News Nuggets 113

UP-FRONT VIDEO NUGGET!

The full video of Obama's speech to the Czech people.  The audio is slightly out of sync with the video but it's all here.  The last minutes of the clip show the Obamas working the crowd -- very interesting.

President Obama -- "What a Change for the Alliance! from Le Figaro [from France in English]

"If America has moved closer to Europe, the opposite movement is just as real. In resuming its place within NATO's integrated command, France is playing a leading role. ... On Sunday, Barack Obama will be in Prague for the European Union-United States summit. Within days, he will have laid the foundations of a new transatlantic alliance."

Obama Saves NATO Governments from Summit Shame from Der Spiepel [of Germany in English]

"A call made by Barack Obama helped end the impasse. The Turkish government has given up its opposition and Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen will now become the new head of NATO. By doing so, Obama saved Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy from deep embarrassment at the summit."

The 52 Minutes of Obama Magic that Changed the Nuclear Rules from the Guardian [of London]

It seems that what Obama has proposed is a MUCH BIGGER deal than I initially thought.  Not entirely clear here why -- but the analysis as far as it goes is interesting.

"On Friday, in Strasbourg, he was rapturously applauded by French and German students when he said he wanted to rid the world of nuclear weapons. In Prague yesterday, he spelled out his hopes, outlining a host of means to that end and denouncing fatalism in the face of the nuclear threat as a "deadly adversary"."

Obama Calls for World Without Nuclear Weapons from the Washington Post

"Speaking in front of the Prague Castle just hours after the North Korean launch, Obama vowed to immediately seek U.S. ratification of a ban on nuclear testing, convene a summit in Washington to stop the spread of nuclear material within four years and create a nuclear fuel bank to allow peaceful development of nuclear power."

Obama Wows a Worried World (Clarence Page) from the Chicago Tribune via RealClearPolitics

"His wife may have attracted more camera attention, but the Group of 20 economic summit in London was President Barack Obama's show. He didn't get everything he wanted in his first presidential foray onto the world stage, but he passed his audition."

Turkey is Ready to Welcome Obama from Time Magazine

"American presidents have visited Turkey before but never this soon into their presidency. That's just one reason why Barack Obama's arrival this Sunday evening has all of Turkey aflutter. Turks see Obama's visit as proof of his commitment to building bridges with the Muslim world, as well as a reflection of the new administration's desire to have Turkey — with a Muslim majority but officially secular, democratic and a candidate for E.U. entry — play a much bigger role in the wider region."

Obama's Official Visit a Rorschach Test from Hurriyet Daily News [of Ankara, Turkey in English]

"While some compare the latest wave of Obamania to a psychologist’s inkblot test, where patients inevitably see different things, others compare the clamor to the night before Christmas, as ruling and opposition politicians all queue for a chance on Santa’s knee. U.S. President Barack Obama had arrived in Ankara late on Sunday."

Welcome to Turkey and Spirit of Ancestry from Hurriyet Daily News [of Ankara, Turkey, in English]

GLOBAL IDENTITY POLITICS ALERT!  A story about the large "African-Turk"  community in Turkey (a corollary to the African American community in the US) -- who knew?  It never ceases to amaze me the different reasons why SOME GROUPS around the world embrace the Obamas!  This one is quite poignant.

"Olpak told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review they were excited about the visit. "The spirits of his African ancestors, who were enslaved and excluded from the white man’s world, are with Obama," he said.  Black people were not being bought and sold only in Europe and America, but in the Ottoman Empire, too."

At Latin Summit, All Will be Seeking Face Time with Obama from the McClatchy News Service

I CANNOT believe Obama will be doing this NEXT WEEK -- I've read that this European tour has been exhausting for him and Michelle.

"It will be Obama's first summit in the hemisphere, and the first for several of the presidents who will be jockeying for face time with the man who is arguably the world's most popular leader."

Health Care's Year (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

From your pen to God's ear!

"Yes, this is the year Congress will finally give every American access to health insurance.  Getting there won't be pretty. But for the first time since the passage of Medicare in the 1960s, the forces favoring action on health-care reform are stronger than the forces of cynicism and obstruction."

Obama is Using the Science of Change from Time Magazine

A FASCINATING glimpse into Obama's internal operation.

"The existence of this behavioral dream team — which also included best-selling authors Dan Ariely of MIT (Predictably Irrational) and Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein of the University of Chicago (Nudge) as well as Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman of Princeton — has never been publicly disclosed, even though its members gave Obama white papers on messaging, fundraising and rumor control as well as voter mobilization. President Obama is still relying on behavioral science. But now his Administration is using it to try to transform the country."

First Lady's Triumph is a Win for Us All (Cynthia Tucker) from the Atlanta Journal Constitution

"The triumph of Michelle Obama is a tale as surprising and as profound as the election of her husband, the nation’s first black president. The first lady is a national icon, a mirror for our changing mores, a symbol of our aspirations for wives and mothers, a role model for gracious hostesses and socially conscious volunteers."

BOOK [AND HISTORY] NUGGET!

As some of you know, I am a huge Bart Ehrman fan -- he does a number of EXCELLENT courses for the Teaching Company on various topics relating to early Christian history.

Jesus is Just Alright with Him from Salon  

"To the author of "Jesus Interrupted," the man from Galilee was a radical Jewish prophet, not God. But in an interview, Bart Ehrman says history doesn't have to undermine Christian faith."