In November 2007, third-generation Toyota employee Kenichi Uchino collapsed at work at 4 a.m. after putting in more than 80 hours of overtime for six months. The 30-year-old’s widow, Hiroko, later told reporters that her husband had been overworked by the company, training employees and writing reports that caused him to work overtime hours officially […]
“Go back to England and tell them there that Scotland’s daughters and her sons are yours no more. Tell them Scotland is free.” Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Sir William Wallace is legendary in cinema circles; and for the casual observer of modern British politics, this very quote might come to mind when a politician […]
Most people would be forgiven for thinking that the peak of the Catalonian campaign for independence from Spain is the infamous El Clasico soccer derby, Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona recently won 2-1 against Real Madrid on its home turf, the Camp Nuo stadium. On March 13th, 2013, El Clasico will come to […]
This summer, Texas legislator Wendy Davis, clad in pink sneakers, staged an 11-hour filibuster that successfully blocked Republican efforts to greatly restrict abortion policy.[1] The filibuster delayed the passing of House Bill 2, and successfully launched Davis to political fame, both within the state and across the country. Incumbent Rick Perry will not seek re-election […]
For Mike, every day is the same. Shivering nights mercifully give way to morning while he watches the people in his neighborhood get ready for school and work. Although Mike has no job, he has the same plan every morning, afternoon, and night: make money to score heroin. Tuesday is trash day, which means […]
Big Brother is here. Earlier this year, Edward Snowden exposed the full reach and extent to which the American government spies not only on its own people, but on foreign governments and even its supposed allies in Mexico, France, Germany, and the European Union. The National Security Agency (NSA) collects massive amounts of phone data, […]
December 10th, 1948 was a momentous day for human rights. The still-young United Nations (UN) unanimously, with eight abstentions, passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a 30-article guideline that promotes “universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction of race, sex, language, or […]
Infrastructure in the United States is in a state of disrepair. The American Society of Civil Engineers 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure stamps US infrastructure with a letter grade of D+, with an estimated $3.6 trillion investment needed by 2020 to bring that grade to a B.[1] How will the US finance the necessary […]
Although Turkey, Egypt, Brazil, and Syria may not at first glance seem to have much in common politically, over the last few months they have been united by a current that has been growing stronger for decades. Most visibly manifested through mass protests, the phenomenon of nonviolent social change is much more than that, proven […]
The uncompromising reign of the patriarchy in most societies has unquestionably imposed detrimental effects on women, including political, economic and social discrepancies. Gender has only recently been interpreted as a social construct, independent and separate from the biological difference of sex. According to the World Health Organization, “’sex’ refers to the biological and physiological characteristics […]
