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"