Newsletter 799

2 Oct 2012 • 2 min read

Best of the Moment

Corporate Welfare Queens

James Surowiecki | New Yorker | 1 October 2012

Mitt Romney assails those "dependent upon government". He means people on Medicaid, Social Security and those who receive earned-income tax credit. But what about those companies reliant on government assistance for their profits? Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/corporate-welfare-queens)

Mass Revolt

Jason Schwartz | Boston Magazine | 29 September 2012

Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts just six years ago. Yet today he's so unpopular there he's barely bothering to campaign in the state. Why did the voters became so alienated? Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/mass-revolt)

Interview: Dr Neal Barnard

Susanne Koven | Rumpus | 26 September 2012

Doctor makes the arguments for veganism. Better for human health, better for animal welfare. "And there’s another piece of it, which is the element of disgust: The way you’d feel if someone handed you a glass of blood" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/interview-dr-neal-barnard)

How To Measure For A President

John Dickerson | Slate | 26 September 2012

"Maybe there is a better way to evaluate our presidential candidates, and come to more reliable conclusions about which ones are likely to have the skills actually required for the job." This excellent four-parter has a few ideas Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/how-measure-president)

Shackleton's Medical Kit

Gavin Francis | Granta | 26 September 2012

On working as a doctor in Antarctica for a year. "There were only fourteen of us on base: we were equipped for a fatality rate of 35%." And for the consequences of unprotected sex. It was very different in Shackleton's day Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/shackletons-medical-kit)

Quantum Computing Simplified

Joel Taylor | Scientific American | 25 September 2012

The classical computer debuted in 1936, and dominates everywhere today. But it won't forever; a revolution in computing is on the way. Here's a helpful introduction to the world of qubits, entanglement, superposition and coherence Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/quantum-computing-simplified)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)

FiveBooks Interview

(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/dahlia-lithwick-on-us-supreme-court-justices)

Dahlia Lithwick on US Supreme Court Justices

Who are the men and women in black robes who sit on America’s highest judicial bench? A legal correspondent takes us inside this most influential institution through a look at some of its most fascinating characters Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/dahlia-lithwick-on-us-supreme-court-justices)

Featured Special Report

(http://thebrowser.com/reports/drone-warfare)

Drone Warfare

Should we worry about war conducted by remote control? Are there ethical considerations? Will we become accustomed to unmanned warfare in the future? What if a hacker took control of an army? It's all here Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/drone-warfare)

Reader Recommendations

@polit2k Bitcoin: Monetarists Anonymous | The Economist t.co/qVbUxhdD #browsings (https://twitter.com/search?q=#browsings) More like this (http://thebrowser.com/browsings)

Book of the Day

Book of the Day (http://thebrowser.com/recommended/pagan-and-christian-age-anxiety-by-e-r-dodds)

Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety by E R Dodds

Robin Lane Fox says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/robin-lane-fox-on-religious-and-social-history-ancient-world) : "Dodds was a man of immense literary sensitivity who writes more beautifully in a more lucid prose than any other academic that I have come across. And he was interested in applying psychological insights to figures known to us from texts in the past.” FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)