News Nuggets 984

DAYLEE PICTURE: A male Bornean Orangutan in the Moscow Zoo.  From the Atlantic.

Iran Confirms Attack by New Virus That Mines Data from the New York Times 
"The computers of Iranian officials appear to have been penetrated by a data mining virus called Flame, in what may be the most destructive cyberattack since the Stuxnet virus."

Newly Identified Computer Virus, Used for Spying, is 20 Times Size of Stuxnet from the Washington Post
"esearchers have identified a sophisticated new computer virus 20 times the size of Stuxnet, the malicious software that disabled centrifuges in an Iranian nuclear plant. But unlike Stuxnet, the new malware appears to be used solely for espionage. Variously dubbed Flame, Skywiper and Flamer, the new virus is the largest and possibly most complex piece of malware ever discovered, which suggests it is state-sponsored, researchers said."

Is ‘Flame’ The Latest Weapon In A Cyber War Against Iran? from Talking Points Memo
"Iran’s own cyber security agency on Monday released a bulletin confirming that the trojan had been detected in the country, saying that the malware could be behind recent “incidents of mass data loss.” "

Stability Trumps All Other Concerns in China (Yu Jie) from the Washington Post
"Our three fates should remind the world that, contrary to myths and assumptions, economic liberalization and development will not inevitably lead to corresponding political liberalization and development. Economic power has only reinforced an increasingly absurd state power in China."

Before China's Transition, a Wave of Nationalism from the New York Times via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"...there is a simmering sense among educated Chinese that something is missing. The self-doubts are fed by corruption, censorship and the widening gap between the haves and have-nots. Even with their weakened economies, Western countries -- with their rule of law and sense of security -- still have an enduring appeal when contrasted to the vagaries of authoritarian rule."
They have a dangerous nationalistic brew percolating in China these days, a mix of hubris only thinly covering a deep sense of self-doubt and insecurity.  There will be no way for the US to win rhetorically in the face of these attitudes.  If the US is modest and soft-spoken, it is immediately interpreted as a sign of weakness and decline ... and if the US asserts itself than it will be slammed for its anti-Chinese
neo-colonialism and for trying to "keep China down."  And of course, if you are the Chinese authorities in Beijing, anytime you're in trouble (which seems to be most of the time these days), it's really easy to play on this domestic schizophrenia to divert attention away from your own failings in an effort to "save face."  If they aren't careful, though, they could inadvertently whip their own population into an anti-US rage that will actually leave them with no alternative but to do something hasty, ill-conceived and freighted with all kinds of long-term consequence.  

Crackdown on Chinese Bloggers Who Fight the Censors With Puns from the New York Times via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"One of China's largest hosts of Twitter-like microblogs decreed new punishments on Monday for users who post comments that its editors -- and by extension, China's government censors -- deem inappropriate."

Young Men in China Struggling to Catch Up in Class from the New York Times via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"He and his male friends, who have similar experiences, have grown to resent both school and their female counterparts, who Mr. Wan says are smarter and often favored by teachers. "When I go to school, I feel that teachers always encourage girls, not boys," Mr. Wan said. "They say that girls always study harder and have good handwriting and that boys are always naughty and noisy and are troublemakers. I think that boys are suppressed." Educators say that the academic rift between boys and girls in China is apparent, and statistics indicate that it is quickly growing wider."

The Euro's Democratic Deficit (Peter Sutherland) from the New York Times 
"The euro is an undeniable economic achievement, but it needs greater political legitimacy."

The Multifaceted President (Steven T. Dennis) from Roll Call
"It’s a tale of two presidents — the ice-cold killer who orders drone attacks against a secret “kill list” of targets as young as 17, and the peacemaker winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and resisting calls to start new ones."

Will A Hard-Power-Loving Obama Sell? (Michael Hirsh) from the National Journal
"In a powerful one-two punch, The New York Times and Newsweek have just come out with extensively reported articles demonstrating how personally and deeply involved Obama is with killing terrorists--a lot of terrorists. Even to the point of occasionally taking out innocents. ... The question is, now that the image of a Obama-as-hard-power-president seems to be settling in as conventional wisdom, how will that play at the polls?"

College Dropouts Have Debt but No Degree (Ylan Q. Mui and Suzy Khimm) from the Washington Post
"As the nation amasses more than $1 trillion in student loans, education experts say a vexing new problem has emerged: A growing number of young people have a mountain of debt but no degree to show for it. Nearly 30 percent of college students who took out loans dropped out of school, up from fewer than a quarter of students a decade ago"

Conservative Groups Call the Shots on Obamacare Repeal (Joan McCarter) from Daily Kos
"Here's one of the reasons congressional Republicans are in such a mess over what to do about replacing Obamacare if the Supreme Court decides to strike the law down: The extremist groups pulling the strings are out for blood, and damn public opinion. Elected Republicans are starting to talk about the possibility of keeping some of the popular parts of Obamacare; coverage guarantee regardless of pre-existing conditions, young people remaining on their parents' plans up to age 26, the closed Medicare prescription drug "doughnut hole." None of that, say the groups who got a good chunk of them elected."

The Truth About American Politics (George Packer) from the New Yorker 
"A diverse lineup of authors agrees: the extremism of the Republican Party is destroying American politics…"

Sidney Barthwell, Former Classmate, Predicts Trouble For Romney When Debating Obama from the Huffington Post
"Sidney Barthwell, perhaps the only former classmate of both Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, thinks the former Massachusetts governor doesn't stand a chance when facing the incumbent president in debates prior to their November electoral contest."

Sarah Palin's Legacy (Markos Moulitsas) from Daily Kos
This look at Rob Portman as Romney's VP pick is pretty hilarious!
"...what does this say about Sarah Palin and her legacy in the GOP, when four years later, Republicans are so traumatized by her existence that they're headed toward the other extreme?"

Next Tea Party Target: Texas (Alex Seitz-Wald) from Salon
"Will another far-right candidate score an upset in the Lone Star State's GOP Senate primary?"

How Did Wisconsin Become the Most Politically Divisive Place in America (Dan Kaufman) from the New York Times
"Scott Walker, Scott Fitzgerald and the coming recall vote in the land of cheese and rancor."

IL-Sen: Kirk's Ex-wife Files FEC Complaint Questioning Campaign Payments from the Chicago Tribune
These Republicans, Man!!  What is with them and the sordid rancid marital relations they have?  "Please, honey, don't say anything about my other live-in honey ... and I'll pay you big money."   
"Soon after Mark Kirk's ex-wife announced she would no longer support his 2010 run for the U.S. Senate, he brought her onto his campaign team, then quietly paid her after his victory. But Kimberly Vertolli, a lawyer who received $40,000 from the campaign, again is at odds with her ex-husband, filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Kirk and his then-girlfriend may have broken campaign finance law."

OBAMA STIMULUS BOOK NUGGET!!
The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era from Taegan Godard's Political Wire
Sadly, this book is not due out until August.
"A must-read book out later this summer: The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era by Michael Grunwald. ... Summary: Time senior correspondent Michael Grunwald tells the secret history of the stimulus bill, the purest distillation of Change We Can Believe In, a microcosm of Obama’s policy successes and political failures. Though it is reviled by the right and rejected by the left, it really is a new New Deal, larger than FDR’s and just as transformative. It prevented an imminent depression, while jump-starting Obama’s long-term agenda."

US HISTORY NUGGET!!

Happy 200th Birthday, War of 1812! (James M. Lundberg) from Slate

"A primer on America’s most bumbling, most confusing, and most forgotten conflict."

1960s POP MUSIC NUGGET!!

The Beach Boys’ Crazy Summer (Andrew Romano) from the Daily Beast

"He heard voices, did drugs and fell apart. Can the band’s reunion tour help put Brian Wilson back together again?"

ROBOT NUGGET [of a sort]!!

Tool-wielding Robots Crawl in Bodies for Surgery from the Associated Press 

"Imagine a tiny snake robot crawling through your body, helping a surgeon identify diseases and perform operations. It's not science fiction." 

DOG RESCUE NUGGET!!

Eldad from Hope for Paws (the News Nuggets' officials charity) has been at it again, really showing how unreasonable he and his organization can be in their efforts to get stray dogs off the street and into good homes.  From LA, he flew to Florida to save this one dog.  As I've noted here before, what makes Eldad's mission distinct is his patience and willingness to take often an incredible amount of time and effort to capture a stray -- and to do so with extraordinary compassion for the animal.  It turns out very few organizations or individuals take the time with strays.  They simply give up -- and the smart ones call Eldad.  Here's the video of the rescue.  If you want to see others, he has 100+ at his youtube channel HERE.