The FPA’s Must Reads (6/28-7/12)

Buried Secrets
By Patrick Radden Keefe
The New Yorker

Guinea, one of Africa’s poorest countries, is home to an iron ore range in the Simandou Mountains that may be worth close to one-hundred and forty billion dollars. In this profile of Beny Steinmetz — head of Beny Steinmetz Group Resources or BSGR and one of the richest men in Israel — Keefe examines how he wrestled control of a huge asset in one of the poorest countries in the world.

Meet the Hacktivist Who Wants to Warn Syrians About Incoming Missiles
By Sonni Efron
The Atlantic

While watching the Syrian war unfold on Twitter, Dlshad Othman — a 26-year-old Syrian hacktivist in the U.S. — came up with the idea of an early warning system for SCUD missiles using data compiled by citizen reports. This along with other methods of using on-the-ground data to predict and warn civilians of atrocities could be quite promising, but it’s struggling to face up to one of its biggest enemies: The Syrian government.

Shooting the Messengers
By Ed Caesar
GQ (UK)

“The life of a war correspondent has never been cheaper,” starts Caesar. However, with changing rules of engagement, more and more journalists are paying the ultimate price to get the first scoop on the battlefield, 2012 being the second worst year for journalists. Clearly something has changed, but the question is: was it the war or the journalism?

Europe’s New ‘Time Bomb’ Is Ticking in Syria
By Colum Lynch
Foreign Policy

At least 1,000 European irregulars, says Lynch, have joined in the fight against Assad, hailing from London, Paris, parts of Germany and even small towns in Ireland. While the West bemoans Assad and calls for him to step down, these very same governments are fighting back against the exodus to serve in the Syrian civil war. Lynch explains Europe’s concerns, and what precisely their doing to stop the trend in its tracks.

Golf in China Is Younger Than Tiger Woods, but Growing Up Fast
By Brook Larmer
The New York Times Magazine

Seeing as Chairman Mao banned golf in 1949, the People’s Republic of China may seem like an odd producer of golf prodigies. Just like the auto industry and the tech industry flocked to China with the help of foreign expertise, so too has the golf industry, from trainers to course designers. It is, in many ways, emblematic of China’s ever-rising wealth.

Blogs:

Hope in Zimbabwe by Derek Catsam
Obama visits Africa, welcomes competition on the continent by Gary Sands
An Update on the Syrian Conflict by Alexander Corbeil
On Mandela by Derek Catsam
Can Snowden Stop a Trade Agreement? by Michael Crowley