The statist fearmongers will have you believe that “privatizing” anything would result in mass chaos and a Mad Max scenario of warlords and rampant crime. But they are wrong. “Since we’ve been in there, an independent crime study that they’ve had done [indicates] we’ve reduced the crime by 61%” in just 20 months, says James Alexander, Director of Operations for SEAL.

Over 70 communities in Harris County and most of the major management districts have contracted with SEAL. They’re less expensive, better at crime prevention, they do not target citizens for revenue, and, best of all, each officer is personally accountable for his or her actions. Law enforcement is a product that we are forced to buy. When any product is not subject to the forces of consumer demand, there is no way of changing it. It is time we applied the fundamental lesson of competition to our supposed protectors.

Most people are unable to pay court costs to get their property back, and in many cases the law enforcement agencies are allowed to keep most, if not all, of any cash taken. Some police are advocating to use civil forfeiture in the form of “highway interdiction” as a way of raising revenue for cash-strapped municipalities, and in fact, many departments are purposefully targeting citizens who own property they desire. One officer actually referred to it as “pennies from heaven”.

The new payment revolution I’m talking about is called NFC. NFC stands for Near Field Communication. In its early form, NFC was used by the military to prevent “friendly fire” accidents. The technology was declassified in the mid-1990s. An NFC chip is essentially a tiny radio transmitter – about the size of a ladybug. It’s inactive, until it receives a signal from another NFC-enabled device. The technology operates in a two-way manner, so that information can be passed in both directions. NFC-ready devices must come within a few inches of each other to transfer data.

NFC isn’t a technology that might or might not work. It’s already working. In fact, you might already be using it without even knowing it. If you’ve ever used a “smart card” to unlock a door… or if you have a car with a remote “keyless entry” system... you’re using NFC. But now, this technology is being adapted by banks, payment processing firms, credit card companies, and retailers and merchants across America to completely transform the way we pay for things. In short, with NFC technology our wallets will be replaced by smartphones.

Consumers simply store their credit or debit card information on their NFC-enabled mobile device, such as a smartphone. In 2014, by the way, more than 275 million smartphones – including the brand new iPhone 6 – were made with NFC chips (and more than four times as many… over 1.2 BILLION phones will contain these chips by 2018, according to research firm IHS Technology). This will happen in just 3 years. Once your data is stored on your phone, you will never need to swipe a debit or credit card again. Just wave your mobile phone near a reader and you will be able to purchase practically anything.

The resulting rising urban populations combined with poverty, government mismanagement and other factors combined to trigger the unrest that led to the civil war. The conflict has since escalated into a complex war involving extremist Islamic groups including ISIS and forces from other nations including the US.

The drought, which scientists say was likely made worse by climate change, destroyed much of the agriculture in the north of the country, driving farmers into cities.

An estimated 200,000 people have now been killed and an estimated nine million Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of the war. Dr Richard Seager, a climate scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York, said: ‘We're not saying the drought caused the war. We’re saying that added to all the other stressors, it helped kick things over the threshold into open conflict.’

[Emma Bonino writes]: "When I am asked whether Europe is still a relevant ‘protagonist’ in the modern world, I always answer that there is no doubt about it. For a long time now, the continent has been shaken by financial crises, internal security strategy crises – including wars – and instability within its borders, which definitely make it a protagonist in world affairs.

Since 2008, the economic and political measures taken by EU member countries have aimed at ‘renationalising’ their interests, with the exception of actions implemented by Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank. Consequently, Europe has abandoned the pursuit of a common foreign policy and has reverted to inter-governmental practices that prioritise national interests. The dilemma is clear: either the European Union is a global power and is recognised as such, or Europe will be represented by others in crucial debates.

In this context, what is emerging is that Germany is increasingly taking on a new role. This process began with the bizarre designation in 2006 of a group of countries to negotiate with Iran, known as 3+3, or more commonly, outside Europe, as 5+1: the five permanent members of the Security Council (the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France) plus Germany.

Since then Berlin has taken on a leading role, not only in the European context but also in many international affairs, often on behalf of the European Union. To sum up: the European Union works jointly to the extent that this is possible. After that there is a level at which decisions – and responsibilities – are taken by those with the power to do so. That is the scheme practised in today’s Europe. It is time for other Europeans to sit up and take notice."

“Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.”

The Islamic State’s principles are rooted in 7th century Islam and its followers are “faithfully reproducing its norms of war,” including punishing apostates (anyone who doesn’t abide by their beliefs, including most other Muslims) by crucifixions and beheadings, and enslaving their conquered enemies, including women and children.

Wood says the Islamic State also has a faith-based view of the apocalypse. “The armies of Rome will mass to meet the armies of Islam in northern Syria; and that Islam’s final showdown with the anti-Messiah will occur in Jerusalem after a period of renewed Islamic conquest,” writes Wood. (Apparently “Rome” can mean the remnants of the Holy Roman Empire, the United States, or any non-believers.)

“I want to take this opportunity to say that I respect US President Barack Obama,” he stressed. “I believe in the strength of the relationship between Israel and the US and in their strength to overcome differences of opinion, those that have been and those that will yet be.” Netanyahu reiterated his position that, as Israel’s prime minister, it is his obligation to worry about the country’s security, “and for that reason we strongly oppose the agreement being formulated between the world powers and Iran that could endanger Israel’s very existence.”

This is the first time since he became prime minister for the second time in 2009 that Netanyahu visited the Wall before embarking on a trip to the US. It came two days after a visit to his father’s grave in Jerusalem. His father, Netanyahu explained to the haredi radio station Kol Barama on Friday, always gave him advice at critical junctures in his life.

“He said to always look at the threats endangering our people,” Netanyahu said of his father, Benzion, a noted historian who died in 2012. “He said that one of the things that was lacking in Jewish history was seeing in real time what endangers our existence.” The obligation incumbent on Israel’s leaders, Netanyahu said, is to identify the dangers in time and do everything they can to scuttle them.

“My responsibility is to worry not only about the State of Israel, but also the future of the Jewish people,” he said, “to stand up and raise our voice. Seventy, 80 years ago no one could raise their voice when there were plans to destroy us. Today there is, and it is my obligation.”

Israel fears that US President Barack Obama's Iran diplomacy, with an end-of-March deadline for a framework accord, will allow its arch foe to develop atomic weapons - something Tehran denies seeking. By accepting an invitation from the Republican party to address Congress on Tuesday, the Israeli leader infuriated the Obama administration, which said it was not told of the speech before plans were made public in an apparent breach of protocol.

US Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated Washington's determination to pursue negotiations with Iran, saying on Sunday the United States deserved "the benefit of the doubt" to see if a nuclear deal could be reached. Last week, Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, said the partisanship caused by Netanyahu's looming address was "destructive to the fabric of US-Israeli ties".

Asked about this on the ABC program "This Week", Kerry said "the prime minister of Israel is welcome to speak in the United States, obviously. And we have a closer relationship with Israel right now in terms of security than at any time in history." He said he had talked to Netanyahu on Saturday, adding, "we don't want to see this turned into some great political football." Israel and the United States agreed that the main goal was to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon", he said.

In remarks on Saturday at Jersualem's Western Wall, Netanyahu said: “I would like to take this opportunity to say that I respect US President Barack Obama.” He added that he believed in the strong bilateral ties and said, "that strength will prevail over differences of opinion, those in the past and those yet to come.” Netanyahu did not repeat those remarks as he departed on Sunday. The Israeli prime minister, who is running for re-election in a March 17 ballot, has framed his visit as being above politics and he portrayed himself as being a guardian for all Jews.

According to Al-Jarida, the Netanyahu government took the decision to strike Iran some time in 2014 soon after Israel had discovered the United States and Iran had been involved in secret talks over Iran’s nuclear program and were about to sign an agreement in that regard behind Israel's back. The report claimed that an unnamed Israeli minister who has good ties with the US administration revealed the attack plan to Secretary of State John Kerry, and that Obama then threatened to shoot down the Israeli jets before they could reach their targets in Iran.

Al-Jarida quoted "well-placed" sources as saying that Netanyahu, along with Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon, and then-Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, had decided to carry out airstrikes against Iran's nuclear program after consultations with top security commanders. According to the report, “Netanyahu and his commanders agreed after four nights of deliberations to task the Israeli army's chief of staff, Benny Gantz, to prepare a qualitative operation against Iran's nuclear program.”

“In addition, Netanyahu and his ministers decided to do whatever they could do to thwart a possible agreement between Iran and the White House because such an agreement is, allegedly, a threat to Israel's security.”

It was last year disclosed that Facebook failed to pass on information that could have helped to capture Fusilier Rigby’s killers. Michael Adebowale used the social networking site to express his “intent to murder a soldier in the most graphic and emotive manner” five months before the 2013 Woolwich attack.

A report by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) found that Facebook had not been aware of that specific exchange. However, the committee discovered that Facebook had previously shut down Adebowale’s accounts on the site because he had discussed terrorism, but failed to relay concerns to the security services. The site was described by MPs as a “safe haven” for terrorists.

And yet, it is becoming clearer by the day that the Greek bailout debacle is likely to leave a black mark on the IMF and damage its credibility. A former IMF official in the US also took the agency to task this week for abusing its “exceptional access lending” — loans over and above the normal quota limits — in the Greek case.

“Despite the IMF’s rules that it is not supposed to resort to exceptional access lending when a country’s public debt is unsustainable or when the chances of program success are not good, the IMF has managed to lend to Greece some 1,860% of quota,” wrote Desmond Lachman, former deputy director of the IMF’s policy department. “That is more than three times the normal maximum IMF limit for such lending.”

This flagrant departure from its own guidelines might have been justified, Lachman continued, if it had produced any beneficial results. Instead, it has been a failure down the line.

They would violate the sanctity of monetary union and risk reducing it to a fixed exchange "ERM3", inviting an attack on the weakest link to follow. The EU's extraordinary experiment in solidarity would lie in ruins. The Western security system would then face turmoil in the Balkans. It would have to deal with an embittered state - hostile to Nato, and willing to play the Russian card - along an arc of instability stretching from Ukraine, though the Levant, to North Africa.

That is why US President Barack Obama has intervened, pleading with Chancellor Merkel to avert the worst. The stakes are too high for finance ministers. It is far from clear who really has the upper hand in this game of strategic chicken. Both sides can reasonably calculate that the other will blink first at each deadline to come. One of them is wrong. That is what makes this drama so riveting, and so dangerous.

A Google research team is adapting that model to measure the trustworthiness of a page, rather than its reputation across the web. Instead of counting incoming links, the system – which is not yet live – counts the number of incorrect facts within a page. "A source that has few false facts is considered to be trustworthy," says the team. The score they compute for each page is its Knowledge-Based Trust score.

The software works by tapping into the Knowledge Vault, the vast store of facts that Google has pulled off the internet. Facts the web unanimously agrees on are considered a reasonable proxy for truth. Web pages that contain contradictory information are bumped down the rankings.

LazyTruth developer Matt Stempeck, now the director of civic media at Microsoft New York, wants to develop software that exports the knowledge found in fact-checking services such as Snopes, PolitiFact and FactCheck.org so that everyone has easy access to them. He says tools like LazyTruth are useful online, but challenging the erroneous beliefs underpinning that information is harder. "How do you correct people's misconceptions? People get very defensive," Stempeck says. "If they're searching for the answer on Google they might be in a much more receptive state."