Christian Science Monitor

• Most Topular Stories

• CIA arrests in Iran? Allegations point to smoldering covert war with US.

  Christian Science Monitor | All Stories

  CIA arrests were perhaps Iranians working as informants for Western intelligence services. Iranian officials this week announced the arrests of a dozen spies.

• Egypt protesters not impressed with new PM

  Christian Science Monitor | World

  The appointment of a new prime minister by Egypt's military rulers did little to satisfy protesters, who continued to throng Tahrir Square three days before scheduled elections.

• CIA arrests in Iran? Allegations point to smoldering covert war with US.

  Christian Science Monitor | USA

  CIA arrests were perhaps Iranians working as informants for Western intelligence services. Iranian officials this week announced the arrests of a dozen spies.

• Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift sing a new message of girl power

  Christian Science Monitor | Commentary

  In July I drove 1,800 miles with only the radio to keep me company. What struck me were the overarching themes of female empowerment sung over the airwaves. Pop music is singing a new tune. Are girls taking the message to heart?

• Black Friday online deals lure shoppers to make it a cyber Black Friday

  Christian Science Monitor | Money

  Black Friday online deals are available on everything from laptops to loudspeakers. Some bargains are short-lived. Others will last through the weekend, into Cyber Monday, and beyond.

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  Christian Science Monitor | All Stories

• CIA arrests in Iran? Allegations point to smoldering covert war with US.

  CIA arrests were perhaps Iranians working as informants for Western intelligence services. Iranian officials this week announced the arrests of a dozen spies.

• Black Friday online deals lure shoppers to make it a cyber Black Friday

  Black Friday online deals are available on everything from laptops to loudspeakers. Some bargains are short-lived. Others will last through the weekend, into Cyber Monday, and beyond.

• So far, Black Friday seems to be bustling. Is the economy improving?

  Black Friday weekend may give economists a snapshot of how shoppers are feeling going into the holiday season. Even though some consumer numbers are sluggish, Americans may spend when they hit the malls.

• Mars science lab 'Curiosity' to launch 'extraterrestrial real-estate appraisal'

  After a decade of "following the water," planetary scientists want to see if water co-existed with other critical environmental conditions that could have allowed simple forms of life to emerge.

• Pepper spray and violence mar Black Friday bargain hunting

  Although most storekeepers managed shoppers with few problems, several cases of retail-related violence cropped up. How can Black Friday be made safer for all who participate?

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  Christian Science Monitor | World

• Egypt protesters not impressed with new PM

  The appointment of a new prime minister by Egypt's military rulers did little to satisfy protesters, who continued to throng Tahrir Square three days before scheduled elections.

• Huntsman's comment spurs debate in China

  Following Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman's comment about what will 'take China down,' Chinese commentators debate what he meant.

• Syria refuses Arab League monitors, sanctions loom

  Syria refused to allow Arab League monitors, designed to tamp down regime attacks on protesters, into the country. Sanctions could follow.

• Bahrain commission issues brutal critique of Arab Spring crackdown

  An independent commission presented its findings to Bahrain's king, offering the tiny Gulf country a road map for moving beyond the violence of recent months and repairing relations with the US.

• Russian president Dmitry Medvedev keeps US missile defense shield in sight

  Dmitry Medvedev is looking to keep a US-NATO European missile defense program in check by arming Russian missiles capable of knocking out the defense shield. However, Dmitry Medvedev stressed Russia will continue to have dialogue with the US and NATO on missile defense.

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  Christian Science Monitor | USA

• CIA arrests in Iran? Allegations point to smoldering covert war with US.

  CIA arrests were perhaps Iranians working as informants for Western intelligence services. Iranian officials this week announced the arrests of a dozen spies.

• Pepper spray and violence mar Black Friday bargain hunting

  Although most storekeepers managed shoppers with few problems, several cases of retail-related violence cropped up. How can Black Friday be made safer for all who participate?

• Washington holiday season begins with arrival of White House Christmas tree

  The Washington holiday season had a festive start Friday when First Lady Michelle Obama presided over the arrival of the White House Christmas tree – a balsam fir from Wisconsin.

• US turns up pressure on Egypt's military, urges transfer to civilian rule

  The White House released a statement Friday that calls for a speedy transfer to ‘just and inclusive’ civilian rule in Egypt. The statement came as tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

• Gabrielle Giffords serves Thanksgiving meal at military base

  Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly helped serve the Thanksgiving meal at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

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  Christian Science Monitor | Commentary

• Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift sing a new message of girl power

  In July I drove 1,800 miles with only the radio to keep me company. What struck me were the overarching themes of female empowerment sung over the airwaves. Pop music is singing a new tune. Are girls taking the message to heart?

• Black Friday 2011: Consumers aren't lacking in confidence. They lack cash.

  Black Friday 2011 deals are here but economists say consumers are hesitant. The problem isn't psychological; it's financial. Seventy percent of the economy depends on consumer spending, but 80 percent of families are experiencing declining wages. Raising the minimum wage would help.

• GOP candidates and Obama: Standards for presidential leadership

  As Americans watch the Republican candidates debate and President Obama govern, how can they judge leadership? This historian suggests voters look to Lincoln, Churchill, and Admiral Nelson for five standards by which to measure presidential leadership.

• Penn State football needs a time out

  The NCAA will 'examine' Penn State's loss of control over its sports program following the sex and coverup scandal. But the NCAA needs a robust solution to break the culture of sports dominance in colleges.

• GPS tracking: Supreme Court must protect Americans from Orwellian control

  This term the Supreme Court will decide whether the warrantless GPS monitoring of an individual’s car violates the Fourth Amendment. The court’s answer must be a resounding yes.

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  Christian Science Monitor | Money

• Black Friday online deals lure shoppers to make it a cyber Black Friday

  Black Friday online deals are available on everything from laptops to loudspeakers. Some bargains are short-lived. Others will last through the weekend, into Cyber Monday, and beyond.

• So far, Black Friday seems to be bustling. Is the economy improving?

  Black Friday weekend may give economists a snapshot of how shoppers are feeling going into the holiday season. Even though some consumer numbers are sluggish, Americans may spend when they hit the malls.

• Real tax reform: flat-tax simplicity with a progressive twist

  There are good reasons for a simpler tax system, as found in the flat-tax plans of GOP hopefuls Perry, Gingrich, and Cain. But they need to be made more progressive to amount to real tax reform that can pass muster politically.  

• Clean energy market: China promises open access

  Clean energy companies in other countries will have equal access to China's burgeoning clean energy market, US envoy says after talks.

• The economics of gratitude

  Market transactions only measure a portion of the true economy. Here are ways to extend our resources without additional spending.

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  Christian Science Monitor | The Culture

• Top Picks: Guitar lessons from James Taylor, Keira Knightley voices Tinkerbell, and more

  James Taylor teaches guitar lessons on his website, Keira Knightley voices Tinkerbell in SyFy's two-part Peter Pan series, 'Journey of the Universe' space series on PBS takes viewers through the galaxy, and more top picks.

• Thanksgiving grilled cheese sandwich

  Butternut squash and cranberry orange chèvre on pumpkin bread.

• The Bible in my life

  A Christian Science perspective.

• Natalie Wood witness says she heard 'Help me, I'm drowning'

  Natalie Wood witness Marilyn Wayne heard 'a woman's voice crying for help,' on the night of Nov. 28, 1981. Ms. Wayne is the first new Natalie Wood witness to emerge since the investigation was reopened Friday.

• Thanksgiving recipe round-up

  From oven-roasted turkey to green bean casserole to sweet potato pie. Here's a list of Thanksgiving recipe favorites.

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  Christian Science Monitor | Living

• Green bean or sweet potato: Battle of the casserole dishes

  We can't make the choice for you. But here are some arguments that can help you choose between green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole as part of your Thanksgiving dinner.

• Kissing optional!

  Forty cloves of simmered garlic may not be enough.

• Zucchini bounty

  Zucchini is a squash that is both prolific and versatile

• Food critic undercover in San Francisco

  Michael Bauer, a food critic, keeps San Francisco chefs on their toes.

• Dress up the grill with versatile lamb

  The rich flavors of lamb can be made elegant by marinades or kept simple for burgers.

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  Christian Science Monitor | Innovation

• Smartphones: Biggest market now China, not US

  Smartphones in third quarter sold in greater volumes in China (up 58 percent) than in the US (down 7 percent). US sales of smartphones could bounce back with release of iPhone 4S, at least temporarily.

• QR codes 101: What those squiggles do

  Quick Response (QR) codes link consumers to websites fast. Here's how to use them, and why you'd want to.

• Thanksgiving Google doodle turkey lays 12 Easter eggs

  The Thanksgiving turkey on Google's home page comes with a full wardrobe. You can change the bird's feathers, hairstyle, and even footwear. In fact, by our calculations – keeping in mind that all of our finance and tech support staff have already left for the holiday, leaving us with an office full of liberal arts majors – Google's turkey has 2,985,984 possible combinations.Among those, there are 12 secret combinations. Find the right outfit and – poof! – the turkey reveals several bonus accessories. However, discovering all 12 could take you longer than cooking a Thanksgiving dinner…

• Android remains top target for malware: report

  The Android operating system is under assault. By comparison, Apple's iOS is in pretty good shape. 

• Larger Kindle Fire tablets set to hit in 2012: report

  The Kindle Fire was launched this month by Amazon. But according to one tech site, Amazon is already prepping a pair of successors. 

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  Christian Science Monitor | Gardening

• Vertical gardens: The good, the bad, the ugly

  The current trend of planting on walls or fences -- vertical gardening -- is fascinating, but average gardeners often don't understand the maintenance requirements.

• You'll learn a lot when you attend a rose show

  Want to learn more about the Queen of Flowers? Attend a rose show.

• Peonies: For gorgeous flowers in spring, plant in fall

  Peonies add a nostalgic touch to gardens. And fall is the perfect time to plant them.

• Eyesore in the garden: Now you see it, now you don't.

  Make your garden eyesores disappear, with a little landscaping 'sleight of hand.'

• Hardy cyclamen: Its delicate appearance hides its toughness

  Hardy cyclamen may look dainty, but it's a tough shade perennial as well as being beautiful.

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  Christian Science Monitor | Environment

• Climate change warning: brace for hotter heat waves, stronger storms

  A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that such events are likely to occur if greenhouse-gas emissions continue unabated.

• Earthquakes in Oklahoma? Is 'fracking' to blame, or something else?

  Recent earthquakes in Oklahoma – the largest a magnitude 5.6 – are part of a 'swarm' of temblors to rattle the state since 2009, say geophysicists. Research suggests that the quakes are too big to chalk up to fracking to extract oil and gas.

• Huge chunk of Antarctic ice sheet set to break free

  A 300-square-mile portion of the Pine Island Glacier is expected to break off in the next few months, creating a massive Antarctic iceberg. The glacier is contributing the sea-level rise. 

• Saving US grasslands: a bid to turn back the clock on desertification

  As grasslands diminish on prairies and savannas around the world, an innovative ranching technique that reverses the environmental damage of desertification makes its way to the US.

• Climate study, funded in part by conservative group, confirms global warming

  The latest global warming results confirm those from earlier, independent studies by scientists at NASA and elsewhere that came under fire from skeptics in an episode known as 'climategate.'

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  Christian Science Monitor | Arts/Entertainment

• Top Picks: Guitar lessons from James Taylor, Keira Knightley voices Tinkerbell, and more

  James Taylor teaches guitar lessons on his website, Keira Knightley voices Tinkerbell in SyFy's two-part Peter Pan series, 'Journey of the Universe' space series on PBS takes viewers through the galaxy, and more top picks.

• Top Picks: Babar on DVD, pop-up version of The Odyssey, new website makes contemporary art easy, and more

  'Babar and Father Christmas' released for first time on DVD, Sam Ita releases graphic novel with pop-up art illustrations of The Odyssey, new website makes collecting artwork accessible and affordable, and more top picks.

• Dead sea scrolls come alive

  Ancient Dead Sea Scrolls find new accessibility in New York's bustling Times Square.

• Biblical history nestled in neon buzz

  Ancient history competes with Broadway glamor in New York's Times Square.

• Top Picks: Final Harry Potter movie released on DVD, Woody Allen documentary, Beach Boys album and more

  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 released on DVD, two-part documentary on Woody Allen airs on PBS' 'American Masters,' CD aims to recreate a Beach Boy's final album and more top picks.

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  Christian Science Monitor | Books

• Jeffrey Eugenides talks about 'The Marriage Plot' and pokes fun at literary theorists

  Jeffrey Eugenides talks his novels – and themes of death, suicide, and Detroit.

• Michele Bachmann shares her life story with voters in 'Core of Conviction'

  Michele Bachmann's campaign autobiography tells of a youthful world view shaped by an antipathy to Jimmy Carter and a reverence for Ronald Regan.

• Reader recommendation: Aftermath

  Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

• Why Penguin is worried about the role of Amazon's Kindle in libraries

  Penguin Group – citing security problems – has put a hold on the distribution of new e-books to libraries.

• Reader recommendation: The First Tycoon

  Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

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  Christian Science Monitor | The Home Forum

• 'Easy like Sunday morning'

  The search for a wedding song took almost as long as finding the right girl.

• Bumps in the night

  Hearing the prolonged creaking sound and occasional clump, an imaginative boy surveyed his options.

• Packages full of new dreams

  Small parcels arrive every couple of weeks from Monitor friends--three or four used books, carefully chosen.

• Make-believe among the docks

  As they played house in an old dumpster, their worlds of imagination merged for a day.

• Franken-kitchen!

  Cooking up a storm of lessons with fungus, fossils, and bread mold in a kitchen fit for Frankenstein.

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  Terrorism and Security | csmonitor.com

• Syria refuses Arab League monitors, sanctions loom

  Syria refused to allow Arab League monitors, designed to tamp down regime attacks on protesters, into the country. Sanctions could follow.

• Iran nuclear stand-off: Why the war drumbeat has died down

  Western countries are on alert for any decisive moves from Tehran that hint at an 'all-out bid' for an Iranian nuclear weapon. But in the meantime they are sticking to diplomatic measures.

• Russia blasts latest sanctions against Iran nuclear program

  The latest sanctions against the Iran nuclear program target its oil and petrochemical industries. The US and France are also threatening more devastating measures against Iran's banks.

• Syria's deadline to end violence slips by during a bloody weekend

  The Arab League's Saturday night deadline to end the violence in Syria was bookended by government crackdowns and an attack on the Baath party headquarters Sunday.

• Syria's Assad vows to continue iron-fisted crackdown

  The Arab League’s deadline for an end to government violence passed last night, but Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he won't stop using force to put down a growing insurrection.

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  Christian Science Monitor | Chapter and Verse

• Jeffrey Eugenides talks about 'The Marriage Plot' and pokes fun at literary theorists

  Jeffrey Eugenides talks his novels – and themes of death, suicide, and Detroit.

• Michele Bachmann shares her life story with voters in 'Core of Conviction'

  Michele Bachmann's campaign autobiography tells of a youthful world view shaped by an antipathy to Jimmy Carter and a reverence for Ronald Regan.

• Why Penguin is worried about the role of Amazon's Kindle in libraries

  Penguin Group – citing security problems – has put a hold on the distribution of new e-books to libraries.

• Ann Patchett opens Nashville bookstore as other stores close

  When two bookstores in Nashville closed, Patchett decided to open Parnassus Books, saying she's aiming for "an intelligent staff… [and] well-displayed, well-chosen books."

• Truth about Natalie Wood's death 'is all in the book,' says boat's captain

  Dennis Davern, captain of the boat off of which Natalie Wood drowned, wrote a 2009 book about the incident which contradicts the account of Wood's husband Robert Wagner.

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  Christian Science Monitor | Bright Green

• Bright Green fades to black

  The Bright Green environment blog ends. Thanks to those who helped make it possible.

• The Medea Hypothesis: A response to the Gaia hypothesis

  A new book, 'The Medea Hypothesis,' looks at the opposite of the Gaia hypothesis and suggests that life on Earth is self-destructive.

• Audi's 'Green Police' Super Bowl ad controversial

  Audi's Super Bowl ad has been controversial for its portrayal of environmental issues and echoes of Nazi-era police.

• What's really causing Himalayan glaciers to melt?

  A new study suggests that black carbon could be the cause of Himalayan glaciers melting.

• Centralia, Pa.: How an underground coal fire erased a town

  The Centralia, Pa., coal fire is expected to drive out the town's few remaining residents.

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  Christian Science Monitor | Horizons

• Android remains top target for malware: report

  The Android operating system is under assault. By comparison, Apple's iOS is in pretty good shape. 

• Larger Kindle Fire tablets set to hit in 2012: report

  The Kindle Fire was launched this month by Amazon. But according to one tech site, Amazon is already prepping a pair of successors. 

• Battery breakthrough could keep smart phones charged for an entire week

  Scientists at Northwestern University announced new technology for batteries that could last 10 times as long and charge 10 times as fast as they do today. What would it be like to charge your laptop from empty to full in 15 minutes?

• Amazon loses money on each Kindle Fire sold (on purpose)

  The parts inside an Amazon Kindle Fire cost more than the e-reader's sticker price, according to a new report. But that's always been the Amazon way. 

• Louis Daguerre: Why people never smile in old photographs

  Louis Daguerre gets the seat of honor today at Google. The photography pioneer invented a way to create permanent images, as the Google doodle suggests. But why does everyone look so serious?

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  Christian Science Monitor | Diggin It

• Vertical gardens: The good, the bad, the ugly

  The current trend of planting on walls or fences -- vertical gardening -- is fascinating, but average gardeners often don't understand the maintenance requirements.

• You'll learn a lot when you attend a rose show

  Want to learn more about the Queen of Flowers? Attend a rose show.

• Peonies: For gorgeous flowers in spring, plant in fall

  Peonies add a nostalgic touch to gardens. And fall is the perfect time to plant them.

• Eyesore in the garden: Now you see it, now you don't.

  Make your garden eyesores disappear, with a little landscaping 'sleight of hand.'

• Hardy cyclamen: Its delicate appearance hides its toughness

  Hardy cyclamen may look dainty, but it's a tough shade perennial as well as being beautiful.

• 

  Christian Science Monitor | Articles on Christian Science

• The Bible in my life

  A Christian Science perspective.

• Occupy Wall Street, tea party: Do we join in?

  A Christian Science perspective.

• Gratitude that heals

  A Christian Science perspective.

• Arrest the effects of abuse now

  A Christian Science perspective: The news surrounding Penn State is a call to prayer.

• Your value

  A Christian Science perspective: A basic human need is to feel one's own worth. Here are some ideas on how to recognize your God-given value.