Crackdown on Tycoon Shakes Up Moscow. A noisy political brawl between President Vladimir V. Putin and Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the country's richest man, is rewriting the rules of Russian politics. By Sabrina Tavernise. [New York Times: International] 
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'The Great Wave': A Fateful Encounter of Nations. The opening of the Japanese mind in the 19th century incited a reciprocal awakening in America, writes Christopher Benfey. By William Deresiewicz. [New York Times: International] 
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Mars is getting close, real close. "This summer Mars will be the brightest it will ever be in our lifetimes." On August 26?27 Mars will be the closest it has been in 60,000 years. Some viewing tips can be found here. You can generate different viewpoints with NASA's Solar System Simulator as some have done recently. [MetaFilter] 
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Big Blue Marble. The Blue Marble ... true color global imagery at 1km resolution. [MetaFilter] 
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