* White House to reduce the Army and Marine Corps by 10-15% over 10 years; future focus to be on Asia-Pacific. * Illiterate voters make elections difficult in Egypt, but the military's power is a much bigger hurdle, say analysts. * To save the Republican party, the GOP'
* Musician Youssou N'Dour announces Senegal presidential bid. * According to Reuters, Syria has killed 132 people since the Arab League's monitors arrived last week. * Investment banks are run by psychopaths who single-mindedly pursue self-enrichment. * Top economists of 2011 ranked by Google search interest—Krugman, Singh,
* After slim win in Iowa, Romney looks ahead to New Hampshire with great expectations. * Analysis of Putinism—Putin has "neither the capacity nor the ambition to rebuild a Soviet-style hierarchy." * Flashpoints for 2012, and why certain regions can expect conflict. * Guidelines for would-be dictators. * Fencer, fight
* "Unmistakable paradoxes" frame Iowa's Republican primary, mostly to do with mediocre candidates. * On "fan death"—widely held belief that a fan left running overnight in a closed room can cause death. * Jupiter's heart is dissolving. * Terrific summary of a few things we
* Ron Paul believes his chances in Iowa are good, but he doesn't see himself in the Oval Office. * See also: Art gallery floor modified to accomodate very small ship. * Overview of Moscow's new protesters: professionals who want change, not cash. * Lucid, short summary of Christmas violence
As much as 2011 was filled with noteworthy events, it was also littered with meaninglessly overhyped blips that, try as we might, we shouldn't forget. We asked our group of writers and thinkers: What was the least important event of 2011?
We gathered writers and thinkers around the world and asked them to sift through the past year of revolutions, deaths, discoveries, and breakthroughs to answer: What was the most important event of 2011?
Every Friday, starting today: a look back at the week’s headlines, centered on a theme we’ve singled out as particularly important. Sure, another dictator passed, but this week we found ourselves considering income inequality, the poor, and the wealthy. U.S. rated the world’s most charitable country
* The GI Rights Hotline provides free information services to military members confronting confusing policy matters. * Season of Sharing provides one-time grants to Bay Area residents in critical need. * Doctors Without Borders—apolitical, international health organization for a world that still has cholera outbreaks. * The Innocence Project—dedicated to exonerating
* Scientists develop new approach to achieving coldest temperature ever recorded: removing hottest atoms from "optical lattices." * Mexico City to close one of the world's biggest dumps; city has halved its garbage through recycling and composting. * Behind-the-scenes photos of police patrolling New York in the
