Video of keynote lecture at University of Heidelberg available on YouTube courtesy of Julius Morche
Blecker
When We Can’t Kill Those Who Deserve To Die
By ROBERT BLECKER, The Hartford CourantApril 1, 2012
Once again the politicians think they know better than the people, preparing to abolish capital punishment in the teeth of popular support for the death of those who most deserve it.
Ask the people about Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes — at
Playing Poker with Iran
“I’m not bluffing”, President Obama declares publicly to the world to convince Iran to open their nuclear facilities to inspection, forgo the pursuit of nuclear weapons, or “face the consequences.”
Now this declaration might strike us at first as bluster. Wouldn’t a bluffer always say he wasn’t bluffing? A compulsive … <Read More>
Over A Barrel: Insurance — the Tail that Wags the Dog
Over A Barrel: Insurance — the Tail that Wags the Dog
Unable to sleep, I tuned on CNBC – a business channel – this morning and heard an oil analyst attribute much of the spike in oil prices to the higher insurance costs surrounding the uncertainty over Iran’s near term … <Read More>
The Shadow
Poor Mitt Romney. Seems every time he might get some traction these days, something messes up. The latest – his appearance at Ford Field in Michigan, a football stadium with 65,000 seats, drew a crowd of 1200 to hear his major address. It’s a respectable number in itself – but … <Read More>
Taking the Penalty
Game and sport illuminate life. Where the offense seeks to penetrate a sacred space – score a goal, a basket, a touchdown – we playfully replicate sexual and power dynamics of human and political relationships.
“Let the Great Axe Fall” emphasizes a structural defect in some games and life itself. … <Read More>
Is Death Row a Form of Psychological Torment?
Is Death Row a Form of ‘Psychological Torment’?
To the Editor:
“Lifelong Death Sentences,” by Adam Liptak (Sidebar column, Nov. 1), says that “foreign courts have ruled that living for decades under the threat of imminent execution is a form of psychological torment.” But the
Update and more on pressure vs. pain
11/04/11
Continuing the useful distinction between pressure and pain:
Two recent events illustrate it. The Israelis and Hamas engage in a prisoner swap — one Israeli soldier for 1000 Palestinian prisoners. Had Hamas killed the soldier it kidnapped, they would have inflicted more pain. But by capturing him and keeping … <Read More>
Pressure vs Pain
My just published memoir/essay “Let The Great Axe Fall” (see link to Kindle below) cites Roger Fisher’s distinction between pressure and pain. Those who would alter the strategy or policy of an opponent (or an enemy) should focus on maximizing pressure but not necessarily pain. Fisher, the author of the … <Read More>