* Success of Egypt's Islamists marks a trend in the Middle East. * This year may see the end of "those heartless perennials" in politics, the three Gs: God, guns, gays. * Today's best joke on Twitter about the founding fathers. * Economic downturn finds the cremation business
* At about 5 a.m. today, the EU's plates diverged along the English Channel. * Mogadishu sees new, fierce fighting between al-Shabab militants and government and AU troops. * Al-Shabab takes to Twitter. * American jailed in Thailand for 2.5 years for posting links to banned biography of
* China on climate change: bumbling, probably devious, and definitely confusing. * Letter from inside Damascus. * Costco shows what Americans want to buy: milk, eggs, and diamond rings. * Giving a kidney to a stranger shouldn't be applauded or considered heroic—it should be worth money. * Kurt Anderson on contemporary style&
* By calling Russia's election rigged, Putin says Clinton "gave a signal" to his enemies. * Brief account of Gorbachev's long road to becoming a dissident who is ignored at home. * Uproar after Medvedev retweets an insult directed at a jailed activist. * Seven easy steps to
* "Prepare for War: The Insane Plan to Outlaw Diplomacy With Iran." * The surge of Newt is real, causing Obama's advisors to rewrite the playbook, or at least write a new one. * Obama takes the Roosevelt raceway while gunning for Romney, Republicans, etc. * Tom Bartlett profiles Gene
* Kremlin arrests 300 following election-fraud protests, including star of the opposition, Alexey Navalny. * Assad: "No government in the world kills its people, unless it's led by a crazy person." * Merkel's Euro strategy: clever, risky, dangerous; if the euro is preserved, she'll
* 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,
* 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
* Notes on Pakistan's "memo-gate," where Zardari is accused of knowing beforehand about the bin Laden raid. * Secrets of the Taliban's success: America's mistakes, Pakistan's support, unending supply of fighters. * Scientists recommend—for environmental reasons, and for better bills—a
* With Cain out of the race, Republican critics of Newt Gingrich turn silent. * Catalog of Gingrich's 156 Amazon reviews. * Early results show Putin's United Russia party clinging to majority. * Catalog of snooping tools available to governments obtained from attendees of recent surveillance conference. * Obama offers "
