The anti-Jihad posters in NYC are stupid. And so are you if you give a damn.

 By

Sean Ewart

This advertisement is stupid. And so are you if you give a damn.

“In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” 

New York City’s subway stations have, this week, become mildly less pleasant than they were before. And that’s saying something. 

The Pirates are Coming!

The evolution of a one issue party into a political player

By

Allie Lane

Even NPR cares about them!

Germany is being invaded by pirates! Well, invaded is a little strong and the pirates aren’t what they sound like. The Piraten Partei Deutschland or German Pirate Party is a young political party that’s gaining ground in German state and local governments. As of 2012 they hold seats in the state parliaments of 4 German states, Saarland, Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein and, perhaps most importantly, Berlin, the capital and arguably the most powerful province in all of Germany. What is truly amazing about the Pirates, though, is not their newness or the fact that they are taken seriously despite their name, but their evolution and how they cultivated such a diverse voter base in such a powerful country. 

Where do Babies Come From??

 By

Allie Lane 

A new study released this week called Contraception in America has revealed there are startlingly large gaps in women’s understanding of how pregnancy prevention actually works. The study was sponsored by Teva Women’s Health (the women’s health division of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.) and interviewed both women of reproductive age—18 to 49-- and medical professionals about all manner of things related to baby making, most chiefly preventing it. 

The Clashing Civilizations

By

Sean Ewart

Protestors in Pakistan are outraged at the Innocence of Muslims.

A cursory view of any of the major headlines in the days since September 11, 2012 gives the impression that the Muslim world, a term I use synonymously with the Ummah, has risen up in opposition to the West. Predictably the pundits have given us their views and the politicians have ascribed meaning to each and every Molotov cocktail. In the year or so since the so-called Arab Spring, the will of the people is exercised as much by the ballot as by the bullet. Given the polarizing political landscape of today’s United States, however, we are expected to believe one of two mind numbingly simplistic explanations for the violence that has claimed the lives of the ambassador of Libya, among others. Either we are facing a popular rebellion by hordes of savage Muslims or the violence is being perpetrated by a vocal minority. The reality, as it always is, is more complex. The Ummah is flexing populist muscle for the first time since independence. It is neither a savage horde nor a society threatened by a belligerent minority. It is a region awash in religiosity and guns that has a view of the world directly contrary to that of the West. Add to this the high number of young, unemployed and undersexed men and it is clear the powder keg is more than primed; the fuse has been lit.

Of Deer, Jesus and Faith

By

Sean Ewart

The conversation in the student center at my University had turned, as I knew it would, to faith. I had been invited to lunch by an overexcited Evangelical Christian and her newly converted friend; they were out to win me over. 

New converts are always entertaining. No matter the religion, they are always the most excited, the most rambunctious of the group. Kate (I forget her real name) was no different.

GOP: the party of porn haters

By

Joe Alicata

Mitt Romney, widely believed to have hairless palms.

This may come to a surprise to some of you: but changes have been occurring within the Republican Party in the United States.  Namely, there has been a shift towards an increasingly conservative ideological platform; and by conservative, I mean radically, uncompromisingly conservative. If you don’t believe me, or just have not passed a television or read a newspaper recently, consider the following: the Republican platform committee, which determines policy objectives for the party, added a new plank to their platform this year; namely, the “vigorous” enforcement of anti-pornography laws.