Headlines from August 20, 2014

American journalist James Foley, kidnapped in Syria in 2012, beheaded on camera by the Islamic State.
See also: The story of Foley’s kidnapping along with Austin Bennett Tice.
The Islamic State are “extreme sadists with a conventional army and nation-building aspirations.”
LAPD cop asks that we extend courtesy and empathy—rather than hostility and fear—to police. #opinions
Reporter explains what it’s like to be shot with rubber bullets.
On whether Ferguson “raises important issues about race,” 80% of black respondents said yes; only 37% of white respondents agreed.
Brief profiles of 10 rising Hispanic stars in American politics.
Unrelated: History of the American gentleman, from rapists to stylists. #tmn
Nobody can wrap Papa around their little finger. The secret lives of Putin’s wife and daughters, of whom no public photos exist.
Kate Bush joins other artists in losing battle: disparaging fans who want to watch her through their phones.
Art made from $8,000 worth of junk food. #photography
America’s “Pizza Belt” is where the chance of obtaining a decent slice from a random pizzeria is greater than 50%.
See also: How to tour Europe on bicycle as a vegan. #tmn
More than 1,000 German authors join their American colleagues to protest Amazon’s business tactics.
Study finds readers absorb significantly less from books read on Kindles.
Poet Paul Muldoon on songwriting: “I think the middle-eight is a fossilization of the sestet in a Petrarchan sonnet.”
Wednesday poem: “Vernacular Owl” by Thomas Sayers Ellis.
Bald Faced Stag. Pratts Bottom. The Pavement. Slightly strange London bus-stop names.