* Burma releases 651 high-profile political prisoners, U.S. rewards and praises the reforms. * Eight-year-old girl from isolated tribe burnt alive by Amazon loggers as warning to natives. * The case against assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists: It increases the chance of a nuclear Iran. * How food aid undermines Haitian
* Spate of self-immolations reported in Tunisia; at least 107 people set themselves ablaze in the first half of 2011. * Putin is too busy to debate; he is not too busy to pet leopards, curl, or sing jazz for Kevin Costner. * Pop business article says flux is the future; consumers
Every Friday we take a look back at the week’s headlines, centering on a theme we’ve singled out as particularly important. This week, when we weren’t trying to find ourselves, we were just getting lost; psychologists were having a field day. The words of Kevin Fanning came
* Advice to the U.S. as it works to increase the value of China's currency: Be careful what you wish for. * After his iPhone halted the New York Philharmonic this week, "Patron X" comes forward for an interview, apologizes. * In 1955, an all-black youth baseball
* Following protest where ultra-Orthodox Jews wore yellow stars, Israel to ban Third Reich symbols and "Nazi." * Danish school to Nordic-ize Masai diet of blood, blood-porridge, milk, and beer. * Signs of the ultimate sale in Osaka. * Labor and ingredient costs put Hostess cupcakes in the red.
* For the first time since 1965, last year homicide was not one of the nation's top 15 causes of death. * A new survey shows income inequality—more than racial friction—is now the greatest source of tension in the U.S. * Israel believed to be behind the covert
* "Each day, hundreds of schoolchildren appear before courts in Texas," and other repercussions of having police in schools. * Fukuyama on Europeans dealing with immigration. * New volcanic island appears in the Red Sea almost overnight and continues growing. * Bauhaus school "forged new boundaries in the art and design
* Beyond closing Gitmo, it's time to return Guantánamo to Cuba, where imperialism has reigned since 1901. * Gitmo's most controversial prisoners. * Rampant nuclear proliferation and trigger-happy hotspots push the Doomsday Clock ahead another minute. * The design evolution of Google Maps. * The current rush to build skyscrapers
* Violence escalates in Syria; Al-Assad blames foreign powers, Arab critics, and "60 televisions stations." * Wonkette on our new "Consumer Chief." * Switzerland's Libyan nightmare is over; Hannibal Gadhafi, terrorizer of hotels, is believed to be in Algeria. * Krugman reconsiders Japan—responding to our own
* Western sanctions are ravaging Iran's currency and economy, though the next step—limiting oil exports—may backfire. * Ahmadinejad's Latin American excursion appears fruitless—few allies remain, Chávez's usefulness has waned. * Ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, Rio tries to wrangle control
