New Year's Eve 2010:Celebrations Around the World (PHOTOS) from Huffington Post
"Multicolored starbusts and gigantic sparklers lit the midnight sky over Sydney Harbour in a dazzling fireworks show witnessed by 1.5 million enthusiastic spectators who camped out all day to ring in the new year."
Top 10 Foreign Policy Challenges Facing Barack Obama in 2011 (Toby Hernden) from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"So what will 2011 bring? Here are some of the challenges President Barack Obama will be grappling with in the coming year:"
It Was a Very Good Year for Foiling Terrorists (Susan Marinuk) from the Calgary Herald [of Canada]
"A glance back at the news events of 2010 makes it abundantly clear that sophisticated, well co-ordinated and large-scale attacks intended to devastate Western society should no longer be our primary fear. The real problem is large numbers of unsophisticated, small-scale attacks -- the unsuccessful kind that only function to wear down our vigilance."
Korea's New Cold War (David Kang) from the National Interest
"It's unsexy, but it's worked for sixty years: deterrence, patience and hope on the Korean peninsula."
Report: U.S. in Secret Talks with Syria Over Peace Accord with Israel from Al Haaretz [of Israel in English]
"The United States has been in secret contact with Syrian officials in the hopes of realizing a comprehensive Israel-Syrian peace treaty, the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper reported Saturday."
Tunisia's Inspiring Rebellion from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Demonstrations in Tunisia suggest that revolt and regime change are still possible in the Arab world."
The Next Treaties for Obama from the Editorial Board of the New York Times
"Even after the herculean effort required to win Senate ratification of the New Start treaty, President Obama has no time to rest. The treaty, which mandates modest cuts in long-range nuclear weapons, is on its way to approval by the Duma, the lower house of Parliament in Russia. Once that happens, Washington and Moscow should quickly begin discussing other, more far-reaching agreements."
New Health-Care Rules to Take Effect from the Washington Post
"The new rules are designed to help those caught in Medicare's "doughnut hole," offer seniors more preventative care, and limit how much of their customers' money health-insurance companies can keep for overhead and profit. They all go into effect on Saturday."
'Death Panels' are Real -- Brought on by Budget Pressures (Norman Ornstein) from the Washington Post
"Sarah Palin and others railed against the "death panels" that would result from the bill. Government bureaucrats, critics said, would decide who would die and when. The bill passed - and indeed there are death panels. But they do not come from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. "Obamacare." They come from Republican administrations in states such as Arizona and Indiana."
It should be noted that Ornstein is no left-wing talking head -- he's a right-of-center leading authority on Congress with the American Enterprise Institute.
The Military's Next Step After 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': Equal Rights for Gay Service Members (Chris Patti) from the Washington Post
"Minds should be turning to the difficult questions that remain. These are the same questions that vex our society when it comes to equal rights for homosexuals. They cross over into the "gray areas" where some start to feel uncomfortable and where the legal options are ambiguous."
Private Markets Make Up the Core of Obamanomics (Ezra Klein) from the New York Times
"When I asked participants and observers that question, they all started with the same premise: The administration didn't have time for philosophy. It had to put out fires - and fast. But faced with the greatest economic crisis in generations, a crisis that spread across many sectors, their response, in retrospect, was remarkably consistent."
Obama is Back -- Squarely in the Center (Richard Wolfe) from the Los Angeles Times
The president has been castigated from both sides of the political spectrum. But progressives should not be surprised by his compromises, and GOP leaders have just placed him in the reasonable middle of American politics.
Books Closed on the 111th Congress, What to Expect in the 112th (Thomas Mann) from the Brookings Institution
"A sizable and remarkably unified Democratic party, whose ranks reached 60 in the Senate for about half of the Congress, made possible a record more impressive in its substance than its appearance. The new Republican House majority and diminished Democratic ranks in the Senate will almost certainly render the record of the 112th a pale shadow of its predecessor."
Sarah Palin’s Nomination Chances: A Reassessment (Nate Silver) from the New York Times
"In November 2009, I wrote an article entitled “10 Reasons That Sarah Palin Could Win the Republican Nomination.” The article wasn’t necessarily arguing that she was the favorite to take the nomination, but it did suggest she had a credible chance at it. In light of the developments of the last 13 months, it is probably worthwhile to revisit that assessment."
IRANIAN TV NUGGET!!
Expats' 'Daily Show'-style VOA Program Enthralls Iranians, Irks their Government from the Washington Post
"Lately, a couple of irreverent expats in Washington have captivated Iranians with a show that pokes fun at the absurdities of life in the Islamic republic. Operating out of Voice of America's Persian News Network, Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi have started a weekly program, "Parazit," that has drawn comparisons to Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" for its satiric take on Iran's news of the day."
I LOVE IT! Contrast this with the dopey, transparently-manipulative PR approach to "promoting democracy" in the Middle East embraced by Karen Hughes under Bush!
CIVIL WAR NUGGET!!
Rethinking the Old Public Functionary: Why James Buchanan Wasn't as Bad a President as You Think (Russell McClintock) from the New York Times
"By late December 1860, President James Buchanan was easily the most despised man in America, and particularly in the North. … In his own time and ever since, the 15th president has been castigated as worse than useless; his purported failure to act resolutely in the face of secession is often cast as a leading factor in the country’s descent into war."
HILARIOUS VIRAL VIDEO NUGGET!!
The One-Man Village People from U-Tube
"Halftime show from UConn Florida State game at the XL Center in Hartford Connecticut. The Amazing Christopher does the best performance with bad songs including the worse song from the 90's. "
What this guy has done is VERY CREATIVE!! It's also way harder than it looks, I suspect.
WHALING NUGGET!!
Dancing with Death Machines at the Bottom of the World from Sea Shepherd News
"“What an awesome way to begin the New Year,” said captain of the Gojira Locky MacLean of Canada. “Our three vessels dancing dangerously through the ice packs locked in confrontation with the three harpoon ships of the Japanese whaling fleet. It was both deadly and beautiful. Deadly because of the ice and the hostility of the whalers and beautiful because of the ice, and the fact that these three killer ships are not killing whales while clashing with us.”"
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