problem with links

[SchmackLab]

I have been building a site and am having an issue with my links. When I use links that open in the same window they work fine but when I have them open in another window or tab the links only work about 30% of the time. Is this a browser issue? Do I have to open all my links in the same window even those that would navigate away from my site?

Here is a link to the site:

www.schmackLab.com (http://www.schmacklab.com/)
www.schmackLab.com/playground.html (http://www.schmacklab.com/playground.html) (this is the page with the crappy links)

and my code:

//internal listeners
dRebels_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickDRebels);
nyc_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickNyc);
jLyell_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickJLyell);
smashMag_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickSmashMag);
chrisWare_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickChrisWare);
dashShaw_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickDashShaw);
kirupa_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickKirupa);
lynda_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickLynda);
retaliation_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickRetaliation);
animatorsSK_btn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, onClickAnimatorsSK);


//internal functions
function onClickDRebels(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://www.designrebels.org"));
}

function onClickNyc(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-york-city/"));
}

function onClickJLyell(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://www.jakelyell.com"));
}

function onClickSmashMag(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://www.smashingmagazine.com"));
}

function onClickChrisWare(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Ware"));
}

function onClickDashShaw(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://www.dashshaw.com"));
}

function onClickKirupa(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://www.kirupa.com"));
}

function onClickLynda(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://www.lynda.com"));
}

function onClickRetaliation(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://retaliationnotacomic.wordpress.com"));
}

function onClickAnimatorsSK(event:MouseEvent):void
{
navigateToURL (new URLRequest ("http://www.theanimatorssurvivalkit.com/"));
}


Not sure why I am having troubles here. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!