Headlines from December 15, 2011

State Dept. “will have billions to spend” in Iraq over the next few years.
And now we get to prematurely place behind us another quite troubling incident in our recent history.
This year was the first in over three decades that fewer than 100 people were sent to death row.
Last American who knew what the fuck he was doing dies. Year in review for The Onion.
National Review says nominating Gingrich will give the election to Obama.
List of “the worst, most predictable, and least interesting” pundits in America.
Praise for improvisations based on Bach’s “Goldberg Variations”—but what is a “pintucked shirt?” via
Before there was today’s zombie craze, there was Daniel Defoe, who wrote the original novel in 1722.
Stephen Merchant moves out from Ricky Gervais’s shadow to continue his standup career.
If there’s one recurring image that defines the cinema of Steven Spielberg, it is the Spielberg Face—total submission to what’s seen.
Drawings of traditional sailor tattoos.
Twenty items the perfect man does not do, possibly all at once.
Absolutely true: The New York Review of Books is a vital intellectual read like no other.
Other holiday reading: TMN’s best holiday pieces collected for smartphone/Kindle, introduced by Sarah Hepola.
Radiolab on a different invisible 99%—e.g., how modern electronic devices “sound right” with carefully designed beeps and clicks. #audio
Ad of Mitt Romney speaking French, with fake English subtitles, declined by Fox News for being misleading.
Chirac given two-year suspended sentence for corrupt behavior while mayor of Paris.
German social scientist says society is poisoned, consumed with status-minding and discrimination.
Massive face atop German lighthouse changes depending on surrounding town’s emotions.
Gore: A manifesto for sustainable capitalism (and better metrics).
Top economists share and annotate graphs to sum up 2011.
“It is time to salute the players who made 2011 in cricket the year it was.”
There are people who never thought they’d see a black American president; there are also people who never thought they’d see a black basketball star dressed like a nerd. The rise of Carlton in NBA fashion.
New United Russia lawmakers include a wrestling champion and Marat Safin.
Saatchi: The contemporary art buyer is a piece of trash.
The 20 unhappiest people in the comments sections of year-end lists.
Byrne meditation on neuroscience, the absence of a merit-based world, and sexual selection.
Related: The Barbie-body neuroscience that got Byrne going.
Lego pursues girls with Lego Friends.
Women make up majority of Stieg Larsson fans, but they’re less interested in David Fincher’s movie.
Films of 2011 in six minutes. #video
He uses his miraculous production capacities to make toys instead of things that contribute to lasting welfare. The case against Santa Claus.