Newsletter 887
Best of the Moment
The Elephant In The Situation Room
Ian Bremmer | Reuters | 24 December 2012
Critique of US National Intelligence Council's "Global Trends 2030" report. Needs more China. "If there are twin gigatrends that supersede all else, they are China’s trajectory, and the multipolar world in which it is playing out" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/elephantin-situation-room)
Jerry Seinfeld Intends To Die Standing Up
Jonah Weiner | NYT | 20 December 2012
It helps that Seinfeld is such a likeable character, and that good humour is his stock-in-trade. But wow, this profile is a pleasure to read. "In his jokes he arranges life’s messy confusions into a bouquet of trivial irritants" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/jerry-seinfeld-intends-die-standing)
Cleaning Up Science
Gary Marcus | New Yorker | 24 December 2012
"A lot of scientists have been busted recently for making up data and fudging statistics. How on Earth are we going to do better? Here are six suggestions, [starting with a proposal to] restructure the incentives in science" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/cleaning-science)
Stalking The Taliban In Afghan Currency Markets
Matthew Green | Reuters | 23 December 2012
Is Haji Khairullah Barakzai an illiterate village boy made good thanks to hard work and street smarts? Or is he, as the US alleges, banker to the Taliban, kingpin of an underground drug network? Is it possible there's a bit of both? Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/stalking-taliban-afghan-currency-markets)
Gifts That Keep Giving (If Not Exploding)
Jennifer Kingson | NYT | 24 December 2012
Would any child grow up wanting to be a chemist after using today's safe chemistry sets? The days of making bad smells and explosions are over. "Basically, you have to be able to eat everything in the science kit" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/gifts-keep-giving-if-not-exploding)
Politics And The Chinese Language
Perry Link | China File | 24 December 2012
Perry Link amplifies his criticisms of Mo Yan's writings, in reply to a defence from Charles Laughlin. Full of good points about literature in China, art under censorship, and the political manipulation of language and history Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/politics-and-chinese-language)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)
FiveBooks Interview
(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/catherine-s-manegold-on-narrative-non-fiction)
Catherine S Manegold on Narrative Non-Fiction
The author and former New York Times reporter says that some of the very best writing today is non-fiction — and that seductive narratives can yank readers into the most diverse range of subjects Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/catherine-s-manegold-on-narrative-non-fiction)
Featured Special Report
(http://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 (http://thebrowser.com/reports/syria-revolts)
Reader Recommendations
@rszbt (http://twitter.com/rszbt) RT @JadAbumrad (http://twitter.com/JadAbumrad) : Amazing story of the first man to parachute through a cumulonimbus storm cloud - t.co/dV8NIDfm #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/truth-about-markets-by-john-kay)
The Truth About Markets by John Kay
Anatole Kaletsky says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/anatole-kaletsky-on-new-capitalism) : “I think it’s a very profound book of permanent truths about markets. It’s not just about the dotcom bubble in 2000, which prompted Kay to write it” FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)
Video of the Day
PAL-V Maiden Voyage
(http://thebrowser.com/videos/pal-v-maiden-voyage)
They promised us flying cars. And guess what? Here's a flying car. More videos (http://thebrowser.com/videos)
Quote of the Day
Andrew Hacker, on complexity (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/jan/10/how-he-got-it-right/?pagination=false)
"Professionals are rated by the presumed complexity of what they know and do. So to retain or raise an occupation’s status, tasks are made more mysterious"
More quotes (http://thebrowser.com/quotations)