Ryan Lizza | New Yorker | 23 January 2012 Reflections on Obama's first term, "based on a review of hundreds of pages of internal White House documents". Inside stuff confirms outside impressions. Obama underestimated recession, misread Republican mood, lost his edge Comments Ronen Bergman | NYT | 25 January 2012 Gripping account of Israeli perspective on Iranian nuclear programme. Israel estimates that it has about nine months in which to derail the project. After that, Iran would be able to withstand an attack. Will it act? Looks that way Comments Adam Gopnik | New Yorker | 23 January 2012 More than six million people are under "correctional supervision" in the US – more than were in Stalin's Gulags. Why so many? This superb account suggests there's been a serious failure of common sense and humanity Comments Lee Billings | Popular Mechanics | 23 January 2012 In 1859 a major solar storm, the "Carrington Event", hit Earth. Another came in 1921. What if one struck tomorrow? "If a Carrington Event happened right now it probably wouldn’t be a wake-up alarm—it would be a goodnight call" Comments John Arlidge | Newsweek | 23 January 2012 "Europe is confronting a descent into chaos and conflict. In America, Soros predicts riots that will lead to a brutal clampdown that will dramatically curtail civil liberties. The global economic system could even collapse" Comments Carlos Fraenkel | Boston Review | 21 January 2012 Intriguing look at Brazil, where all high-school students, irrespective of class or background, have to study philosophy for two hours each week. Can it teach students to build a better, fairer society? Comments Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher | NYT | 21 January 2012 Why Chinese factories make everything Apple. “You need a thousand rubber gaskets? That's the factory next door. A million screws? That factory is a block away. You need that screw made a little bit different? Three hours" Comments Richard Marshall | 3AM Magazine | 20 January 2012 Fascinating interview with philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel. "There’s no way to develop an ambitious, broad-ranging, self-consistent metaphysical system without doing serious violence to common sense somewhere. It's just impossible" Comments |