Tunisia Unity Government Fractures from the New York Times
"Five or more ministers from opposition parties resigned from Tunisia’s unity government on Tuesday, bowing to a new wave of street protests against the cabinet’s domination by members of the ousted president’s ruling party and putting mounting pressure on his prime minister, Mohammed Ghannouchi, to resign as well. As the leaders of the established opposition parties renounced the unity government, the revolutionary passions unleashed across the region continued to reverberate…"
I'm not surprised. The interim gov't seemed designed to keep the old boys in power. What's next though?
Israel Has Already Attacked Iran (Yossi Melman) from Al Haaretz [of Israel in English]
"It is gradually becoming clear that Israeli intelligence, in cooperation with its American counterparts, has made a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities redundant."
Mossad Zeros in on Tehran's Nuclear Program from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"An unexplained fire, disappearing scientists and attacks on prominent Iranian nuclear experts: The Israeli secret service Mossad seems to be waging a shadowy war on Tehran's nuclear program. Will it be enough to stop Iran's alleged drive to develop atomic weapons?"
Tunisia's 'Jasmine Revolution' is About Demography, Not Democracy (Anne Applebaum) from Slate
"The most successful transitions to democracy are often undramatic. Consider Spain, after the death of Gen. Francisco Franco; Chile, after the resignation of Gen. Augusto Pinochet; or Poland, which negotiated its way out of communism. All these democratic transitions dragged on, created few spectacular photographs—and ultimately led to stable political systems."
Egyptian, Algerian, Mauritanian set selves alight from the Associated Press
"Protesters set themselves on fire in Egypt, Algeria and Mauritania on Monday in apparent copycat self-immolation attempts inspired by the act that helped trigger a popular uprising in Tunisia.
The desperate acts raised concerns that the practice could become a trend among activists seeking to force change in a region that has little or no tolerance for dissent."
A scary development -- just because such an act caused something to happen in Tunisia doesn't mean it will have the same result elsewhere. In fact, I think the results are quite unpredictable depending on the country.
Survey: Sino-US ties 'very important' from the China Daily [of Beijing in English]
"The number of Chinese people who view Beijing's ties with Washington as "very important" has doubled in the past year, while most people believe relations will remain stable or improve despite recent turbulence, a survey reveals ahead of President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit to the United States."
IF TRUE, this would be good news. The nationalist element in China has been growing in the last ten years -- and their tendency to see signs of US arrogance everywhere has made them quite malleable in the hands of the equivalent of the 'neocon' element among the Chinese leadership.
Wikileaks' Awkward Reading for Iran (Meir Javedanfar) from The Diplomat
"The interesting thing about the revelations over Iran’s neighbours is just how far they’d go to stop it from acquiring a nuclear bomb.
America Not as Politically Conservative as You Think from Miller-McCune Magazine
"Voters self-identify as conservatives for several reasons, only one of which is that it reflects their politics."
Marist poll: More want health reform expanded than repealed (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"More registered voters want the law expanded than fully repealed, with the latter category amounting to less than a third."
Sarah Palin Defends "Blood Libel" Phrase, Says Liberals Can't "Shut Me Up" from CBS News
""My defense wasn't self-defense. It was about defending those falsely accused," she said, citing talk radio host Rush Limbaugh and the Tea Party movement. "Soon the entire state of Arizona was being falsely accused of somehow being accessories to this." Palin acknowledged that the map featured on her PAC's website was removed after the shooting incident."
God, I hope she runs next year!
Palin's Egocentric Umbrage (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"In the spirit of civil discourse, I'd like to humbly suggest that Sarah Palin please consider being quiet for a while. Perhaps a great while."
ELECTRONIC GADGETS NUGGET!!
Gizmos Galore: The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Pictures [Slide Show] from Scientific American
"Here is a bit of what an estimated 140,000 attendees saw at last week's CES."
ANCIENT ROME NUGGET!!
Caligula's Tomb Found After Police Arrest Man Trying to Smuggle Statue from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Police arrest tomb raider loading part of 2.5 metre statue into lorry near Lake Nemi, south of Rome, where Caligula had a villa."
EGYPTIAN ARCHEOLOGY NUGGET!!
2010: The Year of Egyptian Archaeologists (Zahi Hawass) from Asharq Alawsat [of London in English]
"A French journalist recently asked me: "What were the major archaeological discoveries of 2010?" I answered that all the major archaeological discoveries of 2010 were made in Egypt, by experienced and professional Egyptian archaeologists, and that we could safely say that 2010 was the year of Egyptian archaeologists. As for what was the most important archaeological discovery of 2010, there can be no doubt that this is the revelations surrounding the tomb of King Seti I."
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