From The New Inquiry, Atossa Abrahamian explains why a salon revival may be the best way to fight epistemic closure in the digital age — where the internet is a medium that never forgives, and never forgets. A review of Sartre in Search of an Ethics by Paul Crittenden. From Foreign Policy's Turtle Bay blog, the United Nations takes stock of its diminished influence; and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon takes the high road with drunken Sha Zukang. A review of Walter Benjamin and Bertolt Brecht: The Story of a Friendship by Erdmut Wizisla. Murdoch's Watergate: Jack Shafer on how the U.K. phone-hacking scandal will undo the media mogul. A review of UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record by Leslie Kean (and a response by Kean — and more). A review of Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race by Jon Stewart and Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception by Charles Seife. Tea Parties of the World: The populist anti-government movement might be a uniquely American phenomenon, but it's not too hard to find its influence elsewhere. From LRB, the personalisation of names has continued through the era of neo-classicism; in many modern classrooms most children will be identifiable by their first name alone. A review of I Live in the Future & Here's How It Works: Why Your World, Work, and Brain Are Being Creatively Disrupted by Nick Bilton. The Old Adventures of New Christine: ThinkProgress has put together a document compiling what we know about Delaware GOP Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell in her own words.
