News Nuggets 188

An AMAZING view of an erupting volcano as seen from the international space station from NASA.  See yesterday's special geology/photography nugget.

Two Weeks After - Iran Protests Fade But Elite Split from the International Business Times [of the UK]

"Iran's leadership has quelled mass protests over a disputed presidential poll two weeks ago, but the battle has moved off the street into a behind-the-scenes struggle splitting the clerical establishment into two camps."

It should be noted that some sources have questioned the accuracy of this particular story.  See HERE.

Clash of the Clerics from Slate

"The options for change in Iran should not be understood as a choice between democratic Western-style secularism on one hand and a military dictatorship in the name of Islam on the other. There are many options on the table, and most Iranians seek evolutionary rather than revolutionary change."

Why Iran's Supreme Leader Could Be the Protests' Ultimate Victim from the Telegraph [of the UK]

"Forget the threat posed to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by the political unrest that has swept Iran this week. It is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the regime's Supreme Leader, who should really be sweating about his future."

Fear, Danger, and a Coming Doom: My Return to Iran from the [Manchester] Guardian

"'We have our countrymen's blood on our batons,' a policeman tells Sogol Baharan, an Iranian student in the UK who describes her return to Tehran in the aftermath of the disputed election."

Arab Activists Watch Iran And Wonder: 'Why Not Us?' from the New York Times

"Watching tens of thousands of Iranians take to the streets of Tehran this month, the 27-year-old pro-democracy activist has grown disillusioned. In 10 days, he said, the Iranians have achieved far more than his movement has ever accomplished in Egypt.

"We sacrificed a lot, but we have gotten nowhere," Sharkawy said."

Iran's Second Sex (Roger Cohen) from the New York Times

"From Day 1, Iran’s women stood in the vanguard. Their voices from rooftops were loudest, and their defiance in the streets boldest. “Stand, don’t run,” Nazanine told me as the baton-wielding police charged up handsome Vali Asr avenue on the day after the fraudulent election. She stood."

The War on Obama's Realism (Editorial) from RealClearWorld

"While it makes sense that neoconservatives would fight hard to salvage their legacy, it's less clear why Republicans would want to join them at the barricades. The public, to date, has been supportive of President Obama's handling of foreign policy in general, and of Iran in particular."

How Quarreling Ayatollahs Affect Iran's Crisis from Time Magazine

"The conflict between two regime insiders, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has created the most profound political crisis in the Islamic Republic's 30-year history. ...  The fact that such discord is possible among factions who all claim allegiance to the principle of guidance by the clergy is rooted in the distinct nature of Shi'ite Islam."

Leave Iran to the Iranians (Leslie Gelb) from the Daily Beast

This was from early in the week.

"Iranian hardliners just can’t wait for President Barack Obama to raise high the protesters’ green banner so they can turn it red, white, and blue and unleash a bloodbath against “American agents.” And American hardliners and foreign-policy gurus just keep pushing Obama toward precisely that rhetorical abyss."

Fixing the Odds (Op-Ed) from the New York Times

"If, as Iran’s opposition has alleged, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rigged the country’s presidential election, he will join a long roster of autocrats who have tried to preserve their power through fraudulent means. But election-stealing is a risky gamble. Although the perpetrators have sometimes succeeded, typically by deploying brutal force, they have seldom evaded justice when their ploy failed."

Europe Must Respond to Obama on Middle East (Editorial) from the [Manchester] Guardian

"President Obama is setting forth on an entirely new path in the Middle East with great courage (Leaders, 25 June). He has broken with the previous policies and is engaging in an effort to build for the future. ... It is clear to us that Europe should help him in every way it can to pursue his efforts, in spite of the inevitable obstacles that will emerge."

Rahm Emanuel Redefines Bipartisanship from the Christian Science Monitor

"Obama's chief of staff says the final vote on a bill is not the only yardstick. Presidential outreach and incorporating GOP ideas count, too."

Making Climate Change History from the [Manchester] Guardian

"Passing the US climate change bill would go down in history as America's first significant step toward curbing carbon emissions."

America's Greenest States from Forbes Magazine

Very interesting look at many states.  The full list with appropriate state links is HERE, and Michael Tomasky of the [Manchester] Guardian has some thoughts about it HERE.

"When you think "green," you think New Jersey, right? OK, maybe not. But perhaps you should."

Obama Putting His Approval Numbers to Work from the Cook Political Report

Lot's of truth to Cook's conclusion here.

"It has long been said that high job approval ratings are not like trophies to be put on a shelf and admired. High approval numbers mean political capital, capital that is to be accumulated and eventually used, to help accomplish tough tasks."

Mockery (Sally Quinn) from the Washington Post

She is RIGHT ON THE MONEY here concerning the latest spate of philandering lawmaker that have been in the news.

"One day we'll see a woman politician standing at the same public confessional I suppose you would have to call that an advance in women's rights. Let's just hope she has the decency not to invoke religion in her defense.  And let's hope that some day moralizing Christians will wake up and see that these politicians they support and defend are making a mockery of everything they purport to believe in and cherish." 

HAWAIIAN NUGGET!!

Sasha Obama - and Dad - Sink Rahm Emanuel from the Washington Post

Politics Daily has coverage of the same event HERE.

"Sasha Obama was the star of the first-ever White House luau, wowing the crowd with a pitch so tough that the 8-year-old sank her dad's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, in the dunking booth, according to Sleuth informants who were there."

WHAT a howl!!