News Nuggets 816

DAYLEE PICTURE: A fox in Germany's Black Forest. From National Geographic.

UP-FRONT FOREIGN PERSPECTIVE NUGGET!!
Euro Crisis Turns Germany into Europe's United States (Editorial) from Die Welt [of Germany in English]
A fascinating role-reversing editorial from a major German newspaper
"For decades, Germans have been freeloaders under the American security umbrella that spans Europe and the world. For decades now, like many other European countries, Germany has not been contributing and participating enough in the deployment of this security zone. And yet the desire to say what we like and interfere with the Americans continues. No matter what the Americans do, it’s never exactly what Germans would like."

A Second Iranian Nuclear Facility has Exploded, as Diplomatic Tensions Rise Between the West and Tehran from the Australian
"Satellite imagery seen by The Times confirmed that a blast that rocked the city of Isfahan on Monday struck the uranium enrichment facility there, despite denials by Tehran. The images clearly showed billowing smoke and destruction, negating Iranian claims yesterday that no such explosion had taken place. Israeli intelligence officials told The Times that there was "no doubt" that the blast struck the nuclear facilities at Isfahan and that it was "no accident"."
Iranian authorities are denying that anything occurred ... while Israeli officials are being very coy about whether they've done anything or not.  As I noted yesterday, something's up -- and it continues to surprise me how AWOL the US media is on this story!  The New York Times finally has something to say HERE.

Obama Refrains From a Formal ‘I’m Sorry’ to Pakistan from the New York Times
"The White House has decided that President Obama will not offer formal condolences — at least for now — to Pakistan for the deaths of two dozen soldiers in NATO airstrikes last week, overruling State Department officials who argued for such a show of remorse to help salvage America’s relationship with Pakistan, administration officials said."
Now, this is an interesting story.  Why not?  Was the hit against these Pak soldiers intentional?  Sending the Pakistani army a not-so-subtle message?  What were the soldiers up to that Obama feels no apology is necessary? Curiouser and curiouser.

Central Banks Take Joint Action to Ease Debt Crisis from the New York Times
"The Federal Reserve moved Wednesday with other major central banks to buttress the financial system by increasing the availability of dollars outside the United States, reflecting growing concern about the fallout of the European debt crisis."

Gary Locke is Star in China as First U.S. Ambassador of Chinese Ancestry from the Washington Post
"The low-key, two-term Washington state governor and former Obama administration commerce secretary who — with his wife, Mona Locke, and their three children — has become in just three months something of a media and Internet star in China as the first U.S. ambassador of Chinese ancestry."

Unemployment Extension: GOP Leaders Quietly Support Benefits Reauthorization from the Huffington Post
"Republican leaders in both Houses of Congress have expressed support for continuing the benefits, saying the holdup is just a matter of how the legislation is put together."
What hypocrites!!  They KNOW that the job situation out there for the unemployed is TERRIBLE right now -- yet they bash the jobless at every turn.

One Heritage, Two Paths: Americans with Similar Backgrounds have Different Ideas about which Party Best Represents Them from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Republicans and Democrats see it in different ways. Even with the same blood and the same roots -- such as those shared by two cousins with ties to the Mon Valley -- the political perspectives on the nation's key social and economic ideals differ elementally."

GOPers Fear Losing Jobs Message War from Politico
"As Congress debates an extension of a payroll tax holiday, a number of Republicans are worried that their party has not done an adequate job responding to the battering they’re taking daily from President Barack Obama on the campaign trail."

A Fracture Between Tea Party and Republican Party? (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post
"Currently, 41% say they have a favorable opinion of the GOP, while 48% say they have an unfavorable view... What happened? To put it bluntly: governing."

Is Obama Toast in 2012? (Mark Mellman) from The Hill
"If Barack Obama is “toast,” as one now-infamous headline conjectured, why is the broadest-based forecast (Pollyvote) projecting the president will be reelected with 51.1 percent of the vote? That’s way too close for anyone’s comfort, and it presages an exceedingly close, hard-fought race that could go either way, but the plus side of 50 hardly qualifies as “toast.” In fact, President Obama has a reasonable shot at reelection for reasons both structural and strategic."

Bret Baier Q&A Shows Why Mitt Romney Shies Away from Media Asking About his Record from the Miami Herald
"Tonight, Fox News’ Bret Baier showed why Romney doesn’t do too many interviews. It took a good amount of digging for Baier to show that Romney really has no plan to deal with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in this country. ... This Mitt Romney wasn't the calm Mitt Romney of the debates."
If I had the week that Mitt has had so far, I wouldn't be calm either.

Mitt Romney Struggles to Find a Strategy to Combat Newt Gingrich’s Surge from the Washington Post
"They were confident that Michele Bachmann would fade. They were prepared for Rick Perry. They never thought Herman Cain would pass the commander in chief test. But they didn’t count on a late and strong rise by Newt Gingrich. ... For this unexpected turn in what has been a steady and sure campaign, the Romney team has no road map."

Mitt Romney’s Campaign Is Becoming a Sinking Ship (John Avlon) from the Daily Beast
"New polls show that Newt Gingrich’s surge is hurting Mitt Romney where it counts. The game isn’t over, but time is running out for Mitt to turn it around, argues John Avlon."
I don't necessarily buy the latest "Romney's in serious trouble" meme -- at least not yet.  The Romney campaign has shown head-and-shoulders better professionalism, discipline, and staying power than any of the others -- and if I were betting I'd say he will ultimately outlast Gingrich and the rest.

Poll: Newt Gingrich Soars in Florida from the Florida Times Union
"Gingrich has as much support as the next four candidates combined in the telephone survey of 513 registered voters who say they’re likely to cast ballots in the primary."

What Comes After a Polling Surge? For Gingrich, New Staff and Offices (Molly Ball) from the Atlantic
"Once derided as a vanity candidate, the Georgia Republican has laid the foundation for a serious early-state effort."

My Man Newt (Maureen Dowd) from the New York Times
"The 68-year-old has compared himself to Charles de Gaulle. He has noted nonchalantly: “People like me are what stand between us and Auschwitz.” As speaker, he liked to tell reporters he was a World Historical Transformational Figure."

Herman Cain's Campaign a Study in Ineptitude (Jonathan Martin) from Politico
"His campaign will go down as one of the most hapless and bumbling operations in modern presidential politics, setting a new standard for how to turn damaging press coverage into something far worse."

OUTER SPACE NUGGET!!
Curious Rover: NASA Takes Ambitious Aim at Mars from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"At $2.5 billion, Curiosity is the most ambitious mission ever launched to Mars. Building on the ground-breaking work of the 1997 Mars Pathfinder and the Spirit and Opportunity rovers that landed on Mars in 2004 only to work years beyond their expiration dates, Curiosity represents a quantum leap in technological sophistication over its cousins. It houses 10 science instruments, most of which didn't exist a half decade ago."

SAND-AND-SOUND NUGGET!!
Pretty Sand on a Table (VIDEOS) from ohhaveyouseenthis.com via YouTube
"Here is some sand on a metal table that, once vibrating, will make some pretty shapes for you. The first is rainbowy sand, the second is white sand."

SOUTH ASIA CULTURE NUGGET!!
Sesame Street to be Broadcast in Afghanistan from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"Afghanistan will begin broadcasting its own version of the children's programme Sesame Street this week in an American-funded government literacy drive."