Assisted Dying, American Politics, Negotiating Tactics, Race, Egg Tempera
Final Certainty: Doctor-Assisted Dying
Briefing | The Economist | 25th June 2015 | | Read with 1Pass
Doctor-assisted dying has become commonplace in America and Europe, with or without the law's explicit consent. In Holland it accounts for 3% of all deaths. Gallup has "found majorities in favour of legal doctor-assisted dying across America" since 1973. Assisted suicide tends to go hand-in-hand with high rates of hospice and palliative care: all signal a culture which lets the dying person choose how to die (4,323 words)
How Dynasties Captured The American People
Chris McGreal | New Statesman | 25th June 2015
America's presidential race risks being notable mainly for the surnames of the front-runners. Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush are "brands to be managed" — and so far neither is managing particularly well. Politics has become a family affair to a degree that troubles even Barbara Bush, the Bush clan matriarch: "This is a great country, and if we can't find more than two or three families to run for high office that is just silly" (4,800 words)
The Psychology Of Negotiation
Nick Kolenda | 18th June 2015
Starts off a touch uninspiringly, but soon picks up speed and by the end is serving up an a-ha moment with every paragraph. Among the many plausible-sounding tips: "After any negotiation, you should compliment the other party’s negotiating skills. Not only will your counterpart be more satisfied with the deal, but he or she will also be more likely to sign the paperwork and negotiate with you again in the future" (7,600 words)
The Cost Of White Comfort
Chenjerai Kumanyika | NPR | 24th June 2015
White people want to show grief after the Charleston killings. They bring flowers, join vigils, say prayers. At the vigils they want to hold hands with black people, and it seems churlish for black people to refuse. But comforting white people is hardly the priority right now. The priority is to change the way that black people are treated in America, especially by police. Which requires white people to do a lot more than just feel bad (1,600 words)
The Renaissance Was Built On Eggs
Daisy Dunn | Newsweek | 19th June 2015
Piero di Cosimo, Leonardo da Vinci and other Italian Renaissance painters loved working in egg tempera, made by mixing egg yolk and vinegar with a colour pigment, famed for the luminous quality it gave to flesh tones. But what did they do with all the leftover egg whites? Ate them, apparently. Northern Italian cookery books of the time are unusually full of recipes using egg whites, where others would use yolks (760 words)
Video of the day: What Does It Mean To Be Me?
What to expect: Stephen Fry narrates a very short guide to Sartre and existentialism (2'04")
Thought for the day
Cooking is a way of listening to the radio
Brian Eno