Newsletter 949

Fly The Friendly Skies — And Feel Free To Bring A Knife

Tabatha Southey | Globe and Mail | 9 March 2013

"Were the TSA to have banned a few new things—wristwatches, clutch purses or the wearing of vertical stripes—there would have been grumbling. But this free-association unbanning, the sudden announcement that you had previously overestimated the danger of sharp pointy objects, may cause people to question the rest of their doctrines"

Don't Talk To A Newspaper

Marina Hyde | Guardian | 8 March 2013

A journalist explains. "I have used those ghastly, mendacious, yet deliciously tempting words. I have said: 'It would be great to hear your side of the story.' What is meant by these words, and what anyone who says them means, is that it would be great for other people to hear your side of the story. But it will not be great for you. Oh no"

Net Benefits

Anonymous | Economist | 9 March 2013

How much better off does the internet make us? "Measuring the economic impact of all the ways the internet has changed people’s lives is difficult because so much of it has no price. It is easier to quantify the losses Wikipedia has inflicted on publishers than the benefits it has generated for users." But, at a guess, $2,600 per person per year

How Filibusters Work, And Why They Are So Rare

Keith Hennessy | Keith Hennessy | 7 March 2013

Cut out and keep. The only explainer on this subject that you will ever need. "To filibuster a question, there isn’t some formal procedural move you make. You simply get recognized by the presiding officer to speak on a debatable question, start speaking, and don’t stop". You can't sit down, leave the floor or eat. But you can say what you like

Guinea-Bissau, A Drug Trafficker's Dream

Alexander Smoltczyk | Spiegel | 8 March 2013

"To run their trans-Atlantic trafficking, the cocaine barons of Latin America need countries under the radar of international interest and characterized by the highest possible corruption index. Guinea-Bissau comes close to fulfilling this ideal. The country has porous borders, inconspicuous airfields and a virtually powerless civilian government"

Video of the day: Louis CK — HBO Trailer

Thought for the day:

"Saying a company has a view is like saying a restaurant has a favourite food" — Ed Rex

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