News Nuggets 589

A rare Grevy's zebra colt at the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida.  From Zooborns.

Given the subscription wall, my apologies for the sheer volume of REALLY GOOD items from the NY Times today.  Also, there seems to be a sudden surge of interesting news on Libya coming out of the UK.  Seems their intelligence sources have gotten better lately.

UP-FRONT LIBYA ANALYSIS NUGGET!!
Interests vs. Values? Misunderstanding Obama’s Libya Strategy (Anne-Marie Slaughter) from the New York Review of Books
"In a world of states, geography is still a function of bounded physical borders. In a world of governments and societies, geography includes the unbounded virtual world in which social networks operate despite the efforts of some governments to control them. ... In a world of states, governments can be bribed, coerced, and cajoled into pursuing a desired course of action. In a world of governments and societies, we must take account of the power of citizens to constrain their governments in ways that are directly contrary to our ability to solve global problems."
I have to say, in the main, I am usually not a fan of Anne-Marie Slaughter -- but in this item she concisely captures a *potentially significant* shift that may be occurring, not just in US foreign policy, but a shift that is happening across the globe.

Revealed: Gaddafi Envoy in Britain for Secret Talks from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Exclusive: Contact with senior aide believed to be one of a number between Libyan officials and west amid signs regime may be looking for exit strategy."

Libyan Fixer's Visit to London May Show Gaddafi's Sons Want a Way Out from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Leader becomes ever more reliant on his influential, bickering heirs who are rumoured to want a deal with the rebels."

Anxiety Roils Libyan Capital Amid Top-Level Defections from the New York Times
"As rebel forces in Libya began a cautious regrouping after a panicked retreat, Britain on Thursday offered new details about the defection of a high-ranking Libyan official, insisting that there had been no deal to lure him in return for immunity from prosecution."

Is a Libyan Envoy in London to Defect or Surrender? (Adam Martin) from the Atlantic
"The Libyan regime appears to be collapsing. ... The strategy of crossing our fingers and hoping for the best in Libya might actually be working."
That would be nice.  I'll believe it when I see it.

The Key Libyans Who Have Defected - and Those Who Still Support Gaddafi from the Guardian [of the UK]
"After the defection of foreign minister Moussa Koussa, we profile other figures to desert the regime - and its remaining supporters."

Obama Gambles his Presidency (Gene Lyons) from Salon
"Three things President Obama didn't do in his speech to the nation on Libya: He didn't predict the future, he didn't put Col. Moammar Gadhafi on a "Wanted: Dead or Alive" poster, and he didn't pronounce an "Obama Doctrine" for redeeming a fallen world through bombing. To anybody who's been paying attention over the past 10 years, these were wise and necessary omissions."

Obama’s Exceptionalism (Roger Cohen) from the New York Times
"...this cautious president, who has been subtly talking down American power — with reason — has involved the nation in a new conflict in Libya, one in which his own defense secretary holds that the United States has no “vital interest.” He has joined a long line of U.S. leaders in discovering the moral imperative indivisible from the American idea."

Winning Ugly in Libya: What the United States Should Learn From Its War in Kosovo (Michael O'Hanlon) from Foreign Affairs
"Although the Libya mission has been effective in averting a humanitarian debacle so far, it has been ugly in some ways. But as Ivo Daalder and I argued about the Kosovo war a dozen years ago, an ugly operation is not the same as a failed operation."
Unfortunately, the two often DO correlate -- and O'Hanlon (a long-time cheerleader for  the Iraq War) is in no position to comment.  But his connection with Kosovo is interesting.

Democracy Is Messy (Nicholas Kristof) from the New York Times
"For Americans, what is unfolding is perhaps a reassuring mess. Westerners have mostly worried that Egypt might plunge into Iran-style Islamic fundamentalism — and, to me, that seems a reflection of our own hobgoblins more than Egypt’s. Indeed, it seems increasingly likely that Egypt won’t change as much as many had expected. Moreover, the biggest losers of the revolution are likely to be violent Islamic extremist groups..."

The Myth of Syrian Stability (Mustafa Nour) from the New York Times
"Syria has degenerated into chaos and bloodshed so quickly in these past few weeks that I keep thinking: was our stability, our distinguishing characteristic, ever even true? The government tells us that if the regime falls the country could devolve into sectarian chaos. Perhaps that is so. But what did the ruling Baath party — the leader of our state and society, according to the Syrian Constitution — accomplish over the last 48 years if that is so?  And then came President Assad’s speech on Wednesday."

Workers Give Glimpse of Japan’s Nuclear Crisis from the New York Times
"“There were so many ideas, the meeting turned into a panic,” said one longtime Tokyo Electric veteran present that day. He made the comments in an interview with The New York Times, one of several interviews that provided a rare glimpse of the crisis as the company’s workers experienced it. “There were serious arguments between the various sections about whether to go, how to use electrical lines, which facilities to use and so on.” The quarreling echoed the alarm bells ringing throughout Tokyo Electric, which has been grappling with an unprecedented set of challenges since March 11, when the severe earthquake and massive tsunami upended northeastern Japan."

U.S. Economy Growing Faster Than Rivals, But Creating Far Fewer Jobs from the Associated Press via the Huffington Post
"The United States is out of step with the rest of the world's richest industrialized nations: Its economy is growing faster than theirs but creating far fewer jobs. The reason is U.S. workers have become so productive that it's harder for anyone without a job to get one."

Here's some GOOD NEWS for a change:
U.S. Economy Added 216,000 Jobs in March; Rate at 8.8% from the New York Times
"The United States economy added 216,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday, adding to hopes that hiring was finally on a steadier track despite concerns about overseas turmoil. The gain in jobs slightly exceeded economists’ expectations. The unemployment rate continued to decline, to 8.8 percent." 

The Mellon Doctrine (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
“Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate the farmers, liquidate real estate.” That, according to Herbert Hoover, was the advice he received from Andrew Mellon, the Treasury secretary, as America plunged into depression. To be fair, there’s some question about whether Mellon actually said that; all we have is Hoover’s version, written many years later. But one thing is clear: Mellon-style liquidationism is now the official doctrine of the G.O.P."

In WI, Walker Administration Suspends Implementation Of Anti-Union Law, After Judge's Third Order Against It from TalkingPointsMemo
"In a major development in Wisconsin, Secretary of Administration Mike Huebsch (R) has announced that the Walker administration is suspending implementation of its new law curtailing public employee unions -- after Dane County (Madison) Judge Maryann Sumi declared that the law was not validly published and thus had not taken effect..."

The Next America (Ronald Brownstein) from National Journal
"Minorities are increasing in number faster than just about anyone expected. That could have important implications for the 2012 presidential race."

Brave New Race: Why the Old Assumptions About Mitt Romney are Wrong (Ed Kilgore) from the New Republic
"Romney was essentially the movement conservative candidate in the race. Today, with likely opponents ranging from Newt Gingrich to Rick Santorum to Michele Bachmann to Tim Pawlenty to Haley Barbour, Romney seems destined to be the GOP’s most moderate contender. It’s not that Romney himself has “moved to the center” since 2008; it’s more that the Republican Party moved significantly and very self-consciously to the right."

Tea Partiers Warn GOP on Dealmaking from Politico
"It’s not like Republicans need a reminder of the tensions within their own ranks on government spending cuts. But if they forget what’s at stake, all GOP lawmakers need to do Thursday is walk outside the Capitol, where perhaps hundreds of tea party protesters will be urging congressional leaders to hold their ground on major spending cuts. "

ANCIENT WRITING NUGGET!!
Ancient Tablet Found: Oldest Readable Writing in Europe from National Geographic News
"Found at a site tied to myth, Greek tablet survived only by accident, experts say."