A manatee in Florida's Crystal River. From National Geographic.
TEN "BEST OF THE WEEK" NUGGETS!!
1. King of Kings: The Last Days of Muammar Qaddafi (Jon Lee Anderson) from the New Yorker"When is the right time to leave? Nicolae Ceausescu didn’t realize he was hated until, one night in 1989, a crowd of his citizens suddenly began jeering him; four days later, he and his wife faced a firing squad. Qaddafi, likewise, waited until it was too late, continuing to posture and give orotund speeches long after his people had rejected him. ... For Qaddafi, the end came in stages..."
2. Myanmar's Budding Political Spring (Morton Abramowitz & Thomas Pickering) from the National Interest
"The world keeps being surprised by the developing political situation in Myanmar/Burma. After they get over their surprise, the United States and its friends need to decide what they can do to help accelerate change."
3. Modern China Yearns for New Moral Code (David Pilling) from the Financial Times [of the UK]
"... the fumbling for the spiritual of the visitors to Lingyin is symbolic of a nation that craves something beyond the material development that has been served up as the raison d’être of China’s modern existence. High quality global journalism requires investment. The debate about morality bubbles constantly beneath China’s increasingly sleek, modern surface."
4. Leading From Behind (Roger Cohen) from the New York Times
"Leading from behind — a phrase first used by a White House adviser in a New Yorker article by Ryan Lizza — was smart policy in Libya. ... The United States took out Libya’s air defense system. It provided more than 70 percent of the surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities. It flew 70 percent of refueling missions. What it did not do was wade into Libya with the army it had in the vanguard of a motley coalition of the willing."
5. Disability and the Hajj to Mecca (AUDIO) from the BBC Program Heart and Soul
"The annual Hajj pilgrimage - a religious duty that every adult Muslim is expected to do once in their lives - can be a tough challenge."
6. To Fix Housing, See the Data (Joe Nocera) from the New York Times
"One expert’s data-driven approach to the housing crisis makes it clear that mortgage modifications that reduce principal are the only thing that will work."
7. The Big Apple in Glorious Black and White: Stunning Images Cast Spotlight on New York City in 1940s from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Amazing photo collection released for new exhibit on documentary photography at the Jewish Museum in Manhattan 'The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936-1951' captures daily life of adults and children in New York City."
8. Hillary Wins Big in 2012 from The Hill
"The true political state of the union is best revealed in a recent poll in Time magazine that found that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would win an epic and possibly realigning landslide in a presidential election against any Republican candidate."
9. The Post-Racial America of Ann Coulter and Pat Buchanan (Colbert King) from the Washington Post
"Conservative pundits remind blacks of “their” place."
10. The Herman Cain Crack-Up (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"His campaign’s fisticuffs with Washington journalists probably won’t do Cain any harm among his supporters in Iowa; in fact, it will probably help. But Cain’s loss of control is a reminder of why he’s never going to be president, no matter how high he rises in GOP primary polls."
Some regular NEW nuggets for today!!
Is Europe’s Troubled Marriage Doomed? (Stephan Theil) from the Daily Beast
"At the heart of Europe’s financial crisis is an unhappy union between the rich countries of the north and the poor nations to the south. Is it time for a divorce?"
Modern Greece’s Real Problem? Ancient Greece (George Zarkadakis) from the Washington Post
"A toxic mix of anxiety and fear hangs in the air in Athens. The ordeal shows that living up to lofty idealism is never easy. Modern Greeks know that well, for we are, in many ways, the imperfect reflection of an ideal that the West imagined for itself."
Wanted: Worldly Philosophers (Roger Backhouse and Bradley Bateman) from the New York Times
"IT’S become commonplace to criticize the “Occupy” movement for failing to offer an alternative vision. But the thousands of activists in the streets of New York and London aren’t the only ones lacking perspective: economists, to whom we might expect to turn for such vision, have long since given up thinking in terms of economic systems — and we are all the worse for it."
Labor Poised for Big Win in Ohio (Justin Elliott) from Salon
"A referendum on an anti-collective bargaining bill may be the first battle of the 2012 campaign in the key state."
Will GOP Candidates Embrace a Conservative Foreign Policy? (Merrill Matthews) from Forbes Magazine
"So far, most of the GOP candidates have done little more than criticize President Obama’s foreign policies—a target-rich field, to be sure—without proffering any of their own. ... While the Republican candidates generally agree on the basics of a pro-growth economic policy—i.e., lower taxes, cut government spending, reduce regulations, etc.—it is not clear where they stand on key foreign policy issues."
Now for a good rant! Matthews poses a set of questions (all of which are serious real questions) and with most takes a swipe at Obama's foreign policy. Like most "serious" conservative analysts, he misses the GOP's broad agreement on all of these questions. His questions to the GOP candidates. My candid responses follow:
1. When should the U.S. intervene in other countries? When it makes the Republican President look strong to its base and you can pillory congressional Dems for being weak.
2. What is the role, if any, of foreign aid? It is what you attack when a Democrat is in the White House.
3. Under what circumstances can or will U.S. force be used? See Answer #1.
4. How far can the president go in prosecuting a foreign war before needing the consent of Congress? If the president is a Democrat, attack the President right away; if they are a Republican, rally around him and ignore congressional consent as long as possible.
To Govern Better, GOP Should Work From Reality (Noah Kristula-Green) from the Frum Forum
"Republican criticisms of the Obama administration’s policies are not backed up by data. Republicans don’t just have a problem with specific critiques, they also have a view of America that doesn’t match with how the country actually is. Their view disagrees with the reality of many important socio-economic problems. In some cases, such as America’s lack of upward mobility, some deny the problem exists."
Yes, the GOP Race is a Strange Campaign (Dan Balz) from the Washington Post
"If you think this has been a strange campaign for president, you’re right — and not just because of the accusations of sexual harassment aimed at Herman Cain in recent days or cable chatter about Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s caffeinated speech in New Hampshire a week ago. In five big ways that have nothing to do with those developments, the Republican race is breaking with patterns of the past."
Candidates the GOP Deserves (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"Republicans are unhappy with their options. But the lousy GOP candidates perfectly reflect the party’s absence of ideas, says Michael Tomasky."
SPY MOVIE NUGGET [of a sort]!!
Bond Girls: The Best and Worst from the Daily Beast
"Rating the bombshells — and bombs — of 007's past, from Honey Ryder to Octopussy to Gemma Arterton and Olga Kurylenko of ''Quantum of Solace''"
What do you mean Miss Goodnight from The Man with the Golden Gun is one of the worst?! I thought she was ... charming. What an outrageous list!!
No comments:
Post a Comment