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Friday, August 7, 2009

News Nuggets 220


An image of Wuzhen in eastern China - from the Chicago Tribune


Beyond Bill Clinton's Trip Lurks President Obama's Nuclear Disarmament Agenda from the [London] Independent

"President Obama has demonstrated that he is a serious strategic thinker, and by dispatching the former president to Pyongyang he has his eye on the long term."


Obama Lets N. Korea's Kim to Save Face from the China Post

"The Obama administration let North Korean leader Kim Jong Il save face by releasing two jailed Americans to former President Bill Clinton. The payoff — maybe not right away — is likely to be renewed dialogue with Pyongyang about its nuclear weapons program."


More Bloodshed for Iran from the National Interest

"After all the bloodshed in the streets, after the accounts of innocent demonstrators being tortured and after the spectacle of the show trials, the position of each faction has hardened beyond compromise."


Where are the Bright Spots Amid the Global Recession? from Forbes Magazine

"Which countries have best weathered the global recession and credit crunch. All economies have been affected by the crisis, but a combination of policy responses and strong fundamentals has given some countries, especially some emerging market economies, a relative edge."


Not Much to Celebrate After 10 Years of Putin from the Moscow Times

"Shortly after Putin took office as president in May 2000, he wasted little time rolling back virtually all of the political reforms that Yeltsin had worked so hard to achieve throughout his political career."


About Half of U.S. Mortgages Seen Underwater by 2011 from Reuters

"The percentage of U.S. homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will nearly double to 48 percent in 2011 from 26 percent at the end of March, portending another blow to the housing market, Deutsche Bank said on Wednesday."

This accompanying chart gives more detail about the worst impacted cities in the US.


The Clinton-Clinton-Obama Triumph from The Hill

"The release of the two journalists by the North Koreans on Tuesday night D.C. time was the result of a tour-de-force, trifecta combination of the three most talented and truly great political leaders of our times — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; her husband, former President Bill Clinton; and President Barack Obama. "


Bill Clinton Shows That Diplomacy Works from CNN

"President Clinton did more than free two unjustly jailed journalists. He jump-started the successful diplomacy he had begun 15 years earlier."


High-Speed Rail in the United States: Back on Track After 50 Years of Neglect from the [Manchester] Guardian

"With an initial infusion of $8bn, set aside under the spring's economic stimulus plan, the Obama administration is embarking on the most ambitious expansion of passenger rail in 50 years, with the construction or upgrade of up to 10 routes from California through the midwest to Florida."


Cash For Clunkers Extension Likely: Senate GOP Fails To Muster Opposition from the Huffinton Post

"The Senate reached a deal on saving the dwindling "cash for clunkers" program late Wednesday, agreeing to vote on a plan that would add $2 billion to the popular rebate program and give car shoppers until Labor Day to trade in their gas-guzzlers for a new ride."


An Unruly Night in Napa from the Napa Valley Register

"Monday night’s health care forum in Napa grew unruly and wild, with some critics of the current health care proposals seeking to derail the event, harming their cause and nearly destroying a meaningful forum on a critical topic for Napa and the nation."


Clinton and Gore Together Again from the New York Times

"on Wednesday morning was a visible reminder of how circumstances had conspired over the past few days to bring the reigning — and sometimes warring — names of the Democratic Party together around the drama of Mr. Clinton’s trip to North Korea."


Obama wants to Kill Grandma (Mike Madden) from Salon

"Here's a fact check of some of the more alarming claims that the right is making about healthcare reform, claims that are already hardening into myth."


HCAN Prepares Pro-Health Care Reform Activists For Responding To Town Hall Disruptions, Plans To Disrupt The Disrupters from Talking Points Memo

"With a significant campaign of town hall disruptions underway, it seems pretty clear that health care reform activists will have their work cut out for them, at least for the time being. But that's why they're changing their own playbook."


Parties Cry Foul Over Spate of Homestate Showdowns from The Hill

"The showdowns between lawmakers and constituents have not only fueled the high-stakes battle over healthcare reform but also started a debate over the authenticity of the interruptions."


Unions To Take On Conservative Groups Health Care Town Halls (Sam Stein) from the Huffington Post

"The nation's largest federation of labor organizations has promised to directly engage with boisterous conservative protesters at Democratic town halls during the August recess."


Conservatives are the Real Joker from the Nation

"It seems that some elements of America's fringe Right have become embarrassingly Freudian. This is a clear cut case of projection. The Right is the Joker, not President Obama."


THANK-GOD-HE'S-GONE NUGGET!!

A French Revelation, or The Burning Bush from the Council for Secular Humanism

"Incredibly, President George W. Bush told French President Jacques Chirac in early 2003 that Iraq must be invaded to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible’s satanic agents of the Apocalypse."


VIDEO HUMOR NUGGET!!

The Big Dog is Back! (Jon Stewart) from the Daily Show


HISTORY NUGGET!!

Sacrificial Virgins of the Mississippi from Salon

"Archaeologists are slowly unearthing the ghastly secrets of Cahokia, an ancient city under the American heartland."


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