The New York Times has a very revealing series of maps on the alliances in the Middle East. The maps highlight the alliances between the allies of Iran vs. the allies of the Saudis. Note that the US does not appear to be a consistent ally of either side.
Pope Francis precipitated a diplomatic crisis by referring to the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey during the first World War. Turkey recalled its Ambassador to the Vatican after the charge was made. Turkey denies that Armenians were targeted by authorities and that only some Armenians died in the chaos of the war. Turkish allies, such as the United States, choose not to use the world genocide for fear of alienating an important ally. Many analysts regard the deaths of the Armenians as the first genocide of the 20th century.
I have posted a number of articles on the issue of income inequality which I regard as one of the most important issues facing humanity today. The Guardian has an article on how colleges in the US are contributing to the problem of inequality. Needless to say, it is a very depressing article.
China is stepping up its ability to control information flows within the country. A new program, dubbed “The Great Cannon,” does more than simply block sites–it sends malicious scripts to the server that sent the banned sites. In other words, the program is not merely defensive, it is offensive as well. Targeting sites outside of China, however, is a sophisticated form of cyberwarfare and it could be viewed as a weapon to block non-Chinese citizens from reading information. We will have to see how the world reacts to this new tactic.
World Politics News 
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