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The Bullpen

Dana Liebelson

The problem with outsourcing the military

Edward Morrissey

Obama's boneheaded health-care fight with Catholics

Daniel Larison

The brewing proxy war in Syria

Robert Shrum

Nominating Mitt Malaprop

Paul Brandus

Obama's 5 biggest mistakes

Costa Concordia Capt. Francesco Schettino has been ridiculed and vilified for his explanation of why he left his sinking ship with some passengers still on board: I "tripped" and fell into a lifeboat.

The Costa Concordia: Should captains always go down with the ship?

January 20, 2012, at 5:30 PM

The ill-fated cruise liner's captain has been vilified for leaving in a lifeboat before some of his passengers. Is that fair?

18 Comments

An anthropologist holds male and female shrunken heads from Ecuador.

The Amazon's head hunters and body shrinkers

January 20, 2012, at 11:47 AM

I've seen a few shrunken heads in my time, says author Mary Roach, but a 'shrunken boy' seemed like a myth

A Thai man kissed the hand of his deceased bride at a funeral-cum-wedding he hosted after her untimely death.

The man who married his girlfriend at her funeral

January 20, 2012, at 7:00 AM

A bizarrely bittersweet ceremony marks both the beginning and the end for one longtime couple

22 Comments

Iran's morality police detain a man with unacceptable hair and clothing back in 2008: In recent weeks, Tehran has cracked down on shopkeepers selling Barbie dolls.

6 so-called vices banned by Iran's morality police

January 18, 2012, at 1:32 PM

Anything deemed un-Islamic — from dolls to water pistols to snow skiing — is considered fair game for censure

15 Comments

Disaster at sea: A visual timeline of the Costa Concordia capsizing

January 17, 2012, at 3:23 PM

An Italian cruise ship continues to sink into the ocean after a weekend accident that put the lives of more than 4,000 passengers in danger

K-Dog, a bottle-nose dolphin, leaps during training: The Navy has used marine mammals to detect mines for decades.

Bomb-detecting dolphins: The Navy's secret weapon against Iran?

January 17, 2012, at 3:05 PM

Iran is threatening to block a key oil tanker route — and brainy marine mammals may be the U.S. military's best hope of stopping Tehran

5 Comments

The Scottish border with England: Scotland has long toyed with pushing for independence from the U.K., but now its first minister is planning to actually do something about it.

Scotland's 'explosive' push to secede from the U.K.

January 13, 2012, at 5:21 PM

Scotland's first minister promises to hold a referendum on Scottish independence. Could it really succeed?

25 Comments

Four U.S. Marines (not pictured) sparked a global outrage by urinating on three dead Taliban fighters, a widely condemned act that some classify as a war crime.

The Marines who urinated on Taliban corpses: What's a fair punishment?

January 13, 2012, at 2:47 PM

The military identifies the men shown in a widely condemned viral video. Now, what should Uncle Sam do with them?

65 Comments

A screengrab from a video that leaked leaked online this week appears to show four uniformed U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of three Taliban fighters.

The 'disturbing' video of Marines urinating on Taliban corpses

January 12, 2012, at 3:27 PM

Just as diplomats prepare to jumpstart peace talks, an "utterly deplorable" clip sparks a crisis in Afghanistan

51 Comments

Members of an endangered African tribe living on a reserve in India dance for tourists after being egged on by an apparently bribed policeman leading an illegal safari.

India's 'deplorable' 'human zoo'

January 12, 2012, at 12:57 PM

An unsettling new video catches a local policeman demanding that members of the endangered Jarawa tribe dance for tourists

30 Comments

A policeman walks past Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan's car, which was bombed by a drive-by motorcyclist in Tehran Wednesday, killing Ahmadi-Roshan.

The killing of Iran's nuclear scientists: 'Terrorism we support'?

January 12, 2012, at 12:06 PM

For the fourth time in two years, assassins hit an Iranian nuclear expert. Is this unpardonable terrorism, or part of a smart, targeted war?

23 Comments

Auspiciously red, the Rolls-Royce's Dragon Phantom had no trouble selling out in China, despite its $1.2 million asking price.

The $1.2 million Rolls-Royce that's selling out in China

January 12, 2012, at 10:29 AM

Need more evidence that China has its blinker on to pass us? Beijing and Shanghai now buy more Rolls-Royces than Beverly Hills and London

The opening day of Guantanamo Bay prison camp, on Jan. 11, 2002: Gitmo's mere existence is a mark of shame for the Western world, says Elizabeth O'Shea at the Sydney Morning Herald.

10 years of Gitmo: The world's 'vortex of shame'

January 11, 2012, at 10:55 AM

Wednesday is the 10th anniversary of one of the "blackest moments of the war on terror," says Elizabeth O'Shea at the Sydney Morning Herald: The opening of Guantanamo Bay prison camp

10 Comments

Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine who holds dual Iranian-American citizenship, has been sentenced to death on espionage charges in Iran.

Will Iran execute an American citizen?

January 10, 2012, at 10:52 AM

Iran has sentenced former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati to death for allegedly being a CIA spy bent on brainwashing Iranians through video games

11 Comments

It only took construction workers 360 hours to erect this 30-story building in China, not counting the time it took to build the foundation and prefabricated parts.

China's 'amazing' construction of a 30-story building in 360 hours

January 10, 2012, at 10:06 AM

A Chinese construction company just built a super-sturdy, super-efficient hotel — and it did so super cheaply and super fast. Is this the future of skyscrapers?

21 Comments