I heard the news today, oh boy..

[El Pibe]

I think it was a feature article rather than an editorial as such.

By a Tom Junod who also seems to double up as their food guy

http://www.esquire.com/search/?q=&author=Tom+Junod&srchtyp=system

[El Pibe]

Interesting article on US policy towards China in general, with a nice bit of Romney bashing.

http://chinamatters.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/mitt-romney-stays-in-character-on-china.html

[El Pibe]

The ever excellent Mark Lynch on the apparent reslience of arab monarchies to the reformist demands of the arab spring.

To paraphrase one of our great living philosopher kings, the Arab monarchies may be forced to choose among three dreams: the Saudi King's, Dr. King's and Rodney King's. The monarchs would like their own people and the outside world to believe that they survive because of their effective and benevolent leadership, their unique political culture, and their distinctive legitimacy which requires no great concessions to meaningful democratic political participation. But that very myth can blind them to the ever more urgent calls by reformists for just such political inclusion, transparency, an end to corruption, and equality of citizenship. The violent repression and angry protests in Manama or Qatif provide stark warning of the danger of believing such comforting mythologies of resilience or legitimacy.

The discussion of Arab monarchy really should be a debate, of course. A lot of smart people do think that monarchy matters, and have developed sophisticated arguments and evidence to support the contention. They may be right. There's an outstanding literature in political science on the nature of various regime types, to which Middle East specialists have contributed significantly. But if Gulf regimes start to suddenly fall, as predicted in this forthcoming book by Christopher Davidson, or the popular mobilization which already exists takes on new forms, then the embrace of the monarchical exception could soon look as foolish as did the passion for Lebanese consociationalism in the 1960s, the admiration for the Shah's developmental state in Iran in the 1970s, or the confidence in the resilience of Arab authoritarian regimes in the 2000s.

http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/08/31/three_kings

[Ted Max]

"Singapore is world's least emotional country, poll finds."

"if you look at everything that makes life worth living, they're not doing so well."

Oh dear.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/21/singapore-least-emotional-country-poll

[El Pibe]

It lost me on "temperate weather".

Has he BEEEEN there?!?!

I'm pretty sure that "28C weather" must be a 24 hour average where the 35C 100% humidity daytime temperature plummets to 30 with 100% humidity at night. THe low number is accounted for by the swirling rains that come every three hours on the dotfor 15 minutes.

Try getting emotional about anything frankly when that's what you face day in day out 365 days a year.

[Huguenot]

Haha, there's more than a bit of cultural bias in the report.

Surrounded by extremes of often destructive conviction in Malaysia and Indonesia, the highest ideal in Singapore is harmony.

Announcing disproportionate satisfaction or dissatisfaction is seen as injurious to others and hence to harmony.

Consequently asking direct Western style questions about people's mindset is counterproductive - you'll never get a straight answer.

There's plenty of ways to determine it by other means :)

They're happier than most Brits at the moment!

[El Pibe]

This is doing the rounds.

Brilliant!!

http://www.afgsc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123333051

[red devil]

I bet it's always a Honky who get's to push the button though...

[El Pibe]

I'm sure the 'button' is purely figurative these days, it's now a command on siri.

ALl the more dangerous of course since iOS's adoption of apple maps over google's.

[El Pibe]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21252362

Sattelite of Britain covered in snow shows that Britian is white apparently, who'd have thought.

Also, short of lincolnshire having been washed into the norht sea, it looks identical to last year's photo of snow on britain, and remarkably similar to the 2010 photo of britain with snow all over it.

[El Pibe]

blimey

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/04/10/1844121/4-accidental-toddler-shootings/?mobile=nc

and i guess whilst we're on the subject

http://data.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/gun-deaths

[nashoi]

Accidental shootings?

According to Richard Tremblay, who has spent decades researching this, "Babies do not kill each other, because we do not give them knives and guns. The question we've been trying to answer for the past 30 years is how do children learn to aggress, but that's the wrong question. The right question is how do they learn not to aggress."

As for the second link, the distribution of violent crime by state http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/standard-links/region shows that the south is more violent than the north. Why? Well that would be the irish influence, the civilizing process started in England and swept across Europe, lagging behind somewhat in Ireland (and Spain).

In short, if I was one half of a spanish/irish couple about to move to a remote corner of Ireland with a couple of miniature psychopaths in tow, I would make sure those floorboards are good and creaky and would avoid starting any feuds with the locals anytime soon.

[El Pibe]

Good thread linkage ;)

[Ted Max]

Evie Wyld, who works in Review, was named last night as one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists.

http://www.granta.com/Archive/123

http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/Mrs-de-Pelet

[El Pibe]

3rd most read story today.

slow news day huh?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23158579

[numbers]

blimey why are they trying to tempt her back with a tenner? I'd gladly tell Ms Clarke to fuck off to Waitrose. its so feckin rude to continue on a mobile conversation whilst being served at a checkout or shop counter.

[El Pibe]

"A Costa Rican woman reportedly recovered from a serious brain illness, and the Congregation concluded that the only explanation for her recovery was the fact that her family had prayed for the late pope's intercession."

Gotta love that rigorous canonisation process

[El Pibe]

Pope in great use of irony shock.

Warns of power and wealth.

Nice.

[numbers]

really wish the BBC news would desist from quoting Ed Balls on the economy. He was Chief Sec to the Treasury when they trashed it after all.

[Mick Mac]

He's moved to Newsnight on BBC2 now.

[julesclaire]

when you used to listen to garage and now listen to michael bubleeee

when girls refer to you as 'lady' or 'woman' in a queue

when you buy an item of clothing because it looks comfortable or easy to clean

when you avoid clothes that are dry clean only

when 11pm on a thursday night seems so naughty !

when u used to rave and now you bake !!!

and im only 36 !!!! bring on the slippers !!

[julesclaire]

oops and you post something on the wrong thread !

[El Pibe]

and they say standards are slipping...

"and for speaking to the BBC in one of her only interviews about the ordeal"

[El Pibe]

Judge has issues with the name Messiah, but no problem with him living in Cocke county?!?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23665106

[El Pibe]

Sharpeville Massacre (69) - turned world opinion, isolated regime

Bloody Sunday (26) - transformed conflict in NI

Black Friday (88) - forced Shah to leave Iran

Tianneman Square (300 - 2000) - rattled leadership, ushered in new age of mercantilistic freedom

7 -7 (52) - pointlessly killed innocent people from pretty much everywhere

Egypt (200 - 2000) - reaction by the right wing press == depressing