In late December of last year, the Japanese parliament approved a 112.07 trillion yen ($787 billion) draft budget for the 2024 fiscal year. Although the aggregate budget is lower than that of the previous year, the defense budget increased by around 16%, with the parliament voting to allocate almost eight trillion yen to defense spending. […]
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Violence and Disaster in the Middle East: An Analysis of October 7th
“The problem of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was always trust. This is just a case of broken trust, this is a case of broken everything.” –Professor Ron E. Hassner Conflict Breaks Out: A Timeline October 7th, 2023. Hamas, a terrorist group operating within the Gaza Strip, fired a cascade of around 2,200 rockets into southern Israel. […]
No More Neutrality: Swedish Accession to NATO
In a seismic departure from its long-standing policy of military neutrality, Sweden has officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The decision, made against the backdrop of heightened Russian aggression and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, marks a significant turning point in Sweden’s foreign policy. As Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson poignantly said, “Sweden […]
The Unplugged Reality of Electric Vehicles and Clean Transportation
In 2016, the California Senate passed SB-32, requiring that state greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. In 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown issued EO-B-55-18, establishing the statewide goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. Today, nearly six years later, the state is not on track to meet either target. […]
Private Markets Aren’t the Problem in Healthcare. It’s Patents.
The issue that destroys the most lives is an instrument intended to save lives. The United States widely implements patent protections for medical technology, but its use internationally leaves the most vulnerable populations at risk. This political tool damages developing economies and deprives millions of essential healthcare. Medical patents are licenses that grant pharmaceutical companies […]
Japan’s Little North Korea
Every morning, in a school located in the heart of Tokyo, high school students change into traditional uniforms, file into their classrooms, and gather under portraits of North Korea’s former leaders Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung. Most have never set foot on the Korean peninsula. This is a school for Koreans in Japan; specifically, those […]
The Dangers of Politicizing Western Humanitarian Aid
At the dawn of the 20th century, failing dictatorships and crumbling empires left millions of people vulnerable to poverty, hunger, war, and extermination. The “free” world, with all its graciousness, has aided tens of nations to alleviate their suffering. Statistically, numerous humanitarian assistance projects, which the Western bloc primarily manages and funds, have shaped the […]
The Threat of Growing Leftism in U.K. Academia
British academia leads the world in research, innovation, and creativity. The U.K. is ranked third in the world for published scientific research alone, with around 200,000 citable publications in 2020. Yet, U.K. universities are far from leading the world in academic freedom. Liberal identities have become dangerously intertwined with the identities of the institutions. In […]
Chipping Away at the Bloc: Hungary’s Crossroads with the EU
Following the large-scale casualties of World War II, the human condition was at its trough. Some 75 million lost their lives, and a similar number of people were forced to flee their home countries. Consequently, the European Union (EU) formed, intended to create a coalition that negotiates intercontinental peace in the midst of conflict. However, […]
Chaos and Anarchy Reign in Helpless Haiti
Trigger warning: Brief discussions of sexual assault and violence against women. Having spent the past decade and a half reeling from major earthquakes and epidemics that have killed and displaced hundreds of thousands, Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country, has fallen into a state of anarchy and chaotic violence. Beginning in early March, gangs—which have […]