Politics & Current Affairs

Here are all of the arguments against Edward Snowden. This is why they are wrong.

The vast majority of New Year’s resolutions, by some counts 88 percent, fail. Without a mechanism to encourage compliance, without some self-conniving, the natural tendency you have not to comply with your resolution (which is why you need to “resolve” to do it in the first place) will almost always win out. 

Members and supporters of the hacktivist group are participating in Million Mask March protests around the world today (Nov. 5) to “defend humanity” from unjust corporations and governments. 

A new report warns that a quarter of the world’s food crops are being grown in areas that are already experiencing high levels of water stress. Increases in drought conditions and population size could make the situation worse.

In 2012, demand exceeded supply by 300 million cases, a number Morgan Stanley analysts say is “the deepest shortfall in over 40 years of records.”

Tech-savvy, hard-working people, says Tyler Cowen in his book Average is Over, have a lot to gain in the new economy. The rest of us? Not so much.  

Although Saturday’s (Oct. 26) planned protest was partially thwarted by a heavy police presence, activists are encouraging women to continue driving — and to post the proof online — in defiance of culturally-imposed restrictions.

Now that a prototype of a crew capsule has been built and is ready for testing, it’s still not clear how the US’ next manned spacecraft will be used.

There’s no simple answer. Recently in the New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert gave us an evenhanded review of two conflicting perspectives on population levels, offering a sobering assessment of our near […]

When rats were given a choice between rice cakes, Oreos, cocaine, and morphine, the rice cakes lost handily. However, brain activity showed that in the battle between cookies and drugs, the cookies won.

Law texts that include online citations are less effective if the Web sites they link to no longer exist. That’s why over 20 law schools are getting together to create Perma CC, a site that will preserve those links forever.

The planned replacement of the city’s famous gas-powered streetlamps with more efficient LED versions is being met with swift objections from locals as well as the World Monument Fund, which put them on its watch list this month.

A pilot study involving teenage girls at three UK schools found that those who took a six-lesson course on body image had “significant effects” on their self-esteem.

Both are being exacerbated by climate change, but the threat to civilization caused by drought is more immediate, with one study suggesting that it may have influenced current Middle East unrest.

Many Americans seem to hold on to a romanticized portrait of Columbus even when they are exposed to his dark side.

A special issue of Climatic Change, published this month, places focus on how traditional knowledge from native tribes can help scientists develop better adaptation strategies.

For those who want their minor indiscretions to go away (somewhat), probably. However, writer Mathew Ingram worries that Google’s actions could put other sites in danger.

A small but growing group of atheists is working with an NGO that is introducing multidenominational education in a country where over 90 percent of schools are Catholic.

If you’re trying to win a skeptic over to your side, direct and sustained eye contact can work against you, according to new research.

Please read poll numbers purporting to explain how people feel about Obamacare with a grain of salt. Most Americans really don’t have a clue what it does.

By not being in the same time zone as its neighbors, Spaniards are suffering issues ranging from low worker productivity to a persistent feeling of jet-lag brought on by not enough sleep.

Officials in the Chinese city have put out an appeal to help them correct signs containing clumsy English translations. It’s part of a greater initiative designed to entice more foreigners to move to the area.

Since 2011, the London agency has employed a team of “super-recognizers” who have an exceptional memory for faces. Despite their success, legal experts say their use could raise questions about what’s considered allowable testimony in court.

Released today (Sept. 27) after an all-night session, the summary document of the UN panel’s forthcoming report declares that the proof of climate change is “unequivocal” and that human activity is “extremely likely” to be at fault.

The signs, some of which will contains messages like “It can wait,” will direct drivers to one of 91 already-existing rest stops and parking areas in the hopes of combating texting while driving.

Sorry, Honey Boo Boo: The French government moved one step closer to restricting pageant participation to contestants aged 16 and over, citing concerns about hypersexualization of young girls.

Without the “fresh” message of salvation and God’s love front-and-center, Catholics worldwide will continue to leave the flock.

Vienna’s use of “gender mainstreaming” — which takes the different experiences of men and women into account when making public policy decisions — has helped to make the city more livable and accessible for everyone.

The city of Utrecht will embark on a study involving a small group of mentally ill addicts and a variant of marijuana that’s said to have anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic properties.  

Documents retrieved from the Edward Snowden archive reveal that in addition to all the other spy tricks it can do, the agency can collect data from most smartphones, including the famously “surveillance-proof” Blackberry.