Taking a cab from downtown Toronto to Pearson International Airport is about $40. Going from downtown Baghdad to Baghdad International Airport? According to an article in The Nation, up to $7,000. Why the diff? It's a risk thang.

The Toronto Star's Carol Goar looks at why child poverty worsened in Canada in the 1990s and at former NDP leader Ed Broadbent's new, more modest goal for reducing it:

NYT columnist Nicholas Kristoff takes a snarky look at the Left Behind empire and its predictions of a gruesome end for those who aren't born-again Christians.

Linguist George Lakoff, whose theories on debate framing have gotten some attention in the wake of Apocalypse 2004, wrote a great op-ed piece for the Nation:

The interesting stuff in here isn't so much about CBS's departing anchor Dan Rather but about the changing landscape in which the major U.S. TV network news shows find themselves.

Naomi Klein, writing in the Guardian, has taken a run at the 'iconic' photograph of a young U.S. marine after some point during the battle for Fallujah.

The search for the Holy Grail. It's not just a metaphor or a cult movie. According to this BBC story, the search for the chalice supposedly used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper ...   more »