Hump Day Reading #2

Welcome to the second issue of Hump Day Reading, where I compile a small collection of links to letters, blog posts, articles, opinions, columns, videos, and pictures for your intellectual enjoyment.

Feedback is always welcome!

- Amongst all the brouhaha of the Mars landing, you may have missed that the Syrian Prime Minister has defected, citing genocide as an aggravating factor, as it should be.

- As the Dotcom saga grows on and on, Loz Kaye releases something of a Pirate manifesto.

- The always sensible Bryce Edwards tackling the idiocy of Colin Craig pushing National closer to the centre than they're really comfortable with.

- A cheeky look at the relevance of the 'Kony 2012' campaign. Is it ironic that the mastermind of the plan was arrested before Kony himself was?

- On a more insidious note, despite the wonderful potential for transfer of information in the digital age, it does give rise to some distressing things. 'Thinspiration' blogs are devoted to the promotion of BDD. Read more here and here.

- A seriously surreal account of a photojournalist encountering British jihadis fighting in Syria.

- And finally, as Merkel and Hollande seek so solidify their relationship and address the Euro crisis, Maurice Glasman provides some handy reasons why the ideas of John Maynard Keynes must be resurrected.