An analysis of the development of the world's global problems since 1945.

Islamists in Libya have gone on the offensive.

Haiti's cardinal condemned Voodoo, saying that that religion distracts believers from real solutions to their problems.

Religion generally tends to do that, but I am skeptical of the claim that belief in Voodoo is what typically leads poor Haitians not to use the services of doctors or lawyers. I suspect that poverty is responsible for that, and they turn to Voodoo as an affordable substitute.

The UK's surveillance bill threatens to punish companies world-wide if they do not obey UK surveillance orders. And it requires some web sites to track their users.

Do e-cigarettes lead people away from smoking, or are they a new way to get teenagers hooked?

Perhaps they should be available only by prescription, to smokers who want to quit.