UP-FRONT FOREIGN POLICY NUGGET!!
Tunisia Pushes Out Its Strongman: Could Other Arab Countries Follow? from Time Magazine
"All revolutions are impossible, Leon Trotsky once said, until they become inevitable. That transformation was completed in a flash in Tunisia on Friday, as the country's authoritarian president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled the country in the face of a protest movement demanding jobs and democracy that violent repression had failed to quell."
The SPEED with which this occurred will, I suspect, cause an *earthquake* across the Middle East and in states governed by authoritarian regimes everywhere! It is simply unprecedented how fast this seemingly stable, secular authoritarian regime basically evaporated! Breathtaking!
A Sudden Tear in the Fabric of the Arab World (Doug Saunders) from the Globe and Mail [of Toronto]
"The violent events that reached a climax in Tunis on Friday aren’t just the first full-fledged popular revolution the world has seen in some time – they’re a sudden tear in the fabric of the Arab world, an irreparable rupture in the slick logic that has held two dozen countries in half-development limbo for generations."
Tunisia Riots: The Youth Revolution (Christopher Dickey) from the Daily Beast
"Christopher Dickey on the historic coup and the demographic shifts that have left the Arab world hungry for change. Plus, view photos of the riots in Tunisia."
Pakistani Lawyers Make Governor's Assassin A Hero (Steve Inskeep) from NPR's Morning Edition
"Following the assassination of a governor in Pakistan last week, some people hoped the shooting would galvanize opposition to religious extremists. The governor had been killed for opposing a blasphemy law, under which a Christian woman was sentenced to death. Instead, the assassin has turned into something of a national hero. Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid talks to Steve Inskeep about why hundreds of lawyers have sided with the killer."
A MOST disturbing development. Prediction: Pakistan's pro-US gov't is going down!
David Ignatius gets it:
India and Pakistan on the Brink (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"Everything is going right these days for India, except for one big problem: It is living next to a Pakistan that is coming apart politically, and Indian leaders insist with a tone of resignation that there's nothing they can do about it."
A useful regional perspective is provided here:
Three Arab Models are Worth Watching (Rami Khouri) from the Daily Star [of Lebanon in English]
"The Arab world this week is experiencing three extraordinarily interesting models of political action and change – in Sudan, Lebanon and Tunisia – that share only a common problem, but do not offer insights into the best solution."
Obama Soars Above Political Debris (Robert Robb) from the Arizona Republic via RealClearPolitics
"President Barack Obama more than rose to the occasion at the memorial service for the victims of the Tucson shootings. He made the occasion. He did so in difficult circumstances."
Obama's Tucson Speech: A Presidential Turning Point? from The Week
"President Obama's words honoring the Arizona shooting victims met with nearly universal approval. Will that help restore his power to lead?"
In answer to the question:
With Obama's Tucson Speech, his Presidency Turns a Corner (Steven Thomma) from McClatchy News Service
"There are moments that define a presidency, and Barack Obama's speech Wednesday night to a memorial service for Arizona shooting victims may be one."
Barack Obama's Tucson Speech Rose to the Moment and Transcended It (Jonathan Freedland) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Obama spoke more like a pastor than a politician, carving out a moment of calm amid the toxic rhetoric."
Obama's Speech (David Remnick) from the New Yorker
"President Obama’s speech last night was consoling. It was embracing and precise. It was, I thought, his best speech since “A More Perfect Union”—his race speech in March, 2008—and his best as President."
In Tucson, Words to Bind a Nation (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"Wednesday night, in his moving tribute to those slain and injured in the Arizona shootings, the president created for himself another opportunity to bring about the transformation he seeks."
And a humorous reaction to the reaction from, of course, Jon Stewart:
Stewart Rebuts Fox's Strange Criticism of Tucson's Memorial Service (VIDEO) from Comedy Central via Daily Kos
"As Jon Stewart says, there was universal praise for President Obama's message at the Tucson memorial service...at least there was for about 2 or 3 minutes."
Mohammed the Brit (Roger Cohen) of the New York Times
"Goodbye Jack Smith, hello Mohammed Malik, model British subject. Mohammed, in its various spellings, is now the favorite name for newborn boys in the United Kingdom, edging out Oliver. Those named for the Prophet of Islam ride the Clapham omnibus. … But what to think of the Mohammedization of this murky isle?"
Good Job, Hillary (Blake Hounshell) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Hillary Clinton gave a good speech today, excoriating Arab leaders for their lousy record on reform and bluntly warning that if they don't shape up, they'll face growing extremism and alienation among their beleaguered populations. "In too many places, in too many ways, the region’s foundations are sinking into the sand," she said."
Obama's New Inner Circle (Michael Scherer) from Time Magazine
"To hear White House aides explain it, Barack Obama's first White House staff was assembled on the fly. "There was no time to fine-tune," says Dan Pfeiffer, Obama's communications director. "We were bolting the wings on as we took off." An overhaul was overdue."
How the GOP Can Cut and Survive (Ramesh Ponnuru) from the New York Times
"Some Republicans are understandably eager to take on these entitlements. ... But Republicans have gotten a painful shock every time they have decided it’s finally safe to take on entitlements."
Jeb Bush for President in 2016! And Michele Bachmann in 2012? (Mark McKinnon) from the Daily Beast
"Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann is flirting with a run in 2012, but the GOP may not get a real shot at the White House until four years later. Mark McKinnon on why, dynasty issues aside, Bush will be a clear favorite."
There has been SO MUCH disaster one can associate with the Bushes in the White House (most of it under W's tenure), I find myself taken aback by my own reactions to this headline: it would actually be potentially a good thing if Jeb was the nominee in '16. Why? First, if he were to win, he is at least competent -- unlike few of the GOP contenders looking at '12 now. Second, more than would be the case for most candidates, part of Jeb's '16 general election would almost certainly involve the policies of W's administration -- and Jeb would HAVE TO defend that record. Virtually any other candidate would be able to pretend that "Oh, I had nothing to do with that administration." Not Jeb. And this is the perfect conversation and, at least from this removed vantage point, an appropriate and necessary debate before ANYONE from the GOP is allowed in the White House again.
Tea Partiers Push to Remove Criticisms of Founding Fathers from Textbooks from RawStory
"Tea party activists in Tennessee are pushing state legislators to amend curriculum in a way that eliminates criticisms of the Founding Fathers' treatment of Native Americans and holding of slaves, according to a news item."
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN NUGGET!!
Blackbeard's Sword, Found! Archaeologists Discover Pirate Treasure Off North Carolina Coast from Time Magazine
"It's likely Edward Teach didn't need much to scare his enemies. After all, the notorious pirate better known as Blackbeard boasted a thick mass of facial hair so intimidating that it got immortalized in history. … But archaeologists now suspect they've found one more clue behind the pirate's menace: what could very well be Blackbeard's sword, or at least part of it."
ANOTHER PIRATES NUGGET [from November]!!
Top Ten Audacious Acts of Piracy! from Time Magazine
"TIME takes a look at the worst (or is it best?) pirates in history"
ARCHEOLOGY NUGGET!!
Top Ten Discoveries of 2010 from Archeology Magazine
"Decades from now people may remember 2010 for the BP oil spill, the Tea Party, and the iPad. But for our money, it's a lock people will still be excited about the year's most remarkable archaeological discoveries, which we explore (along with one "undiscovery") in the following pages."
AUTOMOBILE NUGGET!!
Electric Cars Steal The Spotlight At Auto Show (Sonari Glinton) from NPR's Morning Edition
"When the North American International Auto Show opens in Detroit on Friday, there's going to be electricity in the air. That's because electrification is one of this year's hottest trends. The floor is also packed with an assortment of electric things including a bicycle, a moped and even a battery-powered racing car."
Popular Mechanics has a related article HERE.
ODD ANIMALS NUGGET!!
Daring Duos: Unlikely Animal Friends from OurAmazingPlanet
"Based on the second installment of the National Geographic Channel's kid-oriented "Unlikely Animal Friends," airing tonight (Jan. 14)."
CLONING NUGGET [of a sort]!!
Mammoth 'Could be Reborn in Four Years' from the Telegraph [of the UK]
"The woolly mammoth, extinct for thousands of years, could be brought back to life in as little as four years thanks to a breakthrough in cloning technology."
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