News Nuggets 1001

DAYLEE PICTURE: The Tagou martial arts school in China.  From National Geographic.

Iran Says It Has Detected 'Massive Cyber Attack' Against Its Nuclear Facilities: State TV from Reuters via the Huffington Post
"Iran has detected a planned "massive cyber attack" against its nuclear facilities, state television said on Thursday, after talks with major powers this week failed to resolve a row over Tehran's disputed nuclear activities. Iran's Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said the country's arch enemies the United States and Israel, along with Britain, had planned the attack."

Egypt in Peril from the Editorial Board of the Economist [of London] 
"Beneath the chaos lies a complex power struggle between generals and Islamists. The West should back the latter."
I agree with the Economist on what to root for here.

Understanding Moscow's Mideast Policy (Leon Hadar) from the National Interest
"Elements of the Kremlin's current policy—such as supporting Assad and fearing the Turks—echo those of czarist Russia."

Vietnam’s Blogger Revolution? (Marianne Brown) from The Diplomat
"Vietnamese bloggers are increasingly driving the news agenda in the country. More robust reporting will be good for Vietnam’s development."

Jerry Sandusky Trial, Day Eight: Adopted Son Drops a Bombshell (Diane Dimond) from the Daily Beast
"Moments after sexual-abuse charges against his father went to jury, Jerry Sandusky's adopted son came out and said he had been molested. Diane Dimond on the trial's gripping finale."

Assange's Celebrity Donors Were Left High and Dry (John Hudson) form the Atlantic
"If your friends gave you $376,000 to stay out of jail, the least you might want to do is drop a hint that you're skipping town. But none such courtesies were extended to Julian Assange's donors such as Michael Moore, who now face losing all the bail money they posted for the WikiLeaks founder."

Injection Wells: The Poison Beneath Us (Abrahm Lustgarten) from Salon 
"The hidden risks of pumping waste underground."

On Holder, Payback is Not Good Politics (Ed Rogers) from the Washington Post
"There are so many mutual feelings of unfair treatment among Republicans and Democrats that overreaching and over-acting has become the norm. The public tunes out when something becomes just another partisan squabble. Why isn't this more obvious to GOP leaders?"

‘Witch Hunt Season?’ Try Witch Hunt Era (Michael Hirsh) from the National Journal
I’m sorry, but can we talk turkey – I mean, Darrell Issa—for a moment? Is there any fair and balanced news commentator (honest ones, that is, not the Fox News version) who doubts what this guy is all about? Rep. Issa himself has made no pretense of his intentions: Nail Barack Obama first, raise Issa’s profile second (or maybe that’s first), and get at the truth last."

Yes, Iraq Definitely Had WMD, Vast Majority Of Polled Republicans Insist (Dan Froomkin) from the Huffington Post
"The poll, constructed by Dartmouth government professor Benjamin Valentino and conducted by YouGov from April 26 to May 2, found that fully 63 percent of Republican respondents still believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the U.S. invaded in 2003. By contrast, 27 percent of independents and 15 percent of Democrats shared that view."

The Unwitting Beneficiaries of Obamacare (Alec MacGillis) from the New Republic
"... it seems an opportune moment to pose a question that has been growing on me after several recent reporting trips: why aren’t the most obvious beneficiaries of the law more aware of it?  ... my reporting leads me to think that the problem, to a large extent, gets to a very specific issue: the decision by the administration not to broadcast the part of the law that will have the most obvious, immediate impact on the working class: the expansion of Medicaid."

Obama Looks to Capitalize on Shift in Presidential Race’s Momentum (Amie Parnes) from The Hill
"President Obama will look to cap a week in which momentum in the presidential race appeared to shift in his favor with a Thursday address to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Florida."

Obama Outfoxes Romney (Jacob Weisberg) from Slate
"The president’s agility on gay marriage and immigration is making his rival look stodgy and unprincipled."

OUR ON-THE-MONEY PUNDIT OF THE DAY!!
Don’t Blame the Candidates, Blame the News Media (Ezra Klein) from the Bloomberg News Service
"What was the news value of “the private sector is fine”? Did it augur a change in administration policy? It did not. In fact, the news conference was all about Obama’s renewed call for support for the economy. Did anyone in the news media really think that Obama believes the economy -- public or private -- is growing as he’d like it to be? No. Rather, the news value was derived from journalists hypothesizing that Republicans would use Obama’s statement to attack the president. This quickly became a self-fulfilling prophecy..."

Anonymous Sources Force Romney Off Message from Talking Points Memo 
"Like a website zapped with a virus, Romney’s campaign message has been garbled up by leaks about his vice presidential vetting process and, on Wednesday night, an alleged scheme by his campaign to keep good economic news about Florida under wraps. Outside observers say it’s all part of the process as a presidential campaign expands. But they also say Romney’s campaign may be uniquely ill-equipped to handle the anonymous attacks."
As I've said before, for this stage of the process, the Romney team has led one of the most ham-fisted campaigns I've ever witnessed.

NATURE PARK NUGGET!!
Up Close, but Doing No Harm from the New York Times
 "The best sustainable tourism businesses do more than just conserve."

BOAT NUGGET!!
Land Ahoy! Snap Up your own Private Island for £3m, but it Does Look Suspiciously like a Boat from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"This amazing-looking craft can't quite work out whether it's a boat or an island.  The Osros floating Island was designed to offer the billionaire superyacht lifestyle for mere millionaire money. It boasts six luxury double bedrooms, with space for 12 residents and accommodation for up to four staff members, all for a cool £3million."

MOVIE REVIEW NUGGET!!
Movie Review: Pixar’s Brave Is Fast, Funny, Unpretentious (David Edelstein) from Vulture.com
"The generic title and mythic-female-empowerment posters for Brave don’t prepare you for the rollicking Pixar comedy to come, a slapstick mother-daughter-rivalry farce that’s at its most moving in mid-mayhem."