Issue of the Year: The Environment

THE astonishing achievement of the year,” says Ecologist Lamont Cole of Cornell, “is that people are finally aware of the size of the problem.” They can hardly avoid it. In 1970, the cause that once concerned lonely crusaders like Rachel Carson became a national issue that at times verged on a national obsession; it appealed even to people normally enraged by attacks on the status quo

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Box Office: Bridesmaids Steals Thor’s Thunder

The numbers say Thor won the weekend, again taking moviegoers to that Norse altar in the sky and winning the North American box office with $34.5 million, according to early studio estimates, for its second week at the top of the heap. But the snickering Bridesmaids led by Kristen Wiig may have the last laugh.

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U.S. At War: HOW PEARL HARBOR HAPPENED

Excerpts from the report of the Commission headed by Associate Justice Roberts which investigated and fixed the blame for the disaster at Pearl Harbor: > In a letter of January 24, 1941, the Secretary of the Navy advised the Secretary of War that the increased gravity of the Japanese situation had prompted a restudy of the problem of the security of the Pacific Fleet while in Pearl Harbor. The writer stated: “If war eventuates with Japan, it is believed easily possible that hostilities would be initiated by a surprise attack upon the Fleet or the Naval base at Pearl Harbor.

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A Brief History of Gays in the Military

In his first State of the Union address, President Obama declared that he would work to “finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.” Though a June 2009 Gallup poll showed that 69% of Americans support allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military, repealing “Don’t ask, don’t tell” will take more than a declaration — it will take an act of Congress.

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