The Waterboarding controversy

Barack Obama last month completed his first 100 days in the Oval Office. ‘So far so good’ seemed to be the majority verdict. But now, Obama faces his toughest job yet. Before his election, he said “brutal interrogations [are] an outrageous betrayal of our core values”. Now he is President, is he bold enough to punish those who tortured in America’s name?
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Guantanamo: the tip of the human rights iceberg

In the recent weeks and months we have seen hopeful advances towards a more democratic trial and humane treatment of prisoners on both sides of the Atlantic. President Obama has promised to close Guantanamo within twelve months. The Labour government have finally admitted their willing and obvious complicity in torture and extraordinary rendition. Binyam Mohamed, the former UK resident, has been returned home. Yet, are these political gestures more symbolic than significant? Sam Waterman investiagtes.
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Our man in Obamaland

From the moment I heard Barack Obama’s now infamous ‘Yes We Can!’ speech upon his election victory in November, I knew that to pass up the opportunity to head to Washington D.C on 20 January would be a massive mistake. The fact a friend in Toronto, where I am studying for the year, was able to sort me out with a ticket only increased my desire to be in the Capital as the 44th President was sworn in. Read more

Obama Win

After eight long years in which America often acted as if it did not care about anyone else’s opinions, the White House will come back into the family of nations.   Where it always was under Roosevelt, Kennedy and Clinton.
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UK universities may lose international students to US after Obama election

UK universities have been warned to expect a significant decrease in the number of international students applying to study in the country due, in part, to the recent historic election of Barrack Obama. Read more

The Obama presidency – here’s where the story begins…

Robin Kolodny, Associate Professor of Political Science at Temple University, Pennsylvania, and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sussex speaks to The Badger about Obama, his policies and assassination.

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Sometimes war is a necessary evil – but let’s hope Obama will find alternatives

Well that’s it then: President Barack Obama.

There is no doubt that this is an enormous victory – it signifies the end of an era for the Republican party, the beginning a new one for the Democrats, but more importantly, a change in the zeitgeist of the American people. The cynicism that was once felt about American politics during the Bush administration seems to be quickly dissipating whilst the public talks of new hope and real change.
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Obamania comes to Sussex

US Election results draws excited crowds

In the early hours of last Wednesday morning a packed East Slope Bar was sent into raptures as the announcement came through that on the other side of the Atlantic, Fox News had called Ohio for Barack Obama. The state – one of the closest in the 2008 Presidential election – was a must win for John McCain as no Republican had ever become President without winning Ohio. From this point on the bar became a party as it became clear that it was only a matter of a few hours of waiting before Barack Obama would be declared the 44th President of the United States of America. Read more

US Election special

American youth backs Barack Obama

When it comes to the US elections, we’re constantly hearing numbers and polls. When it comes to hearing peoples opinions, we’re also bombarded.

However they’re generally the opinions of people that, as students, we rarely identify or connect with. John McCain also appears to be someone that a lot of the youth in America fail to connect with. A person perhaps so set in his ways, seeming so old fashioned; with his ideas on things like nationalism, religion, abortion and being anti-choice (excuse me for not being able to resist the phrase ‘get your rosaries off my ovaries’) that he misses out on reaching the youth in America. Read more