Newsletter 171


Hic sunt camelopardus: this historical edition of The Browser is presented for archaeological purposes; links and formatting may be broken.

Email not displaying correctly? [1]View it in your browser.
    Links:
      1. *|ARCHIVE|*

Writing Worth Reading

[2]Russia Below The Surface
    Links:
      2. http://b.rw/h6k9vR

C.J. Chivers | NYT | 1 December 2010

At last, an unflinching account of corruption in Russia. Drawn from
  Wikileaks cables, in which diplomats say privately what no reputable source
  would say publicly. The crooks are the government. And vice-versa

[3]The Coldest Place On Earth
    Links:
      3. http://b.rw/eRU2zb

Adam Mynott | BBC News | 1 December 2010

Report from Yakutsk, in Siberia, where winter temperatures can drop to -60C.
  To bury a body, you light a fire on the ground, thaw through a foot or two
  of earth, dig it out, repeat until you have a grave

[4]Tablets
    Links:
      4. http://b.rw/hsSyPU

Paul Graham | Paul Graham | 2 December 2010

"The fact that you can change font sizes easily means the iPad effectively
  replaces reading glasses. I wouldn't be surprised if, by playing some tricks
  with the accelerometer, you could replace the bathroom scales"

[5]
Letter From Dublin
    Links:
      5. http://bit.ly/eI1GzB

Kevin O'Rourke | Eurointelligence | 2 December 2010

Excellent, suitably outraged judgement on the IMF/EU Irish rescue package.
  It puts Ireland on course for a sovereign default in two or three years
  time, in preference to a banking-sector default now

[6]Larkin's Letters To Monica
    Links:
      6. http://b.rw/f1YUJZ

Alan Jenkins | TLS | 1 December 2010

Gorgeous review of Philip Larkin's collected letters to his long-time
  mistress, Monica Jones. Permeated by Larkin's sad, lyrical, grumbling
  character. Why didn't he marry her? The poems give the answer

[7]
Missing The Point Of WikiLeaks
    Links:
      7. http://b.rw/hIgtjH

Will Wilkinson | Economist | 1 December 2010

With or without Julian Assange, future large leaks are inevitable. The
  technology is out there. That's good, if we want to "challenge the
  institutions that control our fate, by bringing their secrets to light"

[8]
The New Gawker Media
    Links:
      8. http://b.rw/feEKlj

Felix Salmon | Reuters | 1 December 2010

Enough Gawker, already! But if your ears prick up at the words "Nick
  Denton", then Christmas has come early. A Felix masterpiece, combining
  history, financial analysis, and, somewhere deep down, a love song

[9]Rise Of Computational Forensics
    Links:
      9. http://b.rw/gUivFk

Sargur Srihari | IEEE Spectrum | 1 December 2010

Identifying criminals from fingerprints, shoe prints, handwriting,
  speech-patterns etc. is still largely a matter of expert opinion. Large
  data-sets, high-powered computing can make process more objective

[10]
Russia’s Reckoning with Katyń
    Links:
      10. http://b.rw/dFhGvm

Timothy Snyder | NYR Blog | 1 December 2010

Russia deserves praise for acknowledging Katyń as Soviet crime, mass-murder
  of Polish elite. But note, Russia is offering the admission as a foreign
  policy gambit. Wants Poland, now it's in the EU, as an ally

[11]Why Big Cities Work
    Links:
      11. http://b.rw/huJrKC

Mario Polese | City Journal | 1 December 2010

Futurologists said high-speed telecoms would enable companies, workers, to
  disperse. Hasn't happened. Economic activity still concentrates in big
  cities, seeking face-time, buzz, industry clusters

[12]Go! Fight! Win!
    Links:
      12. http://b.rw/iejDW8

David Gewanter | Times Higher Education | 2 December 2010

British academic journal marvels at scale, wealth, professionalism of
  American college sport. University of Michigan seems more like a huge
  football club that happens to have a university attached to it

[13]Deadly Medicine
    Links:
      13. http://b.rw/gFCu5e

Donald Bartlett et al | Vanity Fair | 1 December 2010

American drug firms move clinical trials overseas, often to poor and
  developing countries. Cheaper to find subjects there, easier to conceal or
  falsify adverse results, less fuss if guinea pigs die
  Topic: Ireland's Debt Crisis

Painful death of a Celtic Tiger. Barry Eichengreen, Martin Wolf and others
  on what went wrong, and...... [14]Continue reading...
    Links:
      14. http://thebrowser.com/topics/irelands-debt-crisis

[15]Today on FiveBooks: Dani Rodrik on globalisation
    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
  comment on the site, or suggest a link.
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      18. albreach@mac.com
      19. robert@robertcottrell.com
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