Greece's Debt Crisis Strains European Unity (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"The problem is that the Europeans have never, to this day, been willing to accept the consequences of this assertion of unity. They wanted a single currency but refused a common fiscal policy that could keep the books balanced; they wanted a common flag but rejected a Europe-wide constitution; they desired the benefits of community but not its limitations or responsibilities."
Our on-the-money pundit of the day!!
Iranian Nuclear Summit a 'Farcical Reaction' to America's from Al Seyassah [of Kuwait in English]
"The summit in the U.S. is considered by many a turning point in the international effort to isolate Iran's ruling theocracy. ... Observers note that all conference participants focused their energies on the Iranian nuclear program - and all agreed on one thing: the Iranian regime is terrorist in nature and threatens global security."
Abuse Crisis is Actually a Hierarchy Crisis from the Editorial Board of the National Catholic Reporter
"The sex abuse crisis is actually a hierarchy crisis, it is a crisis of a culture that can no longer maintain its superiority by dint of office or by claim of some ontological difference from the rest of humankind. The overwhelming evidence shows that from parish priest to pope, those charged with protecting the community, on hearing that children were being sexually abused, acted first to protect the institutional church."
The President Moves Swiftly to Avoid his Katrina Moment (Rupert Cornwell) from the Independent [of the UK]
"George W Bush's botched handling of the Katrina emergency ("Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job", and all that) was the single event above all others that unravelled his presidency. By contrast, Mr Obama won wide praise for the US response to January's devastating earthquake in Haiti. This time too he has moved swiftly, after he was told on Wednesday evening that the spill was far worse than originally thought."
Isn't it interesting how most of the American media is largely swept up in exactly the opposite conversation with all sorts of bogus comparisons with Katrina. In addition, please note that the Independent is more like UK's New York Post than its New York Times.
Statehood for Puerto Rico? Many Residents Like Status Quo from Politics Daily
"It is not that Puerto Rico suffers from an identity crisis. Puerto Ricans on the island are not much different in that respect from Latinos on the mainland. Many of us are bilingual and bicultural – we reserve the right to speak Spanglish and eat fried plantains with ketchup. Why would anyone want to choose between English and Spanish, hamburger or rice and beans, if you can have both?"
Embedded Journalism, in War and Politics (David Ignatius) from RealClearPolitics
A red-letter day! An Ignatius two-fer!
"I fear that embedded media are becoming the norm, and not just when it comes to war. The chroniclers of political and cultural debates increasingly move in a caravan with one side or another, as well. This nonmilitary embedding may have a different rationale, but there's a similar effect that comes with traveling under the canopy of a particular candidate, party or community."
Banning Burqas in Europe from Miller-McClure's Magazine
"How did such an un-American-sounding idea as banning someone’s religiously inspired clothing choice take root in Western countries?"
Before you think "those crazy Europeans," check this out:
Arizona Expands Its Discrimination: Teachers with Heavy Accents Can't Teach English and Ethnic Studies Have Been Banned from ThinkProgress
"Today, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Arizona Department of Education “recently began telling school districts that teachers whose spoken English it deems to be heavily accented or ungrammatical must be removed from classes for students still learning English”:"
But ... isn't it a strength of an ESL class to have someone who speaks both languages?! Good teachers who do that are hard to find ... even in Arizona. What's the point? This kind of stuff actually explicitly targets US citizens and ethnic groups that could go way beyond just the Hispanic community. On the political front, if this stuff becomes widely known it is just the kind of crap that will really crank up the voter enthusiasm among Democrats and ethnic voters. What's next?
If Only Arizona Were the Real Problem (Frank Rich) from the New York Times
"The more you examine the law’s provisions and proponents, the more you realize that it’s the latest and (so far) most vicious battle in a far broader movement that is not just about illegal immigrants — and that is steadily increasing its annexation of one of America’s two major political parties."
The Cadence of the Arizona-Mexico Border No Longer Soothes the Soul (Opinion) from the [San Jose] Mercury News
"When I heard the news about the recent Arizona anti-immigration legislation, I wondered what my family in Tucson would think. The new law requires local authorities to detain anyone reasonably suspected of being in the country illegally. It requires immigrants to have their authorization papers at all times. Arizona's governor admitted she doesn't know what an illegal immigrant looks like. Folks in Tucson, including my mother, are fearful they will be detained for "Living While Hispanic." I wondered if I should keep my passport in my purse the next time I visit her. I also wondered what my grandmother would think."
Racists Believe They Are Well Within the Norm from Miller-McClure's Magazine
"New research from Australia finds racists mistakenly tend to believe they’re less prejudiced than their neighbors."
Arizona Immigration Law: Hispanics Vow, 'We're Going to Fight' from the Christian Science Monitor
"The new Arizona immigration law has motivated Hispanics nationwide. Many are saying that they want to cause problems for the Republicans in November."
An Out-of-Office Message for Republican Candidates (Matt Bai) from the New York Times Sunday Magazine
"Titles mean less, passions mean more. A durable political persona has more currency in the modern age than any elected office, with all the rules that come with it. This move away from incumbency also tells us two things about the conflicts churning inside the republican Office."
Tea Party Replicates in the Midlands to Reveal at Heart of Election (Gary Younge) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Where the only certainty is austerity, cynicism abounds. In Bromsgrove, a Facebook site opposes a mosque no one is building – a virtual campaign against a phantom menace."
What a dreadful thing to export to another country.
GOP's Past Gives Lie to "Colorblind" Claims (David Sirota) from Salon
"Republicans claim Arizona's new immigration law has nothing to do with racial profiling. Oh please."
GOP Worries Az. Law Could Hurt Party from Politico
"Arizona’s immigration law has been an immediate hit with the Republican base, but some of the party’s top strategists and rising stars worry that the harsh crackdown may do long-term damage to the GOP in the eyes of America’s Hispanic population."
As they should!
Crist Taps New Sources as Some Demand Money Back from the Miami Herald
"More than ever, the governor viewed with anger and suspicion by many conservatives will be tapping an unusually wide pool of potential donors that includes Democrats and liberal special interest groups like trial lawyers and the teachers union."
I think this gives you a clear sense of which party he'll be caucusing with if he wins. According to the most recent poll, it looks like Crist's independent candidacy is taking a bigger whack out of the Democrat, Meek's numbers (at 15%) rather than Rubio's. My bet: Meek, sooner, probably later, will drop out and endorse Crist. I think this race transcends simple partisanship. Both Crist and the Dems (and maybe even Meek) will agree that Rubio in the Senate would be a disaster for Florida and all concerned.
SURVEILLANCE NUGGET!!
Stanford Researchers Unveil Fly-on-the-Wall Spy Drone from AOL News
"Imagine a tiny drone that can quietly fly up to a building, land on the wall and then stay put for days, feeding video or audio back to its operators. A recently released video of just such a perching drone demonstrates that this futuristic surveillance scenario may not be that far away."
It won't be long before units like this will have deadly explosives hooked to them.
MUST-SEE WORLD WAR II PHOTO NUGGET!!
Never Before Published Photos of Inside Hitler's Bunker from Time Magazine
"In April, 1945, as Russian and German troops fought -- savagely, street-by-street -- for control of the German capital, it became increasingly clear that the Allies would win the war in Europe. Not long after the two-week battle ended, 33-year-old LIFE photographer William Vandivert was on the scene, photographing Berlin's devasted landscape."
An ASTOUNDING series originally intended for Life Magazine!
RECENT HISTORY NUGGET!!
Kent State Graduates Get Their Commencement, 40 Years After Shootings from the Associated Press via Huffington Post
"This spring, Lownsdale and other members of the Class of '70 will return to Cincinnati – or to Boston, or to Athens, Ohio – for the festive commencements they never had. Some will be accompanied by their parents, now elderly, or by grown-up children. Maybe they will find a chance to heal some old wounds."
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