The Otter Cliffs off of Acadia National Forest in Maine. From National Geographic.
China May Cut Spending on Strategic Industries (Benjamin Lim And Don Durfee) from RealClearMarkets
"China may rein in plans to invest heavily in seven new strategic industries, including high speed rail and wind power, scaling back cutting-edge projects for industries suffering from old-fashioned problems such as corruption and overcapacity, sources said."
The Hezbollah Apocalypse (Nicholas Noe) from the National Interest
"Besieged and backed into a corner, Hezbollah prepares for the fight of its life."
Still Pushing the Boundaries: Egypt's New, Free Press (Thanassis Cambanis) from the Atlantic
"Tahrir launched at the beginning of July after months of planning. The paper is determined to challenge authoritarianism and corruption, and to cross whatever red lines Egypt's rulers try to draw around a free press."
Murdoch to Close Tabloid Amid Fury Over Hacking from the New York Times
"The media titan Rupert Murdoch sought to stanch damage to his News Corporation empire from a deepening phone-hacking scandal on Thursday by sacrificing the mass-circulation British weekly The News of the World, even as the arrest of one of the paper’s former editors, Andy Coulson, appeared imminent. The paper will publish its final issue on Sunday."
More on the reaction at News Corp HERE.
Former 'World' Editor Arrested from the Daily Beast
"Following the announcement that News of the World will print its last edition on Sunday, British police arrested former editor Andy Coulson over the phone hacking scandal."
News of the World: Shock, Tears and Anger as Staff Fear a Conspiracy from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Many of tabloid's 200 staff understood to perceive closure as move to protect Rebekah Brooks."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/07/news-of-the-world-staff
Interesting. If the folks at the World are correct, why is Murdoch working so hard to protect Brooks?! Howard Kurtz speculates HERE. My take: she knows A LOT. The phone hacking is part of a broader pattern of illegality and unethical behavior. Look for it.
News of the World and U.S. Media Culture (Ryan Chittum) from the Columbia Journalism Review
"Could this type of thing happen in the American press? she asked. My immediate response was to say that it wouldn’t. The American press is a different beast. We have stricter ethical standards. We’re stodgier. Competition is tough, but it’s much less fierce. But thinking about it a minute I had to start hedging on us. Was I being naive"
Why the American Media Feel Smug About the British 'Gutter Press' from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"The US benefits from the health of two institutions that have been on the decline in the UK."
The US shouldn't feel TOO smug. I view this News Corp story as quite important because I suspect that FOX News has its own version of this behavior. It may not be hacking into phones -- but something else. In my view Murdoch himself is the wellspring of the corporate culture at News Corp -- and thus we could anticipate versions of this behavior at other News Corp operations.
Public Wants Changes in Entitlements, Not Changes in Benefits GOP Divided Over Benefit Reductions from the Pew Research Center
"Reflecting these concerns, most Americans say all three programs either need to be completely rebuilt or undergo major changes. However, smaller majorities express this view than did so five years ago. The public’s desire for fundamental change does not mean it supports reductions in the benefits provided by Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid."
New EPA Rule Will Clean the Air for 240 Million Americans from the McClatchy News Service
"Pollution that blows hundreds of miles from coal-fired power plants into other states will be reduced under a final plan that the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday."
Plouffe: Americans Won't Vote on Unemployment Rate from The Hill
""The average American does not view the economy through the prism of GDP or unemployment rates or even monthly jobs numbers," David Plouffe said, according to Bloomberg on Wednesday. "People won’t vote based on the unemployment rate, they’re going to vote based on: ‘How do I feel about my own situation? Do I believe the president makes decisions based on me and my family?'""
I think Plouffe is dead-on here. Pundits have been trolling about how NO PRESIDENT has been re-elected when the unemployment rate is above 9 (or 8.6 or whatever) -- as IF somehow voters were keying on a specific number. The historical EXCEPTION to all this talk is instructive: FDR was re-elected in a landslide in 1936 -- when the unemployment rate was still north of 16 percent. And, despite all the "Happy Days Are Here Again" New Deal happy talk propaganda that one associates with the early FDR years, what people forget is that there was still *tremendous* suffering going on in 1936 and that Alf Landon, the GOP, and many pundits of the day were VERY CONFIDENT that Landon would unseat Roosevelt in '36. In my view, the key for the GOP in 2012 will be presenting a compelling, UP-BEAT economic message and A PLAN next year -- and where they're going right now is towards an almost apocalyptically negative message that simply serves up the same old GOP economic BS they've been dishing for the last 40 years.
Setting the Record Straight: Correcting Myths About Independent Voters (Alan I. Abramowitz) from the University of Virginia Center for Politics
"Here are some of the things you’ve probably read or heard in recent weeks: Independents make up the largest segment of the American electorate. Independent voters are up for grabs in 2012. Whichever party wins a majority of the independent vote will almost certainly win the presidency. ... It sounds convincing, but when it comes to media commentary about independent voters, you shouldn’t believe everything you read or hear."
Why the Republicans Resist Compromise (Nate Silver) from the New York Times
"The chart that I’m going to show you is one of the more important ones that we’ve presented at FiveThirtyEight in some time. It helps explain a lot of what’s going on in American politics today... he terms ‘Republican’ and ‘conservative’ are growing closer and closer to being synonyms; fewer and fewer nonconservatives vote Republican, and fewer and fewer Republican voters are not conservative."
Romney’s Aggressive Strategy to Manage the Press (Matt Lewis) from the Daily Caller
"Every detail — from dropping ubiquitous references of discount retail giants Wal-Mart and Target to sporting a pickup truck at fundraisers — has been meticulously choreographed for the ex-venture capitalist so eager to shed the perception he’s too slick, too stiff and too phony."
What We Can Learn from Wisconsin (Sean Sullivan) from the National Journal
"The Wisconsin recall elections look like a test of the state’s GOP agenda. They are really about something much bigger. ... instead of a reflection on the parochial travails of Wisconsin, the recall elections have turned into referenda on the nationwide agendas of both parties."
NORSE NUGGET!!
Viking Remains Reveal Warriors Filed their Teeth to Appear More Ferocious to Enemies from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"The teeth were among bones and decapitated heads found in a mass grave in Dorset."
GOOD GLOBAL NEWS NUGGET!!
A Stunning Reduction in Global Poverty Goes Unnoticed (Laurence Chandy & Geoffrey Gertz) from RealClearWorld
"It is customary to bemoan the intractability of global poverty and the lack of progress against the Millennium Development Goals. But the stunning fact is that, gone unnoticed, the goal to halve global poverty was probably reached three years ago. We are in the midst of the fastest period of poverty reduction the world has ever seen. "
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