Catholics attend a Mass in the government-sanctioned St. Ignatius Cathedral in Shanghai on September 30, 2018. Photo: Johannes Eisele/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images The Vatican announced on Saturday a two-year extension of its provisional agreement with Beijing on Catholic affairs in China. On the same day, Hu Jintao, China’s former Communist Party general secretary (2002-12) and president … Read more
Sic semper tyrannis! A century and a half later, John Wilkes Booth’s delusional cry for self-empowerment has a recognizably modern ring to it. His invocation of the ancient Romans’ condemnation of despots to justify the assassination of history’s greatest democratic leader resonates in contemporary politics. Abraham Lincoln probably did more than anyone else to advance … Read more
President Biden’s Sept. 1 speech in Philadelphia on “unity” is a poignant example of the confusion surrounding the concept of democracy. Mr. Biden declared that MAGA Republicans threaten “the very foundation of our republic.” The phrase a “threat to American democracy” is so common these days that it has almost no meaning—except that it encapsulates … Read more
US President Joe Biden addresses the UN General Assembly’s 77th session at UN headquarters in New York, September 21. Photo: BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS Tokyo I will soon return home from a two-week trade mission to Japan and South Korea, where I gave the keynote address at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity. I also met … Read more
The Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary conglomerate that rents out its combat-savvy operatives to shadowy governments around the world, has recently made itself indispensable to regimes in Africa. But the mercenaries aren’t just a bunch of guns for hire. In Africa, they are perfecting a new form of international operation – a corporate blend of … Read more
The world’s largest democracy will soon become the most populous country on earth. Therefore, the celebration of 75 years of independence brings with it a special responsibility to set global standards for the protection and promotion of individual and collective freedoms. While every Indian will proudly salute the flag when it flies high, the Tricolor … Read more
Editor’s note: In this preview, students will discuss the second amendment. The question was asked and the answers were submitted before Tuesday’s school shooting in Texas. Next week we will ask, “The use of illegal drugs has been a problem for a long time in society. Should America do more about the opioid epidemic? Have … Read more
