"Look, this is a democracy," said one woman there who refused to be identified.

"... there would be more male members of Congress in that category than people would think."

"Oh, my God. It looks like a haystack," he said.

The swag in the bag was just the beginning.

"In a silent way, the people have spoken and said, ‘This cannot continue. This one-man show cannot continue.’"

"If it’s this bad at Microsoft, it has to be bad at other companies, too."

Should we really be expending so much emotion crying over one spilled secret?

Some 17,000 people died in fires last year, according the Emergency Ministry -- a rate several times higher than seen in Western countries.

It would be wrong to stereotype, to say that Russians are fatalistic or heartless. They are, however, not only resigned to tragedy but inured to it in a way that to many raises alarms about the country’s future. They’re not just helpless in the face of disaster; they could be called complicit, ever beckoning the next one by their actions or lack of. Disasters, natural and man-made, occur everywhere, but unnatural death occurs in Russia with unnatural frequency and in unnatural quantity.

An Italian journalist who was held hostage for 15 days by the Taliban in lawless southern Afghanistan was ransomed for five Taliban prisoners. It appears to be the first time prisoners have been openly exchanged for a hostage in the wars that the United States and its allies are fighting there and in Iraq, and the move drew immediate criticism from Washington and London, and from other European capitals. ... [ Read More (1.2k in body) ]