‘Fiasco’ Irish Election Offers Silver Lining

‘Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon insisted “wealthy, privileged” people were responsible for the protest campaign, despite polling data indicating a disproportionate number of spoiled votes being cast in disadvantaged areas.’

El Greco – The Adoration of the Name of Jesus (1578–79)

Icons and the Instagrammed Eye

‘In an age dominated by the immediacy of scrolling, the icon insists upon stillness. Where modern images reflect narcissism, icons guide the viewer toward transcendence. The practice of looking reverently at an icon can serve as a powerful antidote to the visual distractions of modernity.’

Taiwan's popularly elected president resides in the Presidential Office Building, Taipei, originally built in the Japanese era for colonial governors.

The Taiwan Conundrum

‘The conundrum, as stated above, is that Taiwan is treated by a great part of the international community as if it were a country of its own.’

Red Terror in the Buda Castle: Violence and Repression During the Hungarian Soviet Republic

‘The events in District I during the Hungarian Soviet Republic give a very good account of how fear, miscommunication, and ideological zeal combined to ignite violence and unrest…From armed requisitions to fatal clashes over religious processions, the communist Council Republic’s heavy-handed responses reveal the fragility of order under a revolutionary dictatorship.’