Facebook and Twitter Lead Online Charge Against ISIS

February 29, 2016 by Michael Levy in Volume 3 Issue 20, Amy Elinski

The user agreements of both Facebook and Twitter state that they do not tolerate speech promoting violence or terrorism, and vow to shut down accounts that promote terrorist groups like ISIS. Yet despite the continual efforts of social media platforms to remove the accounts, the platforms continue to serve as primary tools for ISIS.

Oil Crisis or OPEC Crisis?

February 29, 2016 by Michael Levy in Volume 3 Issue 20, Elizabeth Barry

Over the past year and a half, a steady decline in world oil prices has led to the largest international oil market slump in more than a decade.

At market close this past week, Brent Crude, a global benchmark, traded at about $33 per barrel, down 45 percent from last year. The crude oil price per barrel of a U.S. benchmark company was $29.64, nearly half the $50 per barrel price tag that both exporters and consumers find acceptable in the long run.

GOP Debate Highlights

February 22, 2016 by Michael Levy in Volume 3 Issue 19, Alex Klosner

If the 2016 campaign season has been crude and demoralizing, it at least makes for good reality TV. The recent CBS Republican debate in South Carolina provided the candidates with a crucial opportunity to win voters in the South Carolina primary. Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer described the 9th debate as a “thermonuclear war,” referring to the abundance of personal attacks and the overall contentious tone.

Apple Appeals to the Public on Privacy

February 22, 2016 by Michael Levy in Volume 3 Issue 19, Mike Adamo, Dean Ball

As of Sunday, Apple is still resisting the government order that it provide the FBI with a way of bypassing security on terrorist Syed Farook’s iPhone. Wall Street Journal columnist Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. predicts the government will win out in the end, but it seems that Apple has scored the moral victory.

Scalia’s Death Leaves Gap in the Court

February 22, 2016 by Michael Levy in Volume 3 Issue 19, Ryan Glenn

With the death of Justice Antonin Scalia on February 13, we lost an intellectual giant. Scalia (1936-2016) passed away in Texas of natural causes. Appointed by President Reagan in 1986, he served on the Supreme Court for 30 years.

The Rise of Blockchain

February 15, 2016 by Michael Levy in Volume 3 Issue 18, Phil Parkes

Blockchain is slowly but surely stealing the limelight from bitcoin, the controversial cryptocurrency for which it acts as a kind of undercover headquarters. Bitcoin’s proponents, who include the Winklevoss twins of “The Social Network” fame, face an uncertain future as they steer their darling towards greater regulation in the hopes of attracting large-scale investors. Meanwhile blockchain is grabbing attention by continuing the tradition that made bitcoin successful in the first place: freedom.