What the market has been demanding for years!! YES -- SQUARE WATERMELONS!!. Why didn't anyone think of this before?! See the Fruit Convenience Nugget below.This Week at War: Star Wars in the Age of Obama from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The Obama administration will soon attempt to explain two contrasting messages regarding the military use of space. On the one hand, it will call for international cooperation on a variety of space issues. On the other hand, as shown by the April 23 launches, it is hedging its bets by expanding the Pentagon's space power."
Given what China's been up to in space lately, this is no surprise. Obama will try to come to some understanding with the Chinese leadership -- but he clearly has a Plan B.
FP's Definitive Guide to What's Left of Al Qaeda from Foreign Policy Magazine
"In the first comprehensive look of its kind, Foreign Policy offers the Almanac of Al Qaeda, a detailed accounting of how al Qaeda's ranks, methods, and strategy have changed over the last decade and how they might evolve from here. What emerges is a picture of a terrorist vanguard that is losing the war of ideas in the Islamic world, even as its violent attacks have grown in frequency."
Greece Paves Way for IMF Rescue Deal by Agreeing to Cuts from the Independent [of the UK]
"Greece and the wider eurozone scrambled back from the brink of disaster again yesterday as the outline of an IMF/eurozone rescue package emerged."
The Euro Trap (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"Not that long ago, European economists used to mock their American counterparts for having questioned the wisdom of Europe’s march to monetary union. ... Oops. The article summarized the euro-skeptics’ views as having been: “It can’t happen, it’s a bad idea, it won’t last.” Well, it did happen, but right now it does seem to have been a bad idea for exactly the reasons the skeptics cited. And as for whether it will last — suddenly, that’s looking like an open question."
As Greek Drama Plays Out, Where is Europe? from the New York Times
"Once again — as during the 2008 financial crisis and the more recent halt in European air traffic due to volcanic ash — European leaders have failed to surmount national interests and cobble together a coherent policy quickly enough to address a problem. In the process, they may have done permanent damage to the credibility of the European Union."
Feldstein Says Greece Will Default and Portugal May be Next from the Bloomberg News Service
"Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein said Greece will eventually default on its bonds and other euro-area nations may follow, most probably Portugal."
Israeli Officials: Obama to Call World Summit if Mideast Peace Talks Fail (Editorial) from Haaretz [of Jerusalem in English]
"U.S. President Barack Obama has told several European leaders that if Israeli-Palestinian talks remain stalemated into September or October, he will convene an international summit on achieving Mideast peace, senior Israeli officials told Haaretz on Thursday. "
Has Ahmadinejad Really Crushed the Green Movement for Good? from the New Republic
"There are additional signs of fissures within Iran’s governing elite. On Ahmadinejad’s trip to the city of Qom earlier this month, according to one report, virtually every major ayatollah refused to meet with him—despite direct pressure from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself."
I was concerned about the silence from this quarter - this article reassures me that there is still a lot of life in the Green Movement.
A Broader Assessment into President Obama's View on Islam and Indonesia (Editorial) from the Jakarta Post [of Indonesia in English]
"It's not completely incorrect for Indonesian Muslims to greet him as a Muslim brother when he visits Indonesia. Indonesian Christians can do the same. … Rather than being busy finding out what his religion is, which today only Obama knows, it would be better for Muslims in Indonesia to ask themselves what they can do to help him."
Catholics in Crisis from The Week
"Reeling from sex-abuse scandals, the Roman Catholic Church is losing members in droves. Can it stem the decline?"
Courage of the Sisters from the Editorial Board of the New York Times
"Bishop Brandt accuses the nuns of taking “a public stance in opposition to the church’s teaching on human life.” The nuns did not challenge the church’s doctrine of life from conception to natural death. They saw the bill as a powerfully positive step, because it provided health insurance to millions of people without it."
'Drill, Baby, Drill' Champions Silent on Gulf Oil Spill from the Huffington Post
"The two most prominent political champions of offshore drilling -- Sarah Palin and Michael Steele -- appear not to have uttered a word about the incident."
Palin has since tweeted her prayers to the folks of Louisiana. What a pair of shameless s**ks of s**t! As an aside, I find it interesting that Palin's favorite mode of communication with "her people" is to tweet them messages. God forbid she should ever have to answer a question from a live person.
Learning to Love the Healthcare Bill (Editorial) from the Nation
"It took time for people to appreciate Medicare and Social Security, but they did."
Obama Aide: No New Drilling Until Oil Rig Blast Explained (Tom Diemer) from Politics Daily
"A top aide to President Obama said Friday no "additional drilling" for offshore oil will be approved until investigators determine what caused the recent explosion on a deep water rig."
Congress Debates Puerto Rico Statehood, Independence from the Associated Press via Huffington Post
"The House on Thursday approved legislation that could set in motion changes in Puerto Rico's 112-year relationship with the United States, including a transition to statehood or independence. The House bill would give the 4 million residents of the island commonwealth a two-step path to expressing how they envision their political future. It passed 223-169 and now must be considered by the Senate."
Good idea -- but this seems like a waste of time to me. Puerto Rican statehood would mean two new Democratic votes in the Senate -- and statehood would not be embraced with much enthusiasm by the xenophobic tea party base of the GOP. I CANNOT see how any Republican would allow statehood at this time.
Dems Spark Alarm with Call for National ID Card from The Hill
"A plan by Senate Democratic leaders to reform the nation’s immigration laws ran into strong opposition from civil liberties defenders before lawmakers even unveiled it Thursday."
This is either a dramatic and dumb overreaction on the Dems' part -- or politically brilliant! Just as a feint, they're going to try to out-tea-party the folks from Arizona. My sense though is that this is simply old-fashioned bone-headedness.
American Power Act (David Brooks) from the New York Times
"This country is studded with venture capitalists, scientists, corporate executives and environmental activists atremble over the great opportunities they see ahead. The energy revolution is a material project that arouses moral fervor — exactly the sort of enterprise at which Americans excel."
The Immigration Impasse (Ronald Brownstein) from National Journal
"The GOP is being tugged toward nativism as it's coalition grows more monochromatic."
Judge: Obama Will Not Have to Testify at Blagojevich Trial from the Chicago Sun-Times
"A federal judge in Chicago has denied a request from lawyers for ousted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to subpoena President Obama to testify in Blagojevich's upcoming corruption trial. "The testimony of the president is not material to this case," U.S. District Judge James Zagel said today in issuing the ruling."
Not a surprise -- but good news nonetheless.
A New Hope (Eleanor Clift) from Newsweek
"Why Democrats' chances of avoiding disaster in November have improved … slightly."
Can Mitt Romney Outrun Sarah Palin? Handicapping the 2012 GOP Horse Race (Matt Lewis) from Politics Daily
"This list represents a snapshot of a moment in time, with fluid odds and a constantly changing field. Keep in mind that if this list were compiled a year ago, Mark Sanford's name would have been included – and possibly John Ensign as well."
Courtesy of Sue Lowden: A Chicken in Every Doctor's Pot (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"Lowden's gaffe was part of a disturbing current in American politics these days: nostalgia for a Golden Age that never was. Her words conjured the image of a kindly old man named Doc who made the rounds of frontier homesteads, presumably with his horse and buggy, and fixed everybody up, good as new -- "Just pay me when you can, Sue." But the truth is that in those days, doctors routinely watched people die from diseases that are easily cured today; simple infections and even childbirth carried grave risks. The care that Doc could give wasn't worth much more than a chicken."
Tea and Sympathy: A History Lesson (Jill Lepore) from the New Yorker
"Today’s Tea Partiers say that they’re concerned, for the most part, with taxes. So was the left-wing Peoples Bicentennial Commission, which, in 1974, called on Americans to form a new TEA Party (the acronym standing for Tax Equity for Americans); it urged organizers to use the slogan “Don’t Tread on Me,” and suggested “How about forums on Tax Day, or on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party—in front of IRS or H. & R. Block?” The Peoples Bicentennial Commission also published a manifesto called “Common Sense II: The Case Against Corporate Tyranny.”
OBAMA CHILDHOOD NUGGET!!
When Obama Was Just "Dumpling Ears" from the Jakarta Globe
"'Barry affected our lives in a way,” Rully said. “He helped shape our personalities. I don’t know how to express it, but we are very proud to have been his classmates. Imagine, as US president, he is now the most powerful person on earth."
AGRICULTURE NUGGET!!
An Ode to Farming: Images of Agriculture Around the World from Foreign Policy Magazine
VIETNAM HISTORY NUGGET!!
The Pentagon Book Club from the Nation
"A handful of recent revisionist histories of the Vietnam War are shaping counterinsurgency policy in Afghanistan and Iraq."
FRUIT CONVENIENCE NUGGET!!
Square Watermelons! Ending the Tyranny of Round from the Associated Press via Huffington Post
"A company in Panama is hoping to join in a small niche market of the fruit export business: square watermelons. The Panama Fruit Producer company has started "rounding up" the square fruit, sending its first shipment of 120 boxy melons to New York."
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