* Berlusconi calls Italy a "shitty" country that sickens him, and vows to leave. * Dutch game show pits failed asylum seekers in contest to show knowledge of Dutch culture. * Detailing those who gained from 9/11. * No guesses for when Gadhafi will show up at his vacation home, located
* Solutions to the space debris problem: magnetic nets, catcher's mitts, anything to stop it multiplying. * Since May three NHL players have been found dead—all enforcers who dropped gloves to punch and be punched. * Endangered species babies born in labs. * A chart of defunct nations is the key
* South Africa's ANC, long cozy with Gadhafi, says West showed Africa disrespect in Libya. * Photos from inside Libya's Internal Security (aka domestic spying) Unit center in Tripoli. * South African politics summary: Disciplining Malema is Zuma's greatest challenge so far. * World's biggest khat
* New York, Arizona investigate charities that may have spent millions intended for Sept. 11 causes. * Alex Ross fills in the background on his piece on an opera about an Auschwitz guard that took 40 years to stage. * Opera group refuses to perform The Mute Girl of Portici in Belgium for
* Ten events since 9/11 that have been more significant—e.g., America's response. * If the U.S. continues to "lead from behind," NATO will become more regional, less global. * Jerusalem Post fires columnist for saying Palestinians "justified" in attacking Israelis, their occupiers. * Bonn,
* Citing burden on doctors, judge blocks Texas abortion law requiring women to view sonograms. * Former 9/11 Commission heads report airports are still unlikely to detect explosives on passengers. * Hunters do their part to stop the spread of wild pigs by releasing pigs into the wild to later hunt. * Zabar&
* Comparing violence in Iraq and Chicago, Kanye forgets civilian casualties (though Chicago's still dangerous). * BBC News debunks five Sept. 11 conspiracy theories. * California mulls banning Styrofoam containers starting in 2016. * Windows's iconic "bliss" wallpaper is a real photo, taken by Charles O’Rear in
* Chinese parents incensed at demolition of unsanctioned schools—and the high-rises that replaced them. * Ai Weiwei blasts Beijing, where one of the only positives is that people still give birth to babies. * If terrorist methods are as widely available as automobiles, why are there so few Islamist terrorists? * Chronic
* Irene can't be pinned on global warming, but more events like Irene should be expected in a warming world. * Hotels preserve chairs and tables during hurricanes by tossing them in the pool. * Rivka Galchen's fabulous 2009 Harper's essay on the quest to control hurricanes.
* Flooding from Irene devastates portions of upstate New York, Vermont, submerging several small towns. * Waiting out the storm in a school gym. * Libyan rebels resist Western pressure, say they won't extradite Lockerbie bomber. * Top Gun proves we vote at the box office—Bigelow's upcoming bin Laden
