News Nuggets 768

A rendering of the snow dunes on Enceladus, the sixth-largest moon of Saturn.  From National Geographic. 

UP-FRONT STEVE JOBS TRIBUTE NUGGET!!
I was looking for a unique tribute to Steve Jobs, one that was not simply another version of what all the other major news sources were saying.  I think I found it -- in India.
Steve Jobs Takes iWay To Heaven (Chidanand Rajghatta) from the Times of India [in English]
"Steve Jobs, who brought joy to the world by simplifying computers and phones, logged out of life on Wednesday following an enervating seven-year battle with pancreatic cancer. ... Reams are being written and hours are being broadcast about what Jobs brought into our lives, but someone put it in just one word: joy."
I loved this comment at another Times of India tribute -- it has a very distinct Indian sensibility to it:
"“I pray that God will send you back to the world with a new strong body so you can bring humanity many more good things.”
Let me just say, as part of my own tribute to Steve Jobs that he was part of small coterie of pioneering Americans who made personal computers [and LOTS of other related items] available to the world in a way that made these messages from India possible.  He helped create a common global market and, more importantly, a common global language around computing, and these contributions have transformed the lives of average people everywhere.  A truly note-worthy and remarkable life.

What Options Are Left for the Euro? from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"Politicians have maneuvered their countries into an unparalleled situation in the euro crisis. And they already know what most voters don't yet suspect. In the end, only two possibilities will remain to save the beleagured common currency: an expensive transfer union or a smaller monetary union. Either solution will be extremely costly."

Neoconservatives Hype a New Cold War (Ken Silverstein) from Salon
"Lobbyists wine and dine eager Washington journalists in a campaign to undo Obama's "reset" on Russia."

France Cancels Shale-Gas Permits Over Fracking Impasse from the Wall Street Journal [partial subscription wall]
"In a joint statement, France's energy minister, Éric Besson, and environmental minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, said that the three permits, which represent all of the country's potential shale-gas fields, had been cancelled after the companies submitted a mandatory report about their drilling techniques in which they maintained their plans to use hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking.'"

Some Unemployed Find Fault in Extension of Jobless Benefits from the New York Times
"“Far better to relax some of these outrageous regulations.” Make no mistake — Mr. Tolleson, 54, has collected unemployment checks, saying he had little choice. But his objection to a policy that would probably benefit him shows just how divisive the question has become of providing a bigger safety net to the long-term jobless, a common strategy in recessions."
I have met some people like this.  Delusional.  In reality, here, from the same article above, is what so many are facing:
"If the extension is not renewed, benefits for more than 2.2 million people will be curtailed by mid-February, according to the Department of Labor. The Obama administration estimates that with no extensions, a total of six million people will run out of benefits over the course of next year."

For Anita Hill, the Clarence Thomas Hearings Haven’t Really Ended from the Washington Post
"Twenty years ago, when Anita Hill returned home from the contentious Senate hearings during which she accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, people told her not to worry — her name would be forgotten in a matter of months. But two things have become clear this week as she has re-entered the debate: The raw tensions over race, gender and politics raised by the hearings have not been forgotten. And Anita Hill is acting like a woman who wants her name remembered."

Can "Occupy Wall Street" Become a Movement? (Brian Montopoli) from CBS News
""There's a pervasive sense of abandonment of working families and working people in this country, these protests are all about that, that's why organized labor has joined in, because that voice is our voice.""

Is Occupy Wall Street a Tea Party for Democrats? (Paul West) from the Los Angeles Times
"Some observers see Occupy Wall Street as a movement that could morph into something like a tea party for Democrats. Protesters say that's not their aim."

Why Occupy Wall Street Should Scare Republicans (Jonathan Alter) from Bloomberg News Service
I had not considered this angle.
"In Florida this week, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was asked about the growing Occupy Wall Street movement. “I think it’s dangerous, this class warfare,” he said. Romney’s right. It may be dangerous -- to his chances of being elected."

Wall Street Occupied by Tea Party of 'Generation-Twitter' from Die Welt [of Germany in English]
 ""What we are witnessing here in New York City is the Tea Party of generation-Twitter. It's a grassroots movement from the left this time around, brought together by an angry discontent with the status quo, and without any of the protesters knowing quite what will come next.""
Always good to get an outsider's perspective on things.  Apparently, the OWS protests have been getting A LOT of coverage in Europe and the Middle East.

Clean Energy Advances Despite Washington’s Worst Efforts (Heather Taylor-Miesle) from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund via MyDD
"Tea Party leaders like to paint clean energy and climate action as issues that matter only to elite Democrats living in coastal cities. This claim would come as a surprise to the 38,000 autoworkers building fuel efficient cars in Michigan, the 80 companies involved in the wind supply chain in Iowa, and the more than 100,000 Americans working in the solar industry across the nation. But even if the Tea Party isn’t interested in genuine opportunities for job growth, it can’t ignore where the latest climate action is coming from: Texas and GOP statesmen."
Check out the links in this story.

There's this related item also:
Retired Republicans Quietly Try to Shift GOP Climate-Change Focus from the National Journal
"...quietly, many acknowledge a deepening GOP schism over the issue, as many moderates grow increasingly disturbed by their party’s denial of proven science. A number of influential Republicans who have left the battlefield of electoral politics are now taking action in an effort to change the GOP’s stance."
Pardon me while I throw up.  There they are, these retired GOPers (and there are legions of them) sitting on their ASSets, their enormous retirement nest eggs they harvested while sucking up and otherwise doing the bidding of the oil and gas companies!  NOW, they repent!  NOW, they develop scruples!  Ok -- I got that out of my system.  Seriously, I can't imagine one thing these folks could do now that would make any real difference.

Chelsea Clinton Steps Into the Spotlight from Politico
"The Next Clinton has arrived.  Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, long a fiercely guarded ward of the Clinton circle, made her first tentative steps into the public eye during the later stages of her mother’s presidential campaign. She found, friends say, that she liked it. And so this fall has featured a carefully staged walk into the spotlight.
Well, everyone has to decide for themselves -- but, holy cow, Chelsea, you of all people have seen how bad it can get!  Man, courageous, -- or out of her mind. For just having the Clinton name she'd be a magnet for the worst kind of sh#$.

No Ideas: Evaluating Romney's Speech on Foreign Policy from the Editorial Board of Democratic Arsenal
" Like Romney’s previous speeches, this one doesn’t have the facts going for it. The address contained more in the way of nice-sounding rhetoric designed to enthuse his audience than it did in terms of serious policy proposals that can draw a contrast between him and President Obama. ... some of us here at DA have decided to take explore each of the policy proposals and then a couple other issues that came up."

Perry 2.0? Texas Governor Looks to Reboot Campaign from the National Journal
"After a series of stumbles, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is looking to reboot his presidential campaign with a $17 million fundraising haul, an appearance before a like-minded audience of Christian conservatives, and a steadier performance in next week’s Republican primary debate."
Well, I will have to say, I've gone from feeling certain that Perry was the certain nominee to being certain that he's not.  He is (a) too willfully dumb -- even for the Tea Party crowd (hard to imagine, isn't it?); (b) too "unscript-able" and uninformed; and (c) too LATE to fix a and b.  If he had gotten into the race one or two years ago and been able to do a LONG shake-down of his campaign, he might have had a chance.  But right now, his campaign is SUCH a work-in-progress!  His act has gone straight to Broadway -- and it's turned out to be the political version of Spider Man.  On so many levels, it is painful to watch (sometimes from the aching sides from laughing so much).

Why the Tea Party Turned on Perry (Ed Kilgore) from the New Republic
"To put it simply, the man who announced his candidacy with a fiery right-wing speech at a gathering of the fiery right-wing RedState community is rapidly alienating his hyper-conservative base, and may have real trouble getting back his wingnut mojo."

ANOTHER FIRST LADY NUGGET [We had one the other day]!!
Soccer mom Michelle Obama Shows Off Her Ball Skills on the White House Lawn (PHOTOS) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
The pictures are REALLY good!
"First lady Michelle Obama showed off her silky skills as she took on the U.S. women's soccer team outside the White House to promote healthier lives for America's children. Around 50 youngsters also poured onto the south lawn for some running, kicking and other drills yesterday."