Munich

If there’s one thing that’s sure to ruin your whole day, it’s being ambushed by masked gunmen and held for political, financial or symbolic ransom. In fact, it’s safe to say that such a situation could ruin your whole week, month or even year, depending on how long your captors are willing to hang on, since most of the time your only hopes are that your kidnappers’ demands actually are met and they decide to honor their agreement (a long shot), that an elite commando team rescues you while managing not to shoot or explode you during the operation (not as easy as the movies make it look), or ...

Ever since their beginnings in ancient Greece, the Olympic Games have been a symbol of peaceful cooperation between nations, mutual respect between political enemies and -- above all -- the celebration of athletic prowess untainted by bribes, cheats or poor sportsmanship. In reality, both today and in ancient Greece, the Olympic Games have been marred by violent conflicts, political one-upsmanship and nearly every form of bribery or doping scandal known to man. While Olympic officials of old knew that the cure to nearly every controversy was a good solid whipping, today’s complex and whip-averse global society must ...