News Nuggets 282

Haiti in better times - from the Los Angeles Times

Obama Outsmarts the Terrorists (Peter Beinart) from Daily Beast

"President Obama isn't nearly as scared of the terrorists as Bush was—and that’s precisely why al Qaeda is falling apart."

Postcards from Yemen (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times

"Nor did I expect to find civil society organizations here staffed with young American volunteers — and, in the case of The Yemen Observer, an English-language newspaper, a whole newsroom full of them. All I could do was look around at these American college students and wonder: “Do your parents know you’re here?” They just laughed. Every shopkeeper I spoke to in Old Sana spat out the words “Al Qaeda,” which they blamed for killing tourism. Who knew Yemen had tourists? No, this is not Afghanistan."

Who Wants to Bomb Iran? from Foreign Policy Magazine

It's good to know who these gone-from-reality kooks are!

"They're back! The "Bomb Iran" crowd is making a big return to the political center stage after months of puzzlement over what to do about developments in the Islamic Republic. "

The Sanctions on Iran Are Already Working from Foreign Policy Magazine

"Ignore the false debate in Washington over which measures to pressure the Islamic Republic are the "smart" ones. Tehran is already feeling the heat."

Iran's Two-Edged Bomb (Op-Ed) from the New York Times

"We should admit that Washington’s approach to countering the Islamic Republic is leading nowhere. What’s needed, however, may be less of a change of plan than a change in how we view the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. Believe it or not, there are some potential benefits to the United States should Iran build a bomb. (I’m speaking for myself here, and in no way for the Air Force.) Five possibilities come to mind."

When Will China Lead the World? Don’t Hold Your Breath (Joshua Kurlantzick) from the Boston Globe

"Predictions of America’s decline are vastly overstated. Asia is indeed increasing its economic footprint in the world, but it still lags far behind the United States in military might, political and diplomatic influence, and even most measures of economic stability."

Boy, it has been a long time since the Boston Globe did anything worth classifying as a nugget. Even this item contains many assumptions I don't buy -- but the overall point I think is on target.

Another version of this same interpretation is HERE from World Politics Review.

America on the Rise (Joel Kotkin) from Forbes Magazine

"George Will may be one of America's great columnists, but he--like his equally distinguished liberal counterpart Thomas Friedman--may be falling prey to a current fashion for sinophilia. It is a sign of the times that conservatives as well as liberals often underestimate the Middle Kingdom's problems--in addition to America's relative strengths."

Keeping Faith, Courting Conservatives from the Wall Street Journal

"Obama's Willingness to Continue Bush Approach to Religious Charities Aims to Woo Evangelicals but Vexes Liberals."

Is Obama Playing Poker with Health Care? (David Corn) from Politics Daily

"Obama and the White House obviously realize that this get-together will not unsour the process. So why do it? The obvious answer is this: The president is playing poker."

Charter Schools' Growth Promoting Segregation, Studies Say from the Los Angeles Times

I have LONG suspected that this was going on.

"The growth of charter schools has promoted segregation both in California and nationwide, increasing the odds that black, Latino and white students will attend class with fewer children who look different from themselves, according to two new studies."

Smoke the Bigots Out of the Closet (Frank Rich) from the New York Times

A funny thing happened after Adm. Mike Mullen called for gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military: A curious silence befell much of the right. If this were a Sherlock Holmes story, it would be the case of the attack dogs that did not bark. ... Most Americans recognize that being gay is not a “lifestyle” but an immutable identity, and that outlawing discrimination against gay people who want to serve their country is, as the admiral said, “the right thing to do.”"

The Trouble with John McCain (Reihan Salam) from the Daily Beast

"The original GOP maverick ran to the right in his 2008 presidential bid. So why is he suddenly so vulnerable to a conservative challenger he needs Sarah Palin to help save him?"

Tea Party Favorite Sarah Palin has Delusions of Grandeur if She Thinks She Can Be President (Mike Lupica) from the New York Daily News

Here, I had sworn that I would not be giving Palin any more play -- than this item from Mike Lupica comes along. Parts of it are hilarious!

"Now there are many, many ways Sarah Palin could help this country. Running for President will never be one of them. You listen to her long enough and actually feel yourself getting dimmer by the minute, like a dying light bulb."

Black Helicopters Over Nashville (Jonathan Kay) from Newsweek

"Never mind Sarah Palin and the tricornered hats. The tea-party movement is dominated by conspiracist kooks."

CULTURE NUGGET!!

Iran's Secret Obsession: Getting "Lost" in Tehran from Time Magazine

"For the past two years, the U.S. TV series has dominated the underground DVD market in Tehran; almost nowhere in the world is the sixth and final season of Lost anticipated more than in Iran. Initially discovered in October 2008 by a few Iranians with access to high-speed Internet, the show has become Tehran's "gotta have it" DVD item."

BOOK NUGGET!!

Daniel Gross Reviews Henry Paulson's Book, On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System from the Washington Post

"Paulson was in an unenviable position. The Bush administration was on its last legs, the economy was in recession, and the global financial system melted down smack in the middle of a torrid campaign season. Working with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke -- "an incredible stand up guy" -- and the cool, calm and collected president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Tim Geithner, Paulson stitched together the guarantees, bailouts and backstops that helped cushion the fall."

HOUSING NUGGET!!

Slumburbia (Timothy Egan) from the New York Times

"Drive along foreclosure alley, through new planned communities that look like tile-roofed versions of a 21st century ghost town, and you see what happens when people gamble with houses instead of casino chips. ... Now median home prices have fallen from $500,000 to $150,000 — among the most precipitous drops in the nation — and still the houses sit empty, spooky and see-through, waiting on demography and psychology to catch up."

SNOW SCULPTURE NUGGET!!

Pretty clever what some people do!

Thirteen Awesome Things to Do with Snow from the Huffington Post