China could be on the cusp of a new movement that markedly improves the lives of its workers, but the country is at an incredibly fragile moment, explains Leo Hindery, Jr.
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Bernhard Zand explains why a “frustrated Ankara is turning away from the West and looking east toward Hamas and Iran.”
Research shows good luck superstitions can beneficially affect performance. How? They increase our confidence, explains Lin Edwards.
Most Keynesian economics makes good sense to Tyler Cowen but he has to admit that the principles adhered to in Germany might actually be better than the Keynesian alternatives.
Education, not just sport, has become big business, says Mitch Adams amid the decision to levy heavy sanctions on the University of Southern California’s Athletic Department.
Don’t confuse the international confrontation between Islam and the West with the local problem of absorbing Muslims into European societies, says “Infidel” author Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Boston, Amritsar, Derry; names of places and events that the British Army would rather forget. For although the events that occurred in these places span the centuries, they have one […]
Many of us are addicted to Starbucks, but as any European will attest, it’s not because the coffee is delicious. We like the routine of the morning caffeine jolt, the […]
This past week, Thomas Kinkade, famed “Painter of Light,” found himself behind bars after an arrest based on suspicion of drunken driving (mugshot shown). That sad episode came on the […]
This is inimitable Harper’s: contrasting the unbearable lightness of a medium (in this case, chat) with the often sublime depth of its subject (here, terror). One of the June issue’s […]
As the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico enters its third month, a variety of efforts to stop the flow of oil have come and gone, all inspiring governments […]
Solar Impulse, a Swiss venture launched by explorer/innovator/engineer/psychologist/businessmen Betrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, is shooting beyond the moon and aiming for the sun. Their mission: build a solar aircraft that […]
“In fact, it is often stated that of all the theories proposed in this century, the silliest is quantum theory. Some say that the only thing that quantum theory has […]
“I prefer fiction because in fiction I do whatever I want,” says Chilean-American author Isabel Allende, who has published 18 books of fiction, non-fiction and memoirs over the past three […]
“Why do males of some species attend to their offspring prolongedly, while others tend to spring off post-coitally?” asks Natalie Angier. The answer may relate to the varying social role of infants.
It is an event with which I am slightly ashamed—and even the excuse that it happened over twenty years ago and that I was only a bit player does not […]
“The poor need not always be with us. That goal can be achieved if we ensure that workers are paid enough to feed their families,” says The L.A. Times, whose city has pioneered legislation on the living wage.
Charles Krauthammer disputes the Obama administration’s claims that Iran is more isolated in the world. Russia, China, Brazil and Turkey have all sought to assist Iran with its energy ambitions.
“Researchers determined that the lunar water likely originated early in the moon’s formation history, suggesting that it is, in fact, native to the moon,” reports the Christian Science Monitor.
Although this week is Homeopathy Awareness Week, Edzard Ernst at The Guardian finds the medical practice more threatened than ever as scientific establishments attack its medicinal claims.
By all officials estimates, the Earth’s population is scheduled to grow rapidly during the coming decades, but this long-term problem ill-suits short term political careers, says The Independent.
Skeptic Michael Shermer thinks we deceive ourselves because “we did not evolve a baloney-detection device in our brains to discriminate between true and false patterns.”
Contrary to popular belief, high crop yields created by industrialized farming have greatly slowed global warming by preventing deforestation for new farmland, says a new study from the Carnegie Institution.
“Fossilized corals and lasers beamed at a receding moon have revealed that over the ages the length of time it takes Earth to spin once on its axis has increased significantly.”
More legislative oversight is needed to control the unofficial expansion of the U.S. forensic DNA database to ensure that innocent citizens are not unfairly implicated in crimes, says Slate.com.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation today released over two thousand pages of its files on former U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, who died last year after a battle with brain cancer. […]
Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly has served as a style icon for decades, but the subtle complexities of Truman Capote’s heroine are less discussed. Today’s Times review of Sam Wasson’s new […]
Toddlers in tiaras are so passe. Poodle pageants are this season’s hot new reality phenom. Extreme Poodles premiered on TLC yesterday. This is no ordinary dog show. We’re talking poodle […]
Against-the-grain linguist Guy Deutscher thinks that language isn’t completely a product of nature, but that it influences how we perceive the world and, in turn, how we express it.
“A Japanese space probe has landed in the Australian outback after a seven-year voyage to an asteroid, safely returning a capsule containing a unique sample of dust,” says Reuters.