News Nuggets 187

An Amazon River Dolphin from the National Geographic

UP-FRONT IRAN AMAZING-IF-TRUE NUGGET!!

A Deal to Save Iran? (Reza Aslan) from the Daily Beast

"Iran’s clerics may be close to forcing a compromise from the Supreme Leader—one that would entail a run-off election between Mousavi and Ahmadinejad."

An Iranian Revolution That's Not Over Yet from Forbes

"The ruling elite are at each other's throats. Divisions within the armed forces are visible. Millions of people are ecstatically participating and bravely confronting the armed forces with nonviolent tactics. And finally, the U.S. media and academics, the so-called Iran experts, refuse to call it a revolution--this is how you know you're having one!"

Iran Election Row Set to Rage On from the BBC

"But any idea that the opposition is about to go gently into the good night is probably an illusion. There is still a depth of feeling in this argument, on both sides, that suggests the dispute could rage for weeks or even months."

Secret Voices of the New Iran (John Simpson) of the BBC

The disenchantment of the Revolutionary Guard is a story that has been rumbling beneath the surface for some days now.

"I had to leave Iran last Sunday, when the authorities refused to renew my visa. But before I left, another former senior Revolutionary Guard came to our hotel to see us.  "Remember me," he pleaded. "Remember that I helped the BBC."  I realised that even a person so intimately linked to the Islamic Revolution thinks that something will soon change in Iran."

Iran's Election: Economic Fears and Discontents Will Only Increase from the Brookings Institution

VERY interesting analysis here -- sounds like the Mullahs will have a hard time keeping a lid on things.

"The sudden surge of support for Mr. Moussavi, the reformist candidate who has come to lead the protest movement, owes a lot to the desperate search of Iran’s youth for meaning in their lives. This new generation is highly educated and has ambitions for a middle class life that neither the economic nor the social system is able to fulfill."

Arab States Aligned with US Savor Turmoil in Iran from the New York Times

"The rancorous dispute over Iran's presidential election could turn into a win-win for Arab leaders aligned with Washington who in the past have complained bitterly that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was destabilizing the region and meddling in Arab affairs, political analysts and former officials around the region said."

Bush Admin Leaks Bolstered Republican's Reelection Bid from the Hill

With Bush's DOJ, no surprise here.  Just wait a few days -- there'll be more.

"In the fall of 2006, one day after the Justice Department granted permission to a U.S. attorney to place a wiretap on a Republican congressman suspected of corruption, existence of the investigation was leaked to the press — not only compromising the sensitive criminal probe but tipping the lawmaker off to the wiretap."

Lawyer: Spanish Prosecution of 'Bush 6' Will Proceed from RawStory

"The Spanish lawyer working to indict six former Bush administration attorneys for their roles in the US’s torture program says the case will go ahead in Spanish courts."

Democrats Pass Health Reform -- or Else (Joe Conason) from RealClearPolitics

When I look at the wishy-washy wavering that many Dems seem to be doing these days, this is exactly my sentiment.

"If Congress fails to enact health care reform this year -- or if it enacts a sham reform designed to bail out corporate medicine while excluding the "public option" -- then the public will rightly blame Democrats, who have no excuse for failure except their own cowardice and corruption. The punishment inflicted by angry voters is likely to be reduced majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives -- or even the restoration of Republican rule on Capitol Hill."

Democrats Confident as US Climate Change Bill Vote Looms from the [Manchester] Guardian

"Sweeping energy and climate change bill would deliver key Obama administration promise to cut US carbon emissions."

Obama's Climate Change Bill Will Change the Face of US Industry (Jonathan Lash - a long-time environmental writer/leader in DC)

"The US House of Representatives will vote tomorrow on a bill that would change the face of America's factories, power sources, buildings, landscapes and working patterns. I have been involved in a dozen pieces of landmark US environmental legislation over the last 30 years. None has been more important than this."

Conservatives Write Off Sanford as a National Leader from the Washington Independent

"He really was a guy who united ... or unites the different wings of the Republican Party. Economic conservatives, social conservatives, national security conservatives. After today? No way.”"

Sanford Confession is More Bad News for the Republicans from the New York Times

"His confession on Wednesday that he had been in Argentina with a woman not his wife — and not hiking the Appalachian Trail as his staff had said Monday — was another jolt of bad news for a party that has struggled to get off the ropes all year."

With Sanford's Scandal, GOP's Long Winter Gets Longer from the Washington Post

"For a Republican Party down on its luck, the governor's disappearance and subsequent rambling apology to his wife, his family, his close friends and all the people of South Carolina draw more unwelcome publicity to a party that needs but cannot seem to get any good news."

Republican Lawmaker: GOP Needs to 'Lose Stinking Rot of Self-Righteousness' from the Wall Street Journal

But ... but they like their 'stinking rot.'  Nice sentiment.  Good luck in selling it.

"With his governor now felled by similar temptations, Bob Inglis (R) sees an opening for the Republican Party, a chance to “lose the stinking rot of self-righteousness” and “to understand we are all in need of some grace.”"

Debating Health Care with Congressman Blunt from the Reader Advisory Panel of the Kansas City Star

To think this guy has ANY SAY in the matter is both funny and scary.

"He said, anecdotally, that he has had serious medical problems and that he was very satisfied with his health care.  The response revealed two major areas of confusion. First, a patient's satisfaction level with his/her health care is not the same as satisfaction with the health care payment system. The first could be great, the second awful.  More significantly, Mr. Blunt has the finest health care insurance money can buy, and he's a member of Congress. Does he really think the insurance company (or the health care provider) would do anything but treat him as a VIP?"

First Lady Demands Substance from the Washington Post

"The West Wing of the White House -- the fulcrum of power and policy -- had not fully integrated her into its agenda. She wanted more.  So, earlier this month, she changed her chief of staff, and now she's changing her role."

I wondered what that shake-up was about.

MUST-SEE GEOLOGY/PHOTOGRAPHY NUGGET!!

Volcano Blows a 'Hole in the Sky' from the [London] Daily Mail

TRULY spectacular images from the space station.

"Stunning pictures of the volcano that blew a hole in the sky as astronauts witness eruption from International Space Station."