Newsletter 842

14 Nov 2012 • 2 min read

Best of the Moment

Can American Diplomacy Ever Come Out Of Its Bunker?

Robert Worth | NYT | 14 November 2012

American diplomats used to judge, and arrange, their own security in ways that now seem quaint. The world has changed, the risks are greater, but so is the risk-aversion. Security constraints come with costs too Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/can-american-diplomacy-ever-come-out-its-bunker)

The Media Mix-Up That Ruined My Life

Neda Soltani | BBC | 14 November 2012

"In 2009, a woman was shot dead in a demonstration in Tehran. Neda Agha-Soltan became the face of the Iranian protest movement – except that it was not her face to begin with, but the face of university teacher Neda Soltani" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/media-mix-ruined-my-life)

Stray Penises And Politicos

David Simon | Audacity of Despair | 13 November 2012

Rant. Shame on the American press for their treatment of General Petraeus. People have affairs. Always have, always will. No reflection on intelligence or character. Petraeus a great man. Bill Clinton was too. Enough of the insults Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/stray-penises-and-politicos)

Yen Edges Toward Brink

Andy Xie | Caixin | 12 November 2012

Japan pursues strong yen for reasons of national pride, and to keep pensioners happy with cheap imported goods. It's a crazy policy for a depression, and it's sure to end in a crash, but the Japanese seem to like it that way Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/yen-edges-toward-brink)

Napster, Udacity, And The Academy

Clay Shirky | Clay Shirky | 12 November 2012

Open online education courses are going to hollow out traditional colleges and universities, just as MP3 and Napster did for the music industry, by giving people freedom to choose only what they want, when they want it Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/napster-udacity-and-academy)

Axe Worship

Bella Bathurst | Aeon | 9 November 2012

"The point and the pleasure of chopping logs is that it is just me and a stone-age tool. Standing there in the shed in a deep layer of sawdust and chippings, I can hear the birds and the river and the changing note of the blade" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/axe-worship)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)

FiveBooks Interview

(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/simon-garfield-on-typefaces)

Simon Garfield on Typefaces

It used to be said that you could be parachuted into any country and know where you were from the typeface used on its road signs. The author of Just My Type tells us about the variety and meaning of different fonts Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/simon-garfield-on-typefaces)

Featured Special Report

(http://thebrowser.com/reports/america-drugs)

America On Drugs

Ritalin, Adderall, LSD, cocaine. Even bath salts. What is drug use doing to Americans? Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/america-drugs)

Reader Recommendations

@polit2k (http://twitter.com/polit2k) RT @went1955 (http://twitter.com/went1955) : Fetish for making things ignores real work — John Kay — t.co/ytikwdIB #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/testament-youth-by-vera-brittain)

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain

Wade Davis says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/wade-davis-on-legacies-world-war-one) : “This is simply one of the finest, most heart-rending and most moving memoirs – not just of the Great War, but of any conflict” FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)