Newsletter 313

[1]Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder
    Links:
      1. http://b.rw/iLXxyi

Mark Mazetti & Emily Hager | NYT | 14 May 2011

After the scandal of Iraq, notorious American mercenary is hired by the
  United Arab Emirates. His task: To establish covert force of foreign
  fighters to conduct special operations, defend oil installations, put down
  internal revolts [2]Comments
    Links:
      2. http://thebrowser.com/articles/secret-desert-force-set-blackwater’s-founder

[3]Gossip, Privacy And Censorship
    Links:
      3. http://b.rw/jdyvOH

Kenan Malik | Pandaemonium | 13 May 2011

Outstanding essay on privacy, tabloid journalism and the law. "The current
  debate about privacy confuses the recognition that something is odious or
  distasteful with the belief that therefore it should be censored"
  [4]Comments
    Links:
      4. http://thebrowser.com/articles/gossip-privacy-and-censorship

[5]America's Army Of Non-Citizens
    Links:
      5. http://b.rw/k07qGT

Doug Saunders | dougsaunders | 14 May 2011

Succinct, important piece on the destructiveness to a nation of having a
  large population needed by the economy but denied a pathway to citizenship.
  What starts as an economic or political issue could yet become a security
  threat [6]Comments
    Links:
      6. http://thebrowser.com/articles/americas-army-non-citizens

[7]The Information Sage
    Links:
      7. http://b.rw/myyB4G

Joshua Yaffa | Washington Monthly | 11 May 2011

Profile of Edward Tufte, infographics guru. "A philosopher king who reigns
  over his field largely because he invented it." Now he's working with the
  White House, trying to make government statistics easier to manage and
  understand [8]Comments
    Links:
      8. http://thebrowser.com/articles/information-sage

[9]Grand Delusions: Why We’re Determined To Be Free
    Links:
      9. http://b.rw/kjqdIN

Dan Jones | Empress Of The Global Universe / New Scientist | 9 May 2011

Does determinism pose a threat to free will? Possibly but it's overstated.
  What matters is whether we have "a sense of our conscious selves being in
  control of what we do. And that can depend on how our behaviour is
  described" [10]Comments
    Links:
      10. http://thebrowser.com/articles/grand-delusions-why-we’re-determined-be-free

[11]The Day I (Nearly) Met Bob Dylan
    Links:
      11. http://b.rw/lcsoe2

John Harris | Guardian | 14 May 2011

The author, a huge fan, never quite managed it. But he speaks to some of
  those who did. A lovely, personal, unpretentious appreciation, none the
  worse for leaving questions about the man unanswered [12]Comments
    Links:
      12. http://thebrowser.com/articles/day-i-nearly-met-bob-dylan

FiveBooks Interview

[13]Joe Posnanski on Baseball
    Links:
      13. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/joe-posnanski-on-baseball

The Sports Illustrated columnist says the best sports books tell human
  stories – and tells us why nostalgia is intrinsic to baseball

Featured Topic

[14]Popular Science
    Links:
      14. http://thebrowser.com/topics/popular-science

Black holes, DIY bio-engineering, aliens and more. Interviews and articles
  from many of the biggest names in Science. No prior knowledge necessary

Reader Recommendations

@[15]TheAmScho: A black professor, an all-white class, and the thing nobody
  will say. [16]tinyurl.com/3smnkga #[17]browsings
    Links:
      15. http://twitter.com/TheAmScho
      16. http://tinyurl.com/3smnkga
      17. http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=#browsings

Book of the Day

[18]Epitaph of a Small Winner by Machado de Assis
    Links:
      18. http://thebrowser.com/recommended/epitaph-small-winner-by-machado-de-assis

[19]Woody Allen says: "I was shocked by how charming and amusing this book
  was. It’s a very, very original piece of work"
    Links:
      19. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/woody-allen-on-memory

Video of the Day

[20]Sumo Lake
    Links:
      20. http://thebrowser.com/videos/sumo-lake

Just when you thought you might never get to see Swan Lake performed by sumo
  wrestlers, along it comes

Quote of the Day

[21]LA restaurant owner, on Humphrey Bogart
    Links:
      21. http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n10/jenny-diski/a-bout-de-bogart

"Bogart’s a hell of a nice guy until around 11.30 p.m. After that, he
    thinks he’s Bogart"