News Nuggets 981

DAYEE PICTURE: Monsoon rain in southern Bangladesh.  From National Geographic.

TEN BEST NUGGETS OF THE WEEK!!

1.  Britain Fears 'Lost' Generation of Jobless Youth in Europe's Crisis from the McClatchy News Service
"Europe’s economic crisis has fueled a spiraling problem of unemployment among young people, with job seekers aged 15-24 more than twice as likely to be out of work as the average European. Policy makers and experts are warning that a growing number of them could remain locked out of the economy for years to come, posing a long-term challenge to growth and raising questions about the fundamental health of the continent’s labor force."

2.  Charting Obama’s Journey to a Shift on Afghanistan from the New York Times 
"It was just one brief exchange about Afghanistan with an aide late in 2009, but it suggests how President Obama’s thinking about what he once called “a war of necessity” began to radically change less than a year after he took up residency in the White House. ... “Well,” Mr. Obama responded that day, “I’m not going to give them more time.” A year later, when the president and a half-dozen White House aides began to plan for the withdrawal, the generals were cut out entirely. There was no debate, and there were no leaks. "

3.  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."

4.  Obama Spending Binge Never Happened: Government Outlays Rising at Slowest Pace Since 1950s (Rex Nutting) from the Wall Street Journal 
"Of all the falsehoods told about President Barack Obama, the biggest whopper is the one about his reckless spending spree. ... Although there was a big stimulus bill under Obama, federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since Dwight Eisenhower brought the Korean War to an end in the 1950s."

5.  Why a 'Record Low' Number of Americans are 'Pro-Choice': 5 Theories from The Week
"Gallup reveals a surprising drop in the number of people who call themselves "pro-choice," even as more Americans back gay marriage and the legalization of pot."

6.  Does Tough Love Work With Third Graders? (Michel Martin) from NPR's Tell Me More program
"Most passed but the ones who didn't have to retake it this summer and if they fail a second time, state officials say that they will likely be held back in the third grade. The rule is new in Indiana but other states like Florida have been testing third graders with similar consequences for some time now."

7.  The Ph.D. Now Comes With Food Stamps from the Chronicle of Higher Education
"Ms. Bruninga-Matteau is part of an often overlooked, and growing, subgroup of Ph.D. recipients, adjunct professors, and other Americans with advanced degrees who have had to apply for food stamps or some other form of government aid since late 2007. Some are struggling to pay back student loans and cover basic living expenses as they submit scores of applications for a limited pool of full-time academic positions."

8.  The "Vetting" Obsession (Paul Waldman) from American Prospect
"Conservatives are still hoping to uncover Barack Obama's deepest, darkest secret."

9.  GOP to Modernity: Stop (Andrew Leonard) from Salon
"For House Republicans, the less we know about our country and our planet, the better."

10.  Texas Marches Toward Swing State Status. Only Question is 'When?' (Markos Moulitsas) from Daily Kos
"PPP's latest poll of Texas showed Mitt Romney beating President Barack Obama 50-43 in the presidential head-to-head. That the Republican was winning isn't surprising, but the single-digit margin was. John McCain won the state 55-44 in 2008, and it has obviously served as the GOP's
electoral stronghold (and breeding grounds) for several decades, both at the state and national levels. The GOP's mid- to long-term problem, however, is that there's not enough white people to offset the state's explosive demographics."

Now, to our regular news nuggets for Sunday, May 27th.

Egypt's Election Hands Liberals a Pivotal Voice from the Editorial Board of The National [of the United Arab Emirates in English]
"... in fact, the weeks until the run-off vote on June 16 and 17 promise to be a period of intense political horse-trading, in which the loose alliance of secular liberal democratic elements has a precious pivotal position. If they use it wisely, they can greatly influence the way Egypt is governed, through the new president's six-year term and beyond."

New Spanish Finance Horrors Shock The World (Walter Russell Mead) from the American Interest
"It may be a holiday weekend in the United States and much of Europe (where the Monday after the feast of Pentecost is often celebrated as a holiday), but the world’s politicians, central bankers and financiers are too busy quaking in their boots to bask in the sun. The problem is Spain, which dropped two stink bombs on the world. "

Can China Escape the Low-Wage Trap? (James Fallows) from the New York Times
"... the events of 2012 have made accounts of an all-capable and problem-free China, which were so common just before and after the triumphant 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, seem quaintly credulous. While each of these problems is likely to prove surmountable, together they are clues to a question that will take much longer to answer: Can China make it as a fully modern economy and society?"

When Modern Cities Become Ghost Towns (Kate Katharina Ferguson) from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"Urban researchers in Berlin are exploring an eerie phenomenon -- the modern ghost town. From a deserted Cypriot holiday resort to a brand new Chinese city devoid of inhabitants, they are asking why people abandon their communities and exploring the stories that make these empty places so compelling."

A Power Vacuum Is Killing the Euro Zone (Tyler Cowen) from the New York Times
"AS problems mount in the euro zone, it’s increasingly evident that we’ve been witnessing an institutional failure of monumental proportions."

Building the Next Facebook a Tough Task in Europe (Eric Pfanner) from the New York Times
"In the United States, promising Internet start-ups can expect venture capitalists to come calling at an early stage. Fat checks often follow quickly. In Europe, many entrepreneurs have to wait longer; to get their businesses up and running, they sometimes have to rely on unorthodox sources of funding, including France’s generous welfare benefits."

Home Is Where They Let You Live (Jasmin Darznik) from the New York Times 
"Immigrants will draw their notions of “home” not only from what is familiar and desirable, but also from what is permitted and denied them."

Penn State and Catholic Church Child Sex-Abuse Trials Divide Penn. Public (Marci Hamilton) from the Daily Beast
"Which side are you on? The parallel sex-abuse trials of Msgr. William Lynn and former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky are revealing deep differences among those who once revered both men, writes Marci Hamilton."

The Emotional Tug of Obama (Frank Bruni) from the New York Times
"FORGET your political affiliation. Never mind your assessment of his time in office so far. If you have any kind of heart, you’re struck by it: the photograph of Barack Obama bent down so that a young black boy can touch his head and see if the president’s hair is indeed like his own. It moves you. It also speaks to a way in which Obama and Mitt Romney, whose campaigns are picking up the pace just as polls show them neck and neck, are profoundly mismatched."

Obama Should Seize the High Ground (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
Friedman nails the conundrum Obama finds himself in.  It's worthy of a big excerpt.
"Think about this: Is there anyone in America today who doesn’t either have a pre-existing medical condition or know someone who does and can’t get health insurance as a result? Yet two years after Obama’s health care bill became law, how many Americans understand that once it is fully implemented no American with a pre-existing condition will ever again be denied coverage? “Obamacare is socialized medicine,” says the Republican Party. No, no — excuse me — socialized medicine is what we have now! People without insurance can go to an emergency ward or throw themselves on the mercy of a doctor, and the cost of all this uncompensated care is shared by all those who have insurance, raising your rates and mine. That is socialized medicine and that is what Obamacare ends. Yet Obama — the champion of private insurance for all — has allowed himself to be painted as a health care socialist."

Cut It Out, Internet Bullies! (Meghan McCain) from the Daily Beast 
"After Meghan McCain spoke out on TV about the GOP’s extremists, Twitter and the blogosphere blew up with personal attacks. What will it take to stop name-calling and focus on the issues?"

PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY NUGGET!!
Get Ready for the Election with 'Presidential Campaign Posters' from the LosAngeles Times Book Review
This looks AWESOME.  Check out the gallery that accompanies the article. 
"With "Presidential Campaign Posters" (Quirk Books, $40), the Library of Congress takes a look back at two centuries of memorable election art."