Newsletter 870

13 Dec 2012 • 3 min read

Best of the Moment

Live On TV: The Fall Of Greece

Chris Heath | GQ | 12 December 2012

June 2012, just before the elections. A far-right MP appearing on a morning TV show throws his glass of water over one female guest and punches another in the face. What did it mean? Was it a metaphor for Greece's descent in chaos? Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/live-tv-fall-greece)

Let's Eliminate Sports Welfare

Patrick Hruby | Sports On Earth | 12 December 2012

Mitt Romney didn't win the election but he was right about one thing: There is in the US a class of system-gaming, parasitic moochers, sucking at the public teat. They're the owners of the big pro sports teams Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/lets-eliminate-sports-welfare)

Fallen Dean’s Life, Contradictory To Its Grisly End

William Rashbaum et al | NYT | 11 December 2012

Terrific story. Suicide of college dean on trial for fraud whose friends were "Catholic priests, Chinese gangsters, American lawmakers, a Taiwanese general". Big-time gambler. Alcoholic. Reputed murderer of first husband (of three) Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/fallen-dean’s-life-contradictory-its-grisly-end)

General Principles

Dexter Filkins | New Yorker | 10 December 2012

How good a general was David Petraeus? "The truth is Petraeus really was exceptional," says Filkins, who spent a lot of time reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan. Especially when compared to his out-of-date, overpromoted predecessors Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/general-principles)

Why The Swedes Move To Norway And Why I Tagged Along

David Michael | Billfold | 11 December 2012

Norway's oil wealth makes for higher wages, shorter working hours, more demand for labour. Swedes flock there: 10% of Oslo residents are Swedish. "Young people today don’t want to work at all. It’s good that we have the Swedes" Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/why-swedes-move-norway-and-why-i-tagged-along)

Maj-Gen Tony Deane-Drummond

Anonymous | Telegraph | 4 December 2012

Aficionados agree: Best Telegraph obituary of 2012. Which is setting the bar very high indeed. One of those impossibly eventful army lives. Much WW2 heroism: three arrests and escapes, two weeks in a cupboard. Commanded SAS in Oman Comments (https://thebrowser.com/articles/maj-gen-tony-deane-drummond)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)

FiveBooks Interview

(https://thebrowser.com/interviews/clarence-b-jones-on-best-speeches-all-time)

Clarence B Jones on The Best Speeches of All Time

The friend and adviser to Martin Luther King Jr, who contributed to the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, tells us how great speeches come about and what they can mean Read on (https://thebrowser.com/interviews/clarence-b-jones-on-best-speeches-all-time)

Featured Special Report

(https://thebrowser.com/reports/syria-revolts)

Conflict in Syria

The Syrian conflict is causing terrible destruction and loss of life. This report charts how protests against the Assad regime descended into a bitter war Read on (https://thebrowser.com/reports/syria-revolts)

Reader Recommendations

TorontoStar (http://twitter.com/TorontoStar) A couple good long reads: Life, death of an amazing toddler t.co/TdTTUIs9 And South Africa's dream: t.co/fQOZcavB #browsings (http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=#browsings)
More like this (http://thebrowser.com/browsings)

Book of the Day

Book of the Day (https://thebrowser.com/recommended/mindset-by-carol-s-dweck)

Mindset by Carol Dweck

Susan Gelman says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/susan-gelman-on-essentialism) : “This book can teach you to raise motivated and compassionate children and help them become adults with grit, resilience and compassion”
FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)