Newsletter 812
Best of the Moment
Bill & Hillary Forever
John Heilemann | New York | 14 October 2012
They boost Obama, Obama boosts them. "[Bill] Clinton is seeing his legacy restored to what he regards as its rightful status, a restoration that will mightily benefit his wife if she hurls herself at the White House in 2016" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/bill-hillary-forever)
The Self-Destruction Of The 1 Percent
Chrystia Freeland | NYT | 13 October 2012
America would do well to learn the lesson of 14th century Venice. Economic elites that act to lock in their privileges and exclude others become extractive societies, ultimately destroying innovation and prosperity Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/self-destruction-1-percent)
George Lucas's Force
Camille Paglia | Chronicle Review | 15 October 2012
Long essay arguing that Lucas is, quite simply, the greatest artist of our time. "He fused ancient hero legends from East and West with futuristic science fiction and created characters who have entered the dream lives of millions" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/george-lucass-force)
Hunt For Geronimo
Mark Bowden | Vanity Fair | 12 October 2012
Book extract. How US found and killed Bin Laden. Cracking read. Pentagon gave job to navy SEALs, not CIA, because SEALs had done plenty of similar missons before. Vital experience if something went wrong, as it always did Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/hunt-geronimo)
Fortysomething: A Midterm Report
Simon Kuper | FT | 12 October 2012
"Nowhere in my peer group have I witnessed a textbook midlife crisis. Nobody has the time. The dream now is of a cafe latte alone: a small victory amid the onslaught of mortgage, toddlers, in-laws and physical decline" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/fortysomething-midterm-report)
Weasel Words That Politicians Use To Obscure Terrible Truths
Patrick Cockburn | Independent | 14 October 2012
"Suspicion of an attempt to deceive should be aroused by any sighting of the word 'community', as in 'international community' or 'Islamic community': the phrases suggest solidarity and consensus of opinion where it does not exist" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/weasel-words-politicians-use-obscure-terrible-truths)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)
FiveBooks Interview
(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/andy-lawrence-on-astronomy-physics-and-people)
Andy Lawrence on Astronomy, Physics and People
The astronomy professor says the process of scientific discovery can be slow and messy – but that reading about some of the extraordinary personalities involved brings the history alive Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/andy-lawrence-on-astronomy-physics-and-people)
Featured Special Report
(http://thebrowser.com/reports/writing-anthony-shadid)
The Writing of Anthony Shadid
A selection of recent despatches by Anthony Shadid (1968-2012), one of the best reporters working in the Middle East in the past 10 years Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/writing-anthony-shadid)
Reader Recommendations
@rszbt (http://twitter.com/rszbt) What jobs offer the highest pay? RT @Reuters_Biz (http://twitter.com/Reuters_Biz) : Lonely, hard work on oil rigs, but salaries soaring t.co/1yvQ0dwo #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/humbling-by-philip-roth)
The Humbling by Philip Roth
Renata Salecl says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/renata-salecl-on-modern-misery) : "What Philip Roth has been describing now for some time is how painful it is when you are old and you don’t have those moments in life which you perceived as the ultimate satisfaction: especially moments of big love, or sexual relationship." FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)
Video of the Day
Lucid Dreaming
(http://thebrowser.com/videos/lucid-dreaming)
Warning: May cause paralysis and hallucinations More videos (http://thebrowser.com/videos)
Quote of the Day
Jaron Lanier, on stupidity (http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2012/10/the-limits-of-crowd-wisdom)
"An individual best achieves optimal stupidity on those rare occasions when one is both given substantial powers and insulated from the results of his or her actions"
More quotes (http://thebrowser.com/quotations)