A new issue of Wag's Revue is out. From Physics Today, Charles Sanders Peirce and the first absolute measurement standard: In his brilliant but troubled life, Peirce was a pioneer in both metrology and philosophy; and in World War I, James Franck helped his native Germany develop gas-warfare defenses — three decades later he urged the US, his adopted country, to tread carefully with an even more terrible weapon. The new abortion providers: An effort to integrate abortion so that it’s a seamless part of health care for women may be the next phase of the abortion wars. An interview with Johnny Rotten: "Don't call me a national treasure". Animal, vegetable, movement? Amy Muldoon on the politics of food. Economics behaving badly: George Lowenstein and Peter Ubel on the limits of what psychology can tell us about choices. From New Statesman, an interview with Christopher Hitchens. Deficits of Mass Destruction: The Iraq War was never really about weapons of mass destruction, and the fight against the deficit is not actually about fiscal responsibility — it's a shell game for gutting the welfare state and redistributing wealth upward. The boy in Playboy: Elizabeth Fraterrigo takes stock of Hugh Hefner. Son of the Bani Tanwir: Stephen Howe on the work of Fred Halliday (1946-2010). What does Obama need to do to shore up his base, woo back independent voters and win a second term? Political experts suggest a few plans of attack.
