Newsletter 165
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Writing Worth Reading
[2]A Spy In The Archives
Links:
2. http://b.rw/heLgW6
Sheila Fitzpatrick | LRB | 25 November 2010
Historian's terrific memoir of life as an exchange student in 1960s Moscow.
Getting briefed beforehand by MI6. Making Russian friends. Learning to charm
bureaucrats. Generally falling in love with the place
[3]
The Truth About Footballers And Money
Links:
3. http://b.rw/hH3KdZ
Rohan Ricketts | Sabotage Times | 25 November 2010
Former pro footballer recalls days of excess. First came the jaw-dropping
pay cheque. Then the jewellers, the cars, the hangers-on. Throwing money
away. Literally. And the envy of others that can turn violent
[4]Ten Years Talking Tech
Links:
4. http://b.rw/g2I7on
David Pogue | NYT | 24 November 2010
Times columnist on lessons learned from 10 years covering tech and gadgets.
First lesson: things (like TV) don't kill other things (like radio). They
co-exist. Second: eventually everything goes always-on
[5]
Ways The Mafia Improved The US
Links:
5. http://b.rw/gCBjgF
Thaddeus Russell | Lew Rockwell | 25 November 2010
Imagine an America without jazz. Where alcohol was still illegal. No
Broadway, Vegas or Hollywood. No racial integration or freedom to be gay in
public. Renegade historian says gangsters made America a better place
[6]
What Will Break By 2036
Links:
6. http://b.rw/eExVWh
Nicholas Nassim Taleb | Economist | 23 November 2010
Big things will break down. Smaller, nimbler things will survive. Large,
debt-laden exchange-listed companies will yield to family firms. Big
countries will survive in name, but power will be with city-states
[7]
What Should Copyright Do?
Links:
7. http://b.rw/h1Oduq
Cory Doctorow | Guardian | 23 November 2010
Discursive essay on costs and benefits of copyright and licensing. Best
system probably the "performing rights" model. Creators can't restrict use
of their work, but they can be assured a fair income
[8]Sense And Nonsense About Happiness
Links:
8. http://b.rw/gubFYq
Diane Coyle | Enlightened Economist | 25 November 2010
Britain starts collecting statistics on national well-being. But is it
approaching the issue in the right way? And shouldn't we be trying to
measure other things, such as obligations being foisted on future taxpayers?
[9]Happy Endings
Links:
9. http://b.rw/eHFh6o
Lionel Blue | Five Books | 25 November 2010
Unbelievably sweet interview with British rabbi, discussing books that cheer
him up. Some spiritual, some less so. "Mills & Boon give me the happy
endings I want. I fall asleep thinking the world a nicer place"
[10]Cognitive Cost Of Expertise
Links:
10. http://b.rw/hBgPBz
Jonah Lehrer | Frontal Cortex | 19 November 2010
Experts remember complex patterns: a London taxi driver holds a map of the
city in his head. But randomise the pattern, and the advantage disappears:
it's a rare cabbie who can cope with a sudden detour
[11]Ireland's Abandoned Horses
Links:
11. http://b.rw/hqZZKU
Marco Evers | Spiegel | 24 November 2010
Middle-class families bought horses as status symbols in boom years. Now
they can't afford to keep them. Animals abandoned, starving. Healthier ones
can be killed for meat. Horse steaks exported to France
[12]European Defaults And Chinese Inflation
Links:
12. http://b.rw/gcZDe7
Michael Pettis | China Financial Markets | 24 November 2010
Recommended mainly for the first note, on European defaults (though the note
on China is good too). This debt crisis is Eurozone's equivalent of US civil
war. It will emerge unified, or shattered
[13]The Searchers
Links:
13. http://b.rw/i64yjG
Austin Ramzy | Time | 22 November 2010
Heartbreaking. Tens of thousands of Chinese children were stolen from
parents, sold to families far away, as criminal gangs exploited new freedom
of movement in 1970s and 1980s. One child's tale
[14]Topic: China's Rise
Links:
14. http://thebrowser.com/topics/chinas-rise
Paul Kennedy, Niall Ferguson, Richard MacGregor and others on the history,
strategy, politics and values of the world's new superpower. [15]Continue
reading...
Links:
15. http://thebrowser.com/topics/chinas-rise
[16]Today on FiveBooks: Martin Sixsmith on Why Russia isn’t a Democracy
Links:
16. http://fivebooks.com
About [17]The Browser: _Editor_, [18]Robert Cottrell; _Managing
Partner_, [19]Al Breach. Please [20]write to us if you would like to make a
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