The story of Swarte Piet, Santa's little black-faced Dutch slave/helper.

`A Dutch parent has a decidedly hairier story to relate, telling his children, "Listen, you might want to pack a few of your things together before you go to bed. The former bishop from Turkey will be coming along with six to eight black men. They might put some candy in your shoes, they might stuff you in a sack and take you to Spain, or they might just pretend to kick you. We don't know for sure, but we want you to be prepared."`

An interesting article by The Independent that describes the ways in which the CIA covertly funded the American Modern Art movement as a propaganda tactic to espouse the artistic and intellectual freedoms of the US as opposed to the overt propagandizing of the art of the Soviet Union.

A catalog of arguments that a couple have had over the last several years.

A depressing yet fascinating article on the way that patients in America approach death, and how a revised look at end-of-life care could lead to longer life spans, lower costs, and better quality of life towards the end.

A Taste of Home in Foil Packets and Powder By ASHLEY GILBERTSON<br />
Troops from nearly 50 lands dine on combat meals in Afghanistan — each reminding them of where they’d rather be. Related Article

The story of a boy who was raised as a girl after her parents gave up and had no other ideas for how to deal with his gender identity issues.

A fascinating article on a new phase of life we are seeing in first world post-adolescents, a sort of 'emerging adulthood'.

An interesting article about a class of facts the author terms "mesofacts" or facts that change slowly over time, such that you may quote them for years and eventually find yourself wildly inaccurate.

A fascinating article on the universality of language and the possibility that Chomsky's universal grammar theories may not apply to all languages.