The Janplex Post

Pope Francis Pope Francis, the Catholic Pope, was not shy to air his view on Iraq when confronted on his way from South Korea to Rome by reporters. He told one of the reporters who had asked him whether he would like military action against ISIS in Iraq that some solutions need to be found for the troubled country. The Pope, however, did not say what these solutions might be. Unsatisfied with this vague answer the reporter pressed the Pope for clarity but the Pope said the decision should be made by politicians. This Pope's reaction is unprecedented.  In the past the Pope used to ask for conflicts to be resolved through pacifism - without the use of force - rather than through military force. The question that arises now is what is leading the Pope to shift his ideology for resolving conflicts by pacifism to militarism? Has the Pope too become polarised due to the current persecution of Christian minorities in the middle east by Islamist radicals? Holy See

The acquitting of Mr Bernie Ecclestone, Formula one boss, by German Court of bribery allegations this week came as a surprise to many observers.  Mr Ecclestone was accused of offering bribes to ensure that a company he favours can buy a stake in Formula one.  Before the case was dropped, many observers had thought that he would be punished like his accomplice, Gerhard Gribkowsky , who is currently serving prison term for similar bribery allegation involving $44m.  However, the German prosecutor dropped all the bribery charges against Mr Ecclestone after receiving $100m (one hundred million dollars) settlement payment from him.   Bernie Ecclestone There is no doubt that the German court wanted to prosecute Mr Ecclestone because of the court belief in the rule of law comprising of the notions of equality before the law and similar punishment for similar offences.  However, the decision to accept the $100m settlement payment from Mr Ecclestone and close the bribery case again

The nation of Iraq is on fire currently.  The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is capturing territories after territories in Iraq every day from both the Iraqi and Kurdish forces.   This has led to the death of many innocent civilians predominantly Christians and ethnic minorities and displacement of hundreds of thousands of survivors.   So far the Iraqi and Kurdish forces have failed to stop the ISIS from making further progress and the United States has resisted calls by Iraqi government for it to intervene militarily and help defeat ISIS.   ISIS militants The United States stated that it is not intervening in Iraq because the crisis in Iraq has been orchestrated by Iraqi politicians.  The current Iraqi Prime Minister Al Maliki and his Shiite party have usurped power and marginalized other ethnic groups especially the Sunnis.    The Sunnis feel they have no other options but to support ISIS in the current crisis.  Thus, the United States believes that the only way of

French policies on foreign issues is not clear.  It supports oppressive regimes by supplying them with arms and ammunition.  It also supports human rights activists fighting for freedom and justice.     Can France actually have it both ways? France recently joined other European countries in imposing targeted sanctions on Russia for its support of Ukrainian rebels including supplying the rebels with heavy weapons used to bring down the Malaysia MH17 passenger plane.  However, the country also plans to sell two navy warships to Russia.  This comes amidst oppositions to the warship deal by human rights activists.  French warship destined for Russia France has also shown lack of consistency in its foreign policies in the current Israeli - Palestinian crisis.  As usual the war between Israel and Palestine is raging and Israeli forces have been attacking Hamas targets in Gaza, resulting in the lives of many Palestinian civilians.  During the recent 100 th  anniversary of the e

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the US agency empowered by the United States Constitution to gather intelligence both within and outside of the United States.  It shares such information with other United States agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  Until recently the perception was that the CIA conducts these activities on only a selected few individuals and agencies.  However, recent evidence shows that the extent of CIA activities is wide-scale. CIA spies on millions of people around the world regardless of whether these individuals are involved in criminal activities according to the information leaked by the former CIA computer analyst, Edward Snowden.   It justifies this act by citing the need to preserve national security.  Many people may accept that state intelligence agencies including the CIA can and should spy on them if this will ensure their security.  However, the extent to which this social contract can be implemented is still d

People who have never travelled to France might think that English speakers visiting the country cannot experience serious communication problems with French residents.  France is bordered with England, a native English speaking country.  French people constantly get in contact with English people who visit France for tourism or business.  Despite these, the vast majority of French people cannot or do not like to communicate in English with English speakers. I became aware of this French indifference to English language during my recent visit to France.  On arrival to Lille, France, I tried to find a local cash machine to withdraw some Euros.  The people I approached for one of the machines could not direct me to where I could find one.  It was only after I had left the place and walked for another 7 minutes that I was able to find a person who directed me to a cashpoint. I withdrew some money from the cash machine and bought a train ticket to the French town of Lezennes, wh

Have you ever visited Holland?  Do not worry if the answer is no.  I will bring to you some of the fascinating scenes that will strike your imagination when you visit a Dutch city.  The pictures shown below are taken in the Dutch city of Den Haag.  The ghost streets of Den Haag.  They are empty in the afternoon and look like an abandoned city or a Sunday morning in London, England.  Streets are so clean that you will be forgiven for thinking that they are cleaned every hour.  Are these streets actually cleaned regularly or the city residents tend not to litter the streets?  There are scenes of bicycles chained to cycle rails all over the city.  A visitor to the city might think that these cycles are being displayed for sale just like the way cars are being displayed for sale on the streets. Abandoned cars become a play-ground and nests for birds.  Workers and shoppers on their bikes.  Taxi and private hire business