Newsletter 317
[1]How Power Corrupts
Links:
1. http://b.rw/lyXYGk
Jonah Lehrer | Frontal Cortex | 18 May 2011
People in a position of authority appear to lose their natural sympathy for
others; strange, when it's often that same sympathy that got them their
authority in the first place. This is what's known as the Paradox of Power
[2]Comments
Links:
2. http://thebrowser.com/articles/how-power-corrupts
[3]Arabs And The Long Revolution
Links:
3. http://b.rw/kNvPwp
Brian Whitaker | Al-Bab | 19 May 2011
Superb analysis of the Arab uprisings. It's not about ideology, party
politics. It's about changing society, reclaiming citizenship. Regimes can
suppress immediate threats but forces driving this change are ultimately
unstoppable [4]Comments
Links:
4. http://thebrowser.com/articles/arabs-and-long-revolution
[5]A Country Without Libraries
Links:
5. http://b.rw/lnQq1u
Charles Simic | NYRB | 18 May 2011
In praise of public libraries. Beautifully turned and a timely reminder of
their value with so many facing imminent closure. "Wherever I found a
library, I immediately felt at home. Empty or full, it pleased me just as
much" [6]Comments
Links:
6. http://thebrowser.com/articles/country-without-libraries
[7]Monk, Mystic, Mechanic
Links:
7. http://b.rw/jmo05h
Avner Shapira | Haaretz | 13 May 2011
Lovely profile of Wittgenstein. Published first book then retired to tend a
monastery garden, convinced he had solved all philosophy's problems. On
meeting him, Keynes quipped: "Well, God has arrived. I met him on the 05:15
train" [8]Comments
Links:
8. http://thebrowser.com/articles/monk-mystic-mechanic
[9]Hot-Money Cowboys Of Iraq
Links:
9. http://b.rw/mbRAQz
Steven Lee Myers | NYT | 18 May 2011
The war was a catastrophe. The country was devastated. But now there's
enough stability to support investment. Oil is flowing. Iraq's economy could
grow sevenfold in coming decade. Entrepreneurs are taking risks and getting
rich [10]Comments
Links:
10. http://thebrowser.com/articles/hot-money-cowboys-iraq
[11]Colour Photos Of The Great Depression
Links:
11. http://b.rw/isheBH
Anonymous | Business Insider | 18 May 2011
Collection of rare colour photographs, released by the Library of Congress,
of America in the early 1940s. From Chicago railroad yards to Louisiana
plantations and the New Mexico corn harvest [12]Comments
Links:
12. http://thebrowser.com/articles/colour-photos-great-depression
FiveBooks Interview
[13]Tim Harford on Unexpected Economics
Links:
13. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/tim-harford-on-unexpected-economics
The Undercover Economist himself, Tim Harford, says you can find economics
lessons in the most unlikely places, including the virtual world of computer
games
Featured Topic
[14]Football
Links:
14. http://thebrowser.com/topics/soccer
A collection of hand-picked articles and interviews with leading authorities
on the biggest sport in the world
Reader Recommendations
_@[15]polit2k_ The Myth of a Lazy Southern Europe: Merkel's Clichés Debunked
by Statistics - SPIEGEL ONLINE - [16]goo.gl/RVT1e [17]#browsings
Links:
15. http://twitter.com/polit2k
16. http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,763618,00.html
17. https://twitter.com/search?q=#browsings
Book of the Day
[18]Fiasco by Thomas Ricks
Links:
18. http://thebrowser.com/recommended/fiasco-by-thomas-ricks
[19]Jeremy Greenstock says: "A book that explains why Iraq went wrong,
particularly after the invasion. A lot of it illustrates the cock-up rather
than the conspiracy theory"
Links:
19. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jeremy-greenstock-on-diplomacy
Video of the Day
[20]The Offline Social Network
Links:
20. http://thebrowser.com/videos/offline-social-network
I'm trying to imagine what one of these would look like for Twitter
Quote of the Day
[21]Michael Ghiselin, on human nature
Links:
21. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=416157&c=1
"Scratch an altruist, and watch a hypocrite bleed"