Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Saturday Papers

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

President Salih announced at a meeting of Yemeni journalists that the government was dropping charges against ‘Abd al-Karim al-Khaywani.

Not everyone it seems is happy with the delay in Parliamentary elections, Muhammad ‘Amr Zayn al-Saqqaf calls the agreement the assassination of democracy in Yemen. Meanwhile, Islah is blaming, as usual, the government for nearly every problem that Yemen is facing.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Person holding an open, empty brown wallet with both hands, outdoors.

The Past

The deep and enduring history of universal basic income

While the concept stretches back centuries, it has garnered significant attention in recent decades.

Ancient stone structure with stairs under a blue sky with scattered clouds, surrounded by vegetation.

The Past

A beginner’s guide to sociopolitical collapse

How (not) to end up in the ash heap of history.

The Past

Islam has become less rational since its medieval Golden Age. What went wrong?

Once a cosmopolitan faith, Islam valued intellectualism and modernity. It was derailed by various geopolitical and religious forces.

The Past

The worst Nobel Peace Prizes ever awarded

Nobel Prizes cannot be revoked.

Thinking

Speech is violence? Not if we want a liberal, intellectual society

The most unpleasant aspect of intellectual liberalism is that when speech causes emotional or mental pain, the offended parties are morally entitled to nothing.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

An End to All That

A little less than a year ago Brian and I started this blog. What for me began as an amusing diversion has, nearly 12 months later, become an unhealthy distraction. […]