ConocoPhillips' offshore wells in Bohai Bay, China have experienced severe oil leaking, posing both technical and political challenges for the company to overcome. ConocoPhillips, while on a lesser scale than the oil spill crisis of BP Oil Company, faces similar political issues. Cleanup of shores in China still continues, highlighting the danger of our dependence on oil, as it can have such a detrimental effect on wildlife if it is not collected correctly.

The Ukrainian government forces have conducted cluster munition attacks on the Ukrainian people. The Human Rights Watch has documented twelve of these incidents and recognizes that committing cluster bomb attacks in highly populated areas violates the laws of war and may be seen as a war crime.

Michelle Alexander writes, "The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid." While the United States has gone to great lengths to distance itself from a past of slavery, it has done little to guide and uplift the African American race as a whole and allow brighter futures for all. Many African Americans live in violent, inescapable ghettos, unable to get jobs that will help them rise above the poverty line, leading a portion of the population to get involved in crime as well.

Horace Mann once said, "Education is a great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance wheel of the social machinery." The power of language to empower people has become increasingly evident; however, children of low-income families are unable to receive higher education, making it difficult to communicate, grow and achieve success later in life. Some urge for the "word gap" crisis to be addressed with passion equal to world hunger.

This article includes a map of the world, depicting the spread of fear of different global issues across the world. China is greatly worried about the high levels of pollution in its major cities, like Beijing. The Japanese are most fearful of nuclear weapons, which is unsurprising to many, recognizing their geographic position with Russia and the Koreas. The U.S. and Europe are deeply concerned with inequality.

Many hospital caretakers who have been in contact with ebola patients have re-entered the world and their daily lives - one nurse went on a cruise, potentially endangering all travelers on board. Federal officials have announced new safety precautions for those who have been in contact with these patients. While it has been acknowledged that ebola can only be contracted through direct contact of bodily fluids, these seemingly unnecessary precautions have been taken in hopes of easing worries; however, in some cases they have caused concerns to skyrocket.

Many technological companies like Google, Verizon, and AT&T have attempted to replace bulky wallets with virtual methods of payment; however, this has only proved successful under Apple's management. Apple Pay service is a secure platform containing the user's credit card information and bank account information in order to make payments.

Students participating in the pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong have started using lyrics to the famous John Lennon song "Imagine" in order to express their desire to live by global (not solely Chinese) standards. Students have hope for the future, repeating lyrics such as, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

This article, written in second-person, outlines the steps that the U.S. healthcare system would take if you contracted Ebola. Many variables are involved in approving drug treatments. For example, neither the patient, the hospital, nor the government can decide whether or not to participate in experimental drug treatments, as drug companies decide who can receive the experimental treatments.

James Risen, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times, offers a post-9/11 journalistic response to the "war on terror" in his new book, 'Pay Any Price.' In an effort to obtain information through interviewing involved in the SOC, Risen misrepresented himself, an ethically controversial move: "I did not identify myself as a journalist or author; instead, I simply told them I was an investor interested in what they were doing."

Flannery discusses the divide in Mexico's modern economy: "… the formal economy isn't robust enough to provide jobs for the entire workforce. Like meat in an over-stuffed taco, many people don't fit into the formal sector and fall out to the sidelines." While highly populated cities possess an advanced industrialized economy, the rural areas in Mexico are home to those who make a living by cultivating the land, depending largely on the agriculture of the area. Not everyone in Mexico can obtain a job in the formal, industrialized economy, falling by the wayside.

The Islamic State (IS) is a radical Islamist group centered in Iraq and Syria that aims to establish a caliphate (a state led by one religious/political leader, under Islamic law). ISIS currently controls approximately eight million people in the Middle East, ruling in an oppressive, violent manner.

The Schlieffen Plan has been widely criticized by historians for its failure to achieve its primary intention of Germany winning the war in six quick weeks. Despite this failure, Germany was successful in setting the tone for future operations on the Western Front.