Will we make it to Mars?
Adam McMurchie explains why human landing into Mars is not a distant reality.
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‘Here be dragons’: Australian climate change policy reform
Sean Barry argues that even though Australia is the first country on earth to repeal a carbon price, pricing will need to be addressed again in the future and this time it will be necessary to frame it in positive economic terms in order to appeal to underlying cultural beliefs of Australians.
Phoenix or Sisyphus? Identifying the Pattern of Russia’s Recurrent Quest for Great Power Status
Professor Mark n Katz argues: “Just like previous Russian rulers, Putin’s aggressive efforts to reassert Russia’s status as a great power may actually be setting Russia up for yet another catastrophic setback.”
Bt Brinjal: A Note in Support of GM Crop Research in Bangladesh
Md. Arif Hossain, a visiting fellow at the Cornell University explains positive aspects of GM crop research in Bangladesh.
The false dichotomy of Islamophobia
Massimo Pigliucci argues “When assessing the role of Islam in the political dysfunction and violence in Islamic societies, many apologists choose to play down the role of the religion whilst many critics identify Islam as the source of the troubles. In reality, Islam is part of a mix of social ills that is neither blameless nor solely responsible for atrocities carried out in its name.”
Paris Bombing (13 November 2015) and Western “Terrorism” Policy
Jon kofas argues that in the space of a week we have seen terrorist attacks carried out or inspired by ISIS in Egypt, Lebanon and, possibly, Paris. The range of targets and the effectiveness of the attacks makes the failures of Western anti-terrorism policy in the Middle East clear.
The Spectral Wound: Sexual Violence, Public Memories and the Bangladesh War of 1971
Dr. Nayanika Mookherjee summarises her new book exclusively for Alochonaa readers: “In this ethnography of sexual violence during the 1971 Bangladesh War for Independence, I show how the public celebration of women raped during the war and called ‘birangonas’ by the state – works to homogenize the experiences of these women. I demonstrate that while this celebration of birangonas as heroes keeps them in the public memory, they exist in the public consciousness as what I call a spectral wound. Dominant representations of birangonas as dehumanized victims with dishevelled hair, a vacant look, and rejected by their communities create this wound and flatten the diversity of their experiences.”
