* Western governments shy about defending human rights; liberty declined for the fifth year in a row. * Long-term cost of detainee abuse: Now torturers can say, "But you torture too." * Rick Perry rumbled for trashing North Carolina BBQ. * Jenny Diski not shy in analyzing published "happiness project.
* For every step forward Bulgaria makes to shed its Communist past, the old guard is right there, refusing to let go. * Conservatives latch onto Gibson Guitar illegal wood raid as an example of big government hurting U.S. businesses. * Nicholas Feltron, designer and analyzer of self-collected data, credited with
* Trader who spun tales of greed on the BBC perhaps too honestly found to be the real deal. * Confessions of a Virginia executioner. * Greeks possess "what social scientists call very low 'tax morale.'" * EasyJet's founder to launch new low-cost competitor, FastJet. * California to
* New Zambian president, calling Chinese investors "infesters," wants migrant workers expelled. * Data since 2008 shows steady downward trend in New Yorkers consuming cocaine. * When Kerouac met Kesey, as told by their agent. * Politicians should fear cartoons before editorials—they're much more vicious. * Scientists say four or
* Reporter who first interviewed Dubya 25 years ago returns for another look. * Putin to soon resume being president. * U.S. crime continues dropping, even—in fact, especially—in states hardest hit by the recession/depression. * Everyone in the Radiohead demographic hates Ticketmaster so much right now. * Chàvez as Twitter beast—
* Women to receive the right to vote in Saudi Arabia. * Andrew Sullivan and former airman Keith Boyea on how Bush-Cheney shattered their worldview. * Kristof interviews Ahmadinejad. * Surgeon Gawande on having a coach--something he never considered for his operating room, until he did. * NYPD mum on using mace against
* Putin to run for president with Medvedev stepping aside—decade of consolidating power will secure him to 2024. * No votes on Palestinian statehood: U.S., Canada, Israel, Micronesia—planned negotiations will be more fruitful. * A Palestinian state will exist as opposite of Kosovo: potentially enjoying UN recognition but lacking sovereign
* Texas ends special last meal requests for death row inmates. * Root causes of the London riots. * One day, brain scanners could reconstruct your dreams. * New Yorkers: Next Monday and Tuesday John Warner will be reading from his new book The Funny Man. * Related: Read an excerpt from The Funny Man.
* China estimated to execute as many people in three days as U.S. does in a year. * Survivor of 9/11 revenge killing spree, shot in the face, tried to stop killer's execution. * People interested in changing the world have to be looking towards the future and are
* Scientist argues dyslexia is not a handicap, but a different kind of wiring with hidden strengths. * Ahead of the Nobel Prize award announcements, Thomson Reuters issues its annual prediction of the winners. * Another predication: America will have its first trillionaire in 98 years, give or take. * There's still
