Obama Backs Suleiman-Led Transition from the New York Times
"The Obama administration on Saturday formally threw its weight behind a gradual transition in Egypt, backing attempts by the country’s vice president, Gen. Omar Suleiman, to broker a compromise with opposition groups and prepare for new elections in September."
Cairo is Not Tehran (Doyle McManus) from the Los Angeles Times
"In Iran's 1979 version, Islamic radicals were waiting in the wings and installed a virulently anti-American religious dictatorship. Is that what will happen in Egypt in 2011? And is President Obama another Jimmy Carter, fecklessly abandoning a loyal ally despite mortal dangers ahead? Not likely."
China, Twitter and 20-Year-Olds vs. the Pyramids (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"Traveling through Israel, the West Bank and Jordan to measure the shock waves from Egypt, I’m convinced that the forces that were upholding the status quo here for so long — oil, autocracy, the distraction of Israel, and a fear of the chaos that could come with change — have finally met an engine of change that is even more powerful: China, Twitter and 20-year-olds."
Wallflowers at the Revolution (Frank Rich) from the New York Times
"We can’t get enough of revolution video — even if, some nights, Middle West blizzards take precedence over Middle East battles on the networks’ evening news. But more often than not we have little or no context for what we’re watching. That’s the legacy of years of self-censored, superficial, provincial and at times Islamophobic coverage of the Arab world in a large swath of American news media. Even now we’re more likely to hear speculation about how many cents per gallon the day’s events might cost at the pump than to get an intimate look at the demonstrators’ lives."
Why the Palestinian Authority Is Worried About Egypt from Time Magazine
"Like their fellow Arabs, Palestinians are transfixed by television coverage of events in Egypt, looking up from the screen at regular intervals to assess parallels with the situation around them. What many see on the West Bank is a government that grew out of a popular liberation movement and has settled into a political hierarchy notorious for corruption and, lately, quashing dissent."
America’s Journeys With Strongmen (Scott Shane) from the New York Times
"If the United States is, as so many presidents have said in so many speeches, the world’s pre-eminent champion of democracy, then why does the drama unfolding in Cairo seem so familiar?"
A similar story applies in Europe, as many Europeans are beginning to find out:
France Rocked by News of Aid to Tunisia and Egypt from the Los Angeles Times
"France trained Egyptian police officers in crowd control and sent tear gas to Tunis. And its foreign minister vacationed in Tunisia after the uprising, using the jet of a man linked to the ousted president."
SHOCKED! I'm shocked to find that there's meddling going on here!! The real question for the big European powers is which ones WEREN'T supporting Mubarak whole-heartedly!
State Multiculturalism has Failed, Says David Cameron from BBC
"David Cameron has criticised "state multiculturalism" in his first speech as prime minister on radicalisation and the causes of terrorism."
The subtext of Cameron's statements here sooo showcase why Europe is having so much trouble integrating non-European minorities and their cultural values. So much of this is based on the notion that Britain's [or France's or other European country's] role is to simply leave these other cultures alone -- even as those same minority groups are excluded economically and politically. This is not "state multiculturalism" -- it is simply "we don't know what to do with these people -- but keep them away from me" translated into public policy.
Police Sex Files on WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange are Leaked Online from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Swedish police documents on the Julian Assange sex cases have been leaked online.
More than one hundred pages of interview transcripts, photographs and other evidence relating to sexual assault claims made by two Swedish women appeared on the internet this week.
The documents raise key questions for both sides about the allegations including whether one of the WikiLeaks founder's Swedish lovers was asleep during intercourse. Those answers will determine whether rape was committed under Swedish law."
Boy, you live by the leak, you die by the leak!! There is something darkly comic about the way this is going for Assange.
Healthcare Repeal Votes and Democratic Strategy (Michael Tomasky) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Top Democrats have suggested that if Republicans keep forcing votes on full repeal, they'll put the legislation on the floor, and during the debate, force votes on amendments to exempt popular aspects of the law."
Sounds like a bold idea. This aspect almost guarantees the Dems won't do it.
Blame, Not Shame (Maureen Dowd) from the New York Times
"So many to blame. So little space. Donald Rumsfeld has only 815 pages — including a scintillating List of Acronyms — to explain why he was not responsible when Stuff Happened. His memoir, “Known and Unknown,” is like a living, breathing version of the man himself: very thorough, highly analytical and totally absent any credible self-criticism."
Don Rumsfeld, Playing a Dead-end Game in his Memoir (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"Rumsfeld is a dead-ender under the revised definition, provided by the former defense secretary in his score-settling memoir. In this telling, being a dead-ender means you are tough and formidable."
Where Are All the GOP 2012 Candidates? Blame Sarah Palin (David Corn) from Politics Daily
"Why the slow (official) start-up for him and the others? I think I know who to blame: Sarah Palin. She's the 800-pound grizzly. If she enters the race -- and don't ask me to wager one way or another on whether she will -- she will become the gravitational center of the contest."
How Nancy Reagan Won Us Over (Melinda Henneberger) from Politics Daily
"The most significant development in Americans' reassessment of Nancy Reagan is being fueled by presidential scholars methodically going through Reagan's presidential papers. As more documents have become available, these academics have come to see her as having played a rather significant role in ending the Cold War by encouraging her husband to reconsider the U.S.-Soviet relationship."
Top Five Presidential Orators of Modern Times from the Christian Science Monitor [from early February]
"Richard Greene, author of 'Words That Shook the World: The 1st Decade of the 21st Century,' has ranked the top five presidential orators since 1933. Mr. Greene analyzed not only the content of the speeches, but also how the presidents communicated that content. Body language, tone of voice, and vision all contribute to a president’s oratorical skills, says Greene."
Five myths about Ronald Reagan (Edmund Morris) from the Washington Post
"The sentimental colossus his acolytes are trying to erect today, with gilded pecs, red-painted smile and an NRA-approved pistol in each manly fist, bears no resemblance to the man I knew: in private a person of no ego and little charisma, in public a statesman of formidable purpose."
DISPATCHES FROM THE BUSH POSSE!!
Bush Trip to Switzerland Called Off Amid Threats of Protests, Legal Action from the Washington Post
"A planned trip to Switzerland by George W. Bush was canceled after human rights activists called for demonstrations and threatened legal action over allegations that the former president sanctioned the torture of terrorism suspects."
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, they will spend the rest of their lives thinking about foreign travel and not doing very much of it for just these reasons.
HOLLYWOOD BOOK NUGGET!!
Here’s Looking at Him: A Review of Tough Without a Gun, The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart by Stefan Kanfer from the New York Times
"Experience had engraved itself on his face. By the time his film breakthrough came, he was 42 and already wearing the vestiges of betrayal, loss and resignation that would bring the shadow of a back story to every role he played."
HOLLYWOOD COMPOSER NUGGET!!
Remembering James Bond Film Composer John Barry on Fresh Air from NPR
"Composer John Barry, who wrote the scores for 11 Bond films, as well as the theme songs for Goldfinger and Thunderball, died Sunday. He was 77. Barry also scored about 100 films, winning Oscars for his music from The Lion in Winter, Born Free, Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves."
SUPERBOWL NUGGET!!
Steelers’ Coach Takes a Quiet Route to Brilliance from the New York Times
"He acknowledges his roots but plays down the significance of being an African-American head coach in the N.F.L. Yet if Tomlin leads the Steelers to victory on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers and wins his second Super Bowl ring in four seasons, he may become the first African-American head coach to be called brilliant."
BOOK REVIEW NUGGET!!
'Never Say Die,' Susan Jacoby's Tough Look at the Realities of Aging: A Review of Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age by Susan Jacoby from the Washington Post
"If old age isn't for sissies, then neither is Susan Jacoby's tough-minded, painful-to-read and important book, which demolishes popular myths that we can "cure" the "disease" of aging and knocks the "g" right out of the golden years."
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