China Steps Back from Supporting Assad, Parts Ways with Russia from the Debka File [of Israel in English]
"Beijing has decided to distance itself from the Assad regime of Syria. Notice of this policy shift came about in a secret exchange of messages with the Obama administration, revealed here exclusively by DEBKAfile’s Washington sources. The latest message received in the latter half of last week said: China will no longer be a problem for America in dealing with Assad. That leaves only Russia."
Now -- I will have to say I have routinely found Debka File, a widely-read Israeli intelligence news website, to be either exaggerated or otherwise not entirely accurate. We'll see what the Chinese do now.
N. Korea Missiles at Parade Were Mock-Ups: Experts from Defense News
"Apparently new long-range ballistic missiles displayed at a North Korean military parade this month were mock-ups, according to two German experts who termed the exercise “a nice dog and pony show”."
Boy, the new leader of North Korea isn't getting away with much on the international stage lately. You have to wonder how much of their histrionics ARE just stagecraft.
In Afghanistan, Underground Girls School Defies Taliban Edict, Threats from the Washington Post
"A U.S.-funded girls school about a mile away was shuttered by insurgents in 2007, two years after it opened. They warned residents that despite a new government in Kabul and an international aid effort focused on female education, the daughters of Spina were to stay home. For a while, they all did."
The Putin Generation: What Russia’s Protesters Believe (Paul Starobin) from the New Republic
"These are people—call them the Putin Generation—who came of age during the near-chaos of the 1990s and have known no leader other than Putin for perhaps the entirety of their adult lives. Having grown up in an atmosphere of upheaval, they are generally wary of dramatic change—and are more apt to sound like pragmatic gradualists than fervent revolutionaries."
Philippines to Seek Counsel from the U.S. in Standoff Over Chinese Ships from the Los Angeles Times
"The Philippines plans to seek counsel from the United States military over its two-week standoff with Chinese ships operating in the Scarborough Shoal, a new step in the simmering dispute. Chinese officials have repeatedly expressed their commitment to resolving tensions in the area through diplomatic channels."
Drones for “Urban Warfare” in the US from Salon
"Manufacturers are targeting U.S. police forces for sales, as drones move from the Middle East to Main Street."
Britain Falls Back into Recession from the Globe and Mail [of Toronto]
"Britain’s economy is in its second recession since the financial crisis, data showed on Wednesday, heaping pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition government as it battles a series of political embarrassments. The unexpected contraction in the first three months of 2012 - a 0.2 per cent dip in gross domestic product - confounded forecasts for 0.1 per cent growth."
"Unexpected"?! By who? In Europe, across the board, those countries that have embraced strict austerity have (to my knowledge) all tripped right back into recession. Why should Britain be any different?
Housing Declared Bottoming in U.S. After Six-Year Price Decline from the Bloomberg News Service
"The U.S. housing market is showing more signs of stabilization as price declines ease and home demand improves, spurring several economists to call a bottom to the worst real estate collapse since the 1930s."
Latest Record Results Show Apple a Bigger Global Power Than Most Nations (Zachary Karabell) from the Daily Beast
"The tech behemoth is not just a cool computer/phone/tablet company, but a multibillion-dollar ecosystem and society with more influence and clout than most countries."
Secret Service Lessons: Knuckleheads and Clean Houses (Amy Davidson) from the New Yorker
"What can politicians—and the public—take away from the Colombian prostitution scandal?"
The Historic Polling Heights of Hillary Clinton (Chris Cillizza) from the Washington Post
"Great poll numbers and high-profile supporters don’t matter at all if Clinton has, in her heart of hearts, put away the idea of running for president again. If that door is left open even a crack, however, these are the sorts of developments that could push it open wider."
Romney's Plan to Govern Country So Vague, Allies Question Intentions from the Associated Press
""You have to campaign to govern, not just to win," Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said in recent days after endorsing Romney. "Go ahead and have the confidence in the voters to explain the fix we're in and then tell them with some specificity what we can do to get out of it in a way that's good for everybody. Romney doesn't talk that way." It's a sentiment other Republicans decline to express so publicly, and Daniels later downplayed his comment. But it's one that accurately describes the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's general aversion to detail."
I think it can be safely said that Mitch Daniels will not be on Romney's VP short list.
BIZARRE ANIMAL NUGGET!!
Cute Or Creepy? Nine Animals Which Could Be Aliens from the Huffington Post
""Aliens are everywhere, not just in space," ... To illustrate his point, Bugeyes introduced me to the Blobfish, who I've chosen as my first of "9 Animals Who Could Be Aliens.""
RELIGIOUS BOOK REVIEW NUGGET!!
A Review of Bad Religion by Ross Douthat (Mark Oppenheimer) from the New York Times
"In his new book, Ross Douthat links the decline of mainstream faiths in postwar America to a decline in traditional American values."
I have to say, I don't agree with several of Douthat's conclusions in this book. I think he lets mainstream institutional churches off the hook for their declines way too easily. But he raises many interesting questions here.
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