News Nuggets 809

DAYLEE DAYLEE PICTURE: Trekking along the arctic tundra in Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway.  From National Geographic. What a spectacularly beautiful image!

THE TEN BEST NEWS NUGGETS 

OF THE WEEK!!

1.  Contain and Constrain (Roger Cohen) from the New York Times
"An Iranian society that today is a combustible mix of depression, division and dysfunction — overseen by a Brezhnevian supreme leader at loggerheads with his erratic president — would unite in fury. This, in the cautionary words of U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, could have “unintended consequences.”"

2.  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."

3.  Obama Has Kept Iran Threat at Bay, and U.S. Republicans Know It (Mel Levine) from Al Haaretz [of Israel in English]
"Apparently, the Republican candidates for president, led by former Governor Romney, have been so busy talking with each other that they have somehow developed an alternative universe of facts."

4.  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."

5.  Gabby Giffords ABC Interview (Josh Marshall) from Talking Points Memo
"I watched it online this morning, and it really is a remarkable story. One measure of how remarkable is that it stands on its own without all of the tricks TV often uses to milk a story for drama and emotion."
If you haven't seen this, you must see it!

6.  Next Up: `Occupy Congress’ (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"One of the enduring questions about Occupy Wall Street has been this: Can the energy unleashed by the movement be leveraged behind a concrete political agenda and push for change that will constitute a meaningful challenge to the inequality and excessive Wall Street influence highlighted by the protests? A coalition of labor and progressive groups is about to unveil its answer to that question. Get ready for “Occupy Congress.”"

7.  The Fracturing of Pennsylvania (Eliza Griswold) from the New York Times Sunday Magazine
"There are more than 4,000 Marcellus wells in Pennsylvania, with projections ranging from 2,500 new wells a year to a total of more than 100,000 over the next few decades; 458 of those wells are in Washington County and 60 are in Amwell Township, to which fracking has given an injection of new income and business; it has also spurred one of the first E.P.A. investigations into fracking’s effects on rivers, streams, drinking water and human health."

8.  Republicans Lose Way Misreading Bush History (Ramesh Ponnuru) from the Bloomberg News Service
"For decades, conservatives have been trying to pull the Republican Party rightward and root out first liberals and then moderates. But that impulse grew stronger in the aftermath of the political defeats in the late years of George W. Bush’s administration, because conservatives believed that ideological impurity, especially on spending, had caused those losses. [...] But there’s little evidence that big government was the reason, or even an important reason, for Republican defeats at the end of the Bush years."

9.  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."

10.  From Michelle Obama's Jason Wu to Jackie Kennedy's Couture, Smithsonian's Tribute to Presidents' Wives Inaugural Gowns (PHOTOS) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
The pictures are quite interesting here!
"A new exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, which opens tomorrow, will see the display of the most famous dresses worn by U.S. Presidents' wives - and a whole section has been dedicated to their first outfits in the role of first lady."

NOW -- back to our regularly scheduled nuggets, stories on today's hot topics!!

Time is Running Out for Bashar Assad from the Economist [of London]
We've been hearing this line for some time now -- so is it running out anytime soon?
"Though Syria’s embattled president seems bent on self-destruction, keep offering him a sensible exit."

Hillary Clinton in Burma: Why She's Visiting the Oppressed State (Lennox Samuels) from the Daily Beast
For those looking to get up to speed on the significance of Clinton's Burma trip, this article summarizes things quite well.
"It's been 50 years since a U.S. secretary of state visited the oppressed Asian country—but is it really a sign that Burma is opening up? Lennox Samuels on the trip's global significance."

Why China and Russia Help Iran (Richard Weitz) from The Diplomat
"Neither China nor Russia want Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, but Russian and Chinese opposition to imposing additional sanctions on Iran is unsurprising. Both governments have consistently defended the right of Iran and other countries to pursue nuclear activities for peaceful purposes, such as civilian energy production. ... Chinese and Russian officials may want to change the behavior of the Iranian regime, but they both fear regime change in Tehran."

Why Turkey's Dream of Regional Leadership Failed (Steven Cook) from the Atlantic
"With the sharp deterioration of Turkish-Syrian relations over the last two days, some Turkish and Western observers have declared Ankara's "zero-problems" foreign policy dead and buried. ... The facts are hard to ignore.  In an era when Ankara aspired to no problems with its neighbors, it actually has cok (many) problems: Syria, Israel, Armenia, Iran, Cyprus, and the EU to name just a few."

Why The Catholic Church Feels Oppressed (Michael Kinsley) from the National Memo
"Is there any truth to the Catholic Church's complaint that America is becoming less tolerant of Christians? Michael Kinsley investigates in his new column, Catholic Bishops Issue Hollow Plea For Sympathy:"

Occupy the Agenda (Nicholas Kristof) from the New York Times
"... the mayor helped save the demonstrators by clearing them out, thus solving their real estate problem and re-establishing their narrative of billionaires bullying the disenfranchised. Thanks to the mayor, the protests grew bigger than ever. I watched in downtown Manhattan last week as the police moved in to drag off protesters — and several credentialed journalists — and the action seemed wildly over the top."

Militarization of Campus Police (Bob Ostertag) from the Huffington Post
"I teach at UC Davis and I personally know many of the students who were the victims of this brutal and unprovoked assault. They are top students. In fact, I can report that among the students I know, the higher a student's grade point average, the more likely it is that they are centrally involved in the protests."
In case you missed it, this video captures the incident at UC Davis.  Shocking.  Heads will roll over this one.

On Education Reform ... How About Better Parents? (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"...here’s what some new studies are also showing: We need better parents. Parents more focused on their children’s education can also make a huge difference in a student’s achievement."

Should a President Be Intelligent? (Gary Hart) from the Hufffington Post
"Neither Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, nor John Kennedy were intellectual giants. But the keenness of their respective minds was revealed every day. And they were not threatened by smart people around them. A leader must be able to see farther ahead than most others, must generate creative new ideas and policies for new challenges and times, and must be able to convince the rest of us to try those ideas."

RUSSIAN HISTORY BOOK NUGGET!!
Empress of All the Russias: A Review of Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie from the Sunday New York Times Book Review
"How delightful to discover that Robert K. Massie, 82 years old, hasn’t lost his mojo. At a heft befitting its subject, his long-awaited “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman” is a consistently nimble and buoyant performance, defying what might in a lesser writer’s hands prove a deadly undertow of exhaustively researched historical facts."
Robert Massie is one of the BEST biographers of the last half century!  If you haven't read his bios, Peter the Great, or Nicholas and Alexandra, they are must-reads!!  The NY Times had a related story earlier in the week on the author.

WORLD WAR II BOOK NUGGET!!
Adolf and Eva: A Review of Eva Braun: Life with Hitler by Heike Görtemaker from the Sunday New York Times Book Review
Hitler could not have wished for a better girlfriend. In this first full-scale biography of Eva Braun, the German historian Heike B. Görtemaker examines the known sources for Braun’s life and emerges with a highly readable and consistent portrait of an ordinary woman who loved sports, fashion and jazz; and who was, without a doubt, utterly devoted to the man history has seen as “evil incarnate.”

SPY FICTION NUGGET!!
The Real James Bond: Ian Fleming’s Commandos Reviewed (Michael Korda) from the Daily Beast
"A new book relates the remarkable story of Ian Fleming’s daring commando group during World War Two and how they inspired the story of the greatest spy ever: James Bond. Michael Korda finds his own family story in its midst."

DRAMATIC ELEPHANTS NUGGET!!
Saved from a Muddy Grave: Baby Elephant and its Mother Pulled from Lagoon Where They Got Stuck Because They Wouldn't be Separated (PHOTOS) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
I saw this story earlier in the week and didn't post it -- but I haven't been able to get it out of my mind.  The images are quite moving.  So -- I figured I should just post it.
"Trapped in the mud and sinking fast, this pair of elephants seemed doomed. The mother had gone to the rescue of her baby, but had got stuck herself – leaving the rest of the herd understandably wary of trying to save them. So, with no time to lose, a team of conservation workers sprang into action."

HAPPY OWL NUGGET!!
Lovely Owl: Cute/Ridiculous Animal Thing Of The Day (VIDEO) from the Huffington Post
If you like owls, this clip is pretty cute.
"Owls have proven time and time again that they are adorable. We know that cats pretty much dominate the blogosphere in terms of cute videos, but we'll take a d'aww filled owl video over another "kitten vs. blank" any day."