Glasnost in North Korea? (John Delury) from Yale Global
"The ghost of Deng Xiaoping may lurk in Pyongyang, with signs that the world's youngest head of state is trying to shake up his isolated and impoverished nation. From the sudden dismissal of his top military leader, on grounds of "illness," to a pop music show featuring American icons Mickey Mouse and Rocky Balboa, to a novel guest- worker program allowing North Koreans to earn hard currency in China, Kim Jong-un is taking a firm grip on power even as he loosens strictures and tells officials to try new things."
What China Learned from the Soviet Union’s Fall (A. Greer Meisels) from The Diplomat
"Why the process of assessing blame for the collapse of the USSR is still a hot topic in Beijing."
Mitt Romney’s Commander in Chief Problem (Michael Crowley) from Time Magazine
"For decades, Republican presidential candidates enjoyed a predictable advantage over Democrats on foreign policy. But not in 2012. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows President Barack Obama holding a steady 10-point lead on the question of who would make a better Commander in Chief. A recent Pew poll showed Obama with a 12-point edge on the question of who would better protect Americans from terrorist attacks. In a Pew poll four years ago, John McCain led Obama on that same question by 15 points — a whopping 27-point swing. That’s an amazing turnaround."
Romney Book: Britain is a Tiny Island that Makes Stuff Nobody Wants (Joshua Keating) from Foreign Policy Magazine
""England [sic] is just a small island. Its roads and houses are small. With few exceptions, it doesn't make things that people in the rest of the world want to buy. And if it hadn't been separated from the continent by water, it almost certainly would have been lost to Hitler's ambitions.""
Mitt Romney Visits London While Stumbling on Almost Every Front (Nicholas Watt) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"The Obama campaign could scarcely have thought of a better outcome for Mitt Romney's first UK visit as presumptive nominee."
Mitt Romney's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in London (Tony Hardon) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"... the incorrigible Mayor Boris Johnson turned the day into what one American reporter on the trip aptly described as a 'Cat 4 manurestorm' when he mocked Romney before 60,000 people. 'I hear there's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready,' Johnson shouted, in a performance more Viking than Anglo-Saxon. 'Are we ready? Yes we are!' He then led the crowd in a chant of 'Yes We Can', Obama's famous campaign slogan from 2008."
Fox News' Charles Krauthammer: Mitt Romney's Olympics Gaffe Was 'Unbelievable,' 'Beyond Human Understanding,' 'Incomprehensible' (VIDEO) from the Huffington Post
""All Romney has to do, say nothing," Krauthammer said. "It’s like a guy in the 100-meter dash. All he has to do is to finish, he doesn’t have to win. And instead, he tackles the guy in the lane next to him and ends up disqualified. I don’t get it.""
Mitt’s British Blunders: How It Played In The UK Press from Talking Points Memo
"Mitt Romney is off to a spectacularly bad start in London, at least according to the British press ridiculing the Republican candidate on his first major foreign trip."
Mitt Romney Gets Cold Reception from UK Media after Olympic Gaffe from the Guardian [of the UK]
"'Romneyshambles', 'party-pooper', 'worse than Palin' – British papers are unimpressed by Republican's charm offensive."
If Mitt Romney Doesn’t Like Us, We Shouldn’t Care (Alex Spillius) from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"Mitt Romney is perhaps the only politician who could start a trip that was supposed to be a charm offensive by being utterly devoid of charm and mildly offensive."
Romney Abroad: Candidate Obama Did It Better in 2008 (Caren Bohan) from National Journal
"Mitt Romney's clumsy start to his overseas trip is shaping up as a stark contrast to candidate Barack Obama's tour of the Middle East and Europe in July 2008, when he managed to strike perfect pitch at press conferences and in visits with foreign leaders."
Romney’s Anchor (Charlie Cook) from the National Journal
"What seems to be holding Romney back are voters' personal feelings toward him, which are more negative than those faced by any of the past six nonincumbent nominees... In my judgment, Romney's poor numbers go back to his campaign's obsession with talking only about the economy and not attempting to define who Romney is as a person, as a way to build trust and strong positive personal feelings toward their candidate. "
A case in point: Romney's interview with Haaretz:
Romney to Haaretz: Military Option on Iran Should Not be Ruled Out (Ari Shavit) from Haaretz [of Israel in English]
""He radiates old-fashioned American warmth. But when the recording device is turned on, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate immediately becomes tense. He is careful not to say anything superfluous. He refrains from making any commitments. Like a diligent student at an oral exam, he carefully weighs every word he is about to utter. But the interviewee is even more focused on what he is not allowed to say than on what he is about to say.""
Lindsey Graham Defies Party Line as Defense Cuts, GOP Primary Loom (Michelle Cottle) from the Daily Beast
"He committed Republican heresy by saying revenue needs to be part of any deficit solution. Why the outspoken senator may not have anything left to lose in South Carolina."
DAREDEVIL NUGGET!!
One Giant Plunge for Mankind: Skydiver Fearless Felix Leaps from 18 MILES above the Earth from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Skydiver 'Fearless' Felix Baumgartner today leapt into the stratosphere more than 18 miles above the Earth - nearly three times higher than cruising jetliners. The Austrian daredevil landed safely near Roswell, New Mexico, after reaching an phenomenal estimated top speed of 536mph during his free fall descent."
OUTER SPACE NUGGET!!
Attack of the Vampire Sun! Astronomers Spot Binary System Where One Star Sucks the Life Out of Another from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"An international team has used the Very Large Telescope in Chile to study what are known as O-type stars, which have very high temperature, mass and brightness. These 'vampire stars' have a smaller companion star sucks matter off the surface of its larger neighbour."
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