Headlines from August 5, 2008

McCain buys $6 million of Olympic airtime to counter Obama's $5 million.
White paper: Winfrey's endorsement was responsible for approximately one million additional votes for Obama.
Your new approach to political profiling: the happiness factor.
Profiling this summer's anti-Semitism news in Paris.
On Solzhenitsyn, the Russian futurist, and his destruction of Europe's leftist attachment to the Soviet ideal.
On California's "unbanning" of the word "marriage" for referring to gay couples.
Science on why we don't really grasp just how deep the nose goes.
Insights into cognition from studying magic tricks.
Matthew McConaughey is one of the most consistently branded and immediately recognizable products on the planet.
Tastespotting: tonight's dinner, organized visually.
Trendspotting: "As dancing explodes in popularity on TV, it's harder to find at bars and the average party."
Fascinating account of the master of bon-mot forgers.
The hard-to-find 800-numbers you've been seeking.
Knowledge for the daily craving: What I Learned Today.
If foreign visits to Gitmo were videotaped, as the U.S. said they would be, prisoners' abuse allegations could be upheld.
Hoping to remain a political force, al-Sadr plans to disarm, remake Mahdi Army as a social-services group.
As the candidates search for energy platforms, Obama argues for using strategic oil reserves.
A growing sense of unease in Dubai--addiction to petrodollars doesn't make change easy.
Rush to preserve the southern Sahara's history, understand how the desert was conquered.
The calculus of globalization forces shorter supply chain, local production to deal with oil prices.
Americans in New Delhi launch charity to provide sanitary pads to rural Indians.
Gulag drawings from the past, photos from the present.
On Batman's versatility: from post-war father figure to grim representation of ineffective desperation.
Man builds DIY kidney machine in garage, saves his baby daughter.
Video: Flossing in your whip, Flemish-style.
A music fan's tour of Bowie's Berlin.
Fodor's one attempt to get down with the 1970s got them more than they bargained for. The 10 oddest travel guides ever published.