World War Z’s Israeli wall sparks questions

Brad Pitt’s World War Z imagines a world overrun by a zombie pandemic, leading to an unlikely new global power structure. Two of the few countries that have kept the zombies at bay are Israel, which shelters Israelis and Palestinians behind a wall, and North Korea, which has removed the teeth of its citizens to prevent zombie biting

Share

Beyonce, Jay-Z visit OKed by US govt

A visit by American pop star Beyonce and rapper husband Jay-Z to Havana last week was a cultural trip that was fully licensed by the US Treasury Department, a source familiar with the itinerary said on Monday. The longstanding US trade embargo against Cuba prevents most Americans from travelling to the communist-led island without a license granted by the US government

Share

Violent Video Games Cause Teen Agression

Teenagers including girls who play violent video games over a number of years tend to become more aggressive towards other people, a new long-term study has warned.   Researchers from Brock University in Canada said the study was the first to show a clear link between a sustained period of playing violent games and subsequent increases in […]

Share

The Abu Ghraib Scandal You Don’t Know

American soldiers often have a tough time with Arabic names, so to guards, he was just “Gus.” To the world outside Abu Ghraib prison, he became an iconic figure, a naked, prostrate Iraqi prisoner crawling on the end of a leash held by Private Lynndie England, the pixyish Army Reserve clerk who posed in several of the infamous photographs that made the name Abu Ghraib synonymous with torture. Now, it emerges, there may be another dimension to Gus’ story and certainly to the horrors of Abu Ghraib.

Share

Nothing Went According To Plan

As soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division moved into positions around An Najaf two weeks ago, one of their commanders learned that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had just told America that everything was going exactly as planned. Colonel Hodges, the 1st Brigade Commander, laconically replied, “Funny, I don’t remember ever rehearsing the Battle of An Najaf.” The reality is that no one expected that U.S

Share

PAKISTAN: Bhutto’s Sudden, Shabby End

A secret execution inspires revulsion and protest”If I am assassinated on the gallows, there will be turmoil and turbulence, conflict and conflagration.”—A death-cell prediction by former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali BhuttoThe sputter of midnight traffic had given way to the long wait for dawn when the 1,400 inmates of Rawalpindi District Jail began to pray. Imperceptibly at first, their murmur grew as they recited from the Koran; the time for execution was approaching

Share