Newsletter 394

[5]Downgrade Heralds New Era
    Links:
      5. http://b.rw/pANTbF

Mohamed El-Erian | FT | 6 August 2011

Global financial system constructed with America's assumed AAA rating at
  core. Now we're in a different world. America is fundamentally, not just
  financially, weaker. Other sovereign downgrades may follow. France in firing
  line. [6]Comments
    Links:
      6. http://thebrowser.com/articles/downgrade-heralds-new-era

[7]Obama’s Glamour Can’t Fix Charisma Deficit
    Links:
      7. http://b.rw/qEGGoG

Virginia Postrel | Bloomberg | 4 August 2011

What Obama has is glamour, not charisma. That's good for winning elections,
  bad once in office. "Charisma moves the audience to share a leader’s vision.
  Glamour inspires the audience to project its own desires onto the leader"
  [8]Comments
    Links:
      8. http://thebrowser.com/articles/obama’s-glamour-can’t-fix-charisma-deficit

[9]Why Did Japan Surrender?
    Links:
      9. http://b.rw/nXTgQH

Gareth Cook | Boston Globe | 7 August 2011

Most presume the nuclear bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima forced
  Japan's surrender and the end of WWII. But is this right? Or was true cause
  Soviet entry into the Pacific conflict? (Thanks to Mr King for emailing this
  in) [10]Comments
    Links:
      10. http://thebrowser.com/articles/why-did-japan-surrender

[11]Brute Force Or Intelligence?
    Links:
      11. http://b.rw/ogmkU2

Matthew Lasar | Ars Technica | 5 August 2011

Engaging history of computer chess, a field that serves as bellwether of
  future computing trends. From The Turk in 1770 to Deep Blue and beyond, key
  debate has been over the importance of raw algorithmic power vs an ability
  to learn [12]Comments
    Links:
      12. http://thebrowser.com/articles/brute-force-or-intelligence

[13]A Contagion Of Bad Ideas
    Links:
      13. http://b.rw/p2WdyP

Joseph Stiglitz | Project Syndicate | 5 August 2011

Damning on US and European economic policy: "Bad ideas move easily across
  borders & misguided economic notions on both sides of the Atlantic have
  reinforced each other. The same will be true of the stagnation those
  policies bring" [14]Comments
    Links:
      14. http://thebrowser.com/articles/contagion-bad-ideas

[15]The Thrill of Having Nothing To Do
    Links:
      15. http://b.rw/qaDBms

Scott Adams | WSJ | 6 August 2011

Thanks to Kindles, iPads, smartphones, boredom has been defeated. Anyone can
  always have something to do. But perhaps our creativity will suffer, if we
  no longer have times in which our minds can wander and our hands can doodle
  [16]Comments
    Links:
      16. http://thebrowser.com/articles/thrill-having-nothing-do

FiveBooks Interview

[17]John Kerry on Progressivism
    Links:
      17. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/john-kerry-on-progressivism

Senator John Kerry picks five books that every progressive should read, and
  discusses the divide in America between the haves and have-nots [18]Read on
    Links:
      18. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/john-kerry-on-progressivism

Featured Topic

[19]Popular Science
    Links:
      19. 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
  [20]Read on
    Links:
      20. http://thebrowser.com/topics/popular-science

Reader Recommendations

_@polit2k  _Our  financial system has become a madhouse. We need radical
  change   [21]t.co/MQmNrjm   via  _@guardian_  _@williamnhutton_  _#gfc2_[22]
  #browsings [23]More like this
    Links:
      21. http://t.co/MQmNrjm
      22. https://twitter.com/search?q=#browsings
      23. http://thebrowser.com/browsings

Book of the Day

[24]Book of the Day
    Links:
      24. http://thebrowser.com/recommended/life-politics-by-asef-bayat

[25]Life as Politics by Asef Bayat
    Links:
      25. http://thebrowser.com/recommended/life-politics-by-asef-bayat

[26]Marc Lynch says: “This is a wonderfully written book. He shows that
  there has been ongoing popular dissent over the entire modern history of the
  Middle East” [27]FiveBooks Archive
    Links:
      26. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/marc-lynch-on-origins-arab-uprising
      27. http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive

Video of the Day

[28]Let´s Face Symmetry
    Links:
      28. http://thebrowser.com/videos/let´s-face-symmetry

Thirty seconds of surrealism. With a lot of noise for a soundtrack [29]More
  videos
    Links:
      29. http://thebrowser.com/videos

Quote of the Day

[30]Jimmy Page, on nutrition
    Links:
      30. http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6696852/in-evening

"I'm  not  into solid foods very much. I prefer to eat liquid food,
    something like a banana daiquiri"

[31]More quotes
    Links:
      31. http://thebrowser.com/quotations