Headlines from December 9, 2013

Ukraine sends interior troops into Kiev, where protesters still block entrances to some government buildings.
A trip through the periodic table partially explains why we value gold over almost everything else.
Nadine Gordimer: “What is missing in the general view of Mandela is his wit, his quick humor.”
Income growth improved for all South Africans after Mandela’s 1994 election, but sufficiently more so for whites and Asians.
New York Port Authority adds rare snowy owls, which threaten flight safety, to kill list, in addition to swans and geese.
Like wilding before it, knockout is an urban legend “fueled by white fear of black youth.”
The launch code for U.S. nukes was 00000000 for 20 years.
Living with crazy ants requires either coming to terms with them crawling all over you all the time, or just losing your mind.
Hunt for “McCandless pilgrims”—young people who want to see the abandoned bus where Christopher McCandless died, as in In The Wild.
Damien Hirst applies to build an entire town in his name—with 750 homes, a school, shops—off the coast of England.
Bird’s-eye pictures of people sunbathing on a beach. #tmn #photography
Details of Rawabi, the first new Palestinian city to be constructed since Israel captured the West Bank in 1967.
Fort McMurray, Alberta, has the most male demographic of any city in North America; it also has the highest per capita video-streaming rate.
Smarm should be understood as a type of bullshit, then. It is a kind of moral and ethical misdirection.
Its historic badness is an achievement that demands respect. Rob Sheffield takes apart “Blurred Lines.” #music
Victorian parents hide in pictures to keep their babies still during portrait sessions.
A Sisyphean parade of pop Yuletide ditties. Love Actually is not actually romantic. #opinions