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Hong Kong's government is not Hong Kong's own, its chief executive has been appointed by the central Chinese government since China regained sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997. However, residents of Hong Kong have enjoyed more civil liberty than the residents of mainland China, for example the freedom of speech and it's own separate judiciary system. With residents of Hong Kong fed up with current pro-Beijing chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, and mainland China's current president, Xi Jiping, who are limiting the democratic liberties of the territory. Though mainland China has sovereignty over the domain of offshore Hong Kong, the levels of democracy in mainland China and Hong Kong are very dissimilar. In China, the internet, education systems, communities, and society as a whole are controlled by the central government, allowing the residents few civil liberties. For a while, Hong Kong, has utilized its own judiciary system and maintained its own chief executive to deal with governance, allowing Hong Kong to keep some of its Western democratic roots, from Hong Kong's time as a British colony; more recently the central government has appointed pro-Beijing (mainland) chief executives who have slowly taken more and more democratic liberties from the people. The people have taken to the streets of Hong Kong in protest asking for more democratic power in the appointment of their chief executive, but the iron-fisted Xi Jiping refuses to allow for any compromises. Xi Jiping is a strongly believes previous communist regimes fell apart because they were lax; as a result, Xi Jiping refuses to let these protests flourish or compromise with protestors because he doesn't want this to spark any freedom protests in the mainland. Yet, Xi Jiping can't use the force he would like to, because the level of force necessary to take down protests with such fervor at this scale who be reminiscent to the force used in the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. Any significant bloodshed would j

This particular article sparked my interest because it not only reports on the latest news (the beheading of a second American journalist), it also contextualizes the video, and directly addresses the rumors surrounding it (namely that the two videos were shot at once). Mr. Sotloff, the depicted journalist, was the second to have been beheaded by IS in response to American actions in the Middle East. He was beheaded, even though there were pleas to spare his life. Furthermore, SITE is rumored to have up to 30 journalists captured. I wonder how the US approach to the group will change in light of another beheading, and further possible executions.

This article makes me wonder what the US should do about this situation with ISIS. Should we go full on offensive and level everything in sight, or back off completely? I feel like doing something in between those two options would just antagonize ISIS further into killing more Americans. The outcome of this conflict seems like it is mainly in Obama's hands.

Oy, ISIS seems so beyond the pale. . . killing journalists, who are not fighting at all but working to get news out is so morally offensive. Good find, Bonnie.

Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman, is accused in the U.S. of siphoning millions from programs intended to help the needy in Venezuela.

NEW YORK - Ben Bernanke, the former Federal Reserve chairman appointed by President George W. Bush, recently expressed regret about the government's response to the 2008 financial crisis. He wished some Wall Street executives had gone to jail. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican presidential candidate, isn't so sure.

There is no good side or bad side. Views differ on how many of the rebels are extremists. Complicates questions about what course of action would be best.

This article was incredible informative about the current major areas that are sucking up a lot of Japan's spending like social benefits and military spending. But it also gives a detailed outline on how Japan aims to combat their debt but I'm unsure if these predictions are too optimistic?

It's interesting to see how Japan's government is interacting with the market in an attempt to create a flow of money that will ease its deficit. The fact that they raised their sales tax is very interesting when we consider how Japan entered its recession in 1997 because the government raised the national consumption tax to 5% from. Has Japan learned its lesson and will it enter another recession again as a result of their new tax hike?

It is cool to see precisely which sectors are consuming the larger portions of Japan's budget through data. I also liked how Japan thought about balance their budget.

NEW DELHI - In the middle of last week, with the arrest of the former media executive Indrani Mukerjea on suspicion of involvement in her daughter's death, India 's crime reporters embarked on their latest bender. The coverage spun out in cinematic curlicues, painting a portrait of Ms. Mukerjea as a social-climbing, thrice-married, ambition-crazed seductress.

This article is about India's preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. There are accusations of corruption while footbridges collapse and athletes' dorms are considered "uninhabitable." There appears to be no central authority in charge of the event, leaving many to criticize India's political culture.

It's interesting to compare India's troubles in organizing the event to China's flawless execution of the Olympics. The article mentions that China had an easier time because, as a Communist state, it was able to relocate people and suppress objections fairly easily. In contrast, India, as a democracy, faced many delays caused by people refusing to move and protests by environmental groups. India also has a much more corrupt bureaucracy.

Pakistan military kills civilians as part of their war against the Taliban. US considering withdrawing aid to the military because of this.

A video about e-waste going to China. Towards the end of the video, a recycling company called Executive Recycling is examined and revealed to have exported waste to China despite claiming to use environmentally sustainable practices, presumably to make profits.

Islamic State's success in Paris has sharply increased the geopolitical stakes over the war in Syria. As investigators piece together how the attacks were planned and executed, Western military and diplomatic efforts in that country will intensify. Interesting analysis over how this will change the fight against IS as a whole.

President Biden is sending more vaccine doses to the developing world. This is a good thing, I think, considering that a lot of Americans don't even want it. But, is it a good thing that Biden even has to do this in the first place?

This is really interesting to me, but I wonder how people across the U.S. feel about it. Also, does Biden need any kind of congressional approval or is this within the scope of executive powers.

Should be interesting to watch how the Taliban will execute this vow, especially since their spokesperson gave a pretty vague answer as to how the respect for women's rights would look within the Taliban.

I also think it will be very interesting to see whether the Taliban follow through with the vow and what respect means to them. It seems like everyone is waiting to see if this vow is an indicator that the Taliban have changed their ways since their strict form of rule in the 1990s.

Now we're at September 29, and the Taliban has closed girls' schools and colleges, women have to wear the burka, and the restrictions grow. . .

China's leader Xi Jinping has started limiting business executive's power and changing how business functions within China to achieve stronger state control. Many companies lost their protections, and some executives were sent to jail. Xi Jinping is attempting to end China's Gilded Age and move to more of a Progressive Era.

However, there are important differences between this and the US Progressive Era, and I am curious on how this will work.

During the trial of the president's brother, multiple witness testified that the president of Honduras wants to "shove drugs up the noses of the Americans." Allegedly, he's warned cartels of DEA operations and executed disloyal people with his brother. But how true is all of this? And how does he maintain power? (hint: the US helps him)

It's a twisted net!

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of mass homicide, in a report by Brazilian senator recommending charges for homicide for purposely letting the pandemic kills hundreds of thousands of Brazilians in a failed bid to achieve herd immunity. Shared by both Ershai and Audrey.

An interesting example on the attempted checks and balances against executive power. It is always poignant to compare Bolsonaro to Trump and his Covid-19 response.