Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

AQAP in Sa’dah

Last week, before all the craziness, I asked whatever happened to Ali Muhammad al-Hisam, the kidnapped deputy director of political security, whom AQAP had threatened to execute in 48 hours if two of its operatives weren’t released.

Today, there is a bit of news, or at least some speculation about news, and it is not good. An unnamed security official in Sa’dah is publicly speculating that AQAP is about to carry out its plan to execute al-Hisam within the next 24 hours.

Ancient bust of a bearded man, believed to depict one of history's generous leaders, with detailed facial features, set against a plain turquoise background.

Business

Aristotle plus generosity: How to soften the hard-boiled leader

Tough and cutthroat leaders are celebrated in a results-driven culture — but there is another path to C-suite success.

Starts With A Bang

The unsurprising non-detection of intelligent aliens

Life arose on Earth very early on. After a few billion years, here we are: intelligent and technologically advanced. Where's everyone else?

A person in a dark robe wielding a glowing red lightsaber on a desert dune under a night sky with a large crescent moon and a visible planet.

High Culture

Does science fiction shape the future?

Six visionary science fiction authors on the social impact of their work.

A human brain preserved in a clear glass container filled with a yellowish preserving fluid, set against a bright, light green background.

13.8

The key problem with the “brain in a vat” thought experiment

Even with the best technology imaginable, you'd probably never be able to exist as a consciously aware brain in a vat.

A dramatic solar eclipse with a radiant ring of fire visible around the moon, set against a backdrop of clouds and a sunburst.

13.8

A cosmic coincidence: What eclipses tell us about Earth

Total eclipses are a product of a strange and almost eerie cosmic coincidence — one that makes Earth an even rarer world in the galaxy and, by proxy, in the Universe.

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Guest Thinkers

Tuesday Papers: or Al-Qaeda sentencing guidelines

Al-Sharq al-Awsat and al-Quds al-Arabi both devote their coverage of Yemen to yesterday’s death sentence handed down to the six al-Qaeda suspects. Following the sentencing it seems as though the […]