Mehserle Trial (Oscar Grant) Update (tags)
Posted on May 7, 2010 A preliminary hearing Friday in the second-degree murder trial of former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle provided few fireworks, but yielded several key rulings that could influence the outcome of what is expected to be a highly complex trial.
Right-Wing Authoritarianism--The Mindset Behind Religious Extremists (tags)
There is a universal authoritarian trait which predisposes some people toward a greater willingness to thoughtlessly follow authoritarian leaders in attacking enemies identified by those leaders. This trait is generally associated with religiosity, and produces mirror-image behavior between the most belligerent people on both sides of any given conflict. It illuminates similarities in attitude of hardline religious fanatics, no matter what their religion.