Newsletter 471

[1]The Browser
Links:
1. http://thebrowser.com

[5]The Romney Economy
Links:
5. http://b.rw/v2BrsT

Benjamin Wallace-Wells | New York | 23 October 2011

American business is more nimble and efficient than ever before; it's also
less equal and more brutal. That's no accident. Handful of key players made
it that way. Mitt Romney was one of them. (Thanks Daniel Lippman for
alerting us) [6]Comments
Links:
6. http://thebrowser.com/articles/romney-economy

[7]How The Potato Changed The World
Links:
7. http://b.rw/useIp1

Charles Mann | Smithsonian | 19 October 2011

Fascinating history of humble spud. Originally from Andes; taken to Europe
by Spanish. French blamed it for flatulence, English feared it brought Roman
Catholicism. Bread price rises helped it catch on. Doubled Europe's food
supply [8]Comments
Links:
8. http://thebrowser.com/articles/how-potato-changed-world

[9]Control Rights (And Wrongs)
Links:
9. http://b.rw/usPzdb

Andrew Haldane | Bank Of England | 24 October 2011

General theory of bank crises in past century. Bankers don't really answer
to anybody. "Ownership and control rights are exercised by shareholders. But
for banks, equity is a vanishingly small fraction of their balance sheet"
[10]Comments
Links:
10. http://thebrowser.com/articles/control-rights-and-wrongs

[11]Cool Under Fire
Links:
11. http://b.rw/ppO8Cj

Rory Stewart | Intelligent Life | 21 October 2011

Visit to the Museum of Kabul reveals precarious history of Afghanistan's
treasures. Don't expect tour guides or glossy catalogues. Indeed "often,
there are no signs at all. And there are rarely any visitors" [12]Comments
Links:
12. http://thebrowser.com/articles/cool-under-fire

[13]Religion In The 21st Century
Links:
13. http://b.rw/pKwwiN

Anonymous | Philosopher's Beard | 22 October 2011

"Religion has been brought low by its old enemies, philosophy and politics.
Religion persists and is even popular. But it is now in the mind, a matter
of personal belief projected outwards. In short, religion is now secular"
[14]Comments
Links:
14. http://thebrowser.com/articles/religion-21st-century

[15]Was It A Cat I Saw?
Links:
15. http://b.rw/pBdxA2

Barry Duncan et al | NPR | 23 October 2011

Interview with, and essay by, palindrome king Barry Duncan. Goes through
life reading everything backwards, to keep in practice. Record: 800 words.
Sent email from Russia with the subject line: "'Part One: Russia is sure no
trap" [16]Comments
Links:
16. http://thebrowser.com/articles/was-it-cat-i-saw

FiveBooks Interview

[17]Jonathon Green on Slang
Links:
17. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jonathon-green-on-slang

It’s dirty, grubby and doubting. And us at our most real. The lexicographer
takes us inside the world of “rough, truthful language” from rhyming slang
and cant to the streets of Baltimore and an etymology of the f-word [18]Read
on
Links:
18. http://thebrowser.com/interviews/jonathon-green-on-slang