What’s at Stake as the Supreme Court Returns to Gay Marriage

Just two years ago, the Supreme Court debated the constitutional implications of same-sex marriage. As it returned to the issue Tuesday, the underlying facts that it will take into consideration have changed substantially. When the court heard arguments on two cases in March of 2013, gay marriage was still a live issue. Just 11 states recognized same-sex marriage, while a majority of Americans had only recently begun to tell pollsters that they approved.

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite

Are You A Good Citizen?: China To Issue Its People A “Social Rating” Based On Collection Of Big Data

The collection of big data by governments is one of the largest threats to liberty.

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite

Lenin’s Body Improves with Age

For thousands of years humans have used embalming methods to preserve dead bodies. But nothing compares with Russia's 90-year-old experiment to preserve the body of Vladimir Lenin, communist revolutionary and founder of the Soviet Union. Generations of Russian scientists have spent almost a century fine-tuning preservation techniques that have maintained the look, feel and flexibility of Lenin's body.

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite

The New Wave of Ultra-Violent Ugandan DIY Action Cinema: Wakaliwood

In the Ugandan slum of Wakaliga, a thriving action film industry called Wakaliwood has emerged. Mixing elements of Western action films and Chinese Kung Fu movies with Ugandan culture, Wakaliwood’s films have garnered a cult following not just in in Uganda, but all over the world. We spend a day on the set of the next Wakaliwood hit.

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite

Why Buy the Hardware When China Is Getting the IP for Free?

IBM is sharing proprietary technology with Beijing in exchange for market access. Is it savvy or suicide?

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite

Facebook’s login system is being hijacked by China’s Great Firewall

For the last three days, China's Great Firewall has been intercepting the Javascript module from Facebook Login, which allows third-party sites to authorize users through Facebook infrastructure. First reported on Sunday, the attack causes sites using Facebook Login to redirect to a third-party page for many web users in China. "This behavior is occurring locally and beyond the reach of our servers," a Facebook spokesperson told The Verge. "We are investigating the situation."

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite

Canadian Immigrants Interactive Map

This interactive map illustrates the immigrants that are most common in Canada by census division. You’ve certainly heard of Vancouver’s Chinatown. And Montreal could not truly be La Belle Ville without its Little Italy. But how about Toronto’s vibrant Little Jamaica, known for its jerk chicken street BBQs and famous barbershops? Or Laval’s growing Little Lebanon, which is increasingly drawing Arabic-speaking immigrants away from St. Laurent in neighbouring Montreal?

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite

New bank fees target kids’ accounts and allow ‘double-dipping,’ say customers

Banking fees are going up at all of Canada's five big banks, but some customers of RBC in particular are outraged about the changes. They're accusing Canada's biggest bank of targeting children and those who can least afford it.​

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite

The War Nerd: The Art of Turf War

There’s a war on now in South African cities, but no one’s calling it what it is. South Africans, mostly Zulu, are attacking shops run by foreigners, driving the aliens (mostly Zimbabwean, Somali, …

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite

Asne Seierstad’s ‘One of Us,’ About Rampage in Norway

“One of Us” explores a dark side of contemporary Scandinavia through the life and crimes of Anders Behring Breivik, a mass murderer who killed 77 people, most of them teenagers.

View Full Post

More great content like this @ Places, Culture & Travel Front Page or you can Request Invite