Most of us grew up having learned childhood “fairy tales” about figures such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. In our innocence, we may have believed them with all our hearts. They filled our young minds with fun and games. We happily “pretended”—and were encouraged to do so by our parents, who loved us and only wanted to make us happy.

Tensions in a resource-rich region of central Asia threaten to disrupt a 25-year ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan.  The two nations signed a treaty after the Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994).  However, in a direct provocation, Azerbaijani troops entered Armenia and killed three out-of-uniform soldiers.  An Armenian military source stated, “The killing is a clear provocation, we have not reacted yet.  I underline: ‘Yet’.”  The “war rumor” has raised concerns in the EU, Russia, and the U.S. due to the critical importance of the region.

Just imagine winning a prize of hundreds of millions of dollars with the only investment being a tiny piece of paper no larger than a book of stamps. This prospect of winning great wealth for just a few bucks, as pathetically remote as it is, often results in a frenzy of activity when the lottery shoots up—a frenzy that fuels itself. Especially huge numbers, such as the 2012 lottery of $640,000,000, grab headlines as wishful thinkers endure lines to purchase tickets hoping to get in on “The Poor Man’s Tax,” no matter the infinitesimal odds of winning.

Recently, a radical Muslim preacher told thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Egypt, “We can see how the dream of the Islamic caliphate is being realized, God willing, by Dr. Mohamed Mursi [the movement’s presidential candidate]... The capital of the caliphate—the capital of the United States of the Arabs—will be Jerusalem, God willing… Our capital shall not be in Cairo, Mecca or Medina… Yes, Jerusalem is our goal. We shall pray in Jerusalem, or die as martyrs on its threshold.”

In the days before modern mass communications, it was the church building or the schoolhouse where most would go to find out the news of what was happening in their communities. News from farther away would come when travelers passed through. It took time for news to travel, so most people were either out of date or entirely ignorant of what was going on in the rest of the world.