News Nuggets 371

The northern Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. From Nuggets reader Mary Pat Brennan.

Two Cheers for Multilateralism (James Traub) from Foreign Policy Magazine

"Johnson, as well as other anti-nuclear advocates, believe that the agreement constitutes a historic breakthrough for which the Obama administration -- though not only the Obama administration -- deserves profound credit. I think they're right."

Russia Has Trouble Escaping the Past from Truthdig

"Eastern Europe is still overshadowed by a mutual distrust rooted in World War II, which brings us back to Victory Day. For official Russian historiography, the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany is the keystone in the liberation of Europe. There is a widespread complaint that Europeans, particularly former Eastern Bloc countries like the Baltic states or Poland, do not appreciate Russia’s contribution and its enormous death toll. For many countries in Eastern Europe, however, “liberation” meant Soviet occupiers replacing the Germans."

Letter From Priests' Lovers Reignites Celibacy Debate (Sylvia Poggioli) from NPR's Morning Edition

"In an unprecedented move, a group of Italian women who have had relationships with priests wrote an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI, saying that priests need to love and be loved."

Tax Cutting Our Way Out of Debt - and Other Fair Tales (Rick Unger) from True/Slant

"While voters may be willing to express their desire to get the national debt moving in a better direction at the ballot box, I cannot help but wonder if they are anywhere near being prepared to accept the austerity that comes with a debt reduction."

Obama is Not Spock (Marc Ambinder) from the Atlantic

"When Obama is angry, when he is frustrated, he begins to take stock of arguments; his anger shifts him into law professor mode. He struggles to pack facts into his pre-frontal cortex. He wants to get the decision right."

Mitch Daniels: Low Key, High Profile from Politico

"With a Wall Street Journal op-ed, an admiring Weekly Standard cover story and an upcoming Washington high-dollar fundraiser, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is slowly stepping into the 2012 presidential spotlight, even as he insists he isn’t looking to run."

Daniels seems to me to be something of a sleeper candidate for the 2012 presidential elections. More than the rest of GOP crew, I think the Dems need to keep an eye on him.

2012 Primary Plans Would Keep NH First from Politico

"Intent on preventing a repeat of the chaotic presidential primary schedule in 2008, Republican and Democratic parties are completing plans to create an orderly timetable that would push most contests back while ensuring New Hampshire’s celebrated role as the first primary in the nation."

Tuesday's Primaries: None of the Narratives Apply (Andrew Romano) from Newsweek

"As mandated by the laws of punditry, the day after a big election--and Tuesday, with primaries in 11 states, was the biggest election since November 2008--is usually spent trying to reduce the previous evening's results into one easily digestible narrative. But yesterday may have been the day that those efforts, which so far this year have focused on forcing every election outcome into an "anti-insider" frame, were finally shown to be futile"

WHAT SHOCKING NEWS!! All of the pre-determined narratives didn't really apply last night! I am so surprised!

The GOP Is Blowing It (Peter Beinart) from the Daily Bast

"Angle is the perfect symbol of the Republican base in 2010: She's a fresh face; she enjoys grassroots support, and she wants to repeal the handiwork not just of Franklin Roosevelt, but of Theodore Roosevelt."

Where's the Anti-incumbent Rage in Tuesday's Primary Results? (E.J. Dionne) from the Washington Post

"I am starting to wonder if the real story -- the one we are making too little of -- is that the primaries are showing much more ideological change in the GOP than among Democrats."

Is the Tea Party Losing It's Strength? (David Corn) from Politics Daily

"What a surprise: the Tea Party is not as popular as it once was. That was part of the news contained in a Washington Post/ABC News poll released this week."

Dem Govs Association: GOP Gov Picks 'Already Losers' from Politico

"DGA executive director Nathan Daschle, writing under the header "Why today's GOP winners are already losers," argues that harsh Republican primaries have forced "candidates who wanted to run as moderates down the rabbit hole of the radical Tea Party right."

NV-Sen: Reid Opponent Embraces Patriot Group That Warns of 'Giant Concentration Camps' from TalkingPointsMemo

"Members of Oath Keepers -- whose motto is "Not on our watch!" -- take a 10-item oath affirming that they will not, for example, force citizens into detention camps or invade a state "that asserts its sovereignty and declares the national government to be in violation of the compact by which that state entered the Union.""

SPORTS CAR & BOAT NUGGET!!

The £17million Yacht that Comes with its Own Supercar from the Daily Mail

"As far as freebies go, a luxury supercar has got to be near the top of the list. But then if you're already forking out £17million for a 122ft state-of-the-art super-yacht, you wouldn't really expect anything less."

A pretty AMAZING looking pair!!

DINOSAUR NUGGET!!

Mummified Dinosaur Emerges From 'Stone Tomb' from Discovery News

"For over two years, paleontologists have been chipping away at Dakota, a rare mummified duck-billed dinosaur that remains encased in a "stone tomb," according to a Grand Forks Herald report. The dinosaur, however, is nearly 75 percent removed, revealing what appears to be fossilized skin, ligaments, tendons and, scientists hope, some fossilized internal organs."