Foreign Intelligence Briefs

There is more to life than Vancouver, you know (but not much more). FIB looks at the myriad newsworthy things that interest us from over the mountains, across our shores and far away.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Watch Italy’s Mayors Furiously Admonish Their Own Citizens for Ignoring Calls to Stay Home

At the time of writing (March 30th, 2020), the death toll in Italy is over 10,000 -- now the highest in the world.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Distilleries are Starting to Make Hand Sanitizer for the Most Vulnerable in Their Communities

Hand sanitizer scarcity is stressing people out, and since stress weakens the immune system, it's a problem that needs solving fast.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs / Japan

How Japan Recovered After the Devastating 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

Nine years ago this week the island nation of Japan suffered the devastating T?hoku earthquake and tsunami.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

How Some Japanese Are Trying to Stay Social While ‘Social Distancing’

The practice is called On-nomi, or 'drinking on[line]'. "It's the touchless, pathogen-free gathering of the immediate future."

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

This Dude (Technically) Held the Office of the American President for Just One Day

A unique set of circumstances may have elevated David Rice Atchison to the Office of the US President for a single day in 1849.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Wuhan Timelapse Shows Special Hospital Built by Small Army in Eight Days

Wuhan has become ghost town since the coronavirus scare rose to Threat Level: Freak Out. Not everyone is on lockdown, however.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

In a Remote Part of Turkey, This ‘Bird Language’ Is Whistled Rather Than Spoken

"It’s a language called ku? dili that is still used to this day, though fewer people are learning it in the age of the cell phone."

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

That Time a Real Estate Developer Scammed Investors With an Extra Apostrophe

According to widespread local legend, duped investors they thought they were investing in a 480 foot high skyscraper...

Foreign Intelligence Briefs / Japan

‘Osaka Power’ Lights Up Japan’s Second-Largest City

This wonderful, fast-moving short film from Christoph Gelep brilliantly captures two sides of the bustling Japanese city of Osaka.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Understanding the Controversial Rise of Chick-Fil-A

This explainer from CNBC details the ascension of the American fast food company with the famous chicken sandwich.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

These Germans Swam to Freedom Instead of Climbing Over the Berlin Wall

It's been 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and we never knew that there was an alternative to braving the "death strip".

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Security Robots Are Now a Thing in San Francisco. How Long Before They’re in Vancouver?

The Knightscope K5 acts as a mobile robotic security guard with a slew of built-in sensors to help it patrol and monitor an area.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

How Small Teams of Protestors Are Quickly Dealing With Tear Gas in Hong Kong

With sweet moves like this it looks like these guys are just starting to hit their stride. Respect!

Foreign Intelligence Briefs / Japan

Exploring Nagatani, the Abandoned Japanese Village Found Frozen in Time

A videographer recently explored Nagatani Village in central Japan. The abandoned hamlet was once home to about 70 people.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

What the Authorities Do With All the Smuggled Contraband Food They Find at JFK Airport

"Why did that nosy dog in New York steal the truffle sausages from my suitcase? What, pray, will become of their deliciousness?"

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

What Would Happen if We Attempted to Terraform the Sahara Desert?

Though it would appear to help slow climate change, there's a good chance it would create more problems than it would solve.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Bolivian Ad Campaign Trades Shrimp For Pork in Remake of ‘Forrest Gump’ Scene

To imprint a message about the diversity of pork preparations, Bolivian creative agency Athos channeled the shrimp-obsessed Bubba...

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Volkswagen Van Driven Out of the Alpine Forest It Was Lost in 40 Years Ago

A VW enthusiast hears of a 1955 VW van lost in the mountains and sets about resurrecting it from its woody resting place.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Residents of Small American Town Dramatically Read Local Police Reports

This short film gives us a glimpse of Port Townsend's darker side, where women eat sandwiches and men cover themselves with flowers...

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

New Ad for The New York Times Shows What It Sometimes Takes to Break a Big Story

"The Truth is Worth It: Fearlessness" is of the better advertisements for a news media company that we've ever seen...

Foreign Intelligence Briefs / California

Why Trees Can Only Grow So Tall Even If They Live to Be Thousands of Years Old

California's famous sequoia trees have been known to grow to heights over 130 metres, but they are hamstrung by fascinating limitations.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Restaurant Named After Pablo Escobar Offers Burger Topped With Line of Fake Cocaine

Pablo's Escoburgers in Melbourne, Australia takes the cake when it comes to offending sensitivities...

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Floating Among, Around and Over the Public Housing Towers of Hong Kong

In filmmaker Toby Harriman's 'The Block Tower', the camera takes us on a trip through the Chinese city's forest of architectural ubiquity.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Visualising Every US Numbered Highway System Mapped in Numerical Order

Watch the contiguous USA slowly revealed as the labyrinthine network of numbered highways grows out of the eastern seaboard.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Let ‘Head in the Clouds’ Take You Above the Majestic Karst Towers of Guilin

Filmmaker/drone pilot Ivan Bondarenko flew his Mavic Pro around the stunning limestone hills of Guilin, China to make this short film.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Three Orca Whales Get Up Close and Personal With a Kiwi Swimmer

Dylan Brayshaw was flying a drone over a New Zealand beach when he spotted three orcas introducing themselves to a lone woman.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Hotel Chain Offers New Babysitting Service For Guests’ Instagram Accounts

All November, Ibis hotels in Zurich and Geneva have been leasing 'social media sitters' to their guests, who post on their behalf.

Foreign Intelligence Briefs

Why Urban East Sides Are Often Poorer Than West Sides

We don't think this applies to Vancouver's geography, but it's nevertheless an interesting (and quickly explained) hypothesis.