Mercatornet

Jolie’s Choice

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:50:19 GMT

Angelina Jolie's decision to have a double mastectomy made headlines around the world. But is she sending women the right message? Read more...

A fight for equality or a war on difference?

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:31:21 GMT

To invite the government to give us phony equalities by recognising gay marriage is to invite greater state intervention into our personal lives. Read more...

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:41:25 GMT

The familiar characters face very contemporary issues of terrorism and militarism in this nicely characterised film. Read more...

How legal euthanasia changed Belgium for ever

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:23:29 GMT

The ideology of absolute self-determination has become sacred and unquestionable. Read more...

The fallacy of a happy, productive and ageing work force

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:02:33 GMT

Glib answers will not conjure away the hard, cold fact that workers everywhere are getting older and older. Read more...

EU shows how to do a dodgy survey

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:41:29 GMT

The EU's largest-ever survey of hate crimes and discrimination against LGBT people claims that they labour under a terrible burden. But the figures don’t support the conclusions. Read more...

What is parenthood?

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:06:36 GMT

In debates about the family, some social scientists are asserting the primacy of theory over facts. Is this science? Read more...

Reason and responsibility: the Rana Plaza collapse

Mon, 13 May 2013 06:03:07 GMT

The Rana Plaza tragedy was an outcome of a corrupt system that is rotten to the core. Who should -- and can -- be held accountable? Read more...

Your cheap clothing has a high price

Mon, 13 May 2013 05:44:41 GMT

The tragic collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh exposes the immorality of the Golden Rule: he who has the gold, makes the rules. Read more...

Cultural imperialism on the march

Mon, 13 May 2013 05:12:31 GMT

Why is the Obama administration promoting Gay Pride Months and campaigning for gay rights in countries like Pakistan and El Salvador? Read more...

What do the children say?

Sun, 12 May 2013 02:41:33 GMT

The children of same-sex couples normally love the people who raised them. But many of them still have reservations about same-sex marriage. Read more...

The media’s “sea of fire”

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:13:05 GMT

Why is the media frothing over criticism of a long-dead homosexual economist? Read more...

Understanding Keynes

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:57:34 GMT

Were the theories of the 20th Century's most famous economist blemished by the fact that he was a homosexual? An expert on Keynes says No. Read more...

There’s always another choice

Thu, 09 May 2013 02:55:22 GMT

A Texas mother remembers how doctors struggled to save her premature twin daughters. Read more...

The value of a liberal-arts education

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:43:51 GMT

Colleges must prepare young people to think with rigour and creativity rather than just train them for a job. Read more...

Nostalgia for NATO

Wed, 08 May 2013 04:41:30 GMT

When the West had a common enemy in the Soviet Union, it was united. Now Europe is fragmenting once again into quarrelling rivals. Read more...

Revisiting the “after-birth abortion” controversy

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:36:41 GMT

An expert on Jewish medical ethics says that the slippery slope is very real, no matter what some bioethicists may say. Read more...

Not a noble death

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:48:08 GMT

The euthanasia of Nobel laureate Christian de Duve in Belgium is a worrying precedent for the world's baby boomers. Read more...

Terrorism triangle in Boston

Mon, 06 May 2013 03:50:01 GMT

Complex rather than single causality is the norm, not the exception, for terrorism. Read more...

Malaysian election: keeping the status quo

Mon, 06 May 2013 03:04:11 GMT

A Malay-based party retains its stranglehold on the government of Malaysia, even though it lost many supporters. Read more...

Fraud threatens the integrity of social psychology

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:31:41 GMT

Scientific studies are used to support controversial social policies like same-sex marriage. But can we rely on them? Read more...

Fashion mags fail to empower

Fri, 03 May 2013 01:02:32 GMT

Highly eroticised glossy women's magazines are dragging girls back to the bad old days of misogynist stereotypes. Read more...

The Queen has retired – long live the King!

Wed, 01 May 2013 04:58:11 GMT

The abdication of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands marks the end of one of the longest periods of continuous female rule in modern European history. Read more...

Redlines and the problems of intervention in Syria

Wed, 01 May 2013 04:33:17 GMT

The US and its European allies do not have the force needed to end Syria's appalling bloodshed. Read more...

The President needs a history lesson

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:09:40 GMT

The President's fulsome praise of Planned Parenthood ignores its shameful origin in racist eugenics. Read more...

Tasmania’s intimidating abortion bill

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:42:43 GMT

Deregistration, heavy fines and jail terms threaten those who voice their opposition to abortion. Read more...

Playing with fire in West, Texas

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:41:43 GMT

Ammonium nitrate fertiliser seems like a simple material, but it has a history of causing devastating explosions which have killed hundreds of people. Read more...

Making a world fit for the young

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:58:43 GMT

Human ecology is a youth issue, too, if only the young would realise that. Read more...

Ageing Matilda and the threat to democracy

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:57:43 GMT

A young Australian argues that youth interests need protection against an emerging gerontocracy. Read more...

Vater, Vater, Mutter, Mutter, Kind

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:56:43 GMT

A German parliamentarian's homosexual household (and friends) takes the next step in "family diversity". Read more...

Iron Man 3

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:51:16 GMT

Shane Black has successfully reinvented Iron Man with a combination of humour and depth. Read more...

Is religion a public or a private right?

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:08:57 GMT

Our public debate about religious liberty is missing a clear definition of religion, leading to confusion, frustration, shrill voices, and short tempers. Read more...

The case for watching zombie films

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:00:57 GMT

They are a chance to look at society as we know it under the microscope. Read more...

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:10:46 GMT

An English professor's journey from queer theory to Christian faith. Read more...

Six claims on detainee torture, skewered

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 03:08:11 GMT

A scathing report on the treatment of detainees by the US refutes key claims defending the use of torture. Read more...

The real story of Savita’s tragic death

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:31:46 GMT

Last year the death of an Indian woman was exploited as an example of Ireland’s “archaic” abortion laws. But the under-reported inquest tells a different story. Read more...

Why should we care about Boston?

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:37:12 GMT

Some Australian journalists have asked why so much coverage was given to American deaths and so little to deaths in Iraq. Are they right? Read more...

Lessons from the Boston bombings

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:47:33 GMT

Such things will likely happen again. We have to prepare ourselves for the next unexpected attack. Read more...

Should human genes be patentable?

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:25:55 GMT

We must ensure that access to needed tests and treatments is not limited by the operations of the market. Read more...

What’s going on behind baby’s big blue eyes?

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 02:13:51 GMT

A study published last week appears to contain the first scientific evidence that a 5-month-old infant is conscious. Read more...

A Hijacking

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:33:37 GMT

This extraordinary Danish film about a merchant ship taken by Somali pirates is a masterpiece of tension and characterisation. Read more...

Will Malaysia’s elections bring an Asian Spring?

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:29:18 GMT

Citizens are weary of the politics of patronage, giving the opposition a fighting chance to win. Read more...

The law and Martin Luther King Jr

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:14:04 GMT

Fifty years ago this week, Martin Luther King Jr was sitting in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, for marching against segregation. From his cell he wrote a stunning analysis of what constitutes a just law. Read more...

Without healthy families you can kiss the Great American Economy goodbye

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 03:31:53 GMT

Family, church, and school are the three basic people-forming institutions, and they produce the best results when they cooperate. Read more...

Indifference to the fate of Middle East Christians has ancient roots

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 02:03:54 GMT

The Western media is using an centuries-old playbook in its treatment of Iraqi, Syrian and Egyptian Christians. Read more...

Burying Thatcher: why celebrating death is still wrong

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 01:21:38 GMT

Our dealings with the dead are just as ethically governed as our dealings with the living. Read more...

Quiet, please. Complacency at work!

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:32:35 GMT

The New York Times has ignored an appalling abuse of human rights in nearby Philadelphia. What explains its indifference to the Kermit Gosnell abortion trial? Read more...

The other controversial legacy

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:07:17 GMT

Robert Edwards, the inventor of IVF, died two days after Margaret Thatcher. History may show that his impact was even greater than hers. Read more...

White Elephant

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 02:50:09 GMT

A gut-wrenching Argentinian drama about life in the sprawling slums of Buenos Aires gives English-speaking viewers an insight into the background of the new Pope. Read more...

The road to same-sex marriage was paved by Rousseau

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:24:59 GMT

At the heart of the debate over same-sex marriage are fundamental questions about who men are and how we decide what makes us flourish. Read more...