BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel traveled to a landmark euro summit in Brussels this week and didn’t blink, pushing her neighbors toward Germany’s tight-fisted spending model while giving up little in return. Few in Europe believe that the summit ended the continent’s debt crisis. The high-firepower solutions that would quickly bring down troubled countries’ borrowing costs would cost Germany more than what Merkel has so far agreed to, and would be deeply unpopular among German voters. Read full article > >

See original here:
Merkel caught between upsetting her voters or Europe

The actor, who lives in upstate New York, is at odds with some of his neighbors over natural gas drilling.

View original post here:
Mark Ruffalo, Actor, Embraces Anti-Fracking Role

THE UNITED STATES has pretty much exhausted direct economic sanctions, and NATO has preemptively ruled out a Libya-type military intervention. So for now, at least, the besieged people of Syria must look for relief from their neighbors. It is a shaky bet: Iraq has inclined toward the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey and the rest of the Arab League have been slow to condemn its slaughter of civilians and even slower to take action. Now, however, there is a prospect that both Ankara and the Arabs will turn up the pressure on Mr. Assad. That creates a good opportunity for the back-seat leadership that the Obama administration is fond of. Read full article > >

Here is the original post:
Editorial:
Can the Arab League and Turkey stop the slaughter in Syria?

TRIPOLI — An armed convoy of dozens of vehicles, believed to be carrying hard-core loyalists of Moammar Gaddafi, including his security chief, crossed the southern border into Niger on Tuesday, raising questions about the fugitive leader’s whereabouts and whether he was preparing to flee. Rebel leaders said Gaddafi was not in the convoy, but they were unsure exactly who was in the vehicles. Fighters opposing Gaddafi have no access to the desert south of Sabha, which lies on the edge of the Sahara and about 300 miles from Libya’s southwestern border with Niger. The border is not secured, leaving the rebels dependent on their neighbors to stop nefarious activity. Read full article > >

Continued here:
Convoy of Gaddafi loyalists crosses into Niger

When you realize your home’s look hasn’t evolved much since its post-college phase, you put the Ikea bookshelves on Craigslist, start searching for a contractor who won’t drive you crazy, scrutinize endless tile samples and stop considering Pottery Barn too public a venue to fight with your spouse. Then you prepare the neighbors and pay the county. When you realize your reptile house is “stuck in the ’80s,” as National Zoo biologist Matt Evans did last year, you put your aging non-endangered snakes, turtles and lizards on the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ “status list” (a Freecycle of sorts for curators), work the phones to find a new home for unwanted animals, and start cashing in favors from former colleagues whose zoos have just the gecko you gotta have. Then you prepare the neighbors: Tell the plant people you need new native plants, the commissary you need new meat, and the vet you need quarantine space. And you cross your fingers and hope no red tape keeps the Smithsonian’s Reptile Discovery Center from getting fresh, new cold blood. Read full article > >

Read the original post:
National Zoo’s Reptile Discovery Center adds endangered species, emphasizes preservation

When you realize your home’s look hasn’t evolved much since its post-college phase, you put the Ikea bookshelves on Craigslist, start searching for a contractor who won’t drive you crazy, scrutinize endless tile samples and stop considering Pottery Barn too public a venue to fight with your spouse. Then you prepare the neighbors and pay the county. When you realize your reptile house is “stuck in the ’80s,” as National Zoo biologist Matt Evans did last year, you put your aging non-endangered snakes, turtles and lizards on the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ “status list” (a Freecycle of sorts for curators), work the phones to find a new home for unwanted animals, and start cashing in favors from former colleagues whose zoos have just the gecko you gotta have. Then you prepare the neighbors: Tell the plant people you need new native plants, the commissary you need new meat, and the vet you need quarantine space. And you cross your fingers and hope no red tape keeps the Smithsonian’s Reptile Discovery Center from getting fresh, new cold blood. Read full article > >

The rest is here:
National Zoo’s Reptile Discovery Center adds endangered species, emphasizes preservation

With news that Sarah Palin and her husband have bought a $1.7 million home in Scottsdale, Ariz., residents there have plenty of advice for their neighbors-to-be.

Continued here:
Scottsdale Journal: Neighborly Advice to the Palins: In Arizona, the Sun Burns

Axes found in a ritual deposit in Ceibal, Guatemala, confirmed a close connection between the Maya and their neighbors, the Olmec.

The rest is here:
Scientist at Work: Maya Axes Show Cultural Ties

If you haven’t moved in with your neighbors yet, you’re behind the trend. Home prices fell 1.3 percent across 20 major metropolitan areas in October-the third straight month of decline and a sure sign that there’s been a double dip in housing….

Read the original here:
Data Shows a Double Dip in Housing

Flout diplomacy with Dicks of the World decals Bodega collaborated with a number of artists to bring a little street art to your living room wall. With vinyl as their medium, artists Cody Hudson, Barry McGee, Hisham Bharoocha, Steve Harrington and Michael Leon made prints that make an affordable way to add something special to your wall. The collection is eco-friendly, temporary and made for indoors. One notably provocative print, Michael Leon’s “Dicks of the World” depicts said appendage in various sizes with the markings of flags from various countries of the world—but he doesn’t discriminate. Fun and unpretentious, the theme will surely liven up any room. You can choose your wang by country and Bodega will provide you with the tools needed to paste it to the wall. The vinyl quality is at gallery standards, making your home a backdrop to a collection of art unparalleled to your neighbors. The art is meant to last up to five years, by then maybe you will have been inspired to try a new country. Pick up the series online at Third Drawer Down .

Read the original post:
Bodega Vinyl Wall Art

It’s time for the building holiday party. That is, if the seasonal lobby décor hasn’t started a war among the neighbors.

Read more from the original source:
The Tinseling of the Lobby

Attracted by the declining prices of surveillance cameras, people are recording their neighbors’ misdeeds, to press charges or to shame them online.

See original here:
Neighborhood Mischief Caught on Tape

Call for submission: Are your neighbors getting ready for the holidays already? Send us photos of the first decorations of the season.

Read more here:
City Room: Send Us Your First Yuletide Sightings in New York