News Nuggets 941

DAYLEE PICTURE: An alligator looking out on a Florida evening.  From National Geographic.

Iran Nuclear Talks: Why, this Time, Both Sides are Staying Positive from the Christian Science Monitor
"Iran hopes that success in nuclear talks will ease the bite of sanctions, while President Obama aims to show that his policy of tougher sanctions and diplomacy will produce results."

Africa's Forever Wars: Why the Continent's Conflicts Never End (Jeffrey Gettleman) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"There is a very simple reason why some of Africa's bloodiest, most brutal wars never seem to end: They are not really wars. Not in the traditional sense, at least. The combatants don't have much of an ideology; they don't have clear goals. They couldn't care less about taking over capitals or major cities -- in fact, they prefer the deep bush, where it is far easier to commit crimes."

Turning the Tables on Russia (Joe Nocera) from the New York Times
"Who knew that what corrupt Russian officials care about, more than just about anything, is getting their assets — and themselves — out of their own country? ... I have to confess that when I first began receiving press releases about this effort, which has gained traction in Europe as well as the U.S., I didn’t take it very seriously. Visa restrictions didn’t seem like much of a price for allowing an innocent lawyer to die in prison. But after watching the reaction of the Russian government, which has
repeatedly and vehemently denounced the bill — and which is now, out of pure spite, prosecuting Magnitsky posthumously — I’ve come to see that it really does hit these officials where it hurts them most."

Militarisation of Cyberspace: How the Global Power Struggle Moved Online from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Rise of cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure on both sides of Atlantic calls for creation of cyberweapons and new rules for use."

Grim Fairy Tale: China's Economy Grows at 8.1% (Gordon Chang) from Forbes Magazine
"... as disappointing as the Q1 number was—and stock markets did not react well to the news—it looks like the 8.1% figure overstates growth, not correlating with the weight of information for the period. ... Considering everything, it’s extremely unlikely that the economy expanded anywhere near the claimed 8.1% pace.  The momentum at the moment is on the down side, and day after day we are witnessing a dynamic increasingly difficult to reverse."

China’s Century or America’s? (Barry Eichengreen) from the East Asia Forum 
"The 21st century, in this view, will be China’s century. Yet one also hears hints of a very different narrative, in which the US is poised to experience an economic resurgence and China is about to hit the wall."

U.S., Philippines Start Drills Amid Territorial Spat with China from Reuters
"American and Filipino troops launched two weeks of annual naval drills on Monday amid a territorial stand-off between China and the Philippines as the United States seeks to reinforce its influence across the Asia-Pacific."

Italian Police Probe Vatican, Mafia Links in Teen’s Disappearance 30 Years Ago (Barbie Nadeau) from the Daily Beast
"Almost 30 years ago the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee disappeared. Now Italian authorities want to know if she’s buried with a Mafia don on the grounds of a Vatican church—and how much Holy See officials know about her disappearance."

Washington Whispers About Who Will Be Next Secretary of State (Leslie Gelb) from the Daily Beast
"Handicapping the race for secretary of state."

Convicted Defendants Left Uninformed of Forensic Flaws Found by Justice Dept. ( Spencer S. Hsu) from the Washington Post
"Justice Department officials knew for years that flawed forensic work might have lead to wrongful convictions. They told prosecutors, but not defendants."

The Growing Movement to Repeal ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws (Adam Cohen) from Time Magazine
"There is no way to undo what happened in the Zimmerman-Martin encounter, but some good can still come of it: it could lead states to repeal their misguided “stand your ground” laws."

Truth or Consequences on Bush's Air National Guard Service (Joe Hagan) from Texas Monthly
"Eight years ago, Dan Rather broadcast an explosive report on the Air National Guard service of President George W. Bush. For 36 years, it made its way through the swamps of state government as it led up to the collision between two powerful Texans on the national stage. And by the time it was over, no one—not Dan Rather, not George W. Bush—would be left unbloodied."

Republicans Recite Dem Attack Lines — With Little Hope Of Success from Talking Points Memo
"For all the brainpower the parties put into prepping their talking points, you’d think an election as significant as this one would yield the most finely crafted political spin. Instead, on the key issues of the season, Republicans are picking up Democratic attack lines and hurling them back where they came from, word for word."

Mitt Romney Shows Record Shortfall in Personal Popularity in ABC News/Washington Post Poll from ABC News
"Mitt Romney has emerged from the Republican primary season with the weakest favorability rating on record for a presumptive presidential nominee in ABC News/Washington Post polls since 1984, trailing a resurgent Barack Obama in personal popularity by 21 percentage points."

Mitt Romney Realizes He's Screwed with Latinos (Markos Moulitsas) from Daily Kos
"According to current polling, Romney could face an 80-20 loss with Latinos to Obama. And if he does, there is no realistic path to GOP victory. None."

Let the Nano-targeting Begin (Thomas Edsall) from the New York Times

"Who knew Scotch was a centrist's drink? The fusion of political campaign targeting and consumer marketing goes deeper and gets weirder."

ULTIMATE RECYCLING NUGGET!!
On its Way: Packaging You Can Eat (AUDIO) from American Public Media's Marketplace 
"It looks like an apple, looks like an orange, looks like a pear, but you can actually pick it up and wash it and stick a straw in it and drink the apple juice or the orange juice and the pear juice. And then you eat the bottle."