Monthly Archives: August 2011

Political Graffiti (150): Prison = Slavery

Posted on August 11, 2011 by

(source, by Banksy) More Banksy. More political graffiti. More on prison conditions.

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Measuring Human Rights (22): When Can You Call Something a “Famine”?

Posted on August 10, 2011 by

(source) With yet another famine in the Horn of Africa, perhaps it’s a good time for a few words about famine measurement. People have a right to adequate nourishment and to be free from chronic hunger (see article 25 of … Continue reading →

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Riots!

Posted on August 10, 2011 by

For some reason, my older posts on rioting are now immensely popular. So here’s an overview: (source) (source unknown) (source) (source) (source) I’m not in the mood for serious analyses, but I do want to warn against simplistic explanations involving … Continue reading →

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Economic Human Rights (35b): What’s So Funny About Charity?

Posted on August 9, 2011 by

I’ve stated before why I believe charity helps to prevent poverty, and why it’s better than government welfare, at least in principle. The welfare state, in my view, is a fallback option when charity fails (as it often does). The … Continue reading →

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Annals of Heartlessness (6): Executing the Innocent

Posted on August 8, 2011 by

(source) “It takes balls to execute an innocent man,” – a Texas primary voter, when asked about the charge that his preferred candidate for governor, Rick Perry, may have presided over the execution of an innocent man, Cameron Todd Willingham. … Continue reading →

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Children’s Rights (13): Minimum Age of Marriage Laws Reduce Incidence of Child Marriage

Posted on August 7, 2011 by

(source) In many countries, it’s customary for girls to marry at a very young age, voluntarily or not. This practice is detrimental to the human rights of women, as I argued before. In the developing world, more than one third … Continue reading →

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Statistical Jokes (32): Correlation and the Direction of Causation

Posted on August 6, 2011 by

(source) More on correlation and causation. More statistical jokes.

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Gender Discrimination (26): Legal Restrictions on Women’s Right to Work

Posted on August 5, 2011 by

(source) A lot of gender discrimination is informal and cultural, but some of it is still entrenched in legal norms. Often those norms are justified on the basis of a vague narrative about the need to protect women. That’s the … Continue reading →

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Crime and Human Rights (14): The Limits of the Law

Posted on August 4, 2011 by

(source) We need rules to live together in a spirit of respect for each other’s rights, freedom and equality. We need to tell people what they can, cannot or should do in order to respect the rights, freedom and equality … Continue reading →

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Political Graffiti (149): Downing Street 10 Dick

Posted on August 3, 2011 by

(source, probably by Banksy – real or fake?) More Banksy. More political graffiti.

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