Author: Brendan Barry

  • In the World of Damnit, Man

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    Brendan Barry
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    If you haven’t heard, there is a fairly significant outbreak of Ebola occurring in western Africa these days. The most attention has been drawn since the death of an American national in Nigeria. He had been working for the Liberian government and collapsed at the Lagos airport and died shortly thereafter. So the Centers for…

  • The Silk Road, Respun

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today’s piece comes from the South China Morning Post. It looks at the Chinese government’s efforts to connect China to trade partners via a maritime route. This is conjunction with efforts to build a railway intended to connect Europe and China via Russia. Credit for the piece goes to Lau Ka-kuen.

  • Loaning Art

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    Brendan Barry
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    Two weekends ago I visited the Magritte exhibit currently showing here in Chicago. While I would love to share photographs of some of my favourite works, I cannot. The museum staff was clear that part of the rules for exhibiting loaned work was the prohibition of photography. So that prompted me to wonder how often…

  • How History Repeats

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    Brendan Barry
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    This week starts with a several-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip—though as I write this I am reading reports of a strike in Gaza City. So as those who can remember a few years back might recall, these sorts of Israeli–Palestinian conflicts take a certain, almost prescribed course. The New York Times today charts the…

  • The Curse(s) of the CEOs

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    Brendan Barry
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    It’s Friday, so we should try to take things a bit lighter. For me that usually means knocking back a drink or two and a swear-y exultation about it being the end of the work week. But, it turns out, I’m just trying to emulate our captains of industry. Bloomberg has gone through company conference…

  • Casualties in Palestine and Israel

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    Brendan Barry
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    Yesterday I mentioned the cost of the conflict in and around Gaza and we looked at a map of damage. Today, we look at a daily-updated graphic from the Washington Post that counts the human cost—the number of dead. Credit for the piece goes to Lazaro Gamio and Richard Johnson.

  • Devastation in Gaza

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    Brendan Barry
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    I have done quite a fair bit of coverage on Ukraine. It is a terrible story, but I have also been personally interested in Eastern Europe for awhile. But Ukraine is not the only story in the world, we have seen Gaza erupt in flames. But with the recent, temporary ceasefire, we have been able…

  • Artillery Strikes in Donetsk

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today’s piece will not likely be the most readable for myself or most of you, my audience. But it is an interesting look at how technology can change the understanding of a modern battlefield for non-combatants. This is a map of Donetsk, Ukraine—the focus of Kiev’s efforts to defeat separatists in eastern Ukraine. The map…

  • Big Mac Index

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    Brendan Barry
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    For years, the Big Mac Index from the Economist has been a standard of sorts for examining differences in currencies across the world. Well now we have an online, interactive version of the index. Credit for the piece goes to the Economist’s graphics department.

  • What if Britain Had Won?

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    Brendan Barry
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    A few weeks ago, one of my coworkers, sent me a link to a Newcastle Ale campaign video asking what would America be like if Britain had won the Revolutionary War. Anybody who knows me really well knows I am an Anglophile. I say mobile instead of cell phone, from time to time I switch…