NSA massive surveillance of French phone calls has created a diplomatic incident.

Massive surveillance of citizens is just as bad when the French government does it as when the US government does it.

It's awfully ironic that Hollande threatened the US with blocking a treaty that threatens democracy and that no country should ever sign.

Research into the historical climate of today's Sahara desert shows that it dried up in just 100 or 200 years.

This rapid change, about 5000 years ago, was caused by a much slower change in the Earth's orbital parameters. The crucial point is that a slow increase in heat coming in can make a rapid change in climate.

We're now causing a much faster change in heat coming in (or, more precisely, a faster reduction in how much heat can escape into space each night). Maybe regions will become deserts in 10 years.

In the crushing tyranny of Iran, even walking a dog is dangerous.

Apple's iMessage Security Claims 'Basically Just Lies', Say Researchers.

Here are technical details.

Statistically analyzing surveys from different parts of Amazonia suggests that there are 16,000 different species of trees in the whole forest.

1/3 of these species are estimated to have under 1000 members. Practically speaking, there is no chance of identifying them.

Think of that when people talk about preserving species outside their ecosystems, or perhaps preserving tissue or DNA. If the Amazon forest dries out and burns up, it will never come back.