In 2007, the treasure-hunting company Odyssey made a spectacular discovery, locating the wreck of the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes, a Spanish frigate laced with over $500 million dollars worth of gold coins. This historical and potentially profitable find was quickly overshadowed, however, by a prolonged legal battle over the possession of the treasure, a case … Read more
When Chinese citizens express their opinions through online outlets, they write in the presence of a state-appointed cyber police force. In a fairly recent development, the Communist Party has begun to employ professional web commentators to monitor online bulletins and blogs in order to ‘cleanse’ the internet of anti-party sentiments and to promote the party … Read more
When Chinese citizens express their opinions through online outlets, they write in the presence of a state-appointed cyber police force. In a fairly recent development, the Communist Party has begun to employ professional web commentators to monitor online bulletins and blogs in order to ‘cleanse’ the internet of anti-party sentiments and to promote the party … Read more
How Hungray’s Conservative Wing Wrote a New Constitution for Itself In 2010, Hungary embarked on one of the most important tasks for the survival of their government by beginning to draft a constitution. Members of the parliamentary drafting committee wrote the document on their iPad. The “iPad” constitution attempts to completely undue the nation’s communist … Read more
Despite a formal alliance between Pakistan and the United States, the interests of the two governments are often in perfect contradiction. Pakistan’s spy agency, the ISI, has been accused by Mike Mullen of supporting the jihadist terror cell Haqqani in its October attack on the American embassy in Kabul. Furthermore, Osama bin Laden managed to … Read more
As China Announces Bold New Plans for its Space Program, the United States Considers the Possible Militarism of the Space Race In contrast to a United States that continues to scale back its space program, China last week unveiled an ambitious plan to become a major extraterrestrial power. This plan includes launching freighters and manned-vessels within … Read more
In his new year’s speech, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak claimed that the Korean peninsula was at a “turning point” and that there were “opportunities for change.” While he did not state this explicitly, he was clearly referring to the recent death of Kim Jong Il, the controversial despot of North Korea who ascended to … Read more
Marina opens a very compelling feminist take on civil unrest in a religious Israeli town by writing, “As a Jew, a liberal, and a lover of the State of Israel, it is with great sadness that I reflect on what has transpired over the last few days in Beit Shemesh, Israel.” As a friend, I … Read more
As a Jew, a liberal, and a lover of the State of Israel, it is with great sadness that I reflect on what has transpired over the last few days in Beit Shemesh, Israel. On Monday, Haaretz reported an escalation of gender-based violence in the city of Beit Shemesh. Beit Shemesh is home to a … Read more
By this point, most have probably heard the news that Kim Jong-il is dead, and seen the countless videos of mourning citizens in hysterics. In the wake of the North Korean leader’s death, pundits and governments have been scrambling to reassess their strategy toward the hermit country. Most fundamentally, international observers are concerned with questions … Read more