a theological justification for their unexpectedly intimate encounters with the divine, as they engage in the meditative practice of personal, solitary prayer according to R’ Nahman’s directives

Ellul, Bataille, Zhuangzi & Technological Man

The impact of modern technological society on the human spirit and on human values is undeniable. But the ability to philosophically engage with this impact and also to gain the means whereby we could evaluate it lucidly and soberly is a whole other matter. It is difficult for us today to find a place where we could stand outside the contemporary cultural matrix that has come to create our very selves, so as to identify and assess the aspects of our humanity that have always managed to outstrip the cultural conditioning and construction of our most basic senses of identity and self. This paper will take this as a central theme by briefly looking at three specific philosophers of culture and humanity, and will explore their insights on the concepts of technology, culture, utility, and efficiency. By extension, all the perspectives outlined here will also imply a philosophical portrayal of the condition of contemporary man therein. Through examining some specific writings of Jacques Ellul, Georges Bataille and the Chinese sage Zhuangzi, as they bring to bear on these aforementioned concepts, it is my contention that we will be in a better position to assess the relationship between the human spirit, technology and society in general, as well as explore the ways in which we can reclaim the inalienable and fundamental existential sovereignty of the human spirit in particular

Maritime Piracy and Armed Robbery Confrontations Across the Globe: Can Crew Action Shape the Outcomes?

Abstract The recent tightening of military budget constraints has called into question the feasibility of costly multilateral naval intervention used to combat maritime piracy off the eastern coast of Africa. Though past studies agree that the transformation of the Somali economy and government is crucial for a long-term solution to piracy in this part of the world, short to medium-run solutions are needed to bridge the gap. Such solutions should be fiscally sensible and serve as effective deterrents, as well as be applicable in addressing the problem of piracy and maritime armed robbery in other parts of the globe. In this paper, I build upon the foundations laid in Mejia, Cariou, & Wolff (2009) and Mileski, Mejia, & Carchidi (2013) by examining the following question: given that a ship is engaged by pirates, what factors help shape the outcome of the confrontation? I find that observable action taken on the part of a ship\u27s crew is extremely effective in decreasing the risk of a ship being successfully robbed or hijacked. There has yet to be a reported incident where pirates successfully hijacked a vessel that had a security team on board, and so though the effectiveness of security in this matter can be inferred, it cannot be empirically tested. This may provide some guidance for policymakers; if naval intervention is to be scaled back, the encouragement and oversight of shipping companies\u27 crew response procedures (and perhaps of onboard security measures) by international governments could pose a valid alternative