The Dallol Mineral Springs in Ethiopia from National Geographic
TWO INTERESTING LOOKS AT DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH KOREA
Kim Three (David Kang) from the National Interest
"Pyongyang’s nuclear antics are prompted by domestic turmoil, not schemes for global domination. While the West frets over proliferation, Kim Jong-il is worrying about his heir"
Forgetting Pyongyang (Doug Bandow) from the National Interest
"Kim Jong-il loves attention. Instead of going into crisis mode whenever he throws a temper tantrum, we should ignore him—while quietly reminding the Chinese that a nuclear-armed North isn’t in their interest."
Report: Abuse Photos Include Images of Rape and Sexual Assault from the Associated Press via the Huffington Post. See FULLER COVERAGE of this at the Telegraph [of London]
"A former U.S. general said graphic images of rape and torture are among the photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse that President Obama's administration does not want released."
Sotomayor 'Fight' Could Fizzle from Politico
"This reality limits Republicans’ options dramatically and virtually guarantees they would be called racists if they said anything that smacks of being out of bounds about such a qualified nominee."
The Judge They Feared from The Root
"Republicans have worried about a Sotomayor nomination for a long time. They knew that her legal talents and personal story would make it difficult for them to stop her from sitting on the court."
Conservatives Out of Touch on Health Care from Politics Daily
"Everyone is pro-choice when it comes to health care, but some conservatives don't understand what that means in the real world. They argue that Democratic plans for health reform will rob people of choices. Somehow they have missed the fact that choices for most people are limited – sometimes severely -- right now."
This article is SO on-the-money when it comes to their "choice" argument.
Which Senators Could Lose in Sotomayor Vote? from Politico
"Which senators will distinguish themselves in the confirmation process, and which will wind up as damaged goods? There’s plenty of peril to go around."
For Republicans, Court Fight Risks Losing Hispanics from the New York Times
"“This is what the base and social conservatives really care about, and we need to brand her a liberal with some out-of-the-mainstream positions. Forget about cosmetics and ethnic heritage, and focus on her record.” But some Republicans warned that the image of the party’s throwing a roadblock before a historic nomination could prove politically devastating."
Obama's Pick is a Winner, Already (Joe Conason) from the New York Observer
"Choosing Sonia Sotomayor as his first nominee to the United States Supreme Court will allow Barack Obama to prove three important things. As a politician, he is not afraid of a fight. As a constitutional lawyer, he is willing and able to defend his conception of that living document. And as president, he is prepared to brush aside the phony consensus of Washington’s gossipy elite."
The Sotomayor Pick: Bridging the Black-Latino Divide from Time Magazine
"Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the US Supreme Court is a historic milestone for Latinos, but it resonates well beyond Hispanic pride. It is perhaps the most potent symbol yet of a 21st century rapprochement between the U.S.'s two largest minorities, Latino Americans and African Americans, who in the 20th century could be as violently distrustful of each other as blacks and whites were."
Rigorous Questioning Has Not Fazed Sotomayor from the Washington Post
"Senate Republicans have yet to decide how tough they will be in grilling Judge Sonia Sotomayor in her confirmation hearings, but this is clear: The Supreme Court nominee already has shown an ability to withstand rigorous questioning."
Smearing Sotomayor (Joan Walsh) from Salon
"Elected Republicans are being cautious, but Rush, Newt and Coulter are swinging wildly, and hurting the party" This tension between elected Republicans and unelected screaming conservative heads is going to be BIG problem for the GOP in 2010.
Gossip in the Climate Conference Corridors is Where All the Action is from the
Guardian [of London]
"My guess is the current situation in the US will dominate, since the pace of change there is remarkable, and the implications of their joining the carbon market are many and varied. Their proposed cap and trade scheme is roughly double the size of the existing EU market and if it emerges with sufficient ambition it could make a big contribution to turning global emissions around while generating a massive trade in emissions permits."
Heavy Hitters lining Up Behind Marco Rubio in FL from CNN, The Hill and Swing State
Huckabee and the Bushes begin to line up behind Rubio
For GOP's Sake, Texas Better Not Secede (Rhodes Cook) from the Virginia Center for
Politics
"Without a doubt, Texas is the cornerstone of the modern Republican Party."
PROFILE NUGGET!
The Mellowing of William Jefferson Clinton from New York Times Magazine
"By the end of a three-day jaunt through Peru and Colombia to check up on programs sponsored by the William J. Clinton Foundation, I realized how familiar the trip felt — not because it resembled the travels he made as president but because it resembled the ones Hillary Clinton made as first lady."
PROFILE NUGGET #2!
Emanuel Pushes Obama Plan to Lawmakers from Gyms to Restaurants from the Bloomberg News Service
"White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel starts many mornings with a workout in the U.S. House of Representatives gym. He also lifts weights. The real exercise is gathering political intelligence from his one-time colleagues about congressional action on health- care and energy legislation"
INTERVIEW NUGGET!
"'I Was Horrified by Lengths Men Will Go to Mistreat Other Men'" from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
I had assumed this guy had passed away long ago. I wonder where he was during the campaign last year?
"Barack Obama's great uncle was one of the soldiers who liberated a subcamp of Buchenwald. One week before the US president's planned stopover in Germany, where he is expected to visit the concentration camp memorial, SPIEGEL spoke to Charles Payne, 84, about his experiences in WWII."
INTERVIEW AND BOOK NUGGET!
Salon Radio: Glenn Greenwald Interviews Eric Boehlert about his new book: Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press.
I've heard great things about this book!
"As the title suggests, the book examines the impact which the blogosphere has had on both journalism and political activism, and it is, in my view, by far the best book yet to examine the rise of political blogs."
No comments:
Post a Comment