A diver next to a bluefin tuna. What an enormous critter -- the tuna I mean! From the National Geographic.
How America Can Rise Again (James Fallows) from the Atlantic
"Through the entirety of my conscious life, America has been on the brink of ruination, or so we have heard, from the launch of Sputnik through whatever is the latest indication of national falling apart or falling behind. ... Just as the material bounty of America is more dramatic on return to the country, so are areas of backwardness or erosion you do not notice unless you’ve been somewhere else."
Majority Confident Obama Can Handle Terrorism from CNN
"In the wake of the Christmas day attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner, most Americans remain confident that the Obama administration can protect the country from terrorism, according to a new national poll."
The Christmas Day Bombing Wasn't an Intelligence Failure from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The CIA has pointed to the Christmas Day terrorist incident as evidence that the post-9/11 intelligence reform has failed. That self-serving diagnosis couldn't be further from the truth."
Iran Nuclear Physicist Killed by Bomb from the Associated Press via Huffington Post
"State media identified the victim as Masoud Ali Mohammadi, 50, a professor at Tehran University, which has been at the center of recent protests by student opposition supporters. Before the election, pro-reform Web sites published Ali Mohammadi's name among a list of 240 Tehran University teachers who supported Mousavi. Hard-line government supporters called at recent street rallies for the execution of opposition leaders. But Ali Mohammadi was not a well-known figure in Iran."
Now THIS is an interesting story. It's like something out of a John LeCarre novel. The bombers COULD be hard-line gov't loyalists (as this report suggest); they COULD be members of the revolutionary guard (because of his support for the opposition); or they COULD be US intelligence people such as the CIA (due to the victim's involvement in Iran's nuclear program). Tehran is putting out the third scenario. I don't discount it -- particularly on the heels of last week's bus full of terrorists who mysteriously blew themselves up. That is one of the professional hazards of being a suicide bomber y'know -- your target may pull the trigger while you're still with the rest of your terrorist buddies! I found the second possibility the most interesting and the most probable -- because it showcases new ways that oppressive regimes can deal with troublemakers. Simply blow them up and blame domestic terrorists or the Great Satin!
Dems Stiffen Spines on Health Bill from Politico
I hope this is correct.
"Through it all — and through what is expected to be multiple near-death experiences for the health care bill in coming weeks — White House and congressional leaders plan to beat back the temptation of “no” with a hardball argument: Democrats already voted “yes.” And it would be politically disastrous to flip-flop now."
White House Gets 'A' for Openness from Politico
"Under fire for backing away from a campaign promise to open up health care negotiations to C-SPAN cameras, the White House on Monday highlighted a report from a coalition of watchdog groups awarding the Obama administration an “A” for its openness."
Will this get anything close to the media coverage that the health care negotiations issue has received? NOT!
Poll: Feeling of Progress Rises Among African Americans from the Washington Post
"Despite being hit especially hard by the bad economy, job losses and the high rate of foreclosures, African Americans' assessment of race relations and prospects for the future has surged more dramatically during the past two years than at any time in the past quarter-century, according to a new poll."
Game Over: The Clintons Stand Alone from Politico
"What’s notable about the highly publicized release of “Game Change,” however, is the virtual silence from the Clinton camp. The lack of public outrage seems to mark the sputtering end of what was once known as the Clinton political machine and underlines a fact that onetime Clinton loyalists acknowledge: The book’s primary sources about the former candidate and current secretary of state are her own former staffers and intimates. "
White House Readies Aggressive Mid-term Push from the National Journal
"The White House strategy for contesting the midterm election is beginning to take shape."
LONG OVERDUE in my view. We're are definitely getting into "too late" land.
GOP Grief and Grieving (Charles Blow) from the New York Times
"The attack on the Republican establishment by the tea party folks grabs the gaze like a really bad horror flick — some version of “Hee Haw” meets “28 Days Later.” It’s fascinating. But it also raises a serious question: Are these the desperate thrashings of a dying movement or the labor pains of a new one?"
Huh, Maybe the Gummint's Not So Evil After All (Michael Tomasky) from the Guardian
"The Detroit Auto Show is taking place right now, and a Michigan branch of the tea party movement was putting together a demonstrate outside the venue to protest government aid to the auto industry. Two people showed up. ... Government intervention is evil, except when it's not, which is when it's for us. Lovely."
Threats (Steve Coll) from the New Yorker
"Apart from its construction on a false premise (“Now let me be clear: we are indeed at war with Al Qaeda and its affiliates,” Obama declared last May; “We are at war,” he said again last week), the statement, and the attention it received, suggested that American discourse on counterterrorism policy remains frozen in 2002. Fortunately, there is abundant evidence that the United States is entering a new era in its struggle against terrorists, one in which government and society are proving to be self-correcting, while Al Qaeda, like Dick Cheney, is proving to be self-isolating."
No Seat for Wall Street at Tea Party (Gerald Seib) from the Wall Street Journal
"The more searing heat, though, might come not from Washington's corridors of power but from the streets, where disjointed populist armies are starting to organize in the so-called tea-party movement. It's a movement dominated for the moment by mistrust of big government and big government health-care plans. But it's also animated by mistrust of big institutions in general, and a tendency to see those institutions secretly working in tandem to the detriment of the little guy."
An on-the-money set of observations from Mr. Seib.
Bias Against Pomposity (Op-ed) from the Washington Post
It's pretty hilarious (to me anyway) how many sacred cows get skewered in this item!
"You can tell how biased the media is against Christianity by the number of broadcasters who ridicule it and speak openly about how their lives improved after becoming atheists. Well, there's Bill Maher. And then there's Bill Maher. ... Hume said Tiger Woods would be better served if he were to convert to Christianity. In a way, I agree. Regardless of what Tiger believes, a good strategy to get back some of his lost sponsors might be to say, "I found Jesus, who washed away my sins. I gave myself to Jesus, and he turned my life around."
There are many other interesting commentaries on the subject of Media Biased Against Christians? at the Washington Post's "On Faith" webpage.
TECHNOLOGY NUGGET!!
Best Products Of CES 2010: The Coolest New Tech From The Consumer Electronics Show (PHOTOS) from Huffington Post
MAP NUGGET!!
1602 Map Unveiled, Shows China at the Center of the World from the Huffington Post
"A rarely seen 400-year-old map that identified Florida as "the Land of Flowers" and put China at the center of the world went on display Tuesday at the Library of Congress."
MOVIES NUGGET!!
And the Nominee Should Be ... from the New York Times
A review of the New York Times movie critics and their picks as to which movies of 2009 should be nominated for the big awards.
2007 PROFILE NUGGET!!
Reviewing 'Reality' from Harvard Magazine
"New York Times columnist Frank Rich views political life through a theatrical lens."
OBITUARY NUGGET!!
Miep Gies, Who Helped Anne Frank, Dies at 100 from the Washington Post
"Miep Gies, the office secretary who defied the Nazi occupiers to hide Anne Frank and her family for two years and saved the teenager's diary, has died, the Anne Frank Museum said Tuesday. She was 100."
Nice, concise overview of this brave person's life.
No comments:
Post a Comment