TEN BEST NUGGETS OF THE WEEK!!
1. Four Myths about Drone Strikes (Shehzad H. Qazi & Shoaib Jillani) from The Diplomat"The killing of senior al-Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi means drone strikes in Pakistan have made headlines again. But there’s plenty people are getting wrong."
2. The New Obama Doctrine: A Six-Point Plan for Global War (Nick Turse) from Salon
"Special ops, drones, spy games, civilian soldiers, proxy fighters and cyber warfare."
3. The Macroeconomics of Chinese Kleptocracy from Bronte Capital
"China is a kleptocracy of a scale never seen before in human history. ... I have chatted with – and many of the ideas are not original. The synthesis however is mine. Some sources do not want to be quoted. The macroeconomic effects of the Chinese kleptocracy and the massive fixed-currency crisis in Europe are the dominant macroeconomic drivers of the global economy."
4. 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 While Vatican insiders jockey for power and speculate on his successor, Joseph Ratzinger has withdrawn to focus on his still-ambiguous legacy."
5. Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran (David Sanger) from the New York Times
"From his first months in office, President Obama secretly ordered increasingly sophisticated attacks on the computer systems that run Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities, significantly expanding America’s first sustained use of cyberweapons, according to participants in the program."
6. How Not to Solve a Crisis (Joe Nocera) from the New York Times
"The American and European responses to their respective financial crises are studies in contrast. The Bush administration and the Federal Reserve took an “all-hands-on-deck” approach: not just saving A.I.G. and recapitalizing the banks, but buying billions of dollars worth of subprime mortgages that were poisoning the banking system, and guaranteeing virtually all bank debt. Say what you will about the moral hazard that comes with bailing out too-big-to-fail banks, the strategy worked. ... Throughout the euro crisis, the response of Europe’s political leaders has been tepid, reluctant and unconvincing."
7. 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."
8. The Last Tower: The Decline and Fall of Public Housing (Ben Austen) from Harpers Magazine
"Today, what seems harder to fathom than the erasure of entire high-rise neighborhoods is that they were ever erected in the first place. For years the projects had stood as monuments to a bygone effort to provide affordable housing for the poor and working-class, the reflection of a belief in a deeper social contract. And although that effort had by most accounts failed, the problems represented by the likes of Cabrini-Green persist, and nothing remotely adequate has been built to replace what has been demolished."
9. Paying to Play: Interview with a John (Antonia Crane) from the Rumpus
"He agreed to do the interview if it were 100% anonymous. I thought of the NY broker wearing my dress in my living room, red-faced and trembling with terror at the thought of giving up control. I remembered telling him “Stand up.” I held his damp chin in my gloved hand and said to him, “You’re safe here.” This was one of those moments. Max’s gentle courage was by turns surprising and tender as he flipped from sex worker to client. I was inspired by his vulnerability. I hope you are too."
10. How Obama Became Black (David Maraniss) from the Washington Post
"He was too dark in Indonesia. A hapa child — half and half — in Hawaii. Multicultural in Los Angeles. An “Invisible Man” in New York. And finally, Barack Obama was black on the South Side of Chicago. This journey of racial self-discovery and reinvention is chronicled in David Maraniss’s biography, “Barack Obama: The Story,” to be published June 19. These excerpts trace the young Obama’s arc toward black identity, through his words and experiences, and through the eyes of those who knew him best."
Now, to our regular news nuggets for Sunday, June 17th.
UP-FRONT FATHERS DAY NUGGET!!
Is it a Father’s Job to Teach his Kid to Fight? (Joel Stein) from the Washington Post
"...I find Father’s Day to be a good time to reflect on my relationship with my dad and blame him for all my shortcomings. But I can’t blame him for the fact that I don’t know how to fight. My dad was eager to teach me."
A Lincoln Brigade for Syria (Doug Bandow) from the National Interest
"It is time to say no to more unnecessary wars. If some people can’t wait to start another one, they should be the ones to fight it."
This would be an interesting experiment: How quickly can hawks transform into chickens?
Pinched and Griping in Iran (Nicholas Kristof) from the New York Times
"A drive across Iran suggests that economic sanctions are biting hard and causing many Iranians to blame their own regime, not the West."
First Tahrir Square, Then the Classroom (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"An education revolution may be the next step to empowering the youth of the Arab world."
Goodbye, Lenin: Will Russia Really Bury The Bolshevik Dictator? (Jacob Heilbrunn) from the National Interest
"Removing Lenin from Red Square would bring Russia one step closer to confronting its past honestly."
America's War Mistakes (Santiago Wills) from Salon
"President after president has fallen into similar traps when it comes to conflict. An expert explains why."
Who’s Afraid of the Kill List? (Fred Kaplan) from Slate
"Some may find it morally iffy. But at least Obama is taking responsibility for making the toughest decisions."
Obama’s Policy Offers Joy and Relief to Immigrants from the New York Times
"President Obama’s plan to offer work permits to some young illegal immigrants in the United States unleashed hope, undercut with some wariness."
The Strange Career of Juan Crow (Diane McWhorter) from the New York Times
"THE depth of my alienation from home hit me last January, when Alabama shut out Louisiana State for the college football championship. Even in the familiar afterglow of ’Bama’s second title in three years, I had to ask myself, what right did my state have to brag, about anything?"
HOLLYWOOD FATHERS DAY NUGGET!!
Tough Hollywood Dads: Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery & More (Photos) from the Daily Beast
"On screen, they’re wise guys, terminators, and cowboys. Off screen, they’re pops. From Eastwood to Bogart, see photos of famous actors spending quality time with their kids."
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