Inside Stories

John McCain, center, speaks as Connecticut senator Chris Murphy, second left, and Opposition leader Oleh Tyahnybok, right, stand around him during a rally in Kiev, Ukraine, Dec. 15, 2013. (AP/Dmitry Lovetsky)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Analysis) – Last weekend’s events in Charlottesville have spiked concern among many Americans regarding the resurgence of white supremacist and racist-nationalist groups in the country, a trend that many have asserted is directly tied to Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency. While such groups have long been a part of the U.S.

Ever since the dangerous consequences of natural gas extraction via hydraulic fracturing – popularly known as “fracking” — entered the national consciousness, the small town of Dimock, Pennsylvania has arguably been “ground zero” for water contamination caused by the controversial practice.

GAZA — The Gaza Strip — one of the most densely populated areas in the world and often referred to as an open-air prison — rarely makes headlines nowadays, despite a situation there that is becoming increasingly dire for local Palestinians.

A man watches a television screen showing President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 10, 2017. (AP/Ahn Young-joon)

A Venezuelan protester holds a poster that reads in Spanish “Against Imperialist aggression, respect Venezuela” during a protest outside the National Assembly in Caracas Venezuela. (AP/Howard Yanes)
QUITO (Analysis)– If you’ve been following international news in recent years, you know that two countries, in particular, have served as punching bags for establishment pundits: Venezuela and Syria.

Guamanians protest the use of their land for military exercises and testing. (Photo: Michael Lujan Bevacqua)

Inmates from Sacramento County await processing after arriving at the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, Calif. (AP Photo)
KANSAS (Analysis)– For a nation lauding itself as the “land of the free,” the United States certainly maintains a remarkable number of laws criminalizing activities most would consider part of their daily lives. From kids penalized for setting up a lemonade stand to the prohibition of cannabis, seemingly everything Americans do has attached to it a law, license, permit, or regulation, as well as a consequent penalty.

A Kurdistan separatist fighter waits at his position near Degala, Iraq. Oct. 16, 1996 during fighting between rival Kurdish factions. (AP/Burhan Ozbilici)