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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

News Nuggets 240


The poor little guy was rejected by his mummy and is now being raised by the couple who are animal specialists at a German Zoo. From Der Spiegel. See the nugget below.


No Rush to Escalate (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"At a White House dinner with a group of historians at the beginning of the summer, Robert Dallek, a shrewd student of both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, offered a chilling comment to President Obama. "In my judgment," he recalls saying, "war kills off great reform movements." The American record is pretty clear."


Paths on Iran Start to Take Shape (Gerald Seib) from the Wall Street Journal

"Iran, it appears, was more cooperative than many expected in its much-anticipated talks with the U.S. and others about its nuclear program. Now comes the next phase: deciding whether that's a good thing or a bad thing."


Mullahs on the Verge: Iran's People, Iran's Pulpits from World Affairs Journal

"The Iranian people are in a state of suspense as they watch an increasingly oppressive militarist junta and a more democratic regime both struggling to be born. History shows that such moments of turbulent stasis don’t last long. A tipping point is on the way, and prudent policies on the part of the West, particularly the United States, can help determine which way it will fall."


Containing a Nuclear Iran (Fareed Zakaria) from Newsweek

"It is time to clarify the debate over Iran and its nuclear program. It's easy to criticize the current course adopted by the United States and its allies, to huff and puff about Iranian mendacity, to point out that Russia and China won't agree to tougher measures against Tehran, and to detail the leaks in the sanctions already in place. But what, then, should the United States do?"


Obama Rebooting Relations with Iran (Editorial) from the Star [of Toronto]

"In Geneva, Jalili made it clear that Tehran would welcome a show of U.S. respect for Iran's sovereignty and interests, after calling it an "axis of evil." Iran also claims the right to civilian nuclear power, which implies some (monitored) enrichment capacity, and an end to sanctions that hobble trade and investment. Jalili even raised the prospect of a leaders "summit" to broker an agreement. Given that Washington has already put much of this on offer, Obama's decision to kick the talks up a notch makes good sense."


Think Again: America's Image from Foreign Policy Magazine

"U.S. standing in the world matters, Americans care about it, and a weakened stature continues to hamper U.S. policy. Twenty prominent political scientists have recently completed a year-long study of the issue and clear away the underbrush of misunderstanding."


The Fruits of Diplomacy from Daily Kos

"The past few weeks have seen some pretty interesting developments in a realm not many people usually think too much about, but one that affects all of us: nuclear weapons, and the control of their proliferation.

"


Now Comes the Hard Part (Editorial) from the New York Times

"Of all those challenges, Afghanistan was the one the two sides of the Atlantic committed themselves to meeting together. All 28 NATO members participate in the International Security Assistance Force deployed there. Can President Obama look to them to do more, as Americans step up their own commitment?"


Why There was No Depression (Robert Samuelson) from the Washington Post

"How close did we come to the Great Depression 2.0? That question will spawn a cottage industry of books, studies and conferences. But Christina Romer, the head of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, already has an answer: pretty darn close. Her conclusion deserves attention because Romer, in her previous academic career, was a scholar of the Great Depression."


Obama Quietly Pushes to Shore Up Senate Support for the Public Option from the Los Angeles Times

"The president has backed off from vocally supporting the idea of government-run healthcare, but he's working to build a coalition of supporters. The challenge: Find a version that can pass."


The Politics of Spite (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times

"We learned that the modern conservative movement, which dominates the modern Republican Party, has the emotional maturity of a bratty 13-year-old. But more important, the episode illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite pure and simple."


The Public Imperative (Roger Cohen) from the New York Times

"Americans, born in revolt against Europe and so ever defining themselves against the old Continent’s models, mythologize their rugged (always rugged) individualism as the bulwark against initiative-sapping entitlements. We’re not talking about health here. We’re talking about national narratives and mythologies — as well as money. These are things not much susceptible to logic. But in matters of life and death, mythology must cede to reality, profit to wellbeing."


GOP Loses by Spurning Hispanics (Editorial) from the Miami Herald

"Why would the Republican Party alienate Hispanics as our voting power increases? The only logical answer is that they threw their lot with extreme sectors in their base: the Beck, Limbaugh & Dobbs axis."


HIPPOPOTAMUS NUGGET!!

The slides of this hippo are great!!

Newborn Pygmy Hippos from the Huffington Post

"A pygmy hippo was born in Rotterdam on Wednesday, inspiring HuffPost Green to assemble this collection of pygmy hippo photos."


RHINOCEROS NUGGET!!

The slides of this baby rhino are also great!

Baby Rhino Being Hand-Reared in German Zoo from Der Spiegel

"A baby rhinoceros rejected by her mother at birth is being hand-reared by zookeepers in the north-western German city of Münster. It's round-the-clock-work: she drinks large quantities of special milk and needs to be stroked regularly."


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