Newsletter 841

13 Nov 2012 • 2 min read

Best of the Moment

How The GOP Got Stuck In The Past

David Frum | Newsweek | 11 November 2012

Republican election post-mortem. "Don’t tell me it was close. Don’t blame it on Hurricane Sandy or Gov. Chris Christie. When economic conditions are as bad as they were in 2012 and the incumbent wins anyway, that’s not 'close'" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/how-gop-got-stuck-past)

The Expendables

William Langewiesche | Vanity Fair | 12 November 2012

On the French Foreign Legion: 8,000 men of all nationalities. They fight anywhere, dying for causes not their own, perhaps for causes not even known to them. Langewiesche tags along as they chase rogue gold miners in French Guiana Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/expendables)

No More Magical Thinking

David Remnick | New Yorker | 12 November 2012

Did you enjoy Obama's win? Good, because the celebration is over. Now the president must make a serious effort to tackle global warming. In deed, not merely words. Nothing less than a "sustained sense of urgency" will do Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/no-more-magical-thinking)

Is Finance Too Competitive?

Raghuram Rajan | Project Syndicate | 12 November 2012

Many economists (among others) are calling for regulation that would make banking "boring". Is this a good idea? Wouldn't it be better to make banking a normal industry "susceptible to destruction in the face of creativity" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/finance-too-competitive)

Corridors Of The Mind

Emily Badger | Pacific Standard | 5 November 2012

Why do people feel more comfortable, more inspired in one place than another? Is it really possible that the built environment can affect the performance of the brain? Could neuroscientists be the next great architects? Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/corridors-mind)

What's Happening At The BBC

Emily Bell | CJR | 11 November 2012

British public broadcaster loses two directors-general in three months. "Two issues have become toxically intertwined: A culture of child abuse in a number of British institutions, and the editorial independence of the BBC" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/whats-happening-bbc)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)

FiveBooks Interview

(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/wade-davis-on-legacies-world-war-one)

Wade Davis on Legacies of World War One

The author of Into the Silence tells us that the consequences of the Great War were much more than merely political. He says the war had a noticeable impact on exploration, arts and literature, and modernity itself Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/wade-davis-on-legacies-world-war-one)

Featured Special Report

(http://thebrowser.com/reports/death-penalty)

The Death Penalty

To kill or not to kill? Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/death-penalty)

Reader Recommendations

@polit2k (http://twitter.com/polit2k) Why London is doomed to remain a financial capital - Felix Salmon t.co/1l4eAd15 #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/blue-lotus-by-hergé)

The Blue Lotus by Hergé

Michael Farr says (https://thebrowser.com/interviews/michael-farr-on-tintin) : “The Blue Lotus is the most important Tintin adventure. It’s a masterpiece. Tintin is immersed in extreme realism – Shanghai exactly as it was in 1934” FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)