Newsletter 168
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Writing Worth Reading
[2]Monetising Celebrity Meltdowns
Links:
2. http://b.rw/fOqwIY
Benjamin Wallace | New York | 28 November 2010
Financier Tom Barrack sees distressed celebrities as business opportunities.
Bought Michael Jackson's assets, made windfall when Jackson died, music
sales boomed. Now he's refinancing Annie Leibovitz
[3]A Caucasus Wedding
Links:
3. http://b.rw/g5V5PM
William Burns | US Govt/Wikileaks | 28 November 2010
Shrewd, funny, informative account of big-money wedding in Russian Caucasus,
from America's then-ambassador in Moscow. Much drinking. Many guns. Guests
include Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechen president
[4]Amakusa: Islands Of Dread
Links:
4. http://b.rw/hXOsgW
Richard Hendy | Spike Japan | 28 November 2010
Gorgeous diary of visit to decaying islands off Kyushu with fastest-falling
property values in Japan. Area blighted since 17th-century rebellion against
shogun, when islands were sacked, repopulated with convicts
[5]On Political Satire
Links:
5. http://bit.ly/gqAY0Q
P.J. O'Rourke | Five Books | 29 November 2010
American humourist recommends favourite books on political satire.
Conventional choice of books—Gulliver's Travels, Animal Farm, 1984 etc—but
highly enjoyable conversation, ranging from Sweden to spittoons
[6]Stop Talking, Start Taxing Carbon
Links:
6. http://b.rw/igDAlw
Clive Crook | FT | 28 November 2010
There won't be a global deal on climate change. But there is a solution,
that any country can adopt. Carbon tax. Simple, cheap, efficient,
transparent. Doesn't even raise public spending. Raises revenue
[7]A Banquet Of Secrets
Links:
7. http://b.rw/dKg9To
Timothy Garton Ash | Guardian | 28 November 2010
Wikileaks dump of US State Dept cables is "the historian's dream, the
diplomat's nightmare". General effect is to raise one's opinion of State
Dept and British Foreign Office. Outwardly stuffy, inwardly shrewd
[8]Why Hate Modern Classical Music?
Links:
8. http://b.rw/hv1tqq
Alex Ross | Guardian | 28 November 2010
People love modern painting. Modern novels. Modern film. So why are Berg,
Webern, other modern composers such a specialised taste? Is their music
intrinsically hard to listen to, or is it a matter of fashion?
[9]Light On Secret Diplomatic Channels
Links:
9. http://b.rw/e3nE5y
Scott Shane et al | NYT | 28 November 2010
Nuggets from Wikileaks trove of US diplomatic cables: scenarios for
reunification of Korea; fears for Pakistan nuclear security; deals to place
Gitmo prisoners; allegations of online spying against China
[10]"Wild West" Seeks Cowboys
Links:
10. http://b.rw/fbyRKU
Peter Guest | This Is Africa | 24 November 2010
Report from South Sudan. Gruff expats say business is good, peace will hold,
UN makes too much fuss. “Juba used to be a lot of fun. Now it’s full of
silly little 19-year old girls handing out malaria tablets.”
[11]Customer Reviews Of K2 Speaker Cable
Links:
11. http://b.rw/gOYV59
Whisper et al | Amazon | 29 November 2010
Advertisement for $6,800 hi-fi speaker cables from Audioquest provokes
delirious outburst of fantastical and sarcastic customer reviews. Not to
mention some oddities in the "also viewed" column
[12]Obituary: Jure Robic
Links:
12. http://b.rw/ece5pK
Anonymous | Telegraph | 28 November 2010
Extreme cyclist. Rode 3,000 miles across America on eight hours' sleep. High
psychological cost. "He imagined that cracks in the road were coded
messages, and that he was being pursued by the Mujahedeen"
[13]On The Death Sentence
Links:
13. http://b.rw/fBTwAE
John Paul Stevens | NYRB | 28 November 2010
Long, scholarly essay. Retired justice of US Supreme Court, opponent of
death penalty, reviews David Garland's "Peculiar Institution", which finds
that executions don't deter crime, but they do please public
Topic: Wikileaks
Interviews with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Backgrounders on the
Afghan and Iraq War Diaries... [14]Continue reading...
Links:
14. http://thebrowser.com/topics/wikileaks
[15]Today on FiveBooks: P J O’Rourke on Political Satire
Links:
15. http://fivebooks.com
About [16]The Browser: _Editor_, [17]Robert Cottrell; _Managing
Partner_, [18]Al Breach. Please [19]write to us if you would like to make a
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