Africa's Impressive Growth from the Economist [of London]
"Over the past decade the simple unweighted average of countries’ growth rates was virtually identical in Africa and Asia. Over the next five years Africa is likely to take the lead. In other words, the average African economy will outpace its Asian counterpart."
Israel Says It Sees No Iranian Atom Bomb Before 2015 from Reuters News Service
"Israel believes Iran will not be able to produce a nuclear bomb before 2015 and a top Israeli official has counseled against pre-emptive military strikes, intelligence assessments published Friday showed."
Wow! The Iran nuclear program must be SERIOUSLY compromised! Israeli authorities said 2013 just last week. Anyone for 2018? Going…going…
The Future of Sudan: An Interactive Map from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
"The Sudan referendum on January 9 was designed to be the culmination of a peace process ending decades of conflict between the north and the south, but there are lingering fears that tensions could erupt into violence."
This map is PRETTY COOL!! It communicates a lot!
The Rise of Tibetan Soft Power from the International Relations and Security Network [of Switzerland in English]
"Tibetan ‘soft power’ has ensured that we are going to see a continued rise in Tibetan nationalistic aspirations along with the flourishing of Tibetan culture and civilization, in tandem with the rise of China as a global power."
Study: U.S. Torture Techniques Unethical, Ineffective (Janelle Weaver) from LiveScience
This was stated ad nauseum back in Bush's time, but it is still worth making the point … for the millions of die-hards out there.
"Prolonged sleep deprivation, forced nudity and painful body positions are some of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" that the U.S. government approved after Sept. 11, 2001. Three doctors who advocate human rights argue that not only are these methods unethical, but the scientific basis used to validate them was flawed."
Where the Jobs Are: Finding the Right Spots in the Recovery from Time Magazine
""In the last six months we're back to 5 million jobs in our database. So there are some reasons to be optimistic." The $64,000 question is, So where are those 5 million jobs?"
Repeal of Healthcare Law Would Add to Federal Deficit, Congressional Budget Office Warns from the Los Angeles Times
"If congressional Republicans are successful in killing the healthcare reform law, the Congressional Budget Office says, the deficit will grow by $230 billion over the next decade and the number of uninsured Americans will increase. But GOP lawmaker says the legislation is a 'job killer,' as repeal hearing begins."
The Texas Omen (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"Texas? Wasn’t Texas supposed to be thriving even as the rest of America suffered? Didn’t its governor declare, during his re-election campaign, that “we have billions in surplus”? Yes, it was, and yes, he did. But reality has now intruded, in the form of a deficit expected to run as high as $25 billion over the next two years. … Texas is where the modern conservative theory of budgeting — the belief that you should never raise taxes under any circumstances, that you can always balance the budget by cutting wasteful spending — has been implemented most completely. If the theory can’t make it there, it can’t make it anywhere."
The William Daley Paradox (Daniel Stone) from the Daily Beast
"President Obama has picked William Daley to be his new chief of staff even though he was against health-care reform and the Consumer Protection Bureau. Daniel Stone on what Obama gains."
Promises, Promises: GOP Drops Some Out of the Gate from the Associated Press
"Republicans have already violated some of the vows they made in taking stewardship of the House. Their pledge to cut $100 billion from the budget in one year won't be kept. And for a coming vote seeking to repeal the health care overhaul, the first major initiative of the new Congress, lawmakers won't be allowed to propose changes to the legislation despite Republican promises to end such heavy-handed tactics from the days of Democratic control."
Notable Passages of Constitution Left Out of Reading in the House from the Washington Post
Some of the deletions are understandable … others not.
Obama Leads All Comers in Pennsylvania from Public Policy Polling
"Barack Obama would have a harder time winning Pennsylvania than he did in 2008 if he had to stand for reelection today...but he still leads all of the top Republican contenders for 2012 in the state."
BAD BANKS NUGGET!!
At Banks, New Fees Replacing Old Levies from the Wall Street Journal
"Banks, in an attempt to wring more revenue out of customer accounts, are conjuring up new ways to raise fees on basic products like debit cards, cash machines and checking accounts."
COLD WAR BOOK NUGGET!!
Guilty of Innocence: A Review of God-Fearing and Free: A Spiritual History of America's Cold War by Jason W. Stevens from the New Republic
"He follows Miller and Douglas in his intuition that American culture has been “raised on conservative Protestantism.” American traditions and American rebellions, American arguments and American dreams, are plants growing on Calvinist soil, America’s native ground. Stevens applies this ancient premise to the cold war, and with startling creativity."
EDUCATION BOOK NUGGET!!
The Nixon-Obama Compromise: A Review of Five Miles Away, A World Apart: One City, Two Schools, and the Story of Educational Opportunity in Modern America by James E. Ryan from the New Republic
"James E. Ryan’s excellent book points out that, if structured properly, public school choice can also tackle the single biggest problem in American education: the separation of poor and middle-class children. Rather than dropping the right to transfer, Ryan notes, the Obama administration should expand and strengthen it."
OBSCENE SPENDING NUGGET!!
The Ultimate Present: Billionaire has £150,000 Wendy House Built for his Children…and Transports it to Switzerland from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"For anyone who has shed blood, sweat and tears creating a creaky play house for their beloved offspring, this beautifully sculpted version will come as a hammer blow. Costing £150,000 - almost as much as the average house in England and Wales - the two-storey timber structure has double glazing, solid pine flooring with underfloor heating, and 400 decorative bulbs."
"Obscene" is almost too mild a word!
CIVIL WAR NUGGET!!
First South Carolina. Then New York? (John Lockwood & Charles Lockwood) from the New York Times
"The South wasn't the only part of the Union contemplating secession in January 1861. So was New York City."
I have learned so much about the US Civil War from this series in the NY Times!
ELDERLY CARE NUGGET!!
Giving Alzheimer’s Patients Their Way, Even Chocolate from the New York Times
"Margaret Nance was, to put it mildly, a difficult case. Agitated, combative, often reluctant to eat, she would hit staff members and fellow residents at nursing homes, several of which kicked her out. But when Beatitudes nursing home agreed to an urgent plea to accept her, all that changed."
I missed this when it appeared last week. There's a very good letter-to-the-editor in response to it HERE.
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