The Browser daily newsletter [15 Jan 2012]

Daily Newsletter       15 January 2012  Best of the Moment We're All Guilty Of Dehumanizing The Enemy Sebastian Junger | Washington Post | 13 January 2012 Interesting commentary on US Marines scandal. Does dehumanising the dead help soldiers cope psychologically with their act of killing? And how do you explain that it's ok to waterboard a live enemy but not urinate on a dead one? Comments The Hacker Is Watching David Kushner | GQ | 12 January 2012 Disturbing story of Luis Mijangos, who hacked into unsuspecting individuals' webcams to commit "sextortion". When eventually captured, FBI found 15,000 videos, 900 audio recordings, 13,000 screen grabs. From a total of 230 victims Comments Selling A 300-Year-Old Cello Daniel Wakin | NYT | 14 January 2012 Great musicians part with great instruments only in old age or at death. Aaron Rosand was 84 when he sold his Guarnieri violin for $10m. Bernard Greenhouse's death puts his Stradivarius cello, one of 20, on the market Comments British Institutions: London Underground Matthew Engel | FT | 13 January 2012 Part five of wonderful series looks at the Tube. Moves nearly five million people around London every day. Still much criticised. "Are you ever going to sort this place out?" asks Engel. "By 2021. It'll be fantastic then" Comments Iron Lady Falls Virginia Postrel | Bloomberg | 13 January 2012 Film biography of Margaret Thatcher portrays her as lonely and bitter in old age, having devoted her life to work and neglected her family. That isn't true, and it isn't fair. No comparable man would be depicted that way Comments When Michelle Obama Came To Lunch Sophie Brickman | Gilt Taste | 10 January 2012 In the kitchen at New York City’s Gramercy Tavern. Line cook wishes she could say she was clean, well-rested, well-dressed for first lady's visit. Too bad. She did have an important aesthetic contribution to make though Comments  FiveBooks Interview Henry Hitchings on Language The wordsmith and cultural historian debunks common myths about English, recommends the smartest writing about words, and says apostrophes are “orthographic squiggles” not worth fighting for  Featured Special Report Putin's Russia A disputed election, protests, accusations of being a mafia state. As Vladimir Putin prepares to take back the presidency, what kind of country does he lead?  Reader Recommendations @dmsouthasia Bangladesh: Of Feral Cats & Social Indicators t.co/iWOFMGRq #Browsings  Book of the Day The Invisible Hook by Peter Leeson Peter Boettke says: “The Invisible Hook does a fascinating job of communicating to people the enjoyment of just thinking through a problem like an economist”  Video of the Day Scottish Independence The whole story in less than two minutes. Lots of nice touches. Thanks, Next Media  Quote of the Day John Jeremiah Sullivan, on Jesus Christ "His breakthrough was the aestheticization of weakness" | Homepage | Mobile Apps | RSS Feeds | Twitter | Facebook | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Having trouble reading this email? View it in your browser. You are receiving this email because you signed up for the Best of the Moment newsletter on thebrowser.com. Click here to unsubscribe The Browser Ltd, 106 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 6PF

Cruise ship sinks, Romney leads, MLK memorial fix, and other weekend Slatest stories.

The Slatest: January 15, 2012 Two More Bodies Found in Sinking Cruise Ship Captain of luxury liner arrested, accused of abandoning ship as death toll increases to five. READ FULL STORY Romney Gains Wide Lead in South Carolina The former governor has a 21-point lead in the crucial state as Paul and Santorum battle for second place. READ FULL STORY Perry: Urinating Marines are 'Just Kids' The Texas governor said Marines shouldn't face criminal prosecution for a "dumb" mistake. READ FULL STORY Paterno 'Didn't Know How To Handle' Abuse Allegations In the first interview since his firing, the former coach defends his actions but says he wishes he had done more. READ FULL STORY UN Chief to Syria: Stop the Killing Amid new amnesty announcement, Ban Ki-moon calls on Assad to end crackdown. READ FULL STORY Iran Claims it Has Evidence US Was Behind Killing Tehran says US and UK were behind the assassination of nuclear scientist, while Washington focuses on Israel. READ FULL STORY Internet Piracy Legislation Losing Momentum The House is delaying a vote and the White House issued a statement criticizing several aspects of the bills. READ FULL STORY MLK Memorial Inscription Will be Corrected Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has ordered the correction of a quotation inscribed on the memorial of the slain civil rights leader. READ FULL STORY ElBaradei Ends Egypt Presidential Bid The Nobel laureate pulled out of the race, saying there's no real democracy in the country. READ FULL STORY Advertisement From Slate: Inside the Obama Campaign's Massive and Astonishing Data-Mining Project Manjoo: Adding Voice Activation to Televisions Is a Terrible Idea The Trendy—and Wrong—New Argument That We Should Let Big Businesses Become Monopolies Arizonans' Lives Are Lonely and Isolating. Was That a Factor in the Gabby Giffords Shooting? Natalee Holloway Has Been Declared Legally Dead. What if She Turns Up Alive? Oregon Bus Shelters That Cost As Much as a House—and Other Great Investigative Journalism The Political Gabfest Interviews Obamas Author Jodi Kantor More from The Slatest: UN Chief to Syria: Stop the Killing Romney Gains Wide Lead in South Carolina Perry: Urinating Marines are 'Just Kids' Two More Bodies Found in Sinking Cruise Ship Paterno 'Didn't Know How To Handle' Abuse Allegations Internet Piracy Legislation Losing Momentum ElBaradei Ends Egypt Presidential Bid MLK Memorial Inscription Will be Corrected Iran Claims it Has Evidence US Was Behind Killing Doctors: Edwards Has Life-Threatening Condition

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Cheat Sheet - Amazing Rescues From Italy’s Cruise Wreck

Today: Romney Has Huge South Carolina Lead , 53 Shia Pilgrims Killed in Iraq , Support for Troops in Syria Grows January 15, 2012 DISASTER 1. Amazing Rescues From Italy’s Cruise Wreck More than 24 hours after a cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Italy, rescuers plucked three survivors from the wreck—including a South Korean couple on their honeymoon and a crew member. Out of the 4,000 who were on board, three have been confirmed dead; 17 are still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, the ship’s captain and first captain are in police custody, facing charges for manslaughter and abandoning ship. The Daily Beast’s Barbie Latza Nadeau reports from the scene on the latest rescue efforts—and talks to locals who describe the ship’s “awkward” path in the moments before it went under. Plus, stunning photos of the wreck. Read it at The Daily Beast INEVITABLE 2. Romney Has Huge South Carolina Lead Mitt Romney is trouncing the rest of the GOP field in South Carolina, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The frontrunner’s 37 percent support opens up a 21-point lead over Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, who are tied for second place, according to the survey. Newt Gingrich has fallen to fourth place with only 12 percent of voters’ support. The poll also found that South Carolina voters—both Republicans and Democrats—would favor Romney over Obama 46 to 40 percent. The state has voted Republican in nine of the last 10 presidential elections. Read it at Reuters MIDDLE EAST 3. 53 Shia Pilgrims Killed in Iraq Fifty-three people were killed in a suicide bombing at a security checkpoint in Iraq on Saturday. The victims were Shia Muslims on their way to a mosque west of Basra. A police official said, “A terrorist wearing a police uniform and carrying fake police ID managed to reach a police checkpoint and blew himself up among police and pilgrims.” The bombing occurred at the end of Arbain, a major religious observance in the Shia calendar, and it has renewed fears of sectarian violence in the country. Read it at The Times of India DESPERATE 4. Support for Troops in Syria Grows A day after Qatar’s emir, Amr Moussa, said troops should be sent into Syria to stop the regime’s deadly crackdown of protesters, other Middle East leaders are coming out in support of the proposal. Former Arab League secretary-general Moussa, and current candidate for the Egyptian presidency, said Sunday: “This is a very important proposal ... The Arab League should begin to study this possibility.” Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri also backed the suggestion. “I'm all for it,” Hariri tweeted during a Saturday overnight live Twitter Q&A session. Read it at The Daily Star IMPATIENT 5. Candidates Jab Romney in Forum The rules of Saturday’s Mike Huckabee forum in South Carolina explicitly prohibited GOP candidates from attacking—or even mentioning—each other, but many went ahead and attacked Mitt Romney anyway. “I have always been pro-life,” Jon Huntsman said—alluding to the criticism that Romney supported abortion before he flip-flopped. Rick Santorum also said: “What [voters] want to know is that you believe what you believe.” Newt Gingrich didn't even bother with the rules, and went after Romney by name. “Gov. Romney ran saying he created 100,000 jobs,” Gingrich said, implying that Romney was lying, before he defended his controversial attack of the frontrunner’s time at Bain Capital. “To ask questions about a particular company is not the same as attacking capitalism.” Read it at NPR HEADS UP Russian Spacecraft to Crash to Earth Failed probe was stuck in orbit. HIGH-TECH Calculate The Year You’ll Die How a new ‘mortality’ calculator could change health care. RESCUE Tanker Reaches Stranded Alaska Town With much-needed fuel. PRAYERS UNANSWERED Tebow Crushed by Patriots Completed only 9 of 26 passes. IT'S BACK AMC Confirms ‘Mad Men’ Return Two-hour premiere to air March 25. GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors. GET The Yes List Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast. Why Mitt Romney Will Prove To Be a Feeble Presidential Nominee by Michael Tomasky Christie’s Auctions Audubon’s ‘Birds of America’: Priciest Book Ever? by Josh Dzieza No Downers in ‘Downton’ by Simon Schama

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