News Nuggets 776

A Clown Anemonefish in the Tukangbesi Islands in Indonesia.  From National Geographic. 

The fullest roundup of what happened around the world with the Occupy Wall Street movement is here:

Occupy Wall Street Live: March on Times Square from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Organisers claim 950 protests held in over 80 countries.  Tens of thousands gather in Madrid's central square.  New York protesters bring Times Square to a standstill."
Many other more detailed stories are below.

Without an Unemployment Extension, 1.8 Million Will Lose Benefits in January from Daily Kos
"What's up for renewal here is the emergency and extended benefits that allow workers to collect unemployment insurance for longer than their regular state benefits provide. If this isn't extended, then people start losing their unemployment checks after collecting for 26 weeks."

A New Pakistan Policy: Containment (Bruce Reidel) from the Washington Post
"First, we must recognize that the two countries’ strategic interests are in conflict, not harmony, and will remain that way as long as Pakistan’s army controls Pakistan’s strategic policies. We must contain the Pakistani Army’s ambitions until real civilian rule returns and Pakistanis set a new direction for their foreign policy."

US Abandons Plans to Keep Troops in Iraq Next Year from the Associated Press via the New York Times
"The Associated Press has learned that the Obama administration is abandoning plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq past a year-end withdrawal deadline."
Hopefully we can get our asses out of there without a complete and immediate meltdown in Iraq.

Iraq Pullout: The Quicker the Better (Jordan Michael Smith) from Salon
"Critics of U.S. withdrawal plans are on the wrong side of history."

DARPA Looks To The Crowd To Build Miniature Drones (VIDEO) from Talking Points Memo
"Entrants are asked to design a UAV (unmanned air vehicle) that is small and light enough to carry in a rucksack. It needs to be able to take off vertically, fly two miles into an urban environment, perch somewhere for at least two hours, send back video images, and then return."
Check out the video that goes with this.

Obama’s Forgotten Triumphs (Suzanne Mettler) from Salon
"His presidency actually attacked deeply unfair policies. Too bad few Americans even know they exist."

In Chicago, A Progressive in the Age of Austerity (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
Check out what Rahm Emanuel has been up to.
"It’s a progressive agenda on a Tea Party allowance. ... Emanuel’s pride and joy is the new mandate that he and his schools chief, Jean-Claude Brizard, pushed through for next year to have the school day for Chicago’s 400,000 students extended by 90 minutes and the school year by about a week. The teachers’ union leadership has accepted that this will happen but wants more say on how to use the time — and more money. Parents are thrilled, but it will clearly require more talks with the union."

Around the World, Rage Against the Elites (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"What’s intriguing about the eruption of Occupy Wall Street is that it’s so similar to other populist movements that are demanding change in nearly every major region of the world. You can’t help but wonder if we aren’t seeing, as a delayed reaction to the financial crisis of 2008, a kind of “global spring” of discontent."

Protesters Burn Cars in Rome as 'Occupy' Protests Spread Worldwide from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"Demonstrators in Rome set fire to two cars and broke shop windows during a protest in the Italian capital, as activists organised a series of rallies in 82 countries."

Like the Americans, Germans Must Stand Up in Outrage at Last! (Alexander Hagelüken) from the Sueddeutsche Zeitung [from Germany in English]
"Occupy Wall Street's numbers are swelling with more and more trade unionists joining their ranks and even Europeans planning protests. In this, the fourth year of the financial crisis, protests against capitalism as it currently exists have begun. It is high time that citizens rise up against the madness that is enveloping them. Not to abolish capitalism, but to reform it so that financial markets have less influence."

'Occupy Wall Street' Spreads to South Korea: Reign in Occupy Yeouido (EDITORIAL) from the JoongAng Daily [of South Korea in English]
"The Seoul groups may be riding the global movement to unite progressive organizations and stir up nationwide protest. And the groups, which are usually anti-American, are jumping on the chance to import an American protest."
More on the Korea story is in the Korea Herald.

America’s ‘Primal Scream’ (Nicholas Kristof) from the New York Times
"Thank you, Occupy Wall Street movement, for putting a spotlight on the dire income inequality."

Dominique Strauss-Kahn 'Guilty' of Sex Assault – But Escapes Shame of a Trial from the Independent [of the UK]
"The rulings end all possibility of criminal charges against the former International Monetary Fund's managing director on both sides of the Atlantic. But they brand the French politician, in effect, as a self-confessed sexual aggressor who cannot be tried because of a technicality."
This should scotch any plans he has to re-enter politics.  It's not much -- but it's something.

Deja Vu: 2012/1996 (James Zogby) from the Huffington Post
"This presidential election is beginning to look a lot like the contest of 1996, which saw a battered Bill Clinton win a second term in office by defeating Republican Senator Bob Dole. There are differences, to be sure, but the similarities are striking."

The Missing GOP Establishment (Reid Wilson) from the National Journal
"To understand Mitt Romney’s fate, you need to understand how the GOP is working through its identity crisis."

GANDHI BOOK NUUGET!!
Gandhi and South Africa: A Review of Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India by Joseph Lelyveld (Martha C. Nussbaum) from the Nation
"Why was Joseph Lelyveld’s history of Gandhi’s years in South Africa attacked by India’s Hindu right?"

CIRCUS BOOK NUGGET!!
Never-Before-Seen Photos From the Golden Age of Circus, 1870-1950 (Maria Popova) from the Atlantic
Old circus poster art is just amazing!!  Check it out.