Study: Doodling Helps You Pay Attention

A lot of people hate doodlers, those who idly scribble during meetings . Most people also hate that other closely related species: the fidgeter, who spins pens or re-orders papers or plays with his phone during meetings. We doodlers, fidgeters and whisperers always get the same jokey, passive-aggressive line from the authority figure at the front of the room: “I’m sorry, are we bothering you?” How droll

Share

Ruling Throws Pakistan into New Political Turmoil

Pakistan has been plunged into a fresh phase of political instability after the country’s two main opposition leaders were barred from elected office. The controversial ruling from the Supreme Court has sparked violent and angry protests against the government of President Asif Ali Zardari in Punjab, the largest and wealthiest province of the country

Share

Jindal earns bad reviews in national debut

It was billed as a "coming out party" for one of the GOP’s most promising young stars. But after nearly universal criticism was heaped on Gov. Bobby Jindal’s high-profile response to President Obama’s address to Congress Tuesday night, the Louisiana Republican may be wishing he had stayed home.

Share

Can Michael Steele Broaden the Grand Old Party?

Michael Steele assumed the Republican party chairmanship barely a month ago, promising vast changes to help the GOP successfully compete in 21st century America. One of his first forays in that quest occurred Friday night, when Steele came to DuPage County, an affluent Chicago suburb of nearly one million, where the largely Republican establishment is battling an increasingly potent Democratic Party

Share

Turkish TV cuts politician during speech in Kurdish

The head of a Kurdish nationalist party in Turkey addressed parliament Tuesday in the Kurdish language — which is illegal — prompting the national broadcaster to pull the plug on the live broadcast. In his address, Democratic Society Party leader Ahmet Turk began his speech in Turkish, addressing the value of a “multilingual culture” and decrying the fact that the Kurdish language is not protected under Turkey’s constitution. “We have no objection to Turkish being the official language, yet we want our demands for the lifting of the ban on Kurdish language to be understood as a humanitarian demand,” he said

Share

Obama to lay out sober assessment, hopeful future

President Obama’s address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress will have a heavy emphasis on the economy and will try to strike an optimistic tone, aides said. That’s a sign Obama has heard the criticism, including from former President Clinton, that he needs to mix sober talk with an upbeat bottom line.

Share

United defensive ‘nightmare’ for Inter clash

Title holders Manchester United are facing a "nightmare" injury crisis in central defense ahead of their Champions League San Siro showdown with Inter Milan on Tuesday. Manager Alex Ferguson revealed the extent of the problem of Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Blackburn on Saturday which saw Jonny Evans aggravate an ankle problem.

Share

Netanyahu woos political adversaries

Days after being chosen to form the next Israeli government, Benjamin Netanyahu met with moderate party leaders in an attempt to lure them into a government under his leadership. Netanyahu, who heads the conservative Likud movement, made no real progress in his separate talks with Kadima party leader, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Labor party leader Defense Minister Ehud Barak. “I am not going to give up on this,” Netanyahu said Monday.

Share