Author: Matthew Clemente

Rape Survivor, Attorney, Advocate Shauna Prewitt to Speak at SUCOL

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Rape Survivor, Attorney, Advocate Shauna Prewitt to Speak at SUCOL

The Syracuse Law and Civic Engagement Forum (SLACE) and National Women’s Law Student Association (NWLSA) will co-host an event featuring Shauna Prewitt on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 4 p.m. in Room 175 of the law school.

Prewitt is a rape survivor, attorney and advocate for reform of the custody laws in most states, which allow rapists the same parental rights as other fathers, something often used to coerce rape victims into not testifying in criminal trials. She gained national attention following Rep. Todd Aiken’s infamous “legitimate rape” comments in August 2012. Prewitt wrote an open letter to Aiken explaining his biological inaccuracies.

Prewitt enrolled at Georgetown Law School in 2006. During her time there, she wrote the first scholarly piece examining the legal protections afforded to women who become mothers through rape. Since its publication, Prewitt’s piece has received much attention from legal scholars, legislators and advocacy groups.

Today, Prewitt is a practicing attorney and a national expert on the laws protective of pregnant rape victims. She frequently testifies in support of rape legislation and routinely contributes to the national commentary on the need for even greater protections. Interviews with and articles written by her have appeared on CNN, NBC and other national media outlets.

Sunday Funday: Russian Police Choir Gets Lucky

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Sunday Funday: Russian Police Choir Gets Lucky

This late edition of Sunday Funday brings you the best part of the otherwise strange opening of the Sochi Olympic games–a Russian police choir (Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs) singing Daft Punks “Get Lucky.”  Okay, so Russian police officers in fancy uniforms singing a song written by robots is also pretty strange, but it is also great fodder for an Olympic Sunday Funday.  Although NBC did not feel it warranted being televised, SLACE has you covered.

Here is a description of the video from NBC:

Members of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs choir perform a rousing rendition of Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ before Friday’s Opening Ceremony.

This post was originally published on the SLACE Archive.  For more public policy related video/audio, be sure to check out the SLACE Archive for daily podcast recommendations.

Sunday Funday: Russian Police Choir Gets Lucky

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Sunday Funday: Russian Police Choir Gets Lucky

This late edition of Sunday Funday brings you the best part of the otherwise strange opening of the Sochi Olympic games–a Russian police choir (Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs) singing Daft Punks “Get Lucky.”  Okay, so Russian police officers in fancy uniforms singing a song written by robots is also pretty strange, but it is also great fodder for an Olympic Sunday Funday.  Although NBC did not feel it warranted being televised, SLACE has you covered.  

Here is a description of the video from NBC: 

Members of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs choir perform a rousing rendition of Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ before Friday’s Opening Ceremony. 

Bitcoin Bet: Niche, Novelty or Revolution

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Bitcoin Bet: Niche, Novelty or Revolution

The most recent episode of the Planet Money podcast discussed a bet between high profile venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and Reuters financial reporter Felix Salmon over the future of the virtual currency Bitcoin.  

Here is a description of the podcast: 

Ben Horowitz is a big-time venture capitalist. His firm invested in Facebook and Twitter. More recently, the firm invested some $50 million in startups related to bitcoin, the virtual currency that works like online cash. Ben thinks bitcoin is going to change the way people buy and sell stuff on the Internet.

Felix Salmon, a high-profile finance blogger at Reuters, is a prominent bitcoin skeptic.

So when Felix recently published an essay calling bitcoin a bubble that was sure to burst, Benposted a comment challenging him to a bet over the future of bitcoin.

“I said, ‘Why don’t we just bet?'” Ben told us. “And I’ve read enough of Felix’s stuff to know that would be irresistible to him.”

“He’s right about that,” Felix said. “Being challenged by Ben Horowitz is kind of a high point of my career. So I immediately said yes.”

When we heard about the challenge, we invited Felix and Ben to come on Planet Money to hash out the details of the bet. Basically, we offered to be their bookie. Fortunately for us, they accepted.

For more about Bitcoin from the SLACE Archive see:  

Bitcoin and the Law (Jan. 15, 2014)

Bitcoin: The Virtual Currency Bubble? (April 13, 2013)

 

Moral Maze: Boycotting the Sochi Winter Olympics

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Moral Maze: Boycotting the Sochi Winter Olympics

With the Sochi Winter Olympics starting later this evening, I think it is fair to say that most Westerns assume that there is symbolic value in boycotting the games in protest of Russia’s human rights violations, particularly as they relate to homosexuals.  However, the most recent episode of the Moral Maze questions this assumption and debates the moral utility of Olympic boycotts.  Several of the “witnesses” of the programme assert that Olympic boycotts are useless.  They argue that, particularly with reference to Russia anti-gay policies, gay athletes would be better served competing and beating the Russians rather than sitting out the games.  They cite Jesse Owens at the 1936 Games in Nazi Germany.  What better way to show the absurdity of Hitler’s claims of “Aryan superiority” than an African American running faster and jumping further than Nazi “uberman.”

Here is a brief description of the podcast:

Are sporting boycotts of events like the Winter Olympics effective or just empty gestures?