* Europe lets Hezbollah operate openly as a political and social movement. * Prize-winning 1987 essay by Hilary Mantel on women's domestic life in Saudi Arabia. * Favorite new meme: "Ridiculously Photogenic Syrian Soldier." * NBA officials didn't think black players looked good in black until Jay-
* Rebuke to anti-algebra op-ed says algebra, like math itself, is for everyone. * I make even my most ardent pro-choice friends very uncomfortable when I explain why my mother should have aborted me. * Soledad O'Brien lucidly fact-checks GOP's $700+ billion Medicare cut claim.
Name: Emily Age: 10 Location: Wuhan, China Reading selection: 狼王梦 (Lang Wang Meng, which translates to something like Wolf King Dream), by 沈石溪 (Chen Shixi) What was the book about? It is an animal story. It is about a mother wolf and her son. What was your favorite part? She
* In a dozen years, China will have more than 220 cities with over a million citizens each. * It is becoming increasingly clear that Europe’s leaders are now planning for a Greek exit from the euro. * State-by-state picture of America's battle with the bulge. * Interactive panorama
* It is the recurring temptation of self-confident, insular elites to assume that the whole country loves what they love, hates what they hate and believes what they believe. * Paul Ryan: "Admit it, I scare the ever-loving shit out of you, don't I?" * Young environmentalists
* Supporters of the Syrian uprising may struggle to watch rebel fighters toss dead enemies off a roof. * The week in South Korean island-related political stunts. * Fascinating story of Argentine ants' violent domination of the planet. * Photographs of abandoned Chinese theme park Wonderland. * Saudi Arabia plans new city for
* Under Paul Ryan's tax plan, Mitt Romney would have paid around 0.82% on his income of $21 million in 2010. * Ryan: The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand. * Insurers
The U.S. Open Tennis Championships are two weeks away, but let’s consider now the current state of the American men. Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, and John Isner are the biggest names, of course, and you can read more than enough about them elsewhere. Here, I assess the rest.
Artist colonies are mysterious places. Available only to a select few, supposedly teeming with alcohol, affairs, and creative hoodoo. But the rumors aren't true—they just lack detail. Scenes and lessons from three residencies.
* Iran earthquakes kill upward of 300, injure 2,600, and flatten villages. * Royal Dutch Shell, Nigeria’s biggest oil producer, estimates that 150,000 barrels a day are lost to theft. * Approximately 60,000 pets are abandoned in France every year during summer holidays. * Super strain of gonorrhea, spotted in
