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Photo: Maxim Shemetov Last week President Vladimir Putin signed into law a ban on adoptions of Russian children by American citizens. The law sought to retaliate for the recently enacted American Magnitsky law, which banned the Russian officials deemed responsible for Sergei Magnitsky’s death from entering the United States or owning property and other assets in the country. The Russian ban on adoptions has created a firestorm of diplomatic ruptures internationally and a web of devastated famil

As 2012 comes to an end, we're all scrambling to nationally recollect the top ten events of 2012. Yes, there were the London Olympics, the Giants winning the World Series and a myriad of other sporting events, plus a long-awaited royal wedding. But both international and domestic politics reigned the airwaves, dominated conversations, and were tweeted millions of times over. Ready or not, here are the top ten events of 2012, in no particular order: 10. Unsurprisingly, more money was spent in th

Privacy rights on social networking sites remain contentious for platforms and their users, and have become increasingly pertinent for employers to address. Starting January 1, it will be illegal for an employer to request access to an employee or job applicant's social media user names and passwords in the state of California. Signed earlier this year, Assembly Bill 1844 reads: "This bill would prohibit an employer from requiring or requesting an employee or applicant for employment to disclos

Photo: ilga.org On December 11, 2012, Uruguay's House overwhelmingly voted to approve marriage equality in the country. The Senate was scheduled to vote on the bill on December 26, and commentators widely expected the chamber to easily pass the legislation. However, at the last minute, opponents of the bill asked for a postponement on the vote to allow for more public debate. President José Mujica has said he will sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches his desk. If the law moves forward

Joshua Keating, journalist at Foreign Policy, recently published a series of articles on the stories that have been ignored by the media in 2012. These things will likely have influence on events around the world in 2013 as well. Rising tensions between United Arab Emirates and Iran in the Persian Gulf The dispute concerns the island of Abu Musa, a small island in the Persian Gulf. The UAE has sovereignty over the island, but Iran stationed troops there following an agreement made in the 1970s

As reports slowly trickle in disclosing the money spent the week leading up to 2012’s presidential election, the identities of the spenders are coming into focus. Yet, even the most avid researcher won’t see the whole picture given current campaign finance disclosure requirements. California Senate Bill 52 was introduced yesterday in response to $11 million that was allegedly laundered through nonprofit organizations in Arizona to affect California propositions 30 and 32. According to the Fair

Credit: www.ed.gov Illinois, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, and Wisconsin will get a share of the 2012 Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge, a $133 million grant fund to enhance superiority and expand access to education programs throughout those states. The five finalists join the nine existing state grantees who secured first-round funding last year. Arne Duncan, the US Secretary of Education, said that every child is worthy of the lasting benefits of a high-class learning program: "Than

Today is the first day that same-sex couples are allowed to get married in the state of Washington.  The legislation permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Chris Gregoire on February 13, 2012, but it was stayed pending a vote of the people.  In every instance of same-sex marriage going to the vote of the people, it had been voted down.  But the general election of 2012 would turn out to be more interesting than all the years prior. Washington

Todd Krasovetz's "Girl and a Martini Glass" Todd Krasovetz is one extremely busy individual. He is a painter of abstract and "military art," a father, husband, businessman, and an all around San Diegan (a resident of Shelter Island). In the realm of "military art," Krasovetz has had one of his paintings set in Lifetime's television show Army Wives, as well as a piece commissioned by the Walter Reid Military Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Though Krasovetz is known for his military art work, he

In less than a year, IVN has become a national platform and outlet for news and information built specifically for independent-minded people. In that time, the IVN community has grown to over 28,000 Facebook Fans, almost 4,000 Twitter followers, and over 200 individuals and independent contributors from all over the political and geographic maps. And during the week of the election, over 600,000 people visited IVN. As a member of the IVN community, we want to thank you all for your support and