News Nuggets 851

DAYLEE PICTURE: A silica hot water pond in Iceland.  From National Geographic.

Myanmar Prominent Political Prisoners Freed from the Associated Press via the Huffington Post
"Myanmar freed some of its most famous political inmates Friday, sparking jubilation outside prison gates while signaling its readiness to meet Western demands for lifting economic sanctions. Prominent political activists, leaders of brutally repressed democratic uprisings, a former prime minister, ethnic minority leaders, journalists and relatives of the former dictator Ne Win were among those released. State media described the presidential pardon freeing 651 detainees as allowing them to take part in "nation-building."
A very important development.

Two Army Brigades to Leave Europe in Cost-Cutting Move from the Washington Post
"The Obama administration has decided to remove two of the four U.S. Army brigades remaining in Europe as part of a broader effort to cut $487 billion from the Pentagon’s budget over the next decade, said senior U.S. officials. The reductions in Army forces, which have not been formally announced, are likely to concern European officials, who worry that the smaller American presence reflects a waning of interest in the decades-long U.S.-NATO partnership in Europe."
Boo hoo!  They can start ponying up for their own military protection.  Now, I say this with the firm belief that the US MUST keep a substantial presence in Europe: those folks have too long a history of misbehavior and an inability to play nice with each other.  Having said that, however, two brigades (that amounts to about five to eight thousand troops not including support staff, etc.) sounds like more than enough for now -- especially given that there is no trouble in the offing in that neighborhood.

The Navy Is Depending on Dolphins to Keep the Strait of Hormuz Open (John Hudson) from the Atlantic  
"The threat of Iran closing the strait has reached a fever pitch, reports today's New York Times, with U.S. officials warning Iran's supreme leader that such moves would cross a "red line" provoking a U.S. response. ... “The immediate issue [for the U.S. military] is to get the mines.” To solve that problem, the Navy has a solution that isn't heavily-advertised but has a time-tested success rate: mine-detecting dolphins. "We've got dolphins," said retired Adm. Tim Keating in a Wednesday interview with NPR."
Am I supposed to be reassured?

S&P Downgrades Ratings on France, Italy, Spain, Austria 1 Notch; Germany Keeps AAA Rating from the Washington Post
"Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the government debt of France, Austria, Italy and Spain by one notch, but maintained Germany’s at the coveted ‘AAA’ level. The cuts, which eliminated France and Austria’s triple-A status, deal a heavy blow to the currency union’s ability to fight off a worsening debt crisis. In total, S&P cut its ratings on nine eurozone countries."

The Economy: Still a Millstone for Obama? (Charlie Cook) from the National Journal
"The economy may not be as big a liability for President Obama on Election Day as many Republicans had assumed."

John Boehner Seeks to Cut Tea Party Faction Out of Payroll Tax Cut Extension Negotiations from the Daily Kos
"Congressional aides tell Reuters that House Speaker John Boehner will cut the tea party contingent in his caucus out of the negotiations in deal-making for the the long-term payroll tax cut extension."
Reuters has the details here.

America Isn’t a Corporation (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times 
"... here’s a deeper problem in the whole notion that what this nation needs is a successful businessman as president: America is not, in fact, a corporation. Making good economic policy isn’t at all like maximizing corporate profits. And businessmen — even great businessmen — do not, in general, have any special insights into what it takes to achieve economic recovery."

David Brooks takes on the same general issue:
The President as CEO (David Brooks from the New York Times
"Does Mitt Romney’s success in business tell us anything about whether he would be a successful president?"

Maryland Marriage Equality Bill Expected To See Quick Action In State Senate; House Support Still In Question from the Huffington Post
"Expect Maryland senators to approve marriage equality legislation in a hurry. As The Washington Post's John Wagner reported Thursday, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert County) "wants his chamber to act quickly on a same-sex marriage bill" during the 90-day legislative session, which began this week. Miller, however, reiterated his opposition to gay marriage during a radio interview this week, calling it "an attack on traditional families." But the Senate president said he would not obstruct the measure and predicted it would pass."

Why Republicans Deny Science: The Quest for a Scientific Explanation from the Huffington Post
"Some of the conservative denial of science may well be cynical in nature. But there's no doubt from polls that large numbers of conservatives really believe this stuff--that global warming isn't real, nor is evolution. And indeed, the denial of reality extends well beyond science and into other fields like economics and history. When you have a phenomenon this recurrent, it seems to me that at some point, it is reasonable to stop and ponder deeper causes. And are there any?"

Presidential Primary Contest and Pre-Christmas Showdown Put Republicans at Risk from Democracy Corps.
"This first Democracy Corps national survey of the New Year shows Republicans at risk at every level. On the ballot, Republicans are in serious danger.  For the first time since the 2010 election, Democrats have taken the lead in the congressional vote and this poll shows that third-party defections on the Presidential ballot could prove devastating for the Republicans.  The intensity gap has shifted in the Democrats’ favor and Democrats have moved to parity on the economy after 28 months in deficit."

‘Behind The Eight Ball’: Terrible Times For The Minnesota Republican Party from Talking Points Memo
"... the Minnesota Republican party is in shambles. Not only is it in financial disarray — it is $2 million in debt and Sutton resigned in early December under the sea of red ink — its Republican Senate leader, Amy Koch, recently resigned her leadership post after news broke that she had an “inappropriate relationship” with a subordinate staffer. ... So how did the party get to this point?"

More House Seats in California Up for Grabs from the Los Angeles Times 
"The retirement of Rep. Jerry Lewis, dean of the California House GOP, marks the sixth and most significant departure from Congress in the wake of a new redistricting plan, portending a dramatic shake-up of the state's delegation."

Ron Paul’s Achievement (Charles Krauthammer) from the Washington Post 
"Paul was genuinely delighted with his, because, after a quarter-century in the wilderness, he’s within reach of putting his cherished cause on the map. Libertarianism will have gone from the fringes — those hopeless, pathetic third-party runs — to a position of prominence in a major party."

Ron Paul and Charles Krauthammer (Jacob Heilbrunn) from the National Interest
"Neocons worry that libertarian views may take prime time at the GOP convention."

Obama Family Values (Joan Walsh) from Salon
"The First Couple works hard to raise their children and keep their marriage strong -- but people are still outraged."

ROMNEY BOOK NUGGET!!
'The Real Romney': '08 Campaign Aides Say 'The Bain Way' Didn't Work (Sam Stein) from the Huffington Post
"The underlying thesis of "The Real Romney" is the most important part of the book: Despite pitching himself as someone who could bring CEO-like leadership and free-market-like efficiencies to politics, Romney exhibited a style ill-suited for the campaign trail, the authors report. The result was a decision-making process that was too slow and plodding for the fast-paced world of politics. ...  In "The Real Romney," his aides declare that perception always outpaced reality and that a business mind-set didn’t lend itself to a campaign setting."

US CIVIL WAR NUGGET!!
Pictured for the First Time Since the Civil War: Confederate Submarine Finally Revealed After Being Buried at Sea for 150 Years from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Crew, buried in 2004, were found at their stations inside without an apparent rush to escape"

TECHNOLOGY NUGGET!!
LG’s Blast Chiller Means a Cold Beer is Always Minutes Away from Discovery News
"LG Electronics unveiled the Blast Chiller at CES on Monday. The feature, which will be in the manufacturer’s premium refrigerators, can chill room-temperature drinks in mere minutes, the company says. With the power of a jet engine, the technology blasts cold gusts, enough to cool 12 ounces in five minutes or a bottle of wine in eight. The air also swirls so ice crystals don’t form."
Kind of like a microwave in reverse. It freezes things instead of heats them up really quickly.  It looks damned useful!