News Nuggets 199

A starry night in Arches National Monument in Utah.

New Showdown in Iran? (Robert Dreyfuss) from the Nation

"Thursday could be the start of a new street confrontation, if reports of a planned march that day are true. The Los Angeles Times reports that the opposition has called for a protest march on Thursday, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 1999 regime crackdown on student protestors."

Obama's Eloquent Moscow Speech (Katrina Vanden Heuval) from the Nation

"In this one speech, Obama did as much as any recent US leader to address -- and begin to overcome -- Russian's resentment about the US's misguided triumphalist mindset, which has dominated relations since the end of the Cold War."

I don't know what speech she was watching.  As an aficionado of Obama speeches, I found this one to be one of his most leaden, forgettable efforts.  I hope Vanden Heuval is correct though.

Obama in Russia: Symbolism Between Unequal Partners (Editorial) from Gazeta [of Russia in English]

"The first visit to Moscow of President Barack Hussein Obama was saturated to the limit with symbolic events. Because essentially, the Russia and United States of today have nothing to talk about. In terms of global politics, the two countries are in different leagues."

Obama to World: We're Back and Ready to Ratify from Politics Daily

"In Russia and Italy this week, President Obama is taking steps on nuclear weapons and climate change that are in line with his pledge to rebuild U.S. alliances around the world. It's a window on what we could see in the next four to eight years: The birth of new treaties and the revival of old ones that have long been stalled, some for decades."

Barack Obama Offers to Scrap Missile Shield from the Times [of London]

"President Obama put the Kremlin to the test yesterday by offering to scrap a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe if it helped to stop Iran building a nuclear bomb."

An Obama Doctrine Emerges in Moscow from the Huffington Post

"Just as significant as the nuclear accords and the reset of US-Russian relations may be the worldview that Obama elaborated in his Moscow speeches. He deftly buried the deeply flawed strategic doctrine that launched an unnecessary war with Iraq and posited military force as the chief tool of US statecraft."

In Russia, Obama's Star Power Does Not Translate from the New York Times

"In the background is the question of race, which Russians view through a complicated prism. For decades, Soviet propaganda hammered home the idea that the United States was an irredeemably racist country, as opposed to the Communist bloc nations. But Russia in recent years has been plagued by racist violence against people from the Caucasus region and Central Asia, as well as other immigrants."

Obama Gives Africa Tough Love from Politico

"Ahead of a historic visit to Africa later this week, President Barack Obama is warning government officials there that it's time for "African leadership to take responsibility and be held accountable" for the performance of their governments. "

Palin's Peculiar Family Values (Sally Quinn) from the Washington Post

"Sarah Palin should live up to her self-proclaimed Christian "family values" and do what she says is the moral thing to do: put her family first and help those who cannot help themselves."

Gold Rush in Alaska (Kathleen Parker) from the Washington Post

"When you're up to your waders in barracuda, blame the media.  And quit your job.  And say you did it for the people.  And hire an agent.  And try to keep a straight face.  On your way to the bank."

Republicans: A Threat to the Republic? (Robert Parry) from In These Times

"As Palin's bizarre resignation made clear, the GOP was excited over possibly handing the reins of power to someone clearly unstable and unfit for high office."

Gov. Palin, Welcome to the Club (Cynthia Tucker) from the Atlanta Journal Constitution

"She’s angry that so many — TV comedians, feuding political consultants, unnamed media “sources” — have taken aim at her and her family. How dare they?  How, indeed? Where was the governor when conservatives spent eight years ripping Hillary Clinton to shreds, even making foul jokes about her young daughter? Where was she when the right-wing attack machine went after Michelle Obama, blasting her as angry, unpatriotic and anti-white?"

An Obama Family Portrait, Courtesy of J. Crew from the Washington Post

"The media have managed to work themselves into a tizzy because the clothing company J. Crew issued a press release in which it noted that Malia and Sasha Obama were wearing clothes bearing its label and that of its children's line, Crewcuts, when the first family arrived in Moscow on Monday."