Headlines from March 15, 2011

Experiment with kids and boxes helps explain why people interpret natural disasters as divine messages.
Q&A on misconceptions of post-disaster counseling, and why putting survivors in therapy immediately is harmful.
U.S. hoping Aristide will remain out of Haiti through election season.
Saif Qaddafi's classmate remembers a well-dressed, lobster-quaffing contradiction.
Somali pirates convicted last year in New York sentenced to life plus 80 in prison; Indian Navy currently ferrying 61 pirates to Mumbai for trial.
India is world's largest arms importer, U.S. is world's largest arms exporter.
What is Facebook without friends? Best tweets from State's ousted spokesman.
Founding Fathers hated slavery, F.D.R. passed the "Hoot-Smalley Tariff," and other historical mistakes made by Michele Bachmann.
Primer on "the unity of value," and Ronald Dworkin's point that ethical and moral values depend on one another.
N.F.L. players urging prospects to boycott draft season; networks preparing for the worst.
Champion runner struggles with dilemma of competing for Morocco, occupier of his home.
Al Qaeda debuts women's magazine with advice on love and skin care.
Libraries want e-books badly; publishers want money badly; negotiations continue.
Pi Day brought out all the Tau Day loonies yesterday.
If you trust data from a sample size of three, sperm whales might have individual names.
Japan's nuclear crisis verges toward catastrophe; "unpalatable options" even if full meltdown is averted.
Sunni vs. Shiite as Iran calls arrival of Saudi troops in Bahrain "unacceptable."
Hitchens: If we do nothing in Libya now, let's be wise and prepare to do something in the near future.
Middle East governments buying off citizens' economic discontent; consequences may be severe.
Op: Don't give money to Japan--give unrestricted funds to NGOs that don't issue appeals for specific emergencies.
Wireless carriers offering free calling and texting to Japan.
Long read: Connectivity is a given in Africa; the near future is all about smartphones and Facebook's zero-rating.
Call to arms: California's earthquake detection system has a long way to go to match Japan's comprehensive network.
Op: Don't buy Newsweek's ring of fire--San Francisco will have quakes, but not simply as a consequence of Japan's.
Monterrey, Mexico's crown urban jewel, poised for economic boom, but violence threatens every step.
Video story: Space shuttle viewed from airplane, and the woodpeckers that halted a rocket launch.
N.F.L. succinctly summarized: "a socialist paradise that happens to bring with it capitalist-size profits."
Contrarian predictions to help win an office NCAA basketball pool--e.g., choose Texas over Kansas.
March Madness book contests proliferate, and TMN is very flattered.
Tom Waits encourages you to mishear things if you want new ideas.