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