How It’s Like When a Journalist Does His Homework

Inside the International Court of Justice

So we should be expecting to hear from the ICJ within four to six months.

How Bad is America's Gun Problem?

Fighter Jets Have Their Own Body Language

NATO F-16 buzzes the plane that was carrying the Russian Defense Minister over the Baltic Sea. Soon after an Su-27 comes in the middle and shows what it has under its wings. The NATO plane then flies away.

This comes after renewed tensions in Syria.

Terror Attack Ends Election Campaign A Day Earlier

For at least three of the four main candidates says the BBC. There were two major attacks during the last American Presidential election campaign: the December 2015 San Bernardino shooting where fourteen people died and the Orlando nightclub attack which claimed the lives of 49 people and happened a few months before Uncle Sam voted.

America Elects World's Most Powerful Man Today

And the race is quite tight. Although Sandy helped Barack Obama get Mayor Bloomberg's endorsement. Colin Powell will also be voting for the Democrat candidate just like he did four years ago. The economy seemed to be doing better after eight years of irresponsible policies by W. which killed 9 million jobs.

The New Yorker has issued its voting recommendations. Americans are grappling with broadly the same issues that we are confronting here in Dodoland.

Go Barack! Go!

Humanity Experiences Biggest Blackout

Am sure you heard about failing grids leaving as many as 650 million Indians -- that's almost 10% of humanity -- without electricity on the last day of July. Which have prompted businessmen to ask government to put this type of infrastructure show-stopper on the front burner. This won't hurt establishing a manufacturing base it could use to pull millions out of poverty writes the New York Times. But not getting enough rain this year didn't help to produce a more comfortable level of energy.

Indian electricity is not the only one at the mercy of nature. Power plants in America too are being affected by less water than usual.

Finally, here is a nice list of the worst blackouts. The previous record was 100 million people in Indonesia in 2005.

How US Presidents Are Elected

Do you know how it's done? If  you do, you don't have to watch this simple clip. Interesting. 

US Loses Triple-A Rating

Indeed S&P lowered Uncle Sam's credits to AA+ citing reduced predictability of US policy-making and debt-levels dynamics that don't look too good. A lower-rating means higher interest rates must be paid for investors to purchase American debt. It also means a higher likelihood of default.

I wonder what are the recommendations of the toxic bean-counting duet for the United States: a flat-tax plus focus on the doing business rankings?

US To Vote on Debt Deal Hours Before Going into Default

The vote is due anytime now. But the intriguing possibility of Uncle Sam defaulting has eroded, albeit slightly, the safe haven status of American T-bills.

Make sure to check the interesting interactive graphic of the New York Times to find out how US debt progressed under different administrations. The Economist summed it as essentially the product of two tax-cuts, two wars and one stimulus package.

WikiLeaks Reveal Purpose of Marine Park in BIOT

And that's to make it more difficult if not impossible for Chagossians to go back home. The UK is essentially saying that fishes and bombs have rights but natives don't.