You can say goodbye to all your old disproportionate Barbies thanks to designer Nickolay Lamm’s new doll; Obama may have set a precedent for a conservative president with his executive orders; meanwhile, studies show infants recognize the language they hear when born even after years of no longer speaking it. These discoveries and more below.

You Can Now Put Zits, Cellulite, and Bruises on Your ‘Normal Barbie’ Soon, kids will be able to trick out a “Normal Barbie” with stretch marks, acne, and bruises. has created an 11-inch doll of typical female proportions.

The Origin of the Number Zero Deep in the jungle, an intrepid scholar locates a symbol of power and mystery

The Cult of Kiddie Danger The Richland, WA, school district is phasing out swings on its playgrounds.

TPP Talks Come To DC: Time To Release The Text! We’ve just completed a fantastic week of actions to tell Congress that there is strong opposition to Fast Track and the TPP.

Bringing Apartheid Through the Back Door Conditions are ripe for the racial apartheid that Israel has been gradually imposing on the territories since 1967 to come out in the open – with a public primed to applaud and accept it.

Before Serial, There Were These Groundbreaking Examples of Serialized Non-Fiction Can’t wait for the next episode of the podcast series? Take a look at these popular predecessors.

Obama Extends War News agencies reported Saturday morning that weeks ago President Obama signed an order, kept secret until now, to authorize continuation of the Afghan war for at least another year.

Beijing’s Underground Housing Market Think affordable apartments are hard to find in LA? Try searching in Beijing. And then try searching under it.

Mexico’s Military & Political Class In The Eye of Ayotzinapa Storm When Iguala, Guerrero municipal police and masked men in unmarked black uniforms opened fire on unarmed students from the Ayotzinapa teachers college last September, killing six people and kidnapping 43 students, they lit the fuse of a national crisis.

‘Get Me Off Your Fucking Mailing List’ Is an Actual Science Paper Accepted by a Journal A paper titled “Get me off your fucking mailing list,” has been accepted by the International Journal of Advanced Computer Technology. Let us explain.

Every President’s Executive Orders In One Chart Here’s every president’s tally of executive orders per year that he served in office.

Lying, Cheating Bankers Lying, cheating bankers are not born; they’re created.

Ty Herndon and Billy Gilman Could Signal Sea Change for Nashville’s Gay Artists Decision by two high-profile figures means gay country artists could find coming out easier, but Nashville has some way to go before its homophobia problem is solved.

The Group That Rules the Web You might have read that, on October 28th, W3C officially recommended HTML5.

Want to Know Just How Much Obama Overreached on Executive Power? Wait for America’s Next ‘King’ The president’s actions on immigration are perfectly legal – probably. And he’s setting precedents for a conservative – definitely

An Infant’s Brain Maps Language From Birth, Study Says The infant’s brain retains language that it hears at birth and recognizes it years later, even if the child no longer speaks that language.

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