The Browser daily newsletter [13 Oct 2012]

Daily Newsletter       13 October 2012 Thank you to all those of you who've joined our new membership scheme. For those who haven't, please consider supporting us by becoming a member. Click here to find out about the extra benefits available to members.  Best of the Moment The Swingers' Guide To Islam Aubrey Belford | Global Mail | 11 October 2012 Popular Islam can come in some unlikely guises and Belford has found one of them: A hilltop shrine in Java where thousands of Muslims regularly attend a ritual that involves seeking blessing through having sex with a stranger Comments The Dementia Plague Stephen Hall | MIT Technology Review | 5 October 2012 Greater longevity means more and more old people with dementia requiring lifelong care. Drug industry offers expensive, marginally-effective treatments to desperate families, but reality is bleak: "You don't get better, ever" Comments Who Knows What Massimo Pigliucci | Aeon | 8 October 2012 We divide up attempts to understand our world into the humanities and sciences, with philosophy and social sciences somewhere in the middle. What can we learn from the way we set, and argue over, these disciplinary boundaries? Comments Why Does Everyone Love It But Me? Lisa Levy | Millions | 10 October 2012 Interview with literary critic Daniel Mendelsohn. "You have to dig in your heels a little and resist. It's your duty to use your mind, use your tools, to dissect the object at hand and to look at it, not coldly, but coolly" Comments Is The Afterlife Full Of Fluffy Clouds And Angels? Colin Blakemore | Telegraph | 10 October 2012 In last week's Newsweek, a neurosurgeon recounted his experience of near-death in, shall we say, remarkable terms. The neuroscientist Colin Blakemore responds Comments Fact-Checking The Use Of The Word 'Fact' Jen Doll | Atlantic Wire | 9 October 2012 We all know what a fact is, don't we? Then why do so many of us unthinkingly misuse the word "fact"? Or use it as part of a phrase that would be better eliminated. Often, if it's a fact, you don't need to say that it's a fact Comments FiveBooks Interview Kenneth Miller on Arguments against Creationism The biology professor, and Catholic, tells us what we should read to understand the battle being fought between scientists and creationists  Featured Special Report Paying for the US Election How much is Romney vs Obama 2012 going to cost? Who's paying? And what do they expect in return?  Reader Recommendations polit2k The Startling Accuracy of Referring to Politicians as 'Psychopaths' - James Silver - The Atlantic t.co/HrS0J4uu  #gfc2  #browsings  Book of the Day What’s Really Wrong with the Middle East by Brian Whitaker Issandr El Amrani says: “Whitaker argues that the real problem is not terrorism, but rather the lack of personal freedom in the Arab World”  Video of the Day What If The Presidential Election Is A Tie? There is an answer. But it's not a very good answer  Quote of the Day Colin Blakemore, on near-death experiences "Have you ever noticed that more people come back from Heaven than from Hell?" | 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

Cheat Sheet - Laughing Uncle Joe’s Secret

Today: Shot Pakistani Girl Stable , Jessica Ridgeway Is Dead: Colorado Kidnapping Ends in Tragedy , Meningitis-Linked Firm Broke Regulations October 13, 2012 MALARKEY 1. Laughing Uncle Joe’s Secret Beneath all those smiles at Thursday night’s debate, Vice President Biden was playing old-school Irish-American politics when he talked about class, writes Niall Ferguson in Newsweek. Read it at The Daily Beast Critical 2. Shot Pakistani Girl Stable A team of neurological specialists currently treating wounded Pakistani teen activist Malala Yousafzai say that her condition is stable, but "the next 36 to 48 hours are important." Yousafzai, who was shot in the neck for defending girls' right to attend school, is currently on a ventilator at a hospital in Rawalpindi. Although medical tests on the 14-year-old have gone well, she remains in critical condition. Afghan schools began Saturday with a special day of prayer for Yousafzai—two days after armed men attacked a girls’ school in the Bamyan province in central Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Pakistani officials have arrested over 300 people in connection to Yousafzai’s shooting, but only have 35 of them in custody. Read it at CNN TRAGEDY 3. Body Belongs to Jessica Ridgeway The weeklong search for 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway ends with a grisly find in a park a few miles from the fifth-grader’s home. The Daily Beast’s Christine Pelisek reports. Read it at The Daily Beast SCARY 4. Meningitis-Linked Firm Broke Regulations The drug-mixing firm linked to the nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak reportedly broke several state regulations governing the distribution of medication, according to emails revealed to Reuters on Saturday. The New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts allegedly sold drugs to physicians without requiring patient names or proof of prescription in addition to soliciting bulk orders of their products. The contanimated medication associated with the outbreak is a steroid from the company, which has put as many as 14,000 people at risk. Read it at Reuters STRIKING BACK 5. Libya Becomes New GOP Front After Biden said that “we weren’t told” Americans requested extra security for the anniversary of September 11th at the debate, the GOP campaign latched on to the mishandling of the Libya attack to push against their opponents. Congressional testimony shows the administration turned down the request for more security, and the Romney campaign said Friday that Biden was trying “to mislead the American public” about that fact at the vice presidential debate. The White House shot back that Biden’s statements referred to himself, the president, and other top administration members, since diplomatic security requests are handled by the State Department. Read it at The New York Times SCARY Shot Fired into Obama Campaign Office Nobody was injured. Call to Arms Al Qaeda Leader Urges Holy War Over anti-Muslim film 'Innocence of Muslims.' Violence Masked Men Storm Moscow Gay Bar Four hospitalized after attack. Yikes Florida Reporter’s Body Found Body was encased in concrete Eye for an Eye Huge Eyeball Likely Giant Squid’s The body part was found washed ashore in Florida. 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 Culture Beast Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast. Biden Laughed and Ryan Smirked Was the ghost of Sarah Palin's debate-performance-past in the room on Thursday? Pollster Doug Schoen and The Root's Kelly Goff join John Avlon for a vice presidential debate redux on today's roundtable. More Videos The Car Crash Ryan Chose by Michael Daly Sex and the Twitter Girl by Jesse Ellison Rachel McAdams’ Bisexual Turn by Marlow Stern

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