Singapore justice

Singapore was brought to the world's attention in the spring of 1994, when it sentenced Michael Fay to six lashes with a cane. Many debated the issues presented by that case and there were many half‐truths released about Singapore and the eighteen year old male from Ohio. This research does not raise the issues of caning or corporal punishment. Rather, the research was done to explore ‘'Justice in Singapore'’ and how its system of justice really operates.

More specifically, this research will focus on this city‐state consisting of many divergent peoples, races, cultures, languages, and its thriving economy. The major part of the research focuses on crime related matters. The research compares U.S. and Singapore crime rates, and has found the overall U.S. rates to be 200% to 380% higher in the 1980s. Violent crime rates for ten years were also compared, and the U.S. rates range from 749% to 1,405% higher than Singapore. The paper also examines the ‘'drug problem'’ in Singapore and its response to it.

The last section of this paper explores why there is generally very strong support for police in Singapore (little corruption and few acts of police brutality). The court structure was also explored and an analysis has been done on how it functions. Lastly, the prison system is examined and its operations are presented. Justice in Singapore works very well, but it is also very different from other nations of the world.     

Hostage negotiation in Costa Rica

This article compares legal and procedural constraints that operate on United States and Costa Rican hostage negotiations. In an effort to better understand the Costa Rican police system, comparisons are drawn between United States law enforcement agencies, United States military services and the Costa Rican police system. The introductory material lays the foundation for a discussion of hostage negotiation as it is practiced in Costa Rica prior to and after hostage negotiation training.     

Changing Values among Western Publics from 1970 to 2006

In 1971 it was hypothesised that intergenerational value changes were taking place. More than a generation has passed since then, and today it seems clear that the predicted changes have occurred. A large body of evidence, analysed using three different approaches – (1) cohort analysis; (2) comparisons of rich and poor countries; (3) examination of actual trends observed over the past 35 years – all points to the conclusion that major cultural changes are occurring, and that they reflect a process of intergenerational change linked with rising levels of existential security.     

Democracy for all: restoring immigrant voting rights in the US

This paper examines the politics of noncitizen voting in the United States. It is not widely known that noncitizens currently vote in local elections in Maryland and in Chicago; nor that over the past decade campaigns to expand the franchise to noncitizens have been launched in at least a dozen other jurisdictions from coast to coast. These practices have their roots in another little known fact: for most of the country's history—from the founding until the 1920s—noncitizens voted in 22 states and federal territories in local, state and even federal elections, and also held public office such as alderman, coroner, and school board member. This paper presents arguments for (and against) noncitizen voting rights, and examines contemporary political organizations and actors who fought for and won (or lost) campaigns to reinstate noncitizen voting. The paper explores the politics of recent campaigns that successfully reestablished noncitizen voting, that are currently underway, and other campaigns that failed. The paper argues that an expansion of immigrant voting rights could boost possibilities for working‐class electoral coalitions and progressive politics.     

The Art of Forgetting: imperialist amnesia and public secrecy

This article explores the implications of a phenomenon that, following Renato Rosaldo's influential discussion of ‘imperialist nostalgia’, I call ‘imperialist amnesia’: the fetishistic disavowal of the legacy of European colonisation within contemporary postcolonial societies. I describe the manifestation of this amnesia in discourses as diverse as academic scholarship, international development and travel writing. Observing the recurrence of imperialist amnesia in the face of persistent attempts to historicise postcoloniality, I propose that the disavowal of colonialism functions as what Michael Taussig calls a ‘public secret’—something commonly known but not generally acknowledged—helping to efface the grim realities of the colonial enterprise. Public secrecy by its nature defies most attempts at disclosure; hence efforts to publicise colonialism's contemporary influences may paradoxically reinforce their obfuscation by perpetuating the very imperialist amnesia they seek to dispel.     

Television and terrorism: Implications for crisis management and policy‐making

Because few of us experience terrorism firsthand, the media play an important role in informing us when major incidents occur. Because of its instantaneity and its ability to reach many audiences at once, the electronic media and particularly television can have a significant impact on the various players who become involved in a particular crisis. This article examines the kinds of effects that television can have on four sets of actors most commonly involved in terrorist crises or major incidents: politicians, police, the public and the print media. While some of these effects can be negative, others can be positive. As a whole, however, television tends to diminish the quality of political discourse, with its emphasis on simplification and dramatization. In time of crisis, this can have serious consequences on decision‐makers who depend upon an informed public to understand the issues at stake and the limits on government action. The article ends by examining briefly how these effects relate to the increasing role of the private sector in public safety and security.