Good journalism
From the BBC: "CIA renditions strain Europe goodwill"
No duh, right? But it's a good story-it's short, and give both sides fairly, but also doesn't back off from analysis. I'm not familiar enough with this situation to say with confidence that the reporter didn't just make everything up, or that he's not leaving out vital pieces of information, but it seems to be a really good piece of journalism.
From the Miami Herald: "Ads offer to swap rent for sex"
Superficially, not that exciting of a story. It begins by dealing with ads on Craigslist that offer women free rent in exchange for, for example, "Help take care of dog, cook occasionally. Sex 2x/week." Interesting, I guess, but not that interesting, until it gets into legal issues later on, including race, religion, etc., in relation to fair-housing laws. Actually, I'm not sure I agree that it should be against the law to run an ad saying "No minorities," "Women of color only," or "Christians only." Free speech and all that. I understand why the laws are important, but I think looking for a roommate is different than renting out a separate space. Isn't it important to let people you might be living with know that you're a racist, that you can't tolerate non-Christians, or that you won't feel comfortable with a white person? That seems like simple free speech. And then, on a more libertarian note, don't people sort of a have a right to choose who they want to share a home with? I don't know, I recognize that that opens up all kinds of problems, like, "I live with the person in my carriage house," and "I live with the person who lives in my apartment building," and "I live with the family who lives down the street."
No duh, right? But it's a good story-it's short, and give both sides fairly, but also doesn't back off from analysis. I'm not familiar enough with this situation to say with confidence that the reporter didn't just make everything up, or that he's not leaving out vital pieces of information, but it seems to be a really good piece of journalism.
From the Miami Herald: "Ads offer to swap rent for sex"
Superficially, not that exciting of a story. It begins by dealing with ads on Craigslist that offer women free rent in exchange for, for example, "Help take care of dog, cook occasionally. Sex 2x/week." Interesting, I guess, but not that interesting, until it gets into legal issues later on, including race, religion, etc., in relation to fair-housing laws. Actually, I'm not sure I agree that it should be against the law to run an ad saying "No minorities," "Women of color only," or "Christians only." Free speech and all that. I understand why the laws are important, but I think looking for a roommate is different than renting out a separate space. Isn't it important to let people you might be living with know that you're a racist, that you can't tolerate non-Christians, or that you won't feel comfortable with a white person? That seems like simple free speech. And then, on a more libertarian note, don't people sort of a have a right to choose who they want to share a home with? I don't know, I recognize that that opens up all kinds of problems, like, "I live with the person in my carriage house," and "I live with the person who lives in my apartment building," and "I live with the family who lives down the street."