Opinion | Columns - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Iranian youth rely on Twitter to inform world about elections

June 14, 2009

Abdul-Azim Mohammed was providing a play-by-play of the Iran Election early Sunday morning. Azim first reported that local police stations had been forced to burn ballot boxes filled with votes for Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidential challenger. A few minutes later, Azim declared that Internet access and phone lines had been cut off. Later, Azim's reports of people filling the streets of Tehran were verified with BBC footage showing legions of angry young Iranians chanting "Death to the Dictator" in the streets.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Value of college education depends on wealth, intelligence

By JACOB LEVIN | June 14, 2009

It seems like every year, when the graduation fanfare has subsided and the confetti has reached the floor, graduates turn their eyes to the piece of paper standing in for four years of trial and tuition and ask the rather pressing question, "What did I just put myself through?"

OPINION | COLUMNS

Robots destined to take over the world

June 9, 2009

You probably missed the budding war between humans and machines.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Homeless in need of assistance during U.S. economic crisis

By Joshua Lee | June 9, 2009

Thanks to the recent downturn, the U.S. economy is often defined in purely mathematical and financial terms.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Nominee will assume position without America knowing her

By ERIC CHIANESE | June 8, 2009

Well, I thought I had it in me, but I don't.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Critics of Obama’s speech miss point

By NAUDIA JAWAD | June 8, 2009

As President Barack Obama took the stage in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday, millions of people tuned in to watch him give his highly anticipated speech to the Muslim world.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Obama delivers with well-received speech in Egypt

June 8, 2009

President Barack Obama fulfilled another campaign promise last week after visiting Cairo, Egypt, and beginning a public dialogue with the Arabic world about the peace process. The president's speech in front of the Cairo University audience ran nearly an hour and evoked applause, shouts of adoration and a few awkward silences.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Steps must be taken to remedy economy

By DAVID KORTEN | June 3, 2009

Politicians and the business press are looking for signs that the economic crisis is over, and we'll soon be back on track. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks of "green shoots" of recovery. President Barack Obama sees "glimmers of hope."

OPINION | COLUMNS

GOP efforts to block Sotomayor reflect tired politics

By NEIL W. BLACKMON | June 3, 2009

Perhaps you've been too immersed in one more summer of undergraduate bliss before facing that life-defining LSAT or MCAT this fall. Or perhaps you've been debating the merits of Kobe Bryant's legacy if he fails to win a title without Shaq, or why all Hollywood seems to do now is remake old films instead of write new ones, to notice. If so, you are missing a show far more embarrassing than Kris Allen winning American Idol. This show is the hapless efforts of conservative activists to paint President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a liberal ideologue unfit for service. With figures such as Rush Limbaugh admitting the chances of stopping her nomination are minimal, the question must be asked: Why the rabid opposition in the first place?

OPINION | COLUMNS

No way to rationalize political ignorance

June 3, 2009

Recently, I read a letter to the editor of my hometown newspaper. The author had worked himself into a tizzy over President Barack Obama and the entire democratic leadership in Washington and their push for universal health care. He declared that any attempt at a universal health care system was an attempt at socialism and should be protested with equal zeal as one would protest Stalin's Red Army coming down the road.

OPINION | COLUMNS

U.S. justice system needs overhaul

By ERIC CHIANESE | June 1, 2009

Lately, and between reading entries on the Rotten Library, I have turned my attention to the criminal justice system.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Eco-awareness hitting the mainstream

June 1, 2009

In these heady times of global awareness and eco-knowledge, it seems the bad eco-news comes at you from every angle. Nobody is safe from the onslaught of negative press if even Google is under eco-scrutiny. A researcher this year claimed that a single Google search is worse for the environment than driving a car, mostly because of the way Google's "cloud computing" uses clusters of servers together at once to achieve superfast results for every single search.

OPINION | COLUMNS

UF budget cuts reflect sound course of action for students

By Jordan Johnson | May 27, 2009

During Tuesday's Board of Trustees meeting, I voted to approve President Bernie Machen's budget cut plan because it puts UF in the best financial position going forward and serves the interests of the entire student body as well as it can during these trying economic times.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Post-graduation marriage a bad idea

By MATTEW MELTZER | May 27, 2009

Not long ago, I had a friend, who was recently married, pull me aside in a men's room when I had brought a date to have dinner with him and his wife. The desperation in his eyes told me all I needed to know. "Please tell me you're going to sleep with this girl," he told me, "because I can't. My life is over. Look at me, look me in the eyes: Don't. Ever. Get. Married. You got that? Ever. Don't get me wrong, she's great, but she's ALWAYS THERE."

OPINION | COLUMNS

U.S. ideology does not include torture

May 25, 2009

Typically, I like the game of politics. I like the strategy and the plotting. I like a good fight.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Gallow humor holds significant place in America's history

By ERIC CHIANESE | May 25, 2009

An employee is leisurely stocking shelves in the supermarket one day when a man with a gun busts in. The criminal shoots the stock boy and then flees the scene. Another employee rushes to the aid of our hero, eager to console him. The stock boy looks up at his friend and meekly says, 'cleanup in aisle 7.'

OPINION | COLUMNS

Twitter or /the next big thing/ may not wow users overnight

By Joshua Lee | May 25, 2009

Like you, I'm pretty hip to what's happening in the world.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Pelosi’s cats steal speaker’s spotlight

May 20, 2009

Nancy Pelosi may be the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the most powerful woman in the history of American politics, but she is stunningly bad at being a public figure in the digital age. Thankfully, her genius cats communicate so well for her on YouTube.

OPINION | COLUMNS

President Obama must take steps to end war in Afghanistan

May 18, 2009

Janet Weil, Alligator Guest Columnist

OPINION | COLUMNS

Use of diplomacy will help to stop Middle Eastern terrorists

By Louise Diamond | May 18, 2009

Hard power, soft power, smart power - what is the right mix of U.S. resources for engaging with the world and its challenges? This is a question sweeping through Washington, and rightly so, as the Obama administration seeks to reverse the toxic legacy of eight Bush years on America's world standing.