Brian Merchant

A Case for Illegal Immigration

A Case for Illegal Immigration

At this point, the debate over immigration in the United States is less a conversation than an interminable morass. We hear the same arguments...

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135 responsesBrian Merchant
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Brian Merchant thinks Bikes: Now with More Threat to Your Personal... is good.

2 years ago

Brian Merchant thinks Slavoj Zizek on the Hypocrisy of Conscious... is good.

2 years ago

The Great Refugee Wire Transfer

The Great Refugee Wire Transfer

File this under "Good to Know": Western Union can get your cash to a refugee in need as easily as you can pull money out of an ATM. Even if your...

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73 responsesBrian Merchant
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Brian Merchant thinks Atlanta's Buford Highway Is a Death Trap is good.

2 years ago

Brian Merchant thinks Energy Bill, R.I.P. is good.

2 years ago

Brian Merchant thinks The Six Craziest Things In Your Cosmetics is good.

2 years ago

What it Feels Like to Be an Illegal Alien

What it Feels Like to Be an Illegal Alien

  For over a month now, Samy has been stuck in the city of Chiang Mai. Broke, alone, at constant risk of deportation, and bored out of his mind,...

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71 responseBrian Merchant
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The Bangkok Embassy and International Intrigue (or Lack Thereof)

The Bangkok Embassy and International Intrigue (or Lack Thereof)

  Embassies make problems go away. In both practical matters (a patient clerk helping a tourist with a lost passport) and popular imagination (a...

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Brian Merchant thinks Battling Heat Waves by Making the Grid Smarter is good.

2 years ago

Brian Merchant thinks USDA Comes Out for Sugary Beverage Tax is good.

2 years ago

Can a Violent Military Regime Become a Democracy ... This Year?

Can a Violent Military Regime Become a Democracy ... This Year?

  It’s been 20 years since an election has been held in Burma. In the last election, in 1990, the lifelong pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu...

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63 responsesBrian Merchant
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Brian Merchant thinks Panera's Pay-What-You-Want Restaurant Actually... is good.

2 years ago

Crowdsourcing Refugee Resettlement—What's Your Idea?

Crowdsourcing Refugee Resettlement—What's Your Idea?

  Even after getting arrested and suffering a narrow brush with deportation, Samy is still hiding out in the bustling Thai city of Chiang Mai....

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30 responsesBrian Merchant
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The Armchair Refugee Rescue Operation, Phase 2

The Armchair Refugee Rescue Operation, Phase 2

I think it’s time to face a few facts. When I began this endeavor a few months ago, I had little concept of what the moving a refugee out of...

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40 responsesBrian Merchant
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Samy Gets Arrested

Samy Gets Arrested

Last week, Samy was arrested by the Thai police. A few days before, he had left the refugee camp to make a rare clandestine trip to the city of...

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20 responsesBrian Merchant
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How to Move Refugees Into Your Neighborhood...

How to Move Refugees Into Your Neighborhood...

First, you have to live in Canada. Our neighbors to the north live in one of the few places in the world where citizens can take the initiative...

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82 responsesBrian Merchant
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The Bangkok Massacre Sparks Déjà-vu for Samy

The Bangkok Massacre Sparks Déjà-vu for Samy

Samy doesn't live near the Thai capital of Bangkok, but his fate rests largely on the government that resides there-and that government has...

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Refugees, You Have a Friend in Canada

Refugees, You Have a Friend in Canada

It’s time to face some facts: As it stands now, it would take a small miracle to get Samy legally resettled into the United States. I’m not yet...

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92 responsesBrian Merchant
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