Commentary on why a mass murderer could go home to die, how universities spur growth, living a financial meltdown, Greece can go, public companies, the joys of living in Japan, and one take on free trade.

Letting Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi go home.

Vanity Fair -- The Lockerbie Deal
In 2009 the convicted Lockerbie bomber was sent home to Libya from a Scottish prison on grounds of “compassionate release”—he had only three months to live, authorities said.

Looking back (way back) at the impact of universities on the economy.

voxed -- How universities helped transform the medieval world
We like to think that we have moved on from the Middle Ages, but do universities from that period have something to teach us about the role of government in education? This column thinks so.

Oh no.

New Yorker -- The Death of Kings
Most people by now may recall a moment of clarity, an inkling of doom.

There is no reason Greece can’t leave the Euro (or Spain or Portugal or …).

Telegraph -- Drachma scarecrows and the Myths of Greek Exit
We keep hearing that Greece cannot impose exchange and capital controls – as Iceland did – to contain the damage from Drachma Day, restore stability, and prevent a devaluation overshoot.

Keep your blood.

Japan Times -- Foreigners disqualified as blood donors for wide range of reasons
From the many responses to our April 3 column, "Less-than-fluent foreigners may have trouble giving blood," it seems that Japanese language ability is an issue at some centers, but not all. Other factors sometimes took precedence, such as medical conditions and other rules.

The Economist on the decline of the public company.

Economist -- The big engine that couldn’t
Public companies have had a difficult decade, battered by scandals, tied up by regulations and challenged by alternative corporate forms.

The problems with free trade (kinda).

Globe and Mail -- The troubling truth about free trade
As soon as it won its coveted majority, the Harper government put the pedal to the metal on the trade front, with a stampede of new free-trade deals.