February 2012
29 posts
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2011 : WHAT SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT WOULD IMPROVE... →
The 2011 annual question from the Edge with 165 responses from prominent researchers, scientists, thinkers, etc.
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The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
“They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity.” - The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Another amazing short story, part of a masterful collection by one of my favorite authors.
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Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway →
One of the best short stories of all time…
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You fit into me
You fit into me like a hook into an eye
a fish hook an open eye
- Margaret Atwood
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Rereading: The books of my past
As an avid reader I’ve plowed through thousands of books in my lifetime. Recently, I’ve realized that some of the most influential and important books that I’ve read - the ones that greatly influenced me - no longer resonate the way they did the first time I read them.
For instance, I read Satanic Verses when I was 17/18. At the time I had never even heard of Islam (thanks...
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Your Guide to Literary Tumblrs →
From the Millions, a list of literary Tumblr blogs of all shapes, sizes and content.
World's Most Beautiful Bookstores →
I want to visit them all!!!
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The Egyptian military industrial complex and its...
A very interesting article on the Egyptian military industrial complex. I wonder at the idea of locating so many factories within one complex….down the road this could end up being an excellent target for a bombing by a hostile neighbor … should Egypt ever go to war again.
“The centerpiece of this approach is the new three billion Egyptian pound “Mubarak Complex for the...
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Old photos of Kuwait →
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The Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldun →
المقدمة
The Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldun (translated by Franz Rosenthal)
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Omar Khayyam (23)
Fish said to duck, frantic,
Will the water ever return
if the river jumps its course?
Duck replied, When you and I
are skewered and kebob,
let it be a river or
let it be mirage.
Trans. Juan Cole Whinfield 23
http://www.juancole.com/
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Issander El Amrani guest edits The Browser →
Issandr El Amrani is a writer and analyst on Middle Eastern affairs. He is a former North Africa analyst at the International Crisis Group and has contributed to The Economist, Middle East International and many other newspapers and magazines. Living between Cairo and Rabat, he edits the long-running blog The Arabist
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Assassination in Syria
The assassination of a Syrian Army General (who was also a doctor) in Damascus sets a disturbing new precedent. The FSA has denied involvement and its possible that other enemies - either of Assad or the doctor specifically - were involved.
What’s interesting is that the assassination suggests a new level of lawlessness and uncertainty in the capital. Lots of other high profile, well-to-do...
