* "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
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
* Fourteen coordinated blasts kill at least 63 during Baghdad rush hour, injure around 185. * Death toll from last week's massive flash flooding in two southern Philippine cities tops 1,000. * Tropical Storm Washi in pictures. * China says Christian Bale should be embarrassed; critics say director Zhang continues to
* Mexican cartels and Colombian cocaine suppliers drawn to Costa Rica's openness to outsiders. * Chart finds poverty continuing to fall in Latin America. * Wendy’s to overtake Burger King as America's second-largest fast-food chain in sales—first shuffle in the top trio since 1969. * A
* Mass mourning in North Korea closely mirrors scenes that came out in 1994, when Kim il-Sung died. * North Koreans' hysteria over Kim Jong-il's death recall ancient Greeks' violent grief. * Kim Jong-il dropping the bass with Daft Punk, Huoratron, Skrillex, etc. * Related: Shufflin'
* U.S. rated the world's most charitable country in 2011. * Mark Thoma demonstrates with a simple game why the great economic divide makes everyone poorer. * Lehrer: Our theories about cause and effect are inherently perceptual, infected by all the sensory cheats of vision. * "A slice of soapsuds
* Retired general says Egyptian protesters "deserve to be thrown into Hitler’s ovens.” * Thirteen dead in Cairo as clashes continue into fourth day. * Two days after Kim Jong-il's death, the CIA had no idea what happened—a "comparatively minor" failure. * Photographs from North Korea,
