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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

News Nuggets 447

A good message to take on in this election season!

Iran Claims Computer Worm is a Western Plot from the Associated Press via Raw Story
"Iranian officials have suggested in recent days that the Stuxnet worm that has affected computers of employees at the Bushehr nuclear power plant could be a conspiracy to damage Iran's nuclear activities. But Tuesday's comments by Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast were the strongest accusations of Western sabotage so far."
A western plot?  Gee -- y'think?  The fact that Iranian officials are STILL going on about this suggests to me that the Stuxnet worm did some substantial damage.  I'd love to know more about the extent of its impact.

Some more background on the Stuxnet worm:
A Code for Chaos from the New York Times
"The question is: Just how dangerous has this worm and cyberwarfare become?"

Ahmadinejad Softening his Stance on Nuclear Development (Simon Tisdall) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"A combination of international sanctions and domestic unrest is pushing Iran towards greater co-operation with western powers."

Attack of the Drones: The Lesser of Two Evils (Anthony Cordesman) from the National Interest
"Some reporting makes this look like a massive bombing campaign, and one producing large numbers of unnecessary civilian casualties. Other reporting somehow makes it seem illegitimate or talks about a Pashtun honor code as if U.S. forces can only fight insurgents face-to-face with their weapons on their terms…. We have no alternative way to fight and all of the other options would be far worse even if they were available."

China Shouldn't Demand 'Face' It Denies to Others (Editorial) from the Frankfurter Rundschau [of Germany in English]
"The Beijing government distinguishes itself on the international arena with its gruff manner. It has a demonstrably tough attitude. In this way, it has achieved the opposite of what it desires most: recognition."

Games India Isn't Ready to Play (Op-Ed) from the New York Times
"Who is anxious over India’s image in the wealthy world? That particular burden is borne by India’s small affluent elite, for whom the last few months have been full of painful and awkward self-reckonings. Certainly, the fear of violence over Ayodhya was only the latest in a long line of reminders that, as the columnist Vir Sanghvi put it, “as hard as we try to build a new India ... old India still has the power to humiliate and embarrass us.”"

In the same vein:
Much More than Commonwealth Games Needed for Lasting National Prestige (Editorial) from The Hindu [of India in English]
"While India's impressive economic growth rate (recent average eight per cent) regularly makes international headlines, this single indicator, unfortunately, masks India's many shortcomings — a basic lack of infrastructure, power, irrigation and transport that slows the pace of India's economic and human development."

Tennessee County’s Subscription-Based Firefighters Watch As Family Home Burns Down from ThinkProgress
"They wouldn’t do anything to stop his house from burning. Each year, Obion County residents must pay $75 if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. But the Cranicks did not pay. The mayor said if homeowners don’t pay, they’re out of luck."
IN-credible!!  What if some child had been accidently left inside?! Ooops?!

Dems Gain in Polls from the Washington Post
"The political landscape remains strongly tilted toward Republicans, although Democrats have made modest improvements with voters since their late-summer low point, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll."

Democrats Seize on Signs of Hope from Politico
"Once-despondent Democrats now believe that they may be able to avert a total midterm wipeout, as several important states now appear to be trending in their direction or growing more competitive."

Schwarzenegger Says Obama Likely to Get Re-Elected from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"Barack Obama's Democrats may be facing a drubbing in upcoming US midterm congressional elections, but California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, says the US president will likely get re-elected. The Republicans, he argues, are incapable at the moment of finding a candidate viable against Obama."
I totally agree with the 'Governator' here.

GOP Re-Message Message (Joe Klein) from Time Magazine
"The G.O.P., especially its nutball "Obama's sky is falling" wing, has been setting up a perverse expectations game: if it wins 38 seats, it will have lost...because the Democrats will still control the House; if it wins 8 Senate seats, it will also have lost...because the Democrats will still control the Senate. Finally, some wiser Republican heads are re-setting expectations."

How the GOP Could Blow It (Peter Beinart) from the Daily Beast
"Face it: Republicans will win big in November. But if they actually carry out the Tea Party mandate to slash spending, the GOP will lose public support in the long run."

RECENT HISTORY BOOK NUGGET!
The Supersnooper Pursuing the Paranoid Politician: A Review of Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington’s Scandal Culture by Mark Feldstein from the New York Times

"There’s a great deal of high comedy in “Poisoning the Press,” Mark Feldstein’s meticulous recounting of Anderson’s life and times. We watch as Anderson, like some silent-comedy villain with a heart of gold, happily uses every greasy tool at his disposal — eavesdropping, blackmail, planting spies, poking through garbage — to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted in his influential and long-running column, “Washington Merry-Go-Round.”"

COLONIAL HISTORY BOOK NUGGET!!
Learning to be Washington: A Review of Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow from the New York Times

"Today, books about Washington continue to appear at such an astonishing rate that the publication of Ron Chernow’s prompts the inevitable question: Why another one? An obvious answer is that Chernow is no ordinary writer."
I agree.  Chernow's bio of Alexander Hamilton was a truly outstanding and revealing study. 

FASHION NUGGET!!
Would YOU Dare to Wear Spray-on Clothes? from the Daily Mail [of the UK]

"I encountered Fabrican - a liquid fabric which enables outfits to be sprayed on from an aerosol, directly on to the body.  Clothes out of a can may sound like some sort of science-fiction fantasy, but some serious scientific muscle went into developing the idea."

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