The Baghdad ExecutionsThe execution of Saddam Hussein by hanging on Dec. 30, followed two weeks later by the hanging of his half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former head of Saddam’s secret police, and Awad Hamad al-Bandar, the chief judge of Saddam’s revolutionary court, made a m

Many nursery rhymes began as coded verse that once circulated among the dissenting populace under autocratic rulers. A number of famous verses date to the Tudor monarchy. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary satirizes Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary), her garden a veiled reference to the graveyards where Protestant m

International alarm over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions skyrocketed after that country’s nuclear test last fall. Given the rapid increase in nuclear aspirations among so-called rogue nations, the alarm is warranted. But as winter’s cold descends, the fact that many North Koreans f

New Years Resolutions for the EnvironmentHelp protect the earth by subscribing to some of Conservation International’s 10 New Year’s resolutions. Several strike at the heart of our consumerist society’s most ingrained habits. For water, use reusable glassware rather than the ubiqui

When the Bush administration took the nation to war in Iraq, like the mythical Pandora it set loose a host of ills upon the world. The invasion opened the way for sectarian strife and civil war in Iraq; it assisted the advance of Shiite Islam across the Middle East; and it increased Israel’s v

On Dec. 31, Christians traditionally give thanks to God for the blessings they have received during the year that is ending. On Jan. 1 and on the feast of the Epiphany a few days later, they might equally well give thanks for the gifts of faith and intelligence that will guide them through the new y

Papal DiplomacyThe visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey in the final days of November was by far the most challenging of any of the trips undertaken thus far by the pope. It was this pope’s first visit to a Muslim country and came after the Muslim world had been angered by his now-famous allus

The most commonplace symbol of our Christmas celebration is a light shining in the darkness: a candle in the window, a star on top of a tree. The symbol is so familiar that we can sometimes fail to appreciate its distinctive message. Many lights shine in the darkness. Some of them can be brutal and

Intolerant SecularismThe Independent Catholic News in Great Britain reported that on Nov. 20 Nadia Eweida lost an appeal to her employers, British Airways. Ms. Eweida had petitioned to be allowed to wear a cross over the uniform she wore as a check-in attendant at London’s Heathrow airport.The