November 16, 2011: Morning
- Syrian army defectors attack military base near Damascus, opposition groups say.
- China's Confucius Peace Prize—to rival the Nobel—given to Putin this year for waging war.
- Mongolia to build enormous ice shield to help cool and water Ulan Bator during summer.
- To combat burger inflation, Argentina's domestic trade minister persuaded McDonald's to lower its Big Mac price.
- When it comes to economics, economists "have a more sophisticated lack of understanding than the guy on the street."
- Economist on what's next for the NBA.
- Child-abuse scandal unfolding at The Citadel depressingly similar to Penn State's.
- America and Europe's common problem: The economic crisis has ruined our taste for mainstream politicians.
- Ford Theater stocks Bill O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln in the gift shop, not the museum bookstore, due to sloppy facts.
- Map shows Manhattan's grid extended to every point on Earth.
- Send us evidence of how close the recession/recovery is to your doorstep.
- NASA has a need for astronaut candidates.
- Clothes of Kay Corleone deconstructed.
- Someone convinced the BBC to turn a poem about lunch into a short film with Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson, and thankful are we that they did.
- That short film: "The Song of Lunch."
- Paul Newman: Decency manifest.