Newsletter 858


Hic sunt camelopardus: this historical edition of The Browser is presented for archaeological purposes; links and formatting may be broken.

Best of the Moment

Reining In Kagame

Editorial | Financial Times | 28 November 2012

"It is unacceptable for Mr Kagame’s supporters to keep condoning his transgressions by arguing that his government spends their aid money well. Rwanda’s development record, impressive as it is, is no trade-off for chaos in Congo" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/reining-kagame)

Don’t Be A Wife

June Thomas | Slate | 29 November 2012

"I'm a lesbian and I'm never getting married ... Does my discomfort at being considered another woman’s wife stem from internalized self-loathing? Maybe, but mostly I’m responding to the essential conservatism of marriage mania" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/don’t-be-wife)

One Rule To Ring Them All

Geoffrey Pullum | Lingua Franca | 30 November 2012

On the correct use of "who" and "whom". The news is generally bad for purists. "There seems to be no agreed unitary rule governing the inflection of who where it functions as subject of a clause to which it is not adjacent" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/one-rule-ring-them-all)

The Salman Rushdie Case

Zoe Heller | NYRB | 29 November 2012

Scathing review of "Josef Anton". Pompous, selfish, ungrateful, cavilling, filled with "lordly nonchalance". "Even those who take Rushdie’s side on this will be hard pressed to match his scorn for the opposing point of view" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/salman-rushdie-case)

Europe's Long Shadow

Anthony Beevor | Prospect | 27 November 2012

Discursive essay seeking to correlate legacy of WW2 with current eurozone crisis. Doesn't really get there, but throws off interesting observations about 20C Europe, and public opinion, and historiography, along the way Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/europes-long-shadow)

The Autism Advantage

Gareth Cook | NYT | 28 November 2012

Danish consulting firm hires only people with autism. "Far more devoted to accuracy than neurotypical workers." Can be the best choice for demanding but repetitive tasks such as data entry, software testing, quality control Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/autism-advantage)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)

FiveBooks Interview

(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/roman-krznaric-on-art-living)

Roman Krznaric on The Art of Living

To learn how to live well we must look to the past, says the author of a new book on the subject. He recommends five books, from Thoreau to Orwell, that inspire us to live more adventurously Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/roman-krznaric-on-art-living)

(http://thebrowser.com/reports/air-travel)

Air Travel

Airlines opened to us a world of thrilling possibility. But, for many, flying is still a terrifying prospect. Crashes, though rare, do happen. And then there are the security procedures bequeathed to us by 9/11  Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/air-travel)

Reader Recommendations

@gpolitica RT @drippingmind: Empathy lessons from Sherlock Holmes t.co/BiVr02Vh @brainpicker via @aeonmag #GoodRead #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/intimate-history-humanity-by-theodore-zeldin)

An Intimate History of Humanity  by Theodore Zeldin

Roman Krznaric says (http://thebrowser.com/recommended/intimate-history-humanity-by-theodore-zeldin) : I think this book is a watershed in the writing of human history. Zeldin connects the past with the present like no other historical writer FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)

Video of the Day

Internet Explorer

(http://thebrowser.com/videos/internet-explorer)

Microsoft. Iffy products, excellent adverts More videos (http://thebrowser.com/videos)

Quote of the Day

Matt Ridley, on planning (http://www.rationaloptimist.com/blog/antifragility.aspx)

"Planning is inherently biased toward delay, complication and inflexibility, which is why companies falter when they get big enough to employ planners"

More quotes (http://thebrowser.com/quotations)

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