Need a primer on Ireland’s EU bailout? If so, Taiwanese animators can help (click on the video).

Civil unions have come to Illinois. Is polygamy the next frontier for Canada?

Ever want to see what goes on behind closed doors? A new voyeuristic doorknob helps out.

What will God have to say in his (or her?) memoir?

Those stories and more, as Michael Levy goes around the Web for December 2.

The “forests of the night”—as William Blake famously dubbed the stomping grounds of the tiger (Panthera tigris)—have long receded before the withering artificial daylight of human civilization and along with them, their most iconic residents. Though the seductively striped cats still manage to conceal their fearful symmetry in the shadowy recesses of some wooded corners of the world, they are […]

All sorts of things have unintended consequences in this world, including not catching classical references as they go floating by. Here’s hoping the paths of this new housing development near Phoenix aren’t soon draped in royal purple and spilled Mycenaean blood…

In the wild, caribou can live for as many as 15 years, and over that span of time, they may traverse tens of thousands of kilometers of tundra, making them the most traveled land mammal on Earth. These roving ungulates, also known as reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), rack up more miles than any other terrestrial species because they not only travel great distances between their winter and summer homes—sometimes migrating more than a thousand kilometers in a single year—but also cover many hundreds of kilometers each season within their home territories while foraging and fleeing from insects and predators.

The WikiLeaks data dump has been the subject of much debate, and in this piece, originally posted on the Monkey Cage, our friend Joshua Tucker, associate professor of Politics at New York University, summarizes some of that debate.

Will Republicans vow to block all bills in the December lame-duck session?

Will whistle blowers blow the whistle on WikiLeaks?

Should we eat more squirrel?

And, what does an airport winter wonderland look like? (Hint: Play the video.)

These stories and more, as Michael Levy goes around the Web for December 1.

As we observe World AIDS Day 2010, it is sobering to think that more than 123 million Americans—everyone under age 30—have never lived in a world without HIV and AIDS. For them, HIV and AIDS have always been a part of the landscape.

Traditional World AIDS Day messages are, for the most part, now familiar and largely statistical and data driven – reports on HIV infection rates, scientific and medical advancements, plans for future interventions.

The opportunities that The AIDS Memorial Quilt affords – on World AIDS Day and every other day of the year – rests in its ability to educate and advocate effectively not with facts and figures, but with emotion embedded in powerful personal expression.

Fifty-five years ago today, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and helped launch the modern civil rights movement.

The Code: You only get to hog two seats when the train isn’t full.

The Violation: Obstructing a fellow passenger from taking a load off and enjoying the ride in “ergonomic,” polyester-upholstered discomfort.