To sell, novels must be plausible - so popular fiction reflects prevailing worldviews.

...or, Who Gets the Liver?

Wasting millions on buying newfangled equipment, storing it for some years, and then junking it unused? Must be the TSA!

Why do Americans bother to be a superpower? What's in it for them?

Why some politicians might welcome a swine flu pandemic.

East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet... minds.

Can you bribe all of the people all of the time?

Sooner or later you have to stand up to madmen - and as costly as that is, it only gets more costly the longer you wait.

The world's great and good have criticized the Sri Lankan army for killing civilians during their civil war, but how do you end a war without breaking eggs?

What's the difference between TV programs and the commercials? And why need we care?