When Howard “Pappy” Mason made bail, he formed an imaginary gun with his thumb and index finger, turned to the prosecutor and pulled the trigger. Which must have been worrisome, given that Pappy had just been freed by a hung jury in a murder trial in which he was accused of killing Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols’ parole officer. The supposed motive? The parole officer had dared to send Nichols back to prison.

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- "Gusto kong manalo ulit eh (Because I want to win again)," shot Normando “Andy” Bragat Punzalan, a Fil-Am winner of the 7th Annual World Open Chess Under1800, explaining why he kept himself busy practicing in Elmhurst every day since April.

On the coffee farms that hug Vietnam’s lush Lang Biang Mountain, there’s not a bearded hipster or Starbucks addict in sight. Rolan Co Lieng, who hails from the remote tribal minorities of the highlands, brews my cup of coffee from beans fresh off the tree, handpicked with the same tenderness with which you would caress a baby. The sweet, silky smooth Bourbon Arabica coffee I’m drinking — or, rather, guzzling with gusto — is her labor of love. I make the mistake of asking for sugar. That’s sacrilege, says Co Lieng.

Walk down the streets of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa these days and don’t be surprised if you hear certain pleasantries from taxi drivers and vendors: Ni hao, sayonara and hwan-yeong are all becoming increasingly common. More Chinese, Japanese and Korean workers are coming into this strategic area as they begin to camp out far from home for the first time with permanent military facilities.

Rivals at home, where some of their East Asian governments act like enemies, they’re working together a lot better here. This presents the United States, still the dominant foreign military power in the region, with enticing possibilities. “The potential for cooperation is huge and we are just now scratching the surface,” says Army Lt. Col. Jason Nicholson, who has served at several African embassies and at the U.S. Africa Command.

He said to them, "Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." 

-- LUKE 20:25

By Alex P. Vidal 

NEW YORK CITY -- “Caesar and Christ” is Part III of Dr. Will Durant’s monumental survey of world history. 

The work on “The Story of Civilization” originated in 1914 w1hen Dr. Durant first began to collect material. Fame–with “The Story of Philosophy” -- lay a dozen years ahead.

There was a monster in their midst. After Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a suicide bomb at an Ariana Grande concert on Monday, killing 22 people and injuring 64, British officials questioned whether he was working alone.