DAYLEE PICTURE: A praying mantis on a fern in Borneo. From the Daily Mail of the UK.
The Stage is Set for a Deal with Iran (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"So far, Iran is following the script for a gradual, face-saving exit from a nuclear program that even Russia and China have signaled is too dangerous. The Iranians will bargain up to the edge of the cliff, but they don’t seem eager to jump."
Do the Brass Support the Obama Defense Budget? (Kevin Baron) from the National Journal
"Some conservatives keep citing dissenters in the Pentagon who don't want the budget cut. If that's true, it's time we heard from them. While you were on spring break, the growing divide between GOP defense hawks and the generals cracked open into a virtual Grand Canyon."
The Rise of the Killer Drones: How America Goes to War in Secret from Rolling Stone Magazine
"An inside look at how killing by remote control has changed the way we fight."
Rotting From Within: Investigating the Massive Corruption of the Chinese Military (John Garnaut) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"In many fields of international competition, China is less sanguine about its abilities than outsiders. ... What should most worry Beijing, and provide some comfort to those who fear Chinese military expansionism, is the state of corruption in the People's Liberation Army (PLA)."
As I have long observed, an army (no matter how large) is of very limited use if, from the officers on down, it has little or no experience of real battlefield conditions. It is rarely noted that the Chinese army has seen virtually no real combat since the 1970s -- against Viet Nam.
The Paranoid Style in Chinese Politics (Minxin Pei) from Project Syndicate
"Judging by the salacious details revealed so far in the Bo affair, including the implication of his wife in the murder of a British businessman, it seems that the Party does indeed have good reason to be afraid. If anything, its hold on power is far more tenuous than it appears. Bo, the former Party chief of Chongqing, has come to symbolize the systemic rot and dysfunction at the core of a regime often viewed as effective, flexible, and resilient."
Pakistan to Deport Osama bin Laden’s Family on Wednesday from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"Pakistan will deport the 14 members of Osama bin Laden’s family to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as it seeks to avoid further embarrassing revelations about the al-Qaeda chief’s life in the country. Upon arrival in the kingdom, where they face no charges, the three widows and 11 children will live incognito with the bin Laden family, said the family’s lawyer, Aamir Khalil."
How to Pirate Proof Your Tanker (Amnon Gutman) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Amazing photos from the most dangerous waterway on Earth."
Trial Under Way, Former Priest Leaves U.S. from United Press International
"A former Catholic priest found liable of sexual abuse has left California for his native Ireland in the midst of his civil trial, church officials said."
The Resurrection of Hillary Clinton (Steve Kornacki) from Salon
"Four years to the day after hitting rock bottom, a new poll confirms just how dramatically her image has improved."
The Impermanent Republican Majority (Timothy Egan) from the New York Times
"By winning the urban vote — which made up 30 percent of the electorate in 2008 – in such a lopsided manner, Democrats could afford to lose rural areas, which were 21 percent of the overall vote. When Sarah Palin talked on the campaign trail about the “real America,” she was referring to a shrinking one."
GOPers Struggle To Say Anything Good About Romney from Talking Points Memo
"They’ll have to make do. But conservative House Republicans are having a hard time finding anything praiseworthy to say about their party’s presumptive presidential nominee."
Why Romney's No Reagan (Ryan Lizza) from the New Yorker
"Romney’s circumspection is actually a sign of victory for liberals: it remains politically unsafe to campaign on a detailed anti-government agenda."
How Republicans Threw In The Towel On Deficit Reduction from Talking Points Memo
"Republicans are still running on deficit reduction, but as the election nears, their governing agenda reveals something that close observers recognized all along: Deficit reduction was never the point."
Handicapping the Veepstakes: The Case For (and Against) Marco Rubio (Alex Altman) from Time Magazine
"“He will be the opposite of John McCain, who made a seat-of-the-pants decision with Palin,” says Larry Sabato, a political analyst at the University of Virginia. ... Let the guessing begin. Here’s the first in a series of snapshots (delivered in no particular order) of people likely to be on Romney’s short list:"
ROBOT NUGGET [of a sort]!!
South Korea's Mood-Sensing Robotic Prison Guards from The Week
"In the overcrowded prisons of Pohang, jail officials will soon have an unlikely watchdog to help patrol corridors."
ROCK NUGGET!!
Out of this World, Quite Literally: The Beautiful and Mysterious Fukang Meteorite from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"When it slammed into the surface of Earth, there was little sign of the beauty that lay inside. But cutting the Fukang meteorite open yielded a breathtaking sight. Within the rock, translucent golden crystals of a mineral called olivine gleamed among a silvery honeycomb of nickel-iron."
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