News Nuggets 977

DAYLEE PICTURE:  The Veliki Prstvaci waterfalls in Croatia.  From Der Spiegel of Germany. 

Obama's Preference for Talks with Iran Faces Test at Looming Meeting from the Associated Press via FOX News
"President Obama's preferred path to end the Iranian nuclear standoff faces a stern test this week when world powers sit down with Iran in another bid to press it to meet international demands to prove it is not trying to develop nuclear weapons. Failure will strengthen calls for military action. "

Iranians Taking Solace in the Past (Camelia Entekhabifard) from the New York Times
"Iran's youth and their elders are praying for progress at the nuclear talks in Baghdad."

US-Pakistan Tensions Deepen as Obama Snubs Zardari at Nato Summit (Ewen MacAskill) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Obama expresses frustration with Pakistan over its refusal to open up Nato supply routes in protest over US drone attacks"

Germany Isolated as Latin Bloc Calls the Shots from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"The eurozone's 'Latin Bloc' is in full revolt. The trio of French, Italian, and Spanish leaders - backed by world powers - are to push for a radical shift in Europe's economic strategy at crucial summit on
Wednesday."

India-China Relations and the Media: Blame the Messenger from the Economist [of the UK]
"China was accused of seeking to “internationalise” its claim to disputed territory. In the narrative of Chinese policy to which Indians have become accustomed by their press, it added another chapter to a familiar, consistent campaign by China to do India down."

The Specter of China's Cultural Revolution (Lijia Zhang) from the New York Times
"Until the leadership confronts the Cultural Revolution head-on, its ghosts will continue to haunt the nation."

How FBI Entrapment Is Inventing 'Terrorists' - and Letting Bad Guys Off the Hook (Rick Perlstein) from Rolling Stone Magazine
"This past October, at an Occupy encampment in Cleveland, Ohio, "suspicious males with walkie-talkies around their necks" and "scarves or towels around their heads" were heard grumbling at the protesters' unwillingness to act violently. "
I had said at the time that this kind of thing was going on.

A Court of Her Own (David V. Johnson) from Boston Review
An interesting look at the world of supreme court reporting.
"Nearly two years into her tenure as chief justice of Karlan’s Court, our legal columnist Pam Karlan talked to Web editor David Johnson via email about the perks of being on the BR bench, the legal column she would have happily died to write, and why she’s not surprised by John Roberts."

DOJ Accepts Ruling that Transgender Bias is Illegal from Raw Story 
"The Department of Justice (DOJ) accepted Monday a ruling from Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that claims gender identity discrimination is a type of sex discrimination that is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

On Obama’s Hillary Clinton-Joe Biden Switcheroo (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"How likely is it that Obama will dump Biden for Hillary as veep? Probably not very. But recent polls suggest the president would be foolish not to consider mixing up the ticket."

Don’t Worry, Joe: It Ain’t So. Why Obama Won’t Run with Hillary Clinton (Jeff Greenfield) from Yahoo News
"First, when have presidents who are up for re-election dumped their vice presidents, and why have they done it? The difference between the reality and the Hillary-for-Joe fantasy can be measured in light-years."

Senior Admin Officials: Debt Limit Brinksmanship Is Political Suicide … For Republicans from Talking Points Memo
"At a background briefing with reporters Tuesday, two senior administration officials made a plausible case that the GOP’s demands are politically unsustainable, suggesting President Obama can stick to his guns as the debt limit approaches and that Boehner and Republicans will cave."

Our Pundit-of-the-Day!!
GOP to Modernity: Stop (Andrew Leonard) from Salon
"For House Republicans, the less we know about our country and our planet, the better."

Who are the Anti-Obama Democrats? (Aaron Blake) from the Washington Post 
"About 15 percent of Democratic primary voters are voting against the president, and the Arkansas and Kentucky contests tonight are likely to include significant numbers of Democrats spurning the president."

Zombie Birtherism: The Conspiracy That Doesn’t Know It’s Dead from Talking Points Memo
"Signs of life from the birther hive have also recently been reported in Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina, and Florida. (It is also worth noting, as TPM reported last week, that some of the most hardcore birthers are now so far gone that they’re saying Obama was born in America after all, only now they think his Kenyan father was a cover for his “real” father, communist Frank Marshall Davis..)"

PA-Pres: Obama Leads Big in Pennsylvania (Markos Moulitsas) from Daily Kos 
"One of the great polling mysteries of the 2012 is the fact that President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are deadlocked in national polling, but the state-level polling shows a much more comfortable Obama lead. Case in point is Pennsylvania—a state more critical for Romney's chances than Obama's. Yet polling hasn't shown much of a contest. PPP has the latest numbers:"

It’s Official: Watching Fox Makes You Stupider (Ben Adler) from the Nation 
"...it fails the fundamental test of journalism: are you informing your audience? According to a new study by Farleigh Dickinson University, Fox viewers are the least knowledgeable audience of any outlet, and they know even less about politics and current events than people who watch no news at all."

ANIMAL RESCUE NUGGET!!
To celebrate Hope-for-Paws's contest victory the other day, I'm posting this rescue video Eldad Hagar did earlier this year.  It not only showcases the gift (and the patience) Eldad has with stray dogs, it demonstrates I think quite clearly how quickly a biting, snappy dog usually destined to be put down can be compassionately trained to completely stop doing that and be a friendly, normal loving dog.  Hint: it probably took less than an hour.  There is a moment in the video clip where you can really see that the dog begins to understand that the human is not there to hurt him but there to be his friend.  When you see that, it is quite moving!