Links for September 3rd 2009 through September 9th 2009

These are my links for September 3rd 2009 through September 9th 2009:

• A Mugging on Lake Street – Chicago magazine – September 2009 – Chicago – "A veteran investigative reporter looks into his own beating and finds himself confronting harsh and lingering questions of race" .
• Edge: ECONOMICS IS NOT NATURAL SCIENCE By Douglas Rushkoff – "We must stop perpetuating the fiction that existence itself is dictated by the immutable laws of economics. These so-called laws are, in actuality, the economic mechanisms of 13th Century monarchs. Some of us analyzing digital culture and its impact on business must reveal economics as the artificial construction it really is. Although it may be subjected to the scientific method and mathematical scrutiny, it is not a natural science; it is game theory, with a set of underlying assumptions that have little to do with anything resembling genetics, neurology, evolution, or natural systems."
• David Denby goes on the hunt for snark, abuse in a public forum | Books | The Guardian – "What is snark? Abuse in a public forum of a particular kind – personal, low, teasing, rug-pulling, finger-pointing, snide, obvious, and knowing….It is sly, knowing and often downright nasty. Politicians and celebrities are its prey. And it attacks, under the guise of wit, without proof or reason…[It] is invading all modern discourse from gossip sites to newspapers"
• BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Huge ‘sky explosion’ investigated – Nukes over Ireland or just another exploding Russian military satellite?
• Can Game Theory Predict When Iran Will Get the Bomb? – NYTimes.com – Interesting article on the power and effectiveness of game theory in real-world scenarios.
• World Affairs Journal – Twice Branded: Western Women in Muslim Lands – "That’s the way it was in Cairo—and still is. Local women are of such negligible importance that they can be viewed as prey. On the other hand, foreign women are in a wholly different category: wild and yet easy, so menacing and just plain available they are invariably treated as prey. The foreigner without a murderous uncle by her side or a veil over her face is a communal dish."

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