News Nuggets 995

DAYLEE PICTURE: Mother and baby Masai Giraffes at the Nashville Zoo.  It's very easy to forget how big full grown giraffes actually are.  From Zooborns.

The Final Battles of Pope Benedict XVI from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"The mood at the Vatican is apocalyptic. Pope Benedict XVI seems tired, and both unable and unwilling to seize the reins amid fierce infighting and scandal. While Vatican insiders jockey for power and speculate on his successor, Joseph Ratzinger has withdrawn to focus on his still-ambiguous legacy."

Justices May Take Up Montana Campaign Finance Case Addressing Two-track System from the Los Angeles Times
"Citizens United and an appeals court ruling created a two-track campaign funding system favoring the wealthy. Now the Supreme Court is being asked to hear a Montana case to address some of the issues."

Five reactions to Obama's immigration initiative:
1.  Obama Gets Smart on Immigration With New Policy for DREAMers (Michelle Goldberg) from the Daily Beast
"Latinos frustrated by years of record deportations and ineffective policy are ecstatic at the president's executive order halting forced removals for many young undocumented immigrants. Michelle Goldberg on Obama's canny move."

2.  Obama’s Immigration Move is Huge News. Here’s Why. (Nathan Pippenger) from the New Republic
"Immigration reform advocates, whose mounting discontent over the administration’s policy dysfunction has become a serious political dilemma for the White House, are ecstatic. Marshall Fitz, an immigration expert at the Center for American Progress, called it “huge, beyond big” and said “it’s the biggest thing that we could have possibly hoped for.” That sentiment was widely echoed..."

3.  Obama’s Announcement Seizes Initiative and Puts Pressure on Romney (Helene Cooper & Trip Gabriel) from the New York Times
"In many ways, President Obama’s unilateral shift in immigration policy was a bluntly political move, a play for a key voting bloc in the states that will decide whether he gets another term. But as political moves go, it held the potential for considerable payoff."

4.  Republicans Struggle to Respond to Obama’s Immigration Decision (Aaron Blake) from the Washington Post
"Just hours after word leaked out that the Obama administration would stop deporting young illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States by their parents, the issue is already causing headaches for the Republican Party."

5.  Obama Immigration Plan Leaves Young Immigrants Hopeful, Skeptical from the Associated Press via the Huffington Post
"Scores of young undocumented immigrants who have called the United States home for most of their lives are excited by the Obama administration's decision allowing them to stay here legally, but they have a lot of questions. Most important: Is it too good to be true?"

OUR PUNDIT-OF-THE-DAY!!
Young Americans Get the Shaft (Matt Miller) from the Washington Post 
"You don’t even know it. You’re busy trying to get a degree, land a job, start a family, save for a home. You don’t follow the news. But trust me — you’ve been taken for a ride by your elders. The question isn’t whether such talk will stir up generational war. That’s already being waged — and you’re losing. The question is whether you’ll wake up and engage in a little generational self-defense. Let me see if I can motivate you."
I completely agree with Miller's critique here!  Unfortunately, the key piece here is that young people don't follow the news.  Period.  They indulge in resigned cynicism -- based on what?!  Based on only the most impressionistic understanding of either current events or recent history.  They play right into the hands of the hyper partisans out there who want nothing more than for these voters to simply shut up and go away.

Watergate’s Legacy to America (Kathleen Parker) from the Washington Post 
"...a country without faith or trust in its institutions — from the presidency to Congress to the judiciary and even to the once glorious, swashbuckling, truth-seeking press — is going to have a rough go of things. As seems to be the case. Given the spoils of what took place on June 17, 1972, at the Watergate office building, Nixon was no petty thief. He was a grand larcenist."

INTERESTING BARS NUGGET!!
Pull Up a Stool at the Coolest Bars in the World from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"For those who like enjoy a bar's decor as much as their signature drink, take a peek at this collection of the best bars the world has to offer.  From Chur, Switzerland to Truskavets, Ukraine, these watering holes are home to some of the most odd and amazing ambiance, guaranteed to accompany a night to remember - or one so good, you may not."

OBAMA BOOK NUGGET!!
The First Lady’s Family: A Review of American Tapestry by Rachel Swarns from the New York Times
"Rachel L. Swarns tells the story of several generations of Michelle Obama’s family in a book that reads like a panorama of black life in America."

TECHNOLOGY NUGGET!!
3-D Copying Makes Michelangelos of the Masses (Virginia Postrel) from Bloomberg News Service
"Wenman turned the photos into three-dimensional digital maps, using a free program called Autodesk 123D Catch. Then he used the maps to print miniature plastic replicas on the $2,000 MakerBot 3-D printer in his home office. And he made one of his best scans freely available, uploading it to the Thingiverse site where MakerBot enthusiasts share digital plans. Now, alongside the hobbyist designs for specialty tools, robot figurines and hair ornaments, you can find an 18th-century relief, John Deare’s “Venus Reclining on a Sea Monster with Cupid and a Putto.”"

SEA CREATURES NUGGET!!
Odd Sea Creatures Found at Volcanoes, Canyons (PICTURES) from National Geographic
"Scientists spotted the creature—and many others—during a three-week expedition this spring throughout four deep-sea regions in the volcano-rich Kermadec Ridge."