News Nuggets 458

A cormorant fisherman in China.  The birds actually do the fishing for him!  From National Geographic.

UP-FRONT POLITICAL MUSICAL SPOOF NUGGET!!
Obama! A Modern U.S. President from U-Tube
THE funniest musical spoof video I have seen in years!! Courtesy of Nuggets reader, Carolyn S.

Are We Starting To Win? (Fred Kaplan) from Slate
"New weapon systems—and, even more, improved intelligence—may be giving Americans an edge in Afghanistan."
GOD!! I hate the win/lose box that neo-cons insist on putting every US conflict in.

The Real Danger to the Economy (George Soros) from the New York Review of Books
"What the government had to do in the short run—keep the economy from collapsing—was the exact opposite of what was needed in the long run—correct the underlying imbalances, particularly between consumption and investment…. Where the Obama administration did go wrong, in my opinion, was in the way it bailed out the banking system."

Large, Loud Crowds Cheer Obama at Campaign Rallies from the Associated Press
"Focused on turning out base voters, President Barack Obama is being cheered at raucous rallies and spreading this message: Don't turn your back on the change happening in Washington."
But … but that doesn't fit the MSM's prepackaged narrative!! He's so unpopular!

US Tea Party Should Keep Its Hands Off Hitler (Charles Hawley) from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"Many on the American right have developed a taste for including a bit of German history in their stump speeches. Hitler comparisons abound and the Berlin Wall even made a cameo recently. But the flippant references to the Holocaust are ignorant and offensive. And they should stop."

Hating Woodrow Wilson: The New and Confused Attacks on Progressivism (David Greenberg) from Slate
"If anything, the reformist president of the Progressive Era, once a great icon of democrats worldwide, has been flayed more often by the left—for his idealistic internationalism (given a bad name by George W. Bush), his wartime suppression of dissent (of which Bush, again, reminded liberals), and his racist predilections (a stain on his record now impossible to ignore). The right had largely ignored or forgotten him. Until now. "

On Juan Williams, the First Amendment Never Protected Your Job (Jena McGregor) from the Washington Post
"Does the First Amendment give Williams the right to free speech? Yes. But does it give him the right to a job? No."

Strong Turnout for Democrats in Early Voting from CBS News
"1st Figures on Early Balloting Show GOP Gains on 2008 Numbers, But Democrats Hold Edge in Some Key States."

Polls: PA Statewide Races Too Close to Call from KDKA
"Public Policy Polling of likely voters has Republican Tom Corbett and Democrat Dan Onorato in a statistical dead heat, with Corbett at 48 percent, Onorato at 46 percent and six percent undecided.  Undecided voters also hold the key in the Senate race between Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Joe Sestak, also a statistical tie."
WOW!  I had written off Onorato weeks ago!! 

Karl Rove's Flameout (Matt Latimer) from the Daily Beast
"The GOP guru’s campaign cash binge this fall is the last gasp of a guy with rich friends. Ex-Bush aide Matt Latimer on how Rove hurt his boss, and why the right thinks he’s a fraud.  "

ANCIENT EGYPT BOOK NUGGET!!
The Queen of Denial: A Review of Cleopatra: A Life from Newsweek
"Schiff’s Cleopatra: A Life, is startling. Rarely have so distant a time and obscured a place come so powerfully to life. It is a great achievement. It is also a provocative one."

GALACTIC NUGGET!!
The Rare Exoplanet with a Double Sunset from Discovery News
"How realistic is it to have a stable planet orbiting one (or both) of the stars in a binary system? According to some fascinating research led by astronomers at Tennessee State University (TSU), such a double-sunset scene may not be too far fetched. By developing a technique called precision astrometry, the researchers have discovered a Jupiter-mass exoplanet orbiting the primary star of the binary system of HR 7162 (or HD 176051), some 49 light-years from Earth. They've called it "Inrakluk.""

ANIMATION HISTORY NUGGET!!
The Black Cauldron: Is the Movie that Almost Killed Disney Really That Bad? from Slate
"Recognized by animation fans as the nadir of Disney's post-Walt dark days, The Black Cauldron's flop marked the end of the studio's old way of making animated features. … Watching The Black Cauldron now, on a not-very-special "25th Anniversary Special Edition" DVD, it's easier to appreciate the movie's grand ambitions, which were undercut by bad luck, executive panic, and yes, some poor filmmaking."
As an avid Disney animation buff when I was young, I vividly recall the hype for this film -- and the disappointment that I felt when it finally came out.  Thank God they got their shit together later in the 1980s.

BIG BONG NUGGET!!
Mexican Soldiers Burn 105-ton Mountain of Cannabis Seized During Drugs Raid from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"With an estimated street value of £215million, the vast haul will have to be burnt over two days to avoid clouds of cannabis smoke affecting local people."