News Nuggets 554

Ocelot cubs in a zoo in Berlin.  From Zooborns.

HEADS-UP EDITORIAL [from China]
It's Time for China to Exert More Influence on Middle East Nations from the Global Times [of the People's Republic of China in English]
"Is it time for Beijing to start trying harder to 'shape' the future in the Middle East? According to this editorial from China's state-controlled Global Times, while Beijing has in the past followed a course of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, the ongoing series of uprisings in the Middle East may call for a whole new strategy."
Ok -- this is China's regime giving a hint of things to come: as the US refuses to stand four-square behind the dictatorships in the Middle East, here's the Chinese leadership tipping its hand.  If the US isn't willing to "buck them up," they should dump the US and look to China.  They don't give a rat's @#$ if these authoritarian regimes shoot their citizens or not.  Look for the Saudis and others to make the move. 

The Secret Politburo Meeting Behind China’s New Democracy Crackdown (Perry Link) from the New York Review of Books
"I have now received news that resolves much of that speculation and that may also help explain the unusual show of force by Chinese security officials this weekend in response to a call for street protests to support a “Jasmine Revolution” in several Chinese cities.  On Saturday, February 12, the day after Hosni Mubarak resigned in Egypt, some of the members of the politburo of the Communist Party of China held a special meeting in Beijing to discuss the events in the Middle East. News of this meeting came via a democracy activist in Beijing, who said that a secretary who was present had leaked a summary of its contents."

Libya Protests: Muammar Gaddafi's Leadership Vacuum (Eliza Griswold) from the Daily Beast
""I am still in Tripoli, and not in Venezuela,” Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi announced in a brief speech, slamming rumors about his whereabouts. Libya’s ambassador to India resigned Monday and confirmed that Gaddafi’s government has used fighter jets against civilian protesters. Hundreds of demonstrators have reportedly been killed. Gaddafi is also believed to have hired foreign mercenaries for protection and is believed to have lost control of the eastern part of Libya, where the military has sided with the protesters. The Daily Beast’s Eliza Griswold reports on Gaddafi’s downfall and why Libya isn’t Egypt."

Chaos Grows in Libya as Strife in Tripoli Intensifies from the New York Times
"Libya appeared to slip further into chaos on Tuesday, as clashes intensified between rebels and forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in Tripoli and opposition forces moved to consolidate their hold in eastern Libya."

Gaddafi Gives Rambling Speech as Top Officials Abandon Regime from the Washington Post
"Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi appeared on state television Tuesday to offer a ranting defense of his embattled regime, as the opposition seized control in some areas and top officials resigned to protest attacks on civilians."

Libya Primer: How the North African Nation Resembles Egypt (Justin Spees) from Salon
"Protests erupt, and the rich, at-times-terrorist regime and now U.S. ally could see its fortunes change -- fast."

Saleh Falls in Yemen? (Ibrahim Sharqieh) from the National Interest
"Once people are in the streets there will be no going back—Yemen is no exception."

Why Are Middle East Dictators So Bad at Media? (Daniel Drezner) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"… one problem is that most of these leaders have simply fallen out of practice (if they were ever in practice) at personally using the media to assuage discontent.  I've been on enough shows on enough different media platforms to appreciate that there is an art, or at least a tradecraft, to presenting a convincing message in the mediasphere."

Catching a Whiff of Jasmine in Kashgar, China from the Economist [of the UK]
"Today the government perhaps had reason to be a little more jittery than usual. Calls had been circulating on the internet for Chinese to gather in central areas of 13 major cities (none in Xinjiang were named) on February 20th to stage a "jasmine revolution"—in reference to the upheavals that have are convulsing the Arab world."

Freedom Train: A Journey Through Egypt After the Revolution from Newsweek
"To see firsthand how the momentous changes in Egypt are playing out, a NEWSWEEK writer and a photographer traveled by train from Alexandria to Aswan, a journey of roughly 1,100 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea through the Sahara."

Blowing the Whistle on Assange: A Former Aide Gives an Insider’s View of WikiLeaks from the Boston Globe
"The embattled Assange has trouble coming at him from his inner circle. Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a close aide whom Assange suspended in August, vents about him in “Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website.’’ The book is a searing, if somewhat self-serving, account of Domscheit-Berg’s three years as WikiLeaks’ most visible public face after Assange."

The Stimulus Turns Two: How Obama Quietly Changed Washington from Time Magazine
"President Obama is often mocked for failing to change Washington, and clearly, his lofty campaign vision of post-partisan cooperation hasn't come true. But behind the scenes of the Beltway perpetual-conflict machine, Obama has made quiet progress toward reforming Washington — not politically, but bureaucratically. The most important reform, launched two years ago on Thursday, was tucked inside his unpopular stimulus package, and inside his new budget, he's trying to expand it. The reform is a simple concept that certainly ought to be post-partisan: harnessing the power of competition in the spending of taxpayer dollars."

As Obama's Staff Shifts, One Aide Holds Fast from the Chicago Tribune
"Valerie Jarrett has long been the president's closest confidant, but she's steadily becoming more visible at his side – even as a new chief of staff comes on board."

Troopers Would ‘Absolutely’ Use Force on Wisc. Protesters if Ordered, Police Union President Tells Raw from Raw Story
"Amid the largest protests Madison, Wisconsin has seen in decades, newly elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker last week issued a stark message to public labor unions occupying the capitol building: we have options, and using the National Guard against protesters is among them."

Ending Collective Bargaining Would Risk Return to Teacher Strikes from the Wisconsin State Journal
"For Bauman, a former teacher in the Madison School District, the sound took her back to one of the most difficult times of her life — the city’s bitter 1976 teacher strike. … Bauman and others now fear Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to eliminate almost all collective bargaining for most public employees will lead to gut-wrenching strikes and workplaces where uncertainty over everything from sick days to the timing of breaks will fundamentally change a day on the job."

For Nervous AWOL Dems In WI, The Pressure's Off... for Now from TalkingPointsMemo
"In a pair of new AP reports, state Sen. Jon Erpenbach's (D) fears that the GOP would make an end-runn the AWOL Democrats and destroy collective bargaining rights for millions of state workers law appear to have been alleviated. Republican Senate leader Scott Fitzgerald said the majority won't end collective bargaining while the Democrats are in town -- highlighting a potential weakness in Walker's GOP coalition."

Indiana Union Workers Rally at Statehouse to Protest Bills from the Indianapolis Star
"Committee votes 8-5 to send right-to-work bill to House: Over the protests of thousands of labor union members who filled the Statehouse, a House committee voted on party lines today to send a bill that would bar unions and companies from negotiating contracts that require all employees to pay fees for representation."

Wisconsin Labor Unrest Spills Across Lake Michigan from the Christian Science Monitor
The AFL-CIO is planning a protest Tuesday in Lansing, Michigan. This follows ongoing labor unrest in Wisconsin and Ohio over plans to reform public sector collective bargaining rules."

ARCHITECTURE NUGGET!!
Buildings that Break the Box from Salon
"Slide show: From Beijing to Minneapolis, the breathtaking structures that change how we think of architecture."

HOLLYWOOD NUGGET!!
George Clooney: A 21st-Century Statesman from Newsweek
"In the age of Twitter-shortened attention spans, fame is an increasingly powerful weapon of diplomacy. How George Clooney is helping to bring change—and a hefty dose of hope—to Sudan."

TWO WHALE NUGGETS!!
1.  Halt of Japan's Whaling Mission Provides Food for Thought from the Editorial Board of the Mainichi Daily News [of Japan in English]
"From both a medium- and long-term perspective, Japan should improve its protection of marine resources to a level meeting international standards. Japan has come under mounting criticism from the international community not only over its whaling program but also over tuna fishing. In order to avoid unjustifiable criticism from overseas, Japan should improve its whole policy on marine resource protection."

2.  Thank You Message from Sea Shepherd from Sea Shepherd News
"This week, we drove the entire Japanese whaling fleet from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. They are on their way home! But we did not do it alone. We did it with you! Sea Shepherd is more than the ships and crew that operate them."