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Yiddish Envy Why are Catholic Poles discovering Jewish roots they don’t even have? Published in Air Mail. The article is available here to read online.
Posted Sep 20, 2020, 3:04 PM by Sarah Glazer -
Manga for Girls: New York Times Walk into almost any chain bookstore and you're likely to find a teenage girl sprawled on the floor reading manga -- thick black-and-white comic books by Japanese authors ...
Posted Aug 28, 2015, 6:23 AM by Sarah Glazer -
New Ways to Talk About Cancer: Comics, Cartoons, and the Graphic Novel Nancy K. Miller is a literary scholar, memoirist, and the author or editor of more than a dozen books. Her new memoir, Breathless: An American Girl in Paris, will be ...
Posted Aug 28, 2015, 6:16 AM by Sarah Glazer -
Graphic Medicine: Comics Turn a Critical Eye on Health Care A patient arrives in the emergency room apparently in a comatose state. But is he really unconscious or just faking? The young doctors on duty are skeptical. Failing to get ...
Posted Aug 28, 2015, 6:05 AM by Sarah Glazer
Latest Articles
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Zoonotic Diseases
Posted Sep 20, 2020, 3:49 PM by Sarah GlazerThe pandemic circling the globe is only the latest instance of a disease that jumped from animals to humans, known as a zoonotic disease. COVID-19 likely came from a bat; AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Ebola, West Nile and Lyme disease also originated in animals. Zoonotic disease outbreaks have been occurring more often since the 1940s as an expanding human population pushes deeper into forests for hunting, agriculture, mining and housing. Demand for exotic meat also brings live wildlife to food markets, where they can transmit viruses to other animals and humans. How to prevent the next pandemic is a matter of vigorous debate: Some scientists are pushing for more research into animal viruses, while others stress stopping human activities, such as deforestation, that can spur contagion. Conservation groups urge a ban on the wildlife trade, but critics say that will only encourage a black market. Some researchers and environmentalists say preserving wilderness and biological diversity is key to preventing more outbreaks.
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Global Migration
Posted Sep 20, 2020, 3:48 PM by Sarah GlazerThe world is witnessing the highest numbers of migrants on record, nearly 272 million in 2019, more than triple the number in 1970. Advocates of immigration restrictions say migrants steal jobs and sometimes abuse a system designed to provide asylum for the truly persecuted. But human rights advocates say nations are shirking their responsibility to provide refuge to those experiencing persecution and violence. Citing a broken system in which asylum-seekers sometimes disappear into the United States, the Trump administration is limiting those who can seek asylum. It also is taking aggressive steps to end what President Trump calls a “very serious crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border. Migrant advocacy groups say Trump has manufactured a crisis, and statistics show illegal immigration from Mexico is in a long-term decline. Governments often seek to stem migration by providing aid to improve the economies of origin countries. Experts say the solution is not so simple, because it takes at least a generation before rising income encourages people to remain at home.
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Manipulating Human Genes
Posted Sep 20, 2020, 3:45 PM by Sarah GlazerRecent news from China announcing the births of the first genetically modified babies has shocked scientists worldwide and intensified a long-simmering debate about whether genetic changes that are passed down to succeeding generations of humans — so-called germline editing — should be permissible. Some predict a dystopian future with a superior human species boasting “designer” traits such as exceptionally high IQ or extraordinary athletic ability — most likely available only to wealthy parents who can afford the technology. But many prominent scientists argue that making changes at the embryonic stage may be the only hope for certain parents carrying a genetic disease to bear a healthy child. Twenty-nine countries, including the United States, forbid the use of germline editing to produce genetically modified children. Some activists and ethicists want a permanent worldwide ban on genetic manipulation of human embryos, while others say germline research should proceed carefully. Still others have called for a moratorium during which the issue can be thoroughly debated and rules established.
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The Presidency
Posted Sep 20, 2020, 3:48 PM by Sarah GlazerPresident Trump's governance style has heightened long-standing concerns that presidents have been asserting more power, through executive orders and other means, than the Constitution intended. For instance, no president has asked Congress for a declaration of war since World War II even though the Constitution reserves war-making power to the legislative branch. Some historians date the growth of presidential control to the New Deal-era expansion of the federal government, and others to the end of the Cold War and a decline of foreign policy expertise in Congress. Critics of Trump, pointing to his mounting executive orders and criticism of the justice system, worry that the American system of checks and balances could be in peril. Others see Trump's overturning of standing policies as the inevitable result of rising presidential power under both Republicans and Democrats. Trump's supporters say he is doing exactly what he was elected to do: disrupt Washington's traditions. Whether future presidents will follow Trump's example remains an open question.
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CQ Researcher The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Posted Sep 5, 2018, 9:15 AM by Sarah GlazerThe long-sought goal of an Arab-Israeli peace settlement is looking more distant than ever. President Trump's decision in December to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the U.S. Embassy there infuriated Palestinian leaders while heartening conservative Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump defends his decision as a recognition of reality and vows to work toward a settlement in the region. But Jerusalem is hallowed ground for both Arabs and Israelis, and critics say Trump has moved so far in Israel's favor that the United States can no longer be a neutral broker between the two sides. Both Netanyahu, under investigation for alleged corruption, and aging Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, widely accused of stifling Arab democratic rights, have uncertain political futures. Frustrated with the dimming outlook for peace, a growing number of young Palestinians favor armed struggle.
"The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Can the U.S. still be a neutral broker for peace?" CQ Researcher, April 13, 2018
