On Tuesday March 5, the Venezuelan government released the news of President Hugo Chávez’s death. Though many had surmised that his end was near, the news came as a surprise to Venezuelans and foreigners alike. Chávez had been diagnosed with cancer, and many believed that his death was inevitable, yet the government released almost no … Read more
Though cardinals are supposed to vote based on divine inspiration, voting for the pope has always been secular. Lots of factors come into play, and without polls for the likes of Nate Silver to work their magic on, it’s anybody’s guess as to whose coming next. While I don’t plan to contribute to the one … Read more
Like most Catholics, there are few things I love more than the pope and one of them is gambling. Though betting on the pope seems like a sure ticket to hell, St. Louis priests were found betting on the 2005 papal conclave and the Catholic League said they had no problem with it. So, in … Read more
Like most Catholics, there are few things I love more than the pope and one of them is gambling. Though betting on the pope seems like a sure ticket to hell, St. Louis priests were found betting on the 2005 papal conclave and the Catholic League said they had no problem with it. So, in … Read more
The political campaign that will culminate in the election of a new Italian legislative and executive on February 24-25 has not been about programs and reforms. As tax fraud and mafia are crippling the country’s capacity to rebound, political candidates have entertained the electorate in a farce centered on squabbles and spites. Even though the … Read more
Until the election-night surprise of Yair Lapid’s centrist Yesh Atid party’s second-place finish, a different canonical story dominated the coverage of Israel’s 2013 election season. In late 2012, domestic and international outlets seized upon the rise of Naftali Bennett, whose clean-shaven, high-tech image recast national-religious annexationism as the new cool among young conservatives. Unfortunately, more … Read more
In June, shortly before his official visit to Shanghai, Russian president Vladimir Putin published a lengthy article promoting Sino-Russian cooperation on economics, energy and international security. Such a partnership is perceived as a nightmarish prospect for Western geopolitical interests. Indeed, the two countries have made a recent point of obstructing Western initiatives in international organizations: … Read more
On Tuesday, January 28th, members of the French Parliament began their deliberations on a bill regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage. Outside, in the streets of Paris, thousands rallied in support of the legislation, waving rainbow flags and playing upbeat pop music from decades past. The future of the measure could dictate the future of … Read more
In an article for the HPR published in the late fall of 2012, I postulated a possible resolution to the conflict in northern Mali, namely, that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would shoulder the brunt of the burden and send troops to the region known as Azawad, thereby ameliorating the situation in … Read more
When grotesque, anti-Semitic remarks made by President Mohamed Morsi in September of 2010 were widely published earlier this week, they were met with appropriate outrage by the Western world. Calling Zionists the “descendants of apes and pigs” is completely unacceptable coming from anyone, let alone the president of a country, despite Morsi’s attempts to explain that his remarks were … Read more