Vol. VII, No. 5 May 2001

Da Vinci, Duration, Death

by Jonathan Wallace

I spent a day in Milan recently, chasing around desperately in a quest to see The Last Supper. I succeeded at last, but what did I actually see? Da Vinci's work, or a mockery of time?



What's Wrong With Copy Protection by John Gilmore

What is wrong is when people who would like products that simply record bits, or audio, or video, without any copy protection, can't find any, because they have been driven off the market.

John Spragge's Crossing the Medicine Line: Another Two Cheers for National Sovereignty

Many of the issues which currently trouble the American political system, from campaign finance and "soft money" to alienation from the central government in some parts of the United States, stem from this problem: representative democracies simply cannot grow indefinitely.

The Shooting in Abu Sneineh
by the Other Israel

The army has warned the inhabitants of Abu Sneineh to move away 'for their own good', and the neighborhood is subjected to daily bombardments of tank artillery.

Can Freedom Withstand E-books?
by Richard Stallman

You will no longer have the freedom to buy a book from a used book store, to lend it to a friend, to borrow it from a public library, or even to buy it without leaving a record in a corporate data base stating your identity and what book you bought.

Democracy as Participatory Sport by Ben G. Price

As events unfolded on this wet day in the capitol, Senator McConnell's voice would quiver with surprised indignation as the full force of citizen outrage came home to roost.

Ariel Sharon by Jonathan Wallace

The rationalization is that "the Palestinians used Sharon's visit as a pretext to launch an intifada they were planning anyway." This is tantamount to blaming the gasoline for using the match as a pretext to burst into flames.

Wayne Grytting's American Newspeak

The Defense Department called its new crowd control heat gun an "active denial system." Surprisingly, that very same phrase -- "active denial system" -- is how many people describe the Pentagon.

The Public Killing of Timothy McVeigh by Jonathan Wallace

With the execution--let's call it what it is, the judicial killing--of Timothy McVeigh, we are taking a huge step closer to re-instituting execution as public spectacle, as it was in the last century.

Church and State by Fred M. Fariss

What is interesting to observe is that wherever in the world there is a coalition between totalitarian religion and government, the government will be also structured to be totalitarian.

Who Deserves a Break Today? by Tom Granger

If impoverished children must currently start the economic race a few legs behind the starting line, if this is generally recognized to be unfair, and if the United States wishes to be known as a land of equal opportunity, then something must be done to alter the current situation.

Christopher Hitchens' Trial of Henry Kissinger: A Review by Mike McGlothlin

Secretary Kissinger is a murder conspirator and war criminal.

Franklin's Vietnam and Other American Fantasies:A Review by Christian Parenti

Hollywood is of course the grand re-fabricator of Vietnam... turn reality on its head then repeat in an endless loop until victimized is victim and evil is good.

A New Beginning: Jews Return to Germany by William Hathaway

Now, out of annihilation, a community begins again.

Letters to The Ethical Spectacle

I'd hope you agree that CO2 from Mount Pinatubo is the same thing as CO2 from an evil, profit-making business- man.

Write for the Spectacle! Articles on any ethical, political or legal topic will be considered, whether or not I agree with the opinions expressed. Here are some guidelines. Particularly needed: book reviews; conservative perspectives.






Past Issues BIO Mailing Lists Search Links

"Noticing that no-one held the values I defended, I decided to make a spectacle of myself." --Richard Foreman


Copyright Jonathan Wallace 2001 except as otherwise indicated

Artist: Laurie Caro; all art copyright Laurie Caro 2001 except as otherwise indicated
Email: jw@bway.net
Flames will be published with attribution.
All other correspondence may be published unless specifically otherwise requested