Every Friday we take a look back at the week’s headlines, centering on a theme we’ve singled out as particularly important.This week some nation states seemed too big to succeed, while Hollywood stars were using growth hormones to get even bigger. Inequality isn’t a strong enough word to  represent some of these overwhelming and unnecessary disparities.

Somalia gives up on central state, shifts to system of zones of influence—best news in years for the country’s development:

…the conference participants—foreign and Somali—say they will accept that the country is, for the time being, irretrievably broken into five or six zones of influence.

U.S. labor-force participation rate of foreign-born in 2010: 68%; native-born rate: 64%. via

130,000 displaced by fighting in Mali since mid-January.

Somalia gives up on central state, shifts to system of zones of influence—best news in years for the country’s development.

Pictures of European hipsters and everything they possess.

Dmitri Nabokov dies at 77.

Related: Opera singer, mountain climber, and his father’s best translator/collaborator, Dmitri led an impassioned life.

Emotions come first when evaluating risk, then the rational brain looks for supporting evidence.

Female cleaner fish more cooperative with unfamiliar males than their breeding partner.

Sale of human growth hormone now big business in Hollywood; soon it will be over-the-counter, says regular user Stallone.

Satellite tour of the world’s biggest slums.

Newly digitized collection of letters between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett.

Shortlist released for strange-title award includes The Mushroom in Christian Art, Cooking With Poo, and Mr Andoh’s Pennine Diary Memoirs of a Japanese Chicken Sexer in 1935 Hebden Bridge.

Photos of cars gradually consumed by nature. #photography

His is that most unfortunate of prose styles: auto-parodic. Savage, fun critique of new book by Blur bassist about his thing for cheese.

A Tumblr of precious menswear and snacks.

Revisiting: Kent Rogowski’s inverted stuffed animals.

The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me. J.K. Rowling to publish novel for adults this year.

Since 2000, six police officers have been killed by members of the “sovereign citizen” movement, who argue they are not subject to laws.

Japan questions its safety net following the starvation death of a couple in their 60s and their son in his 30s.

We send home that first rough draft of history…We always have to ask ourselves whether the level of risk is worth the story.

Latest U.S. research shows Iran is pursuing nuclear research, but that it hasn’t yet sought to make a bomb.

There’s no acceptable method for disposing of a Quran—the best way is to store it indefinitely.

On biopolitcs and the war of human dignity versus the temptations of scientific progress.

Scientists now believe the drought that toppled the Mayans was relatively mild.

Isherwood: The time is right for a restaging of Death of a Salesman.

John Peel’s record collection—25,000 LPs, 40,000 singles, and thousands of CDs—to become an online museum.

The last comedy to win Best PIcture was Annie Hall in 1978; pundits weigh in on Hollywood’s humorlessness.

History shows one of the most surefire ways for a woman to win an Oscar is by playing a prostitute.

Galloway: Arguments abound over America’s decline, but there’s no question we make the best movies.

A multimedia journey into the depths of the Mariana Trench.

China, Russia, Iran—though not Hamas—all reaffirm support for Syria.

Civil rights activist defends The Help as this year’s “most outstanding and socially relevant motion picture.”

Website connects flying families in need with registered babysitters on the same plane.

Author behind French parenting book asked Marie Claire to bury story about giving her husband a threesome for his 40th birthday.

WHO advocates mass adult male circumcision in Africa to beat HIV.

Confessions of the world’s worst sperm donor.

Fracked gas is not a “bridge fuel” to some cleaner era, but a rickety pier extending indefinitely out into a hotter future. Say no to frack. #longreads

How, when, and why Mitt Romney changed his mind on abortion.

There’s a drive among Mormons to share an image of domestic bliss—and Pinterest is the perfect packaging vehicle.

In case you were curious what exactly “http://” really stands for (not really).

Largest-ever picture of the night sky composed of 37,000 separate photographs.

Images of turn-of-the-19th-century Bombay.

Ten seconds selected from every Top-100 song since 1959.

1947 Sporting News sketches of America’s ballparks, by Gene Mack. via

Americans take their privacy very seriously, which is why so many of us give all of our personal information to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and then complain about it. Below are some folks who really don’t—or didn’t—want to be found out about.

Hong Kongers outraged over mainlanders arriving to birth children, who then get 12 years of school, free visas.

“Dude,” the quintessential American slang term, may have been brought to the U.S. by immigrants.

Once thought headed to extinction, the Y chromosome’s shrinking actually occurred in the distant past.

Revisiting Jean-Marie Loret’s claim to be Hitler’s illegitimate son.

An MP3 player was a chance to shape my son’s musical education from the beginning.

A collection of award-winning photos by Rémi Ochlik, who was killed this week in Syria. #photos

Scientist who lied to obtain Heartland documents now fights to save his job at the institute he founded.

Jeremy Lin files trademark for the term “linsanity”—of five applicants, he’s the third.

Theodore Dreiser, J.P. Morgan, and Alfred Vanderbilt were among those scheduled to board the Titanic.

Though its obscenity varies, flipping the bird is recognized around the world—Wittgenstein would be amazed.

Rick Santorum, made from gay porn.

How to remove your search history before Google’s new privacy policy takes effect. via

“BBC Transcript to Be Used in Wake of Nuclear Attack.”

“Jerusalem Syndrome,” or why some people go crazy in Jerusalem.

“Paris syndrome” mainly affects Japanese who are unimpressed with the real city compared to the advertised product.

Paris, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down, inspired by the TMN series (forthcoming May 2012), gets starred review from Kirkus.

“Honeytrapper,” paid to test wives’ faithfulness, adjusts price to location.

Graph: Number of times Lindsay Lohan has hosted Saturday Night Live compared to number of times Aziz Ansari has hosted.

Pictures of coonhound balancing on things across America.

Useful: How to travel internationally with an iPhone 4S.

Layman’s guide to analytic vs. continental philosophers.

Fun guide to two competing dictionaries of American slang includes history of slang dictionaries.

With The Artist’s small pleasures in mind, David Denby reviews the best of silent cinema.

Mark Ronson records, mixes athletes’ noises to create Olympics soundtrack. #video

Story of the abandoned alcohol caves built into the anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Pictures of the day: Abandoned Austin house explodes into the street.

Journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik killed during rocket attack in Syria.

On paper, Santorum is a GOP dream, and a draw for many swing voters, but look closer and he doesn’t add up.

Ignoring his unelectable qualities, conservatives are enjoying Santorum’s willingness to say anything.

Meet a third-party candidate: former Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party.

I miss him already. Mourning MSNBC’s first Pat Buchanan-less election.

Putin: The probability of a global war between nuclear powers is not high, because that would mean the end of civilization.

U.S. Army creates Pinterest to reach out to women.

Web companies need to provide “reputation insurance” in case of online disasters. #opinions

The U.S. shouldn’t be shocked when recipients of its pro-democracy efforts bite back—they have different political battles to win.

National survey suggests Libyans prefer “strong leadership” to democracy.

On the metaphysics of the international dateline, and how Samoa lost a day forever.

An unfinished autobiography and a 1980s biopic turned Frances Farmer, one of the great golden-era stars, into a lobotomized zombie. The main trouble: Frances Farmer wasn’t lobotomized. An investigation to set one of Hollywood’s most convoluted stories straight.

The reporter is wearing an eye patch.

“And who do you work for?” she says, clearing her throat.

“I’m retired,” I say.

A grizzled tribe of Middle East correspondents has gathered at the Mayflower Hotel’s wood-paneled bar in Beirut. Wine is poured, mugs of beers are guzzled, and cigarette smoke hangs in blue clouds. I don’t really belong. I’m here by marriage.  

Friday was the last time that francs could be exchanged for Euros.

Americans report record-high feelings for Canada, Australia, Germany, Japan, and India.

Until recently, elections—“though blatantly unfree and unfair”—were at the heart of the Putin regime’s appeal and credentials.

Overview of migrants, borders, and ideas about immigration in Europe. #longreads

Starting in 2013, Mars will shave 11% off its candy bars to reduce calories.

Guide to doing Zumba at 82.

At 20, he attempted suicide-by-jaguar. Obituary for John Fairfax, who rowed across oceans.

Juicy Q&A with Cher and Joan Rivers’s former manager.

In case you missed it: How Target can tell you’re pregnant before you’ve told the dad. #longreads

Tuesday’s poem: “To the Angelbeast” by Eduardo Corral.

How “Linsanity” gets lost when translated into Mandarin.

You should know who Georges Simenon was, and you should know that he wrote books that didn’t feature Maigret.

Comic: Good cop, Dadaist cop.

Similarly surreal: Amusement park rides shown unmoored in Buenos Aires. #video

I hear there’s a lot of dengue fever going around. Three scenes inspired by the Gingrich campaign.

For 14 years, an investigator has been tracking down NASA’s 184 missing moon rocks.

New bus ad in London will be able to discern gender, change content based on audience.

As our medical implants outlast the rest of our bodies, a new recycling industry is born.

We can dig a pit and bury you alive in half an hour. BBC reports on being watched in China.

We already may have found the pill that will erase painful memories. #longreads

Scientists generate living plant for the fruit of an arctic flower that died 32,000 years ago.

First lab-grown hamburger patty expected this fall.

Everybody was on an austerity program. The decline of British cuisine post-World War I.

Gloves painted with maps were the Google Maps of the 19th century. via

Crunching the stats to find the couple who best fits the spirit of Times wedding announcements.

Every Friday we take a look back at the week’s headlines, centering on a theme we’ve singled out as particularly important. This week fighting raged and little heed was paid to Valentine’s Day. The more everyone fought, the less sense they made, and damn if we couldn’t keep our eyes off them.

Fantastic Economist summary of the Syrian situation:

Many Syrians are convinced that, eventually, Mr. Assad will go. What worries them is how. 

Foreclosure quilts: Our current economy mapped using remnants and found cloth.

Former Liberian first lady introduces bill to kill homosexuals.

Trackers and rangers stalk each other in a war over the worth-more-than-cocaine rhino horn.

Six Democrats want to establish a “Reasonable Profits Board” to control gas profits.

Society for News Design names five newspapers, representing four countries, World’s Best-Designed Newspaper.

Documents reveal how Facebook screens dark content—and pays people $1/hour (plus commissions) to do so.

Portion of Last Shop Standing, documentary about UK record shops. #video

Scrupulosity: A psychological disorder characterized by pathological guilt about moral or religious issues.

“Top of the World” has pictures of rich people enjoying themselves in St. Moritz.

Turns out that last week’s video of a wooly mammoth was a hoax. via

Not a hoax: Piggyback Bandit banned in five states.

Mobile phones are banned in New York schools, thus trucks offer students short-term curbside storage.

The web helps cartoonists go viral, but not get paid.

E-books bring us closer than paper books to the essence of the literary experience; they are a medium for grown-ups. #opinions

Whatever people may say about my books, the epigraphs have always been top-drawer. Chat with Geoff Dyer.

The EU is regulating “every financial actor, financial market, financial activity and product,” line by line.

Starting with Sputnik in 1957, Americans have suffered periodic bouts of competitiveness anxiety. #opinions

White House proposes lowering the cost of making pennies (currently 2.4 cents) and nickels (11.2 cents).

Dept. of Transportation wants to block most electronic communications in American cars.

Repealing McCain-Feingold could disempower the wealthy and place the scrutiny back on political parties.

The FBI asked MI5 to snoop on Charlie Chaplin—and find out if his name was really Israel Thornstein.

He may have led the 1986 Mets in hugging teammates. All-Star catcher Gary Carter dies, age 57.

Abbot and Costello’s “Who’s on First” for 2012.

North America’s dueling ice hotels are 160 miles apart, and they’re after the same super-niche guests.

Circadian rhythms determine the point of the day at which you’re most likely to get sick.

More and more pediatricians are refusing to treat patients whose parents refuse vaccination.

The country’s reactionary leaders feel compelled to imbalance the playing field. Why Iranian women are training to be ninjas.

Fake news of Putin’s arrest goes viral.

Italy’s financial reforms can be praised, but political reform must follow.

Sarkozy joins Twitter.

“Isn’t Xi Lovely?” (Or “Xi Will Be Loved.”) Headlines editors shouldn’t use to discuss Xi Jinping’s visit to America.

Sports reporter gets away with saying Jeremy Lin has a small penis.

Gawker explains Jeremy Lin’s rise and why you should care.

The NBA’s style of scouting talent could be just as lucky relying on a coin flip.

Chomsky: American decline can perhaps be stemmed if we abandon hope for decent survival.

Free copies offered (limited time) for book billed as In Cold Blood meets contemporary Tokyo.

Chart shows how many Americans over 50 can perform division (very few).

Chart: Dickens’s sales figures in his lifetime.

People are less grudging of entrepreneurs’, artists’, and athletes’ wealth, whereas bankers’ bonuses seem ludicrous.

Notes on how to scare a tree into giving you fruit.

Conversation in MMS on the merits of Las Vegas, New York, and having sex with sharks.

Do they eat each other’s faces? No! Sophia Loren says young actors should kiss like Bergman and Grant in Notorious.

Groups hope to recycle the 25 million pounds of beads thrown at Mardi Gras every year.

Trustees may revive a 40-year-old “urban laboratory” in the Arizona desert as a retirement resort.

With vast natural resources and a leadership that may be open to new ideas, businesses hunger for North Korea.

Pre-revolutionary Iran: jet-setters’ destination of choice, rife with inequality. #photography

Tracing the history of library sex, from dirty 1526 manuscripts to today’s paperbacks.

MRIs and willing participants show it’s possible to prove that you love someone more.

The 1982 video-game guide—with a foreword by Spielberg—that Martin Amis disowns.

Outtakes from The Beatles’ Abbey Road cover shoot.

Researchers find a connection between slow walking and developing dementia later in life.

We don’t know the exact etymology of “balderdash,” but we know it probably meant something bad.

Some decisions are best made heedlessly, based on the chance for an epic story—and some people think like that all the time. A report on what it’s like to slide down a volcano on a piece of sheet metal at 55 mph.

Travel agents routinely beat online sites for finding cheaper fares; if the agent has a horrible website, they’re probably legit.

Long investigation into how iPhone apps use information stored in your address book.

Critique of journalism, PR, and attack dogs in “the cesspool” of Silicon Valley.

Q&A with author Cheryl Strayed, revealed to be the Rumpus’s Dear Sugar columnist.

Chicago’s new magazine, The Chicagoan, to go highbrow about the city and Midwestern stories.

London and New York taxis could learn lessons from Tehran’s “sophisticated eco-system of cab options.”

Reminder: Sharks are alone on Valentine’s Day and every other day. #photographs

Everything you wanted to know about the extraordinary history of the American wild hog.

Short film about Bermuda’s Johnny Barnes, who spends six hours a day wishing love to cars.

“Jeremy Lin can drop 38 points on the Lakers, but he can’t open the n-word to white or Asian people.”

Profile of Coleridge’s son, pegged as poetry’s biggest disappointment.

Pictures of Michael Cunningham’s bookcases, including his built-in bathroom storage.

Jamie Oliver finds guns, gold, and Joy Division master tapes in the basement of his new restaurant.

Friends! Alas, it has been far too long since we’ve seen each other. One of the things I love about America is how willing the public is to accept someone stepping back into the spotlight (most of the time) (athletes especially). Well, you be the judge.

Document leak reveals a libertarian thinktank’s strategy to discredit climate-change science.

The Colorado River rarely reaches the sea; now U.S. and Mexican officials are searching for a way to feed it again.

Wooden sailboat to be employed in symbolic “slow trade” routes across the Atlantic.

Supreme Court Justice Breyer robbed at machete-point near his Caribbean home.

Authors with opposing views on American decline correspond about their books and theories.

If he makes it to the league and plays a White game, this will all be for nothing. What the success of Jeremy Lin means to Asian-Americans. #opinions

Brooklyn girls’ basketball team keeps winning in a season in which its coach died and after which its school will close.

The last time Picasso’s Guernica was in the UK, it was nailed to the wall of a Ford dealership in Manchester.

Mormon Church apologizes for posthumously baptizing Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal.

Related: “The Mormons: Our Secret Weapon in the War on Terror.”

There is a difference between saying, “Hey, you faggot” and “Hey, faggot.” Lesbian rapper Syd the Kyd on homophobic slurs.

The algebra of love by Dylan (with a brief appearance by Costello).

Book alleges CIA used Kashmir earthquake to cover smuggling agents into Pakistan.

New James Joyce children’s book published, but his foundation cries foul.

Graduate student mounts defense of secret habit: audiobooks.

Trailer released for Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Killer. #video

Forward to your sweetie: Paul Ford offers 100 ways to say, “I love you.”

Dictators’ dilemma: Whether to win with 92% or 99% of the vote, and what that says to the rest of the world.

In case you missed it: Summary of Zambia’s win over Côte d’Ivoire in the biennial Africa Cup.

She was practically anointed by the gods. TMN’s Sarah Hepola on Whitney Houston.

Times are tough even for gangs, hence rise of the Wacka Flocka—a community gun for shared use.

Condom design has barely improved since the 19th century; better designs are needed to save lives and enhance pleasure.

Moby’s Los Angeles architecture blog, with pictures of castles.

Snapshot of 1970s Venice Beach, where muscle led to fame and Arnold was king.

Stereographs from the Civil War, when America was only 85 years old.

Pretty pictures recently found on Flickr. #photography

The history of your bookshelves is the history of your assembling your identity.

Florida authorities reclaim derelict resort town “Islandia.”

Florists reportedly deliver bouquets in the middle of the night. Five places where Valentine’s Day is forbidden.

We’re all out of money, but not love: proposing National Love Day, the anti-Valentine’s. #opinions

Until the 1930s, Taiwanese aborigines often would bestow their loved ones with a severed head.

The love of a parasite is worth nothing. Ayn Rand explains love.

Very weird Gulliver’s Travels Valentine cards from 1939.

British researchers ascertain the “Rapunzel Number,” the ratio that determines the shape of a ponytail.

Typo in Louisiana coastal report blames sea level rise on, among other culprits, astrology.

Andrew Cohen investigates the current state of wild horses and the policies surrounding their eventual slaughter.

If I turn into the street, I am followed by a multitude. Dickens dealt with rock-star fame when he arrived in America in 1842.

My relation to Dwight D. Eisenhower is remote compared with the immediate Eisenhower family.

Jah Wobble and Keith Levene talk about how they made Metal Box.

Sometimes a book appears in your life and starts to pester you. The characters act like your friends. Events occur in the plot that reappear inside your home. It’s enough to drive a man to wonder which world is more real, until danger appears.

Fantastic Economist summary of the Syrian situation.

State Department photographs show al-Assad’s artillery pointed toward major protest centers.

The World Press Photo of the Year for 2011 shouldn’t be used to illustrate news without some explanation. #opinions

Buzzfeed round-up of every World Press Photo winner, 1955-2011.

Justin Bieber is a scaling problem and other issues in the short, exploding life of app-maker Instagram.

Related: Quick links to review which apps you’ve allowed to snoop on your private material.

John Jeremiah Sullivan goes to Ireland. #longreads

In case you need another reason to purchase Pulphead, an excerpt from “Feet in Smoke.”

See also: Wells Tower and Sullivan discuss the art of non-fiction. #audio

As in Sullivan’s case, we’re excited to read almost anything by Jenny Diski.

Seventy years on, no study debunking the usefulness of brainstorming is powerful enough to kill the fad.

Billups on why Rubio will be fine in the NBA—because he can be run over by Billups without complaint.

“Orchestra is on the other side of campus.” Anti-Asian slurs heard by star Knicks guard Jeremy Lin.

Statistics, opinions, and video to support Lin being no fluke.

Other pictures by the artist (Brock Davis) behind last week’s internet hit, “World Disasters Done in Cauliflower.”

This week we’re debuting a new microfeature series, “Husband, Father, Writer, War,” in which Nathan Deuel recounts what it’s like to be an American citizen, young father, and supportive husband while he and his family settle down in Lebanon.

My daughter is bawling, red faced, legs held ram-rod straight.

Loretta was born in Saudi Arabia, turned two in Turkey, and we’ve just moved to Lebanon. In a stroke of luck, we found a rare flat in a stunning French Mandate house. But until our boxes arrive, the place is empty, echoing.

UK immigration officials prevent 70 sham marriages in one month by surveilling a busy registration office.

Study finds New York hospitals aggressively collect on those who cannot pay, despite receiving charity funds to cover the care.

Bob Marley’s death from skin cancer was most likely preventable.

Science provides the exact reasons (repetition, wistful lyrics) why “Someone Like You” makes people weepy.

In 1928, former slave Bill Traylor moved to Montgomery, Ala., and for the first time in his life, drew what he saw.

The most sought-after celebrity of 1930s New York was a plaster mannequin named Cynthia.

Oklahoma senator adds ironic “spilled semen” amendment to “Personhood” bill.

Murray has arguably done liberals a service by requiring them to deal with those whose values may seem alien.

Belgian court rules Tintin is not racist.

But some scientists warn that an invitation, or even contact, would make us vulnerable to evil aliens.

Mesmerizing interactive site explores scale of known universe.

Jack Nicholson at Lakers games, 1982-present. #photos

Every Friday we take a look back at the week’s headlines, centering on a theme we’ve singled out as particularly important. This week, despite the apathy that greets the idea that meaningful change is possible, protestors continued to make their voices heard. And beyond the streets we were seeing the beginnings of important change—along with the positive and negatives consequences when people start to really do it.

The key question is not whether Vladimir Putin—and Putinism—will survive. They will not:

Russia is facing growing problems of enormous complexity—economic, social, demographic, ethnic—that are impossible to solve within the rigid confines of neo-authoritarian “sovereign democracy.”