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Slate Magazine

Slate--the Internet's informed look at news, politics, and culture. Slate separates the facts from the spin with thought-provoking stories, irreverent humor, and delicious reads.

On Black Friday, a RespiteNovember 29

All of the papers lead with the denouement of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, where Indian forces killed the last holdouts in the Taj Hotel to conclude three days of fighting that claimed an estimated 195 lives. Attention is now turning to the diplomatic ramifications of the militants' potential Pakistani connection: as the New York Times summarizes, intelligence from U.S., British, and Indian sources points towards a Kashmir-based group that at one point received training from the Pakistani government. Still, the Wall Street Journal (which didn't quite catch the end of hostilities) explains that the prolonged siege is somewhat baffling; terrorists typically aim for maximum damage in a short amount of time, but these attackers made no demands in exchange for hostages.

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Applying the lessons of 9/11 to Mumbai.November 28

As I write, the world's experts still have no idea which organization carried out the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and I have no better idea myself. The Indian government suspects Pakistani groups, but some eyewitnesses said the gunmen spoke Hindi, which could mean that they were of Indian origin. The attacks, carried out on several targets simultaneously, reminded some of al-Qaida, but the gunmen were not suicide bombers, and they did not use standard al-Qaida technology. A group calling itself the Deccan Mujaheddin has claimed responsibility, but no one can has heard this name before. One anonymous "U.S. counterterrorism official" mentioned the names of a few other groups—"Lashkar-i-Taiba, which means "Army of the Pious," and Jaish-i-Muhammad, or "Soldiers of Muhammad"—but even off the record he refused to be drawn further. "It's still too early for hard and fast conclusions."

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Everything you need to know about Hitler's "missing" testicle.November 28

Somebody make it stop. This incessant fixation on Hitler's sexuality, on his alleged perversity. I think it's fair to say that the very apex of cultural stupidity in our era is the compulsive conjunction of Hitler and sex. He was a "predatory" homosexual. He engaged in excretory practices with his underage half-niece. And, one of the most enduring, a myth I thought I had refuted once and for all but that now rears its head again: Hitler had only one testicle.

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Don't even bother with Web-based doc-rating systems.November 28

An enduring seduction of the Internet is its ongoing invitation for you to rate—and learn what others think of—restaurants, hairstylists, car dealerships, your kids' school, DVD players, movies, college professors. Doctors are no exception: The Web is awash with sites eager to give you the inside dope on your physician. With a single click, you can find out how your internist or surgeon rates against colleagues in his field, what the patients are saying behind his back, if the office staff is chipper, whether malpractice lawyers have him in their sights. This seems the perfect way to resolve an age-old fear far more important than whether that HDTV cuts the mustard: Does my doctor actually suck?

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Wallace Shawn on Gossip Girl.November 28

Wallace Shawn props up our culture on Gossip Girl.

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