Headlines from December 6, 2011

Syria to admit international observers, with strings; Hamas abandoning its Damascus headquarters to avoid taint.
Global study says income inequality isn’t due to globalization.
Nation’s moms demand Christmas lists.
Guardian series investigates psychology behind the summer 2011 English riots.
Oh, science journalism: “Creative People Cheat, Smart People Do Drugs.”
International examples of salients (“panhandles”): narrow strips of territory poking out of a broader area.
Lost male juvenile puffin found at sex clinic after it was thought to have been blown off course from winter migration.
Premiering tonight on the Travel Channel, Hidden City by Marcus Sakey and TMN’s Kevin Guilfoile.
Alleged “lost portrait” of Jane Austen suggests she wasn’t a cranky spinster, or at least did not resemble one.
“Excited Mike Krzyzewski: Duke Squad Hasn’t Been This Unlikable in Years.”
Lists of synonyms Walt Whitman drew up for his Lincoln elegy.
Ryan Gosling photos mixed with pickup lines about biostatistics.
Dude addresses why dudes are so quick to tell their female friends that the other guys in their life aren’t good enough for them.
Recipe for “Halal Cart-Style Chicken and Rice With White Sauce.” via
In the off-season, our ToB Rooster has been moonlighting as a sriracha model, or so it would appear.
Top-secret war plans—to invade France—stolen from British embassy in Tehran, plus a Pulp Fiction poster.
Top Twitter hashtag in 2011: #egypt.
Blatant electoral fraud may have spared United Russia an even worse drubbing.
Videos show thousands chanting “Putin is a thief!” in Moscow.
Global Witness pulls out of the Kimberly Process, saying blood diamond prevention scheme is a failure.
Where state laws are sold: DC’s American Legislative Exchange Council maintains a library with more than 800 models of legislation.
We don’t get ourselves dry-cleaned. Round-up of Barney Frank’s best lines.
Roundtable: Should workplaces ban or curtail email?
A cheeseburger cannot exist outside of a highly developed, post-agrarian society.
Fascinating discussion with Metallica’s manager on how rock bands surf currency shifts while touring abroad.
Interview with Ewan Spencer, White Stripes photographer who walked up to the band in a bar in 2001.
Fluxblog’s 183-song mix of “the best and most notable music from 2011.”
BookRiot forecasts novels it would like to see in the 2012 Tournament of Books.
Interview with Sunn O)))‘s Steven O’Malley on the black metal ‘zine he started at age 19.
Astronomers find biggest black holes yet.