10.  Noriega’s Last Laugh — Christopher Dickey and Atrocities in Afghanistan: A Troubling Timetable — Kathy Kelly & Dan Pearson
9. To Save the Eurozone: $1 Trillion, European Central Bank Reform, and a New Head for the IMF — Peter Boone & Simon Johnson and The European Experience with Large Fiscal Adjustments — Alcidi Cinzia & Daniel Gros
8. Climate Change Indicators in the United States: Summary of Findings — Nick Sundt and CCS Stunner: New Study Finds Geologic Sequestration “Is Not a Practical Means to Provide Any Substantive Reduction in CO2 Emissions” — Joseph Romm
7. Immigration Reform Is Working. Now We Need to Look at What Isn’t. — Edward Schumacher-Matos, To “Control the Border,” First Reform Immigration Law — Daniel Griswold, and The Predictable Tragedies of Arizona’s Anti-Immigration Law — Ezra Klein & Ta-Nehisi Coates
6. The Deficit: Nine Myths We Can’t Afford — Pavlina R. Tcherneva, Stephanie Kelton, L. Randall Wray, Marshall Auerback, Yeva Nersisyan, & Warren Mosler, Do Not Confuse Solvency with Sustainability — Pavlina R. Tcherneva, and Paul Samuelson on Deficit Myths — L. Randall Wray
5. Why Financial Reform Needs a Bank Tax — David Leonhardt, Who’s Afraid of a Bank Tax? — David Leonhardt, and Endgame in the Financial Reforms — David Skeel
4. Return of the Death Squads — Jeremy Kryt and Are Aid Donors Now Running Haiti? — Daniel Altman
3. Nukes for Sale — Jeremy Bernstein and A New Start — Tara McKelvey
2. Chris Dodd’s Carve-Outs for Cronies — Mark A. Calabria and Big Business Pleads for Loopholes in Financial Regulatory Reform — Steven Pearlstein
1. Cruel Ethiopia — Helen Epstein and The State of Liberal Democracy in Africa: Resurgence or Retreat? — Tony Leon
BONUS: Chances Are — Steven Strogatz

• The Mysterious Downfall of the Neandertals — Scientific American – Our evolutionary history offers clues to mistakes made and species gone by the wayside, all lessons for our own civilization. It is interesting to note, for instance, the effect of climate change in this story. My favorite quote hints at one of the reasons that storytellers, historians, and journalists like this blog remain a valuable part of society: “A long-standing view holds that moderns outsmarted the Neandertals with not only their superior tool technology and survival tactics but also their gift of gab, which might have helped them form stronger social networks”
• Innovative Blades May Have Led to a Stone Age Population Boom — Scientific American – Ancient economics.
• Poverty Will Always Be With Us Until We Do Something About It — Matthew Yglesias – What would make this chart perfect would be the names and terms of the presidents along the x-axis. Envision that context when you look at the chart, and you’ll get the picture.
• War Without Purpose — Chris Hedges – As I’ve said before, Hedges lets his passion obscure his persuasion. Just go straight to the final paragraph; I couldn’t have said it better myself.
• An Electronic Solution to Illegal Immigration — Edward Schumacher-Matos – One of the most objective, common sense articles I’ve seen on this debate. Schumacher-Matos is a highly underrated columnist. We’re headed in this direction eventually, for the reasons he cites at the end; the question is how long we plan to diddle in this middle ground where no one is content.
• Why Toxic Assets Are So Hard to Clean Up — Mark Thoma – Thoma is right: Standardization is one of the biggest benefits of a public trading exchange, which I’ll explain further in my forthcoming book.
• Bailout Overseer Says Banks Misused TARP Funds — Washington Post (via Common Dreams) – I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
• Is Financial Innovation Good? — Tyler Cowen – Cowen is right; Salmon is wrong. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a regulator to determine which innovations are safe enough for public consumption, but it does mean we shouldn’t demonize innovations that have helped millions of people. (Salmon’s criticisms of subprime mortgages and prepayment penalties are on-target, though.)