Recap of the AMA by @AJEnglish's Marwan Bishara

Who supports Gaddafi right now? Is there a sub-ethnic or regional division at play within Libyan politics? The media likes to couch these things in terms of "the people" vs. "the strongman". But the strong man isn't the Hulk, beating off "the people" all by himself.

Marwan: That's a great question. Better read my next book, The Invisible Arab, for an in-depth look at the forces behind the regimes and change. Most Arab regimes have been based on narrow but strong bases that have much at stake and invested in the regime. They could be tribes, clans, ethnicities etc. They also have regional allies and other forms of support system that helped them survive. However, much of that is no longer sufficient to keep them in power. Change is coming, and at times it will be costly.

via english.aljazeera.net

Great interview. Worth reading the rest if you're curious about all things Al Jazeera English & Middle Eastern politics. I'm excited to return as a guest on The Stream on AJE in a couple weeks!

When Not To Quit: Man Revived After 96 Minutes

For more than an hour and a half, Snitzer had no pulse. Emergency room doctors said there was nothing more they could do. But one of the flight nurses who had come with the emergency helicopter had been trained in capnography. Snitzer's carbon dioxide levels suggested that blood was flowing to vital organs like the heart and brain, and the nurse thought Snitzer still had a chance.

The nurse "called the emergency room doctor, who told him that I was dead and that they should walk away," says Snitzer. "And he hung up and he said to the rest of the people in the room, 'Is anyone else here uncomfortable with walking away from this?' And they all said yes. And it was at that point that he called Dr. White."

via m.npr.org

Wow. Way to bring capnography (like sexy) back.

Fever Pitch! New Yorkers Go Starry-Eyed for Start-Ups

I would not sleep. I’d get to bed at like 3:30 and wake up at 6:30 and the entire time I’m just thinking about how to build this thing that was in my head that I think would make the world a better place… I was pacing and talking to everyone I could about it.
via betabeat.com

This gentleman has the bug. I hope you do indeed make the world a better place with whatever it is you're starting.

Does Marijuana Make You Stupid? (via @arikia)

So here’s the very un-D.A.R.E. takeaway: Heavy marijuana use doesn’t seem to cause any sort of lasting brain damage. All the negative side-effects are relatively temporary. (But those side-effects are real.) Furthermore, the sort of anxiolytic giddiness triggered by THC comes with its own unexpected benefits, which is probably why humans have been self-medicating with cannabis for thousands of years.

via wired.com

I learned this from Super High Me, but it's nice to see it confirmed with a bit more scientific rigor.

Leap Year: The Web Series Every Entrepreneur Should Watch (and I want a cameo on!)

Alexis Ohanian, Ben Lerer and Ricky Van Veen are naturally funny guys so we’d love to write something for them. I sent Naveen Selvadurai the episode where Jack teaches Olivia how to check-in on Foursquare and he loved it, so I think he and Dennis Crowley would be great. The Glenn Cheeky character in episode 9 is loosely-based on David Karp, who did an episode of our #MyStartupStory interview series.
via forbes.com

I'd better fire up my Hulu...