Baby miniature piglets at the Basell Zoo in Switzerland. From ZooBorns.
The Failure of Governance in the Arab World (Simon Tisdale) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Protests in Tunisia and Algeria are part of a rising tide of popular dissatisfaction with illiberal, unreformed Arab rule."
Along with Tunisia and Algeria:
Lebanese Government Collapses as Hezbollah Resigns from the Washington Post
"The Lebanese government collapsed Wednesday after ministers from the Shiite group Hezbollah and its allies resigned in advance of expected indictments against members of the organization by a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the killing of the prime minister's father."
Arab Regimes on Edge (Marc Lynch) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"It's not at all clear whether these protests actually will spread yet, as regimes on high alert will not be taken by surprise and local conditions vary dramatically. The protests have already sparked a region-wide debate about the prospects for political change and the costs of political repression and economic stagnation. The discussion of the "Tunisia scenario" is everywhere."
Top 10 Aspiring Nations from Time Magazine
"Sudan held a referendum on Jan. 9 to decide whether to split into two sovereign countries. Here's a sampling of other places vying for independence — some with more legitimate claims for freedom than others."
On the War in Iraq: Is Stupidity Hard to Judge Ahead of Time? (Justin Logan) from the National Interest
"It ought to be said that the stupidity of the Iraq War was not terribly difficult to judge ahead of time perhaps anywhere on earth—other than inside the Beltway. John Mearsheimer and 32 of his colleagues tried—unsuccessfully—to intervene in the debate…"
I was wondering WHEN someone was going to say that the emperor had no clothes! We have heard for YEARS that "well, everyone thought Iraq had WMDs and that we needed to take Hussein out." Well, not everyone thought so -- and those who said "don't do it" need to be acknowledged for their prescience. Correspondingly, the media and pundits need to STOP listening to those folks who thought it was such a good idea -- or at the least to really call them on it!! Otherwise we will simply keep doing the same thing over and over again!
Caught in the Net: Why Dictators are Going Digital from the Economist [of London]
"The idea that the internet was fomenting revolution and promoting democracy in Iran was just the latest example of the widely held belief that communications technology, and the internet in particular, is inherently pro-democratic. In this gleefully iconoclastic book, Evgeny Morozov takes a stand against this “cyber-utopian” view, arguing that the internet can be just as effective at sustaining authoritarian regimes."
I have long suspected this to be the case. New technology creates new possibilities for expression … until authoritarian governments figure out how to use newer technologies to shut down that expression.
Republican School Board in N.C. Backed by Tea Party Abolishes Integration Policy from the Washington Post
"The sprawling Wake County School District has long been a rarity. Some of its best, most diverse schools are in the poorest sections of this capital city. And its suburban schools, rather than being exclusive enclaves, include children whose parents cannot afford a house in the neighborhood. But over the past year, a new majority-Republican school board backed by national tea party conservatives has set the district on a strikingly different course. Pledging to "say no to the social engineers!" it has abolished the policy behind one of the nation's most celebrated integration efforts."
WHAT DO YOU MEAN that my white suburban school ISN'T AS GOOD as those inner city schools where black people are!?! Well, we'll have to do something about that!! Answer: Make those inner city schools worse. There are parts of this country that seem to be just … going insane!
The Tea Party and the Tucson Tragedy (Jacob Weisberg) from Slate
"How anti-government, pro-gun, xenophobic populism made the Giffords shooting more likely."
Gabrielle Giffords' Arizona Shooting Prompts Resignations from the Arizona Republic
"A nasty battle between factions of Legislative District 20 Republicans and fears that it could turn violent in the wake of what happened in Tucson on Saturday prompted District Chairman Anthony Miller and several others to resign."
Palin Goes Nuclear With 'Blood Libel' Speech (Howard Kurtz) from the Daily Beast
"In a nearly eight-minute video, Sarah Palin says "journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite" hatred. Howard Kurtz on her un-presidential move and why "blood libel" offends Jewish people."
Like so many on the right, Palin is incapable of any kind of self reflection or circumspection. Rather than turning down the partisan flame a bit, she looks to escalate tensions!
Andrew Sullivan from the Atlantic has additional commentary on Queen Sarah's latest salvo HERE with Steve Kornacki of Salon chiming in HERE.
The Next Kennedy? (Jim O'Sullivan) from National Journal
"Joe Kennedy III's speech stirs queries about a potential run against Sen. Scott Brown."
COLD WAR BOOK NUGGET!!
West Meets East: Two New Versions of the Cold War, A Review of The Cambridge History of the Cold War by Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad, and Istoriia Rossii [The History of Russia], vol. 2, XX vek [The 20th Century]1939–2007 by A. B. Zubov, ed (Walter Laqueur) from World Affairs Journal
"These books are the work of many hands (more than fifty contributors each). The cooperation of so many experts no doubt adds to the caliber of these works, but the contributions, by necessity, not only vary in quality, but reflect—within certain limits—different viewpoints. Still, if there is no “party line,” there remains much common ground in each of these mammoth enterprises."
CIVIL RIGHT HISTORY NUGGET!!
Reporter on Quest to Close 1964 Civil Rights Case from the New York Times
"Stanley Nelson writes for a small weekly newspaper in the Louisiana delta. For the past four years, he has been obsessed with one story: who threw gasoline into a rural shoe repair and dry goods shop in 1964 and started the fire that killed Frank Morris?"
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