Headlines from October 5, 2010

Nine years after Sept. 11, U.S. counter-terrorism analysts still frustrated with databases that won't talk to each other.
In India, more parents are opting for c-sections to land on lucky birthdays.
They adjust their equipment or spit into their gloves. How batters abuse the on-deck circle.
From the attic: Matthew Summers-Sparks talks dirty with the Gray Lady.
Why it's better to have two 46-year-old friends who get you than 100 10-year-old friends "who suck proverbial dick."
Glimpse inside network wars shows struggle to draw audiences without being partisan.
People's language patterns mimic the state of their relationship.
Biological theory for why we tell stories.
New e-books by Ken Follett, James Patterson cost more than their hardcover counterparts.
Study challenges the popular notion that happiness is predetermined.
Q&A with artist Ray Murphy, who can carve 10 numbers on a toothpick with a chainsaw.
Possibly illiterate clown sweeps votes in Brazil's congressional race.
Using psychology and virtual money, four economists managed to stem Brazil's inflation.
Culture, biology, and language account for a very different history of masturbation for men and women.
For shops and restaurants above the future Second Ave. subway, construction is narrowing sidewalks and driving away customers.
"I'm a South Sider and he's a North Sider, so I need to learn more about him before I decide if I'll vote for him." Rahm Emanuel's first campaign day.
Boom in medical marijuana ads fuel western newspapers; features include "Toke of the Town."
Vatican denounces Berlusconi for telling his favorite anti-Semitic joke.
Swiss right-wingers caricaturize Italians as rodents.
Cameron: "There is an element of American conservatism that is headed in a very culture war direction."
Sarah Palin stalker now being guarded by local police from Palin-stalker stalkers.
Failed Times Square bomber goes to life in prison unrepentant.
Saudi Arabia makes Mariah Carey wear pants, sleeves, and modest necklines in media appearances.
Photos: Rarely seen North Korea.
Shenzhen locals get LED messages "about architecture and urbanism" in the bottom of their soup bowls.
Vegas boom is over: a brief study in U-Haul pricing.
Latest shooting involving Mexican drug-cartel pirates on the Rio Grande watershed threatens to become an international incident.
Video: 30 years of software piracy.
Why watching The Social Network in Seattle "is like watching Terminator in a room full of robots."
List of books featured on Mad Men.
Today's poems: Matthew Rohrer's "Poem for Starlings"; "Speech Therapy," by Dean Young.