In August of 2014, a profoundly disturbing story broke in the United Kingdom. In the small city of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, approximately 1400 children had been the victims of sexual abuse since 1997 as local authorities failed to respond. A report released by Alexis Jay, former Chief Inspector of Social Work in the town, […]
Archives for October 2014
The Death of Chess
It’s relatively clear that Bobby Fischer, the famously infuriating, enigmatic and opinionated American chess demi-god, recognized the importance of his 1972 World Championship match series against Boris Spassky. Cold War hyper-drama, a life in pursuit of literally one thing—world number one—and a realignment of the entire chess world, it was all there. Yet Fischer, hours […]
The Darkest Day: The Domestic Politics of Defense and Nationalism in Japan
On July 1st, 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet approved a highly controversial reinterpretation of the Japanese Constitution; specifically of Article 9, which prohibits the formation of a military and restricts the use of force solely to self-defense. Under the recent revision, Japan has now extended this right to include using force to […]
Domestic Abuse in the NFL
The NFL has been rocked by the recent public outcry against what appears to be a rampant rise in domestic violence cases. The issue came to the forefront public consciousness when Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice, was indicted on charges of aggravated assault against his then-fiancé and now wife, Janay Palmer. Suspended for two […]
Waves of Terror: The Islamic State and Water as a Weapon of War
The ground is dry and cracked. Tan desert stretches for miles in either direction and the air is saturated with brown dust. The fine sand from nearby dunes stirred up in the hot breeze. This is the Iraqi desert. It is nearly uninhabited, heat and drought having made it hostile to human life. Less than […]