Opinion - Need to Know

It’s Pakistan, not the Taliban, we should worry about in Afghanistan

The growing instability along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is a critical issue for the United States, writes Joshua Foust.

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Google wants to fight extremism, but it needs to understand it first

The counterterrorism fight has a new combatant: Google. But the company’s program to use technology to deradicalize youth around the world is based on a misunderstanding of what causes violent extremism, writes Joshua Foust.

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The Miata scenario, or justifying what we desire

Sometimes making a choice involves a complicated mental gymnastics designed to convince ourselves that the snazzier option is also the rational choice, writes Dan Ariely.

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Justice merely delayed for women of Wal-Mart

Although the Supreme Court dealt a blow to women who say they’ve been systematically discriminated against by Wal-Mart, the women’s claims still have a good chance in court, says legal analyst Jami Floyd.

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No end game in sight for Libyan conflict

Rather than playing games in Congress about the constitutionality or relevance of a law he’s choosing to ignore, President Obama must articulate his strategy for ending the war in Libya, writes Joshua Foust.

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Where are India’s ‘missing girls’?

India’s skewed sex ratio is less a product of its culture and more a manifestation of a rapidly globalizing economy that is leaving women behind, writes Inderpal Grewal.

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Europe, pay up

What is the future of NATO when, as Robert Gates said, it has reached a point of “military irrelevance” and the U.S. foots so much of the bill? Joshua Foust considers the options.

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Outsourcing the law to India

Memo to this year’s graduating law students: Your first job is already gone — to India. The law firms of America, and their clients, have quietly decided that the work a first-year associate typically performs — such as document review, research and contract drafting — can be done more cheaply. And the cheaper team lives […]

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Action on climate change: Why now?

How long do we have before feeling the effects of climate change? The National Academy of Sciences says we know enough to act now. Robert Fri reports.

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Where do we go from here?

At the highest levels, debate on the U.S. war in Afghanistan lacks clarity and focus, argues Joshua Foust.

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Heavy on bluster, low on facts

A U.S. military task force aimed at developing Iraq’s economy has made some big strides, like computerizing the Iraqi banking sector, but Joshua Foust asks, how much has it really accomplished?

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Wait for another marshmallow?

Recent studies have shown that children who learn early self-control are more successful as adults in many ways. So Dan Ariely asks, how do we keep from eating that doughnut RIGHT NOW?

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The looming Afghan crash

Pulling out of Afghanistan will save the U.S. government money, but it could have a host of negative economic effects, both there and at home, writes Joshua Foust.

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Here we go again: Can a French celeb get a fair trial in America?

Jami Floyd: Before we utter another breathless word about the Strauss-Kahn case, let’s not forget that the U.S. is the world leader in affording defendants the right to a fair trial.

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