News Nuggets 997

DAYLEE PICTURE: Some happy lions at Governors Camp in Kenya.  From National Geographic.

On Egypt, Syria: Take a Deep Breath, America (Leslie Gelb) from the Daily Beast
"... to stare Mideast realities in the face is to understand that we don’t understand where events are leading—save toward more conflict and more blood. ... Before jumping into Egypt or Syria, the U.S. needs to think about what comes next, next, and next. And then, don’t jump,"
Gelb ( a right-of-center analyst) unintentionally touches on the exceptional disconnect between beltway types (like himself) and average Americans.  I know of no-one in the latter category who thinks we should be "jumping into Egypt or Syria."  NO ONE!  And yet, here is this fairly well-connected analyst who thinks that some US action is imminent.  Gelb is correct to label these plans as folly -- but it is interesting that hawkish policy elites and lawmakers are THIS disconnected from the views of actual voters.

Giant Mushroom Cloud In Beijing (VIDEO) (PHOTOS) from the Huffington Post 
"A mushroom-like cloud was spotted over Beijing earlier this week, closely resembling the explosion of an atomic bomb, reports China Daily. ... While rumors swarmed online about the cause of the unusual cloud, Chinese police arrested two internet users who said the pollution had been triggered by a chlorine leak at a chemical plant or an explosion at a steel refinery, notes The Economic Observer. Meanwhile, government authorities told the Xinhua news agency straw burning was the cause and denied there had been any industrial accidents.

Greece as Victim (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times 
"Ask yourself, why does the dollar area — also known as the United States of America — more or less work, without the kind of severe regional crises now afflicting Europe? The answer is that we have a strong central government, and the activities of this government in effect provide automatic bailouts to states that get in trouble."

European Leaders to Present Plan to Quell the Crisis Quickly from the New York Times
"The plan will include measures to prevent bank runs and reduce what has become a vicious cycle of government debt problems turning into banking crises, as has happened in the past two years. In addition, the plan will push for countries to remove the regulations and layers of bureaucracy that inhibit competition, keep young people out of the work force or make it difficult to start a new business."
Should we put the word "quickly" in quotes? European notions of speed have stretched the meaning of the word.

What's Wrong with Pakistan? (Robert Kaplan) from Foreign Policy Magazine 
"Why geography -- unfortunately -- is destiny for South Asia's troubled heartland."

Alabama Law Casts a Long Shadow (Pamela Constable) from the Washington Post
"With the Supreme Court expected to rule this month on a similar Arizona immigration law, Alabama’s towns and businesses grapple with the unforeseen consequences of tough measure."

Canaries in the Coal Mine (Thomas Edsall) from the New York Times
"The volatility of white working class voters explains quite a bit about our political life."

Base Gives GOP Hell On 'Obamacare', Taxes (Sahil Kapur) from Talking Points Memo
"After spending President Obama’s first term emboldening the most ideologically intense elements of the conservative movement, elected Republicans are now finding themselves in a box on critical issues like health care and taxes with limited options to avert national crises."

Obama’s ‘Pottery Barn’ Strategy (Jon Meacham) from Time Magazine
"The President says George W. Bush is still to blame for the economy. And guess what? Most Americans agree."

Mark Hanna Was Right on Winning Campaigns (Mark Shields) from Creators Syndicate
"Barack Obama is still able to raise a lot of "protection" contributions from business interests. But whoever captures the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination will be at an enormous fundraising disadvantage against the Republican nominee when the corporate and financial crowd will be free to give, with impunity, to the GOP. Add to this the senseless Supreme Court decisions that, for the first time since Teddy Roosevelt's presidency, enable corporations to spend directly — and even anonymously — to back or attack candidates and make America safe for millionaires to donate millions to phony, so-called "independent" groups that are frequently operated by the candidate's closest supporters. According to the trusted Center for Responsive Politics, "Business interests dominate, with an overall advantage over organized labor of about 15 to one.""

Turning Our Backs on Britain's Fallen: How a New Generation Believes it was Just U.S. Troops that Won World War Two Thanks to Hollywood (Max Hastings) from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"Most French museums, not to mention school history books, make it sound like the Americans and the Resistance did it all. Millions of French people have seen Hollywood’s D-Day epics; only about six recognise our part. But I fear the same is becoming true among our own people."