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Friday, November 18, 2011

News Nuggets 807


Polar bears nursing in the Arctic.  From the Daily Mail of the UK.

Israel’s Secret Iran Attack Plan: Electronic Warfare (Eli Lake) from the Daily Beast
"Israel has been building stealthy, multibillion-dollar electronic weapons that could be deployed if Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites, U.S. intelligence officials tell Eli Lake."

Jordan Starts to Shake (Nicolas Pelham) from the New York Review of Books
" Outside the courthouse where four youths recently awaited trial on charges of cursing the king, a crime punishable in this hitherto deferential kingdom by up to three years in jail, one hundred protesters continue cussing the king, until the order comes from on high to let the four go. Such protests are growing in intensity and geographic reach, degrading the royal stature with every chant."

Overblown Fears about China's Rise (Amitai Etzioni) from the National Interest
"Widening income disparities. Massive protests. Deteriorating social harmony. China's economic ascent will not be a smooth one."

Poll: U.S. Leadership Above China's from Politico
"Coming on the heels of new tensions between the United States and China due to the just-announced deployment of 2,500 Marines to Australia, a new survey Friday shows that American leadership in the region is more respected than China’s."

Entertainer-in-chief Barack Obama Hailed from the Australian
IF Barack Obama was worried how Australia's Diggers might respond to his plan to inject marines into Australia's north, his fears were dispelled in dramatic fashion in Darwin last night."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/obama-in-australia/entertainer-in-chief-barack-obama-hailed/story-fnb0o39u-1226198356649

The Democrats: The New National Security Party (Michael Cohen) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"For Once, the Democrats Are The Party of National Security.  Can Obama actually win an election on foreign policy?"

Occupy: Out of Zuccotti Park and Into the Streets (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"Occupy Wall Street may not occupy Zuccotti Park anymore, but it refuses to surrender its place in the national discourse. Up close, you get the sense that the movement may have only just begun."

32,000 Occupy Activists Convened in NYC from United Press International
"About 32,000 people massed near Wall Street and elsewhere in New York on the Occupy movement's two-month anniversary, also marked in 30 other cities."

Bush-Era Iraq Hawks Counsel Republican Presidential Hopefuls from the Bloomberg News Service
"Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Herman Cain are turning for national security advice to former officials in the George W. Bush administration, including some who pushed hardest for the U.S. invasion of Iraq."
Previews of things-to-come if any of these characters become president.

For the Supercommittee, Failure Is Good (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"Barring an evil miracle — I’ll explain the evil part later — the committee will fail to meet that deadline. If this news surprises you, you haven’t been paying attention. If it depresses you, cheer up: In this case, failure is good."

James O’Keefe's Plans Derailed by Infighting, Lack of Funding from Politico
"After pulling off the brazen hidden camera sting credited with bringing down the liberal organizing group ACORN, James O’Keefe dreamt up an even bolder plan: to build a permanent undercover video operation that would expose institutions of the American left. But things have not gone according to plan."

Being Transgender Is Still Widely Misunderstood from Time Magazine
"Despite major strides that have been made in the acceptance of LGBT people in the U.S., hundreds of LGBT Americans are still seriously harmed each year, and dozens are murdered, according to 2008 statistics, the latest available, from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.
Bias lingers too."

The first 9% in Wisconsin from Politico
"Wisconsin recall organizers announced late Thursday they had collected 50,000 signatures towards placing Gov. Scott Walker on the ballot next year. That amounts to about 9 percent of the estimated 540,000 they will need to gather over the next two months to trigger the early election of the first term Republican."

How Republican Conformity is Ruining Politics (Michael Gerson) from the Washington Post
"Gingrich, in the manner of Cultural Revolution self-criticism, has now called his appearance with Pelosi the “dumbest single thing I’ve done in recent years.” ... It is now a familiar pattern — the scandal of sanity."
Gerson is spot-on here.  Watching the GOP candidates, particularly those that have been around for a while, is reminiscent of the Chinese Cultural Revolution where leading figures felt compelled to disown perfectly rational positions and embrace nutty dogma to even be considered "one with the party."  Craziness.

Cain: ‘We Need A Leader, Not A Reader’ from Talking Points Memo
"Corroborating the reports that this is something Cain…actually…said, Steve Peoples of the Associated Press also reports Cain saying that knowing every detail is not important: “We need a leader, not a reader.”
WHAT a clown!  

The Herman Cain Meltdown (Molly Ball) from the Atlantic
"The hits keep on coming for the businessman and onetime GOP front-runner, who seems determined to go down in flames."

First Lady Takes on the Role of Staff Energizer from the New York Times
"Michelle Obama, who often calls herself the mom in chief, is taking on the new role of motivator in chief."

OUTER SPACE NUGGET!!
Europa Water: Scientists Find Evidence Of Lakes On Jupiter's Moon (PHOTOS, VIDEO) from the Huffington Post
"New research that suggests Jupiter's moon Europa has a body of water the size of the Great Lakes just two miles below its icy surface has brought scientists one step closer to determining whether or not the freezing satellite is suitable for the development of extraterrestrial life."

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