News Nuggets 798 - ELECTION EDITION!

Tens of thousands of pilgrims fulfilling the haj to Mecca this last week.  See the Photo Nugget below.  From the Atlantic.

UP-FRONT PITTSBURGH VOTING ALERT!!

Tomorrow -- VOTE!!  Our libraries depend on it!!  There is a CRITICAL referendum on the ballot concerning the funding of our libraries in Allegheny County!  Make the time!  Fitzgerald and Raja are also up for County executive.  I plan on not voting for either of them -- both have sold themselves to the natural gas interests in Southwestern PA.  I would urge you to write in Dana Dolney's name -- she is a well-informed critic of gas drilling who has (RIGHTLY in my view) emphasized how much is not known about the basic processes involved and the degree to which gas drilling has been fast-tracked over virtually all the normal due diligence scientific and regulatory hurdles that normally protect us.  Write her name in.  She may not win -- but at least you can send a message of conscience.

Iran, Israel, and the Bomb (David Remnick) from the New Yorker
"Containing Tehran is immensely preferable to a heedless unilateral attack."

Property Prices Collapse in China. Is This a Crash? (Gordon CHang) from Forbes Magazine
"When Beijing’s pet analysts are saying prices could halve in a few months, we can be sure they are thinking the eventual sell-off will be worse.  In any event, the markets are bracing for trouble.  Investors are dumping both the bonds and the shares of Chinese developers..."

Most of the Unemployed No Longer Receive Benefits (Christopher Rugaber) from the Lake County News-Sun [of Illinois]
"Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent — a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America’s 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more. Congress is expected to decide by year’s end whether to continue providing emergency unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in the hardest-hit states. If the emergency benefits expire, the proportion of the unemployed receiving aid would fall further. The ranks of the poor would also rise."

Obama's Economic Policies Faring Better in Europe (Richard Wolf) for USA Today
"His actions in 2009 to stimulate the economy, administer bank bailouts and regulate financial institutions, attacked by Republican opponents, were the subjects of tutorials for European leaders who increasingly must follow his lead."

GOP Leader Dons Flak Jacket After Friendly Fire on Spending Bills from The Hill
"The debate over spending among Republicans in Congress has become so intense that one Senate Republican leader has started wearing a flak jacket to meetings."

How Obama Strategy May Work, Despite Polls, Economy (J. P. Greene) from the Democratic Strategist
"I would only underscore that, despite historic precedents concerning approval ratings and unemployment rates, there are some major unprecedented factors bearing on the 2012 presidential election, which could be game-changers."
The National Journal article cited in this column is HERE.

Obama's Secret Weapon (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"With one year to go until the presidential election, Michael Tomasky handicaps the race—and explains why, despite the lackluster economy, the GOP just may get Obama reelected."

Independents and Moderates Agree: GOP Deliberately Sabotaging Obama’s Jobs Policies (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"...the new Post poll finds that independents and moderates essentially accept Obama’s diagnosis of what’s going on — majorities of both groups agree that Republicans are blocking Obama’s good faith efforts to fix the economy for political reasons."

Christian Politics Create Unholy Alliances (David Gushee) from USA Today
"This version of Christian politics is inherently corrupting to Christian faith, ethics and witness. It encourages politicians to take God's name in vain, and to do so routinely."

Why the GOP Should Panic (Matt Latimer) from the Daily Beast
"The GOP’s 2012 field is dominated thus far by frivolous flops. Matt Latimer on the sorry state of affairs—and why it’s not too late for a newcomer."

Never Happened (Dahlia Lithwick) from Slate
"Conservatives aren’t just defending Herman Cain. They’re denying the very existence of sexual harassment."

Conservatives Launch 'Not Mitt Romney' Campaign, Warn Of Dire Consequences If Romney Is The GOP Nominee (Zeke Miller) from Business Insider
"A coalition of conservatives have launched a campaign against Republican front-runner Mitt Romney's candidacy to prevent him from becoming the GOP nominee next year."

Herman Cain Harrassment Story Practiced Good Journalism (Ruth Marcus) from the Washington Post
"Spare me the lectures about honesty from a man who denied that he was aware of a financial payment to settle the sexual harassment claims, then acknowledged it, then said he was distinguishing between a “settlement” and an “agreement.”"

WORLD WAR I NUGGET!!
Secret Tunnels of the Somme: Historians Unearth Truth about World War One's Underground Battles after Reopening Lost Labyrinth from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"28 tunnellers lie entombed in the tunnels in northern France.  They were of huge strategic importance to the Battle of the Somme."

PRESIDENTIAL SCANDAL NUGGET!!
America's Forgotten Presidential Sex Scandal (Charles Lachman) from the Daily Beast
"Forget Arnold Schwarzenegger or John Edwards. One of the greatest political sex scandals happened to Grover Cleveland. Journalist Charles Lachman reveals the sordid details of rape, an unwanted child, and the coverup."
Another review is HERE.

MIDDLE EAST PHOTO NUGGET!!
The Hajj and Eid al-Adha 2011 from the Atlantic
"The Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam and one of the largest religious pilgrimages in the world, is currently taking place in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Starting last Friday and continuing through Wednesday, some 3 million Muslims from around the globe are participating in several rituals"