Recreational use of illegal drugs is a controversial social topic. Many of us will know users, those in favour of legalisation, those against it, people with cautionary tales, and so on. In the public policy realm however, the topic of recreational drug use is painted with a monochrome brush, lacking in nuance. This is because […]
Rhetoric: Homosexual
At the end of 2017 the population of Australia voted in favour of gay marriage, and the country’s parliament legalised the non-binding vote shortly after. Starting this month, Australia has become the 26th country in the world where gay couples can form unions that are legally and societally equal to those of straight couples. Twenty-six […]
Rhetoric: Fake News
“The media is really, the word, one of the greatest of all [the] terms I’ve come up with, is ‘fake’ … I guess other people have used it perhaps over the years, but I’ve never noticed it.” This garbled syntax may be familiar to you by now. It belongs to the current President of the […]
Rhetoric: Terrorism
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me”; we’ve all heard the familiar nursery rhyme designed to cheer up child victims of verbal bullying by reminding them that at least they weren’t battered with rocks. In fact, many people would agree that physical actions have more severe consequences than words, […]
Monopolies in the Internet Age
The monopoly is as old as capitalism itself. It is logical that a system built on the premise of private profit makes having complete control over supply or trade of a commodity attractive; this way you would maximise profits by simply being the sole recipient of all revenue. Despite this, monopolies have been warned against, […]
Citizens to be ranked by national loyalty: China’s new Social Credit System
Our fast-paced contemporary age has loaded pop culture with every dystopian tale imagination can conjure, from Orwell’s 1984 totalitarian nightmare, to the social credit-obsessed society of Black Mirror’s Nosedive. No longer are these fictional omens of times to come. With a vast Social Credit System scheduled for 2020, China’s government intends to implement a social reality uncannily […]
Leaving the nightmares behind: is the horror genre entering a new era?
Earlier this month movie-goers were creeped to their core by a nebulous evil whose preferred shape is that of Pennywise the Dancing Clown – perhaps the most terrifying creation that people once (perplexingly) found innocuous enough for children’s parties. IT is so popular that even if you haven’t watched it you know enough from the […]
We are all A LOT older than we thought!
Carina Schlebusch led a team of researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden in a project combining genome mapping with anthropology in an effort to uncover genetic links between modern African populations and their ancestors. The findings may have unexpected implications for the early history of Homo sapiens, the modern humans. Until now scientific consensus has […]
Protestors take to Bedford Square to dennounce Trump
Dozens gathered in Bedford Square on Tuesday night to protest against US president-elect Donald Trump. The protest denounced Trump’s intolerant and divisive rhetoric, as well as policies he shares with VP-elect Mike Pence that would negatively impact poor and minority communities. Katja Frisinger, an American citizen and member of the LGBT community, said that although […]