Hinduism and its complicated history with cows (and people who eat them)

Jul 17, 2017 01:17 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Just this past June, at a national meeting of various Hindu organizations in India, a popular preacher, Sadhvi Saraswati, suggested that those who consumed beef should be publicly hanged. Later, at the same conclave, an...

How loneliness in older people makes them more vulnerable to financial scammers

Jul 12, 2017 19:09 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life

Fraud investigators have warned that people are being targeted by scammers who persuade them to invest their pensions in self-storage units. The UKs Serious Fraud Office launched an investigation in May, saying that a...

Eight things that have changed since the smoking ban ten years ago

Jun 29, 2017 02:37 am UTC| Life

Its hard to think back to what English pubs and clubs were like before the law about smoke-free public places came into force ten years ago. Do you remember the dense fog, the smell of tobacco smoke on your clothes and...

Why Congress should let everyone deduct charitable gifts from their taxes

Jun 28, 2017 04:09 am UTC| Insights & Views Life Law Economy

The 30 percent of American taxpayers who itemize their returns are free to deduct every dollar they donate to an IRS-approved charity from up to half of their taxable income. While neither the White House nor lawmakers are...

What Jeff Bezos gets wrong (and right) with his populist philanthropy

Jun 27, 2017 02:47 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Jeff Bezos, the worlds second-richest person, trails his peers when it comes to generosity. His familys donations to hospitals, museums and universities rarely make headlines, and he hasnt signed the Giving Pledge, a...

Elite public schools that rely on entry exams fail the diversity test

Jun 27, 2017 02:33 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

The jewels in many an urban school districts crown are their exam schools, competitive public schools that base enrollment on test scores. With a school like New Yorks Stuyvesant, Boston Latin or Walter Payton (in Chicago)...

How the duty to be beautiful is making young girls feel like failures

Jun 23, 2017 18:03 pm UTC| Life Insights & Views

From the daily application of high-tech lotions and potions to non-surgical procedures such as botox, fillers and peels, the beauty industry is booming like never before. With more products and treatments available...