Mattel was started by Matt Matson and Elliot and Ruth Handler in 1945, manufacturing doll house furniture out of old picture frames. Their initial investment was some shop equipment which they purchased from Sears on installment. Mattel has had many popular toys over the years, but it was the Barbie doll which made it the industry standard in toy making.
Photo by toivanvr 2. He Ran the City of St. Petersburg Like a Mafia Boss Once the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Putin had to return to his native city of Leningrad. The collapse of the Soviet system forced him to resign from the KGB and seek his fortunes elsewhere. As an opportunist and a…
Keith Farrell The downing of Malaysian Airlines flight 17 has raised tensions that seemed to be cooling between Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the West. Western leaders have threatened to levy additional sanctions against the Russian economy as finger pointing over the incident continues. The West has joined together to decide just how to punish Russia,…
Photo by Mike McHolm 2. Split and Dubrovnik, Croatia The second-largest city in Croatia, Split is a great place to see Dalmatian life as it’s really lived. Always buzzing, this exuberant city has just the right balance of tradition and modernity. Step inside Diocletian’s Palace (a Unesco World Heritage site and one of the world’s…
Photo by Sev! But its citizens have always been educated to see themselves as more than this: not just the fortunate residents of a lucky country but bearers of an eternal truth – a model for the world of how men should live. The United States was the embodiment of the Enlightenment concept of natural…
One frequently cited example of how the U.S. can turn around its image in a difficult environment is humanitarian missions abroad.
Photo by Christmas w/a K 2. We Share the Same Values, Lifestyles, and Culture “Children of a Common Mother” is a famous inscription on the Peace Arch monument situated on the US-Canada border, between Washington state and the province of British Columbia. The other side of the monument has another inscription which reads “Brethren, dwelling…