• “We’re different brands of computers.” “And we #)&)@&) hate each other.” Ah, the never-ending Mac/PC debate. Somehow it never gets old, especially in the hands of these 4-year-old Asian girls, who come to blows trying to explain why their computer is better. Hilarious, cute, and a bunch of other amusing things.

• 24+ killed in suicide bombings in the desert province of Anbar
• 7+ religious pilgrims were killed separately by a roadside bomb
• 100+ including a Sunni governor, were injured in the attacks source

• There’s even an Explainer-like feature that answers reader questions about current topics in jihadism. (Here’s one: The prophet commanded us to expel infidels from the Arabian Peninsula. Which countries was he referring to?)
• Slate writer Brian Palmer • Discussing the existence of Sada al-Malahim, an online magazine for terrorists. He compares it to Slate, saying that the publications have quite a few things in common. Palmer notes that while it’s not the terrorist organization’s first foray into long-form publications, “it is the first to be released on a fairly reliable schedule over a number of years.” source

• The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers will appreciate this. A new book, “The Year’s Work in Lebowski Studies,” gathers a number of heady papers on a guy who wants nothing more than to have a rug that nobody urinated on (and a White Russian). Shut the &!^$ up, Julius. You’re out of your element. source

• They’ll be used on all flights to the United States. After a massive security fail, you may have had a feeling this was coming. The Dutch have said, “screw the privacy concerns, we need this.” The 15 machines will be ready in a few weeks. This is despite the fact that they say there’s no 100% guarantee that it would’ve actually nailed the Underwear Bomber. Great. What’s the point of this again? source

• Best of the year:

• 
  obvious
• 
  spazzy
• 
  ragged
• 
  beautiful
• 
  hypnotic
  

• Best of the decade:

• 
  balanced
• 
  literate
• 
  yes!
• 
  better
• 
  pioneer*

* – We know this choice is somewhat controversial, because people hate Ben Gibbard for no good reason. But we’re going to say it now: Without this album, you would not have the popular success of indie rock that you see today. “We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes” made it cool. At least cooler than Dashboard Confessional. Which as you might notice, is not on the list. Do you want us to put it on there? Or do you even want to remember “Screaming Infidelities”? Good. Death Cab’s album, beyond being a gateway drug for any college student, also has some pretty amazing songs on it. ‘Nuff said.

• See this guy over here? You hate him. This guy is named Albert Gonzalez, and he’s responsible for stealing 130 million credit card numbers, along with two Russian hackers who probably look like video game characters. If you’ve ever shopped at 7-Eleven, there’s a good chance your card was stolen by this guy. He pleaded guilty today. So remember. Hate him. You. source

• why? Because al-Qaeda’s new loft is in sunny Yemen, where the unemployment is high and the government is weak.
• plans Right now, the U.S. is reportedly looking at targets, biding their time until Obama gives the OK. Get yo popcorn ready! source

• They had a report on the guy all written up. They didn’t share it. Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab was known to the CIA. In fact, they had everything they needed to nail the guy in case he did something like this. Instead, though, it sat around in Langley, Virginia for five weeks, just in time for this guy to almost blow up a plane. Clearly, the system is broken. And no matter how it’s spun, both Bush and Obama failed here. As did Congress. There’s plenty of blame to go around. Who wants some? source