News Nuggets 366

Two more fun images for Pet Photo Friday!! From Americablog.

US Urged Israel to Use Caution and Restraint with Aid Boats Heading to Gaza from the Washington Post

"The Obama administration said Wednesday that it had warned Isreal's government repeatedly to use "caution and restraint" with half a dozen aid boats bound for the Gaza Strip before Israeli commandos raided the flotilla this week in an operation that killed nine people."

Saving Israel From Itself (Nicholas Kristof) from the New York Times

"I thought: Israel wouldn’t be so obtuse as to use lethal force on self-described peace activists in international waters with scores of reporters watching. Ah, but it turned out that Israel could be so obtuse after all. It shot itself in the foot, blasting American toes as well, and undermined all of its longer-term strategic objectives."

Israel as Strategic Liability (Anthony Cordesman) from RealClearWorld

"The United States has made it clear that any U.S. support for Arab-Israeli peace efforts must be based on options that preserve Israel's security, and its recent announcements that it will consider "extended regional deterrence" are code words for a U.S. commitment that could guard Israel, as well as its neighbors, against an Iranian nuclear threat. At the same time, the depth of America's moral commitment does not justify or excuse actions by an Israeli government that unnecessarily make Israel a strategic liability when it should remain an asset."

Gaza Flotilla: What Should Obama Do? (Michael Tomasky) from the Guardian [of the UK]

"It is tempting to say the US should express furious moral outrage over Israel's raid of the Gaza flotilla – but that is not its role."

Charges Against Activists Abandoned After Turkey Delivers Ultimatum from the Independent [of the UK]

"Israel bowed to heavy diplomatic pressure to deport hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists yesterday, after what Turkey said was an ultimatum that threatened Jerusalem with severe political consequences if it kept its citizens in custody."

Erdogen and the Decline of the Turks (Robert Pollock) from the Wall Street Journal

"Good leaders work to defuse tensions in situations like this, not to escalate them. No American should be deceived as to the true motives of these men: They are demagogues appealing to the worst elements in their own country and the broader Middle East."

Very disturbing developments in Turkey. More instability from the most stable Islamic country in the middle east.

Iran: Reckless or Rational? (Philip McCrum) from the International Relations and Security Network

"Five years after his hotly contested election, Ahmadinejad’s fragile hold on power is threatened by growing economic instability, an emerging reform movement and the mounting threat of sanctions."

Gulf Coast Oil Spill Could Wreck Region's Tourism and Fishing Industries from the Washington Post

"The gargantuan blob of light Louisiana crude floating in the Gulf of Mexico has already closed oyster beds, shut down shrimpers, cancelled fishing tournaments and panicked beach hoteliers from New Orleans to Key West. But the economic impact of the nation's worst ever oil spill may be just beginning."

Will the Cardinal Be Indicted? from the Daily Beast

"No U.S. Catholic leader has been prosecuted for the church’s child-sex scandals. But officials are weighing obstruction and perjury charges against Cardinal Roger Mahony—and studying emails showing Mahony discussing with his lawyers ways to avoid giving law enforcement the names of abusive priests. Philip Shenon reports."

David Souter vs the Antonin Scalias (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"It should become the philosophical shot heard 'round the country. In a remarkable speech that received far too little attention, former Supreme Court justice David Souter took direct aim at the conservatives' favorite theory of judging. Souter's verdict: It "has only a tenuous connection to reality.""

Republicans and Obama: Time to Accept that He Won the 2008 Election (Jill Lawrence) from Politics Daily

"The root of the tension, or testiness, as Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback described it, isn't whether Obama is good-natured when under verbal assault. It's that for 18 months Republicans have been acting as if they are entitled to kill or gut Obama's agenda and pass their own.

White House Press Corps' Latest Obsession: Obama's State from the Huffington Post

"Now we're faced with a gigantic problem that has thus far proven resistant to the best efforts of decision-makers. So what's left to do? WE MUST HAVE A CHRONICLE OF THE PRESIDENT'S EMOTIONAL STATE, FOR POSTERITY."

Police Chiefs Want No Part of Arizona's Immigration Law from The Root

"The nation's top cops say that making them check the residency status of suspects will set back years of trust-building in communities of color."

The Palin-Murkowsky Rivalry Explained from Salon

"This story originally appeared on Salon on January 18, when Sarah Palin's one-time confidante signed on with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Palin's intrastate rival. The piece details the long-standing friction between the two women, which may have contributed to Palin's decision on Wednesday to endorse Murkowski's GOP primary challenger, Joe Miller."

NV Sen: Angle Leads in Race to Face Reid from Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

"A forthcoming DailyKos/Research 2000 poll will also show Angle taking a significant lead in the primary. It also finds Reid now beating each of his potential Republican challengers."

This is the race where the "moderate" GOP candidate was the "chickens for health care" person while Angle is the Tea Party wingnut -- and Angle is now in the lead with less than a week to go until the GOP primary.

SC-Gov: Nikki Haley Denies Accusations She Had a Second Affair with Lobbyist Larry Merchant from the Associated Press via Huffington Post

"A South Carolina lobbyist resigned from a rival political campaign on Wednesday and then became the second man to claim he had a tryst with a Republican lawmaker trying to become the state's first female governor."

This woman is toast!

Rasmussen's Mid-Course Corrections (Kos) from Daily Kos

"Remember, Rasmussen has two modes -- the narrative setting mode, which he's used to great effect this year to fuel the "Democrats are doomed" narrative, and the "get it right" mode he uses the closer we get to the actual election."

What with the known news distorters like FOX and talk radio, then you have polling outfits like THIS ONE, it just drives me NUTS!!

MEDICAL NUGGET!!

The incredible moment a deaf baby hears his mother's voice for the very first time from the Daily Mail [of the UK]

"Gurgling in a mix of wonder and joy, this is the incredible moment a child hears his mother's voice for the first time. Eight-month-old Jonathan was born deaf and had cochlear implants put into his ears so he could hear."

The video is quite moving.

POLAR BEAR NUGGET!!

Polar Bears and Dogs Playing from First Science TV