News Nuggets 800

A chapel in World War I trenches in Confrecourt near Soissons in France.  From the Daily Mail of the UK.  See the World War I Photo Nugget below.  

Europe’s Debt Crisis Endangers the Ability to be Distinctive (Harold Meyerson) from the Washington Post
"What we’re seeing in Italy and Greece are the markets triumphing over national and democratic sovereignty. ... it’s all but impossible to find politicians of any ideology in either country willing to reduce the living standards of their people by the 20 or 25 percent that the markets, in their clamor for austerity, are demanding."

Two Peas in a Protesting Pod (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"The protest movements in India and the United States, the world’s two biggest democracies, sure have a lot in common."

The Real Reasons Americans Distrust Government (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"What if distrust of government is running so high partly because Congress is failing to pass job creation policies, including tax increases on the rich, that have broad public support, and has prioritized the deficit for months when Americans want the top priority to be unemployment? If so, it’s hard to see how this supports the conservative storyline. ... Only 27 percent think infrastructure spending will ... actually happen. Only 37 percent think deficit reduction through spending cuts and tax hikes will ... actually happen. Only 39 percent think legislation to make mortage refinancing easier will ... actually happen."

Is Fracking Behind Oklahoma’s Earthquakes? from Reuters
"The report — “Examination of Possibly Induced Seismicity from Hydraulic Fracturing in the Eola Field, Garvin County, Oklahoma” —  goes through the existing evidence linking fracking and earthquakes step-by-step. Holland says there is a possibility that the two are linked but that data uncertainties keep him from saying so with absolute conviction."

The 11 Majors With The Highest Unemployment Rates from the Huffington Post
"According to Census data obtained by the Wall Street Journal, clinical psychology is the most unemployable major with a 19.5% unemployment rate. It's hard out there for aspiring Sigmund Freuds. Check out the below slideshow of the most unemployable majors."
No surprise: US History at #3.

Behind Bill Daley's Demotion (Eleanor Clift) from the Daily Beast
"The chief of staff grew frustrated as congressional complaints about him mounted—and the president tacked left. Eleanor Clift and Patricia Murphy on why his White House role is shrinking."

More News from an Unreal World (David Frum) from the Frum Forum
"Over the past 20 years, conservatives have very successfully built a whole alternative knowledge system, designed to exclude unwelcome information and to reinforce gratifying prejudices.  But alas, the denial of unwelcome reality does not cause that reality to go away."

Univision News Poll: Obama Holds Advantage with Latino Voters, Leaving GOP with Uphill Battle from Univision
"Despite loud complaints from Latinos about high unemployment and unfulfilled campaign promises on immigration, President Obama is well situated to repeat his strong performance with Latino voters in 2012."

Karen Kraushaar, Herman Cain Accuser, Goes Public With Sexual Harassment Allegations from the Huffington Post
"Karen Kraushaar, first identified by iPad-only news outlet The Daily Tuesday morning, told the Times that she was ready to talk now that her name had been made public. Her decision came just minutes before Cain took the stage to address the ongoing story at a press conference in Scottsdale, Arizona."

Republican Show Gives Every Amateur His Hour (Margaret Carlson) from the Bloomberg News Service
"In movies like “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “Dave,” a simple man upstages the career politicians who run Washington. From the start of this campaign season, Republicans have been refashioning this pleasing myth and taking it to alarming extremes, rallying around a series of dead-end kids whose candidacies, they hope, will expose the stupidity of the grown- ups who sent the country into a tailspin. Exhibits A through E: Sarah Palin, Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain. It’s hard to imagine a gang less suited to the responsibilities of high office."

Jon Huntsman, Tea Party Darling? (McKay Coppins) from the Daily Beast
"With Herman Cain flailing and Rick Perry failing, the Tea Party is looking for a new anti-Romney candidate. Could it be Jon Huntsman? McKay Coppins asks the movement’s leaders."

Keynes Trumps Hayek in Debate from the Daily Beast
"In the Asia Society debate, Keynes was a proxy for Obama’s economic policies and Hayek played the same role for GOP presidential candidates—with most of the audience siding with the Keynesians who think the government should do something about the economy."

STRANGE POP CULTURE NUGGET!!
Vatican Calls Tintin a 'Catholic Hero' and Ridicules Suggestions He May be Racist from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"In its official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican published a picture of the children's hero beneath one of Pope Benedict XVI and then carried a double page article inside praising Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy.  L'Osservatore said that accusing the fearless journalist of racism was the 'imagining of an integralist political correctness' after some bookshops in the UK banished Tintin in the Congo to the top shelf and wrapped copies in plastic."
Now -- I have to confess I grew up a big fan of Tintin. And I also have to say that I am mystified why the Vatican would view the character as a "Catholic hero".  For the same reasons, you could say that Mickey Mouse should be one.  I read all of Herge's stories, and Tintin (who first showed up in the 1930s) never set foot in a church and never said a word to a priest.  Given how many women he dated (zero), he certainly wouldn't pass muster with the gay-bashing right wing in the US.  My guess (for real): Pope Benedict was a Tintin fan when he was a kid. Bet.  Final point: why is the Pope weighing in on this at all!?

RENAISSANCE PAINTING NUGET!!
Decoding a da Vinci Masterpiece: Behind the Secret Symbols of The Lady With An Ermine from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"As soon as you enter the new Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery, you become aware that you are engaging with an extraordinary human mind. The very first exhibit is not exactly a work of art — although, like all Leonardo’s drawings, it is of  exquisite skill and craftsmanship. "
Check out the chart that accompanies this article.

WORLD WARI PHOTO NUGGET!!
All Quiet on the Western Front as Haunting Images of the Great War's Battlefields are Revealed before Remembrance Day from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"With not a soul in sight, the peace and tranquility of these rural landscapes comes through loud and clear in a gallery of beautiful images. Yet, nearly 100 years ago, these same serene scenes played host to some of the bloodiest and most violent battles of World War One in which 10 million soldiers died."