
Commentary / World May 12, 2022
Should Europe stop paying for Putin’s war?
If Europeans face economic hardship by ceasing to use Russian energy, is that really too much to ask after the invasion of Ukraine?
For Peter Singer's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
If Europeans face economic hardship by ceasing to use Russian energy, is that really too much to ask after the invasion of Ukraine?
Similar to Putin's justification for invading Ukraine, Hitler threatened to invade Czechoslovakia in order to incorporate districts with a German-speaking population.
Plants don't have central nervous systems, nor the neurons that form the consciousness of animals, but they have dopamine and serotonin, that function like neurotransmitters.
People who make choices that are likely to harm others, such as refusing vaccinations, and have been warned of the consequences of those choices must take responsibility for them.
It is surprisingly easy for most people in affluent countries to make a huge difference to those living in extreme poverty in low-income countries.
Laws requiring people to be vaccinated may be restricting one kind of freedom, but they are doing so in order to protect the freedom of others to go about their business safely.
Now that we can see that eating red meat affects the entire planet in a manner that none of us want, it is time for governments to end their support for it.
There was a time when the threat to academic freedom in democratic countries came primarily from the right. Today, however, most of the opposition to freedom of thought comes from the left.
The issue of allowing advance requests for assistance in dying will become more pressing as populations age and more people develop dementia.
It is not difficult to think of something better than throwing away potentially life-saving vaccines.