Champaign, IL, USA. A new analysis of data from dozens of studies illuminates how we choose what we do and do not hear. People tend to avoid information that contradicts what they already think or believe, but certain factors can cause them to seek out, or at least consider, other points of view.

For some, life can settle into a routine of unexamined assumptions, often a continuation of childhood conditioning, and settled practices. Others do the opposite, living in constant flux. For mo

Melbourne, Victoria, AUS. It seems Tammy Wynette got it right after all. In a new twist to the so-called "mummy wars", conservative US journalist Megan Basham has released a book titled Beside Every Successful Man: a woman's guide to having it all. In it she not only claims that most women would be happier if they stayed at home with their children, but also that they should stand by their man by focusing on his career rather than their own.

Typical of those who employ mummy wa

Washington, DC, USA. State governments so far are using almost all of their stimulus transportation dollars to build and improve roads and highways, while devoting only about 6 percent to public transit systems, according to a 50-state study released this week by a group seeking to improve urban planning.

Smart Growth America criticized the $6.6 billion that states have allocated for building new roads while providing relatively little for public transit projects that could create 31 per

Reflecting on the idea of a journey, John Pilger wonders if the unsuspected and tragic can change everything.

Sydney, NSW, AUS. T. S. Eliot wrote that the point of any journey was to find out where you came from. As I bore my bulging canvas bag to the wharf at Circular Quay, not far from where my Irish great-great-grandparents had landed in leg irons, I hoped the point of my journey would become clearer once my ship had sailed. The Bretagne was my ship; it was white with blue stripes alo