Newsletter 299

[1]Half A Miracle
Links:
1. http://b.rw/kPmNfp

Francis Fukuyama & Seth Colby | Foreign Policy | 25 April 2011

Remarkable story of how Medellín, Colombia's drug capital, became as safe as
Washington. Unexpected victory for urban planning - placing beautiful
architecture in poorest, crime-ridden areas - and social reintegration
programmes [2]Comments
Links:
2. http://thebrowser.com/articles/half-miracle

[3]Obituary: Osama Bin Laden
Links:
3. http://b.rw/kRXhTE

Jason Burke & Lawrence Joffe | Guardian | 2 May 2011

"Raised in a palace in Jeddah, Osama grew up polite, diligent and pious.
Though he graduated in civil engineering and spent a short period in the
family company, his interests lay elsewhere. He leaves four wives and 19
children" [4]Comments
Links:
4. http://thebrowser.com/articles/obituary-osama-bin-laden

[5]The Last Prisoner
Links:
5. http://b.rw/j0ikmh

Ekaterina Loushnikova | OD Russia | 28 April 2011

Conversation with Pavel Galitsky, recently turned 100, who survived 15 years
in Kolyma, the worst of the Soviet arctic labour camps. It was "Auschwitz
without the ovens". Two-thirds of arriving prisoners died within three
months [6]Comments
Links:
6. http://thebrowser.com/articles/last-prisoner

[7]How Writers Build The Brand
Links:
7. http://b.rw/ldkynT

Tony Perrotet | NYT | 29 April 2011

Writing the book is the easy part. It’s when publication looms that the real
work begins: rabid self-promotion. But despite what authors think, that's
nothing new. Herodotus recited his Histories to the crowd at the Olympic
Games [8]Comments
Links:
8. http://thebrowser.com/articles/how-writers-build-brand

[9]The Destruction Of Economic Facts
Links:
9. http://b.rw/lOD16A

Hernando de Soto | Businessweek | 28 April 2011

Acclaimed Peruvian economist with helpful backgrounder on financial crisis.
Confused by all the recent analysis? No problem, this clear and detailed
feature should help you grasp the underlying causes and evaluate continuing
risks [10]Comments
Links:
10. http://thebrowser.com/articles/destruction-economic-facts

[11]No Life Is Good
Links:
11. http://b.rw/l1WbuI

David Benatar | Philosophers' Magazine | 1 May 2011

Some lives are better than others. But is any life good, in absolute terms?
Probably not. Pains far outweigh pleasures. Not much we can do about that.
But we should stop creating more children, who will have more not-good lives
[12]Comments
Links:
12. http://thebrowser.com/articles/no-life-good

FiveBooks Interview

[13]Donald S Lopez Jr on Buddhism
Links:
13. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/donald-s-lopez-jr-on-buddhism

The Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan
discusses the Dalai Lama stepping down as the political leader of the
Tibetan government in exile and Europe’s links to Buddhism