Unfairness and the Brain: Behind CNN's Biased Coverage of the Israel v. Gaza Conflict

Watching CNN on August 4, 2014, I tuned in just before Wolf Blitzer began by briefly mentioning the number of Palestinians killed that day only to quickly pivot to a focus on Israel's successful interception of two rockets. He went on to interview an Israeli official on the defense system to the extent of near obsession. The implication is that an Israeli life is worth more than a dozen Palestinian lives. At the very least, the editorial judgment is questionable, if not suspect. Beyond what lies behind the judgment are important questions concerning the viewers, and indeed the species itself, ethically speaking.

The complete essay is at "Unfairness and the Brain: Behind CNN's Biased Coverage"

Wall Street Subsidies Silently Magnifying Systemic Risk

At a U.S. Senate hearing on a GAO report on the costs of expectations of government support for banks should they go under, “discussion went far beyond the report and delved into the current state of banking, the limits of the Dodd-Frank Act and what should be done about banks that are simply too big to manage,” according to The New York Times.[1] Six years after the massive credit freeze, a major question hinged on whether some financial institutions were still too large, complex, and interconnected to be liquidated in an orderly and containable manner should they head under water. 

The full essay is at WallStreet Subsidies Silently Magnifying Systemic Risk

[1] This and all quotes in this essay are from Gretchen Morgenson, “Big Banks Still a Risk,” The New York Times, August 3, 2014.