Russian President Vladimir Putin lost control over the narrative in Sochi long before the athletes arrived. The Winter Olympics, originally intended to showcase Russia’s resurgence under Putin, have been derailed by controversy over newly passed laws against “homosexual propaganda,” endless debate about Edward Snowden, and, above all, growing fears over terrorism. Explosions and smoke have […]
Archives for March 2014
Jobbik: Hungary’s Fearsome Party
On Sunday, January 26th, Britain braced itself to receive some controversial visitors. Led by Gabor Vona, members of Hungary’s Jobbik Party planned to hold a rally outside of the Holborn tube station. What might have been seen as a standard expression of free speech instead became a highly conflicted event due to Jobbik’s status as […]
Is Chilean Education for Sale?
In the largest series of political demonstrations in Chile since the call for a return to democracy in 1990, the current student-led education reform movement has been dominating the Chilean political scene. Thousands of Chilean students have taken to the streets demanding large-scale systematic educational reforms, ranging from calls for free public education, increased state […]
Fighting the Cure
Health has been praised as the most successful sector of the development field, with its easy measurability, its poignant visibility, its attainable fix in the form of vaccination and, notably, its removed place from the messiness of politics, at least in comparison to economic or education policy. However, as the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) […]
Striking Against Legacies of Apartheid
Continuous waves of strikes from South African miners have made headlines for years now, most notably the 2012 strikes that left 34 dead, as well as the current platinum miners’ strikes which continue to escalate and saw their first fatality on February 7 of this year. Both in their increasing incidence and the escalating militancy […]
Tobacco and the Environment in China
Fifty years ago, the United States Surgeon General, Luther Terry, linked tobacco use to adverse health effects for the first time. To commemorate the anniversary, researchers at Yale published a study in January arguing that subsequent anti-smoking regulations and campaigns have saved eight million lives in the United States alone. Indeed, tobacco use is still […]
Cosmic Bombs: Defending the Earth from the Asteroid Threat
Last February, a meteor exploded 28 miles above the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia, producing a devastating shockwave that knocked people off their feet and shattered windows throughout the city. Traveling at 12 miles per second, the 20-meter wide space rock exploded with the energy of around 500 kilotons. At its peak, the streaking fireball glowed […]
Scotland and Catalonia: Europe’s Ballot Box Revolutions
There are 193 member states of the United Nations, and probably a few more countries in the world depending on who you ask. Although this is no meager sum, the global political landscape has changed significantly, considering a few centuries ago there were as many as 1,000 countries in modern day Germany. However, the trajectory […]
Ukraine in Flames
The Olympics regularly goes to great pains to celebrate the togetherness of the world. Sochi was no different: both the opening and closing ceremonies proudly displayed all 2,873 athletes participating. The athletes came from 88 countries in total, with athletes hailing from everywhere from Russia to Timor-Leste. Yet for skier Bohdana Matsotska, the Olympics’ togetherness […]
Spray Paint Beijing
Sitting in a quaint café hidden within the ancient courtyards of Beijing, Lance Crayon, producer of the documentary Spray Paint Beijing, cautiously takes a sip of his steaming Americano while looking out the fingerprint-covered window. “My favorite graffiti piece to date is that of a giant rosy pig up on Ji Ming Lu created by […]