A rare clouded leopard in Seblat National Park in Indonesia. From the Guardian.
Working to Help a Haven for Afghan Women Blossom from the New York Times
"There was in the city an old garden, and in that garden there were trees, and under the trees there were women. And there were no scarves on the heads of the women who sat under the trees in the old Kabul Women’s Garden. That was all something remarkable once upon a time, as it is even now. Screened from male scrutiny by the leafy canopies of almond or apricot trees, women could go outside as they pleased, dare to wriggle naked toes in fountain water or just gossip without the veil. Now this oasis of freedom for women, surrounded by the misogynist desert of the capital city, is undergoing a rebirth."
Obama's Good Deal for Gaza (Marc Lynch) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The contours of the response to the Gaza flotilla fiasco are now coming into sharper public view: the Israeli government will significantly ease the blockade of Gaza in exchange for American support for a whitewash of the investigation of the flotilla incident. As I've said many times on Twitter, this is a good deal."
US Eager to Replicate Afghan Villagers' Successful Revolt Against the Taliban from the Washington Post
"The revolt of the Gizab Good Guys began with a clandestine 2 a.m. meeting. By sunrise, 15 angry villagers had set up checkpoints on the main road and captured their first prisoners. In the following hours, their ranks swelled with dozens of rifle-toting neighbors eager to join."
Failed States and the Bad Guys Who Keep Them Failing from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Altogether, the top 10 slots have rotated among just 15 unhappy countries in the index's six years. State failure, it seems, is a chronic condition."
The 2010 Failed State Index and related articles at this site HERE are also quite interesting.
Postcards from Hell: Images from the World's Most Failed States from Foreign Policy Magazine
"For the last half-decade, the Fund for Peace, working with Foreign Policy, has been putting together the Failed States Index, using a battery of indicators to determine how stable -- or unstable -- a country is. But as the photos here demonstrate, sometimes the best test is the simplest one: You'll only know a failed state when you see it."
An AMAZING gallery of pictures with descriptions.
BP Moves a Step Closer to Full Containment of Gulf Oil Spill Leak from the Christian Science Monitor
"The Obama administration has forced BP to ramp up its oil-containment efforts, and President Obama has staked a fair bit of credibility on BP's success. He claimed in his Oval Office speech that BP would collect 90 percent of the oil by the end of the month. So far, BP's redoubled efforts appear to be working."
Why Obama's Approval Held Steady Despite the Oil Spill (Steven Shier) from the Atlantic
"A recent batch of polls reveal that President Obama's job approval has remained steady over the last two months despite his presiding over the biggest environmental catastrophe in our nation's history. Why might that be?"
Does it Matter if Obama Loses the Pundits (Adam Nagourney) from the New York Times
"“It’s the first Obama speech ever panned by the talking heads,” Mike Allen reported in the Politico Playbook. But so what? Does it really matter if you lose the pundits anymore?"
Ignore the Right's Hillary Hype (Peter Beinart) from the Daily Beast
"Conservatives are buzzing about the prospect of Hillary Clinton challenging Obama in 2012. Peter Beinart on the GOP's desperate wishful thinking."
Tea Party Recalls Could Backfire from Politico
"Democratic strategist Chris Lehane, who watched the recall of Gov. Gray Davis in California up close, said, “The tea party is going to get to the jumping-the-shark phase here.”"
New Republican Agenda, or Lack of One, Divides Party from the Associated Press
"It's not easy crafting an agenda for the fall elections. Just ask Republicans in Congress. They set up a website to solicit ideas, only to see liberals flood it with distinctly un-Republican suggestions. When Republicans invited the public to rank proposals online, critics lampooned the effort for small-bore notions such as ending a federal program for "historic whaling partners. Republicans don't even agree on whether they need a new agenda."
CO-Sen: Colorado GOP Senate Race: Ken Buck May Pull Another Conservative Upset (Bruce Drake) from Politics Daily
"Ken Buck, the district attorney for sprawling Weld County in north central Colorado, may be on the verge of doing to former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton what Sharron Angle did to Sue Lowden in Nevada by riding a conservative-activist, Tea Party movement-fueled campaign to an upset victory in the state's GOP Senate primary, according to a Denver Post/News9 poll conducted June 15-17."
Poll: FL-Sen: Crist's Edge Over Rubio Appears to be Growing from the Saint Petersburg Times
"A new Florida Chamber of Commerce poll suggests Charlie Crist may be widening his lead over Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek in the U.S. Senate race."
FL-Sen: Marco Rubio in More Financial Hot Water, Faces Foreclosure from the Naples News [of Florida]
"Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio and another Miami politician are facing foreclosure on a Tallahassee home they co-own for failing to make mortgage payments since January, Leon County court records show."
Weird story. Part of an emerging pattern of financial strangeness coming out of the Rubio campaign.
ARCHITECTURE NUGGET!!
Seven Recycled Architecture Public Places from the Huffington Post
"Tearing down old structures to build new green designs in their place often consumes many more resources than simply working with existing architecture. The most sustainable construction comes from taking existing establishments and turning them into new useful assets for the community."
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