U.S. and Israel Intensify Talks on Iran Options from the New York Times
"...after a flurry of high-level visits, including one by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta to Israel on Wednesday, a number of administration officials say they remain hopeful that Israel has no imminent plans to attack and may be willing to let the United States take the lead in any future military strike, which they say would not occur until next year at the earliest."
The Euro Crisis: Collapse from the Economist [of London]
"NEW data on manufacturing conditions across much of the world are out today, and the figures are just brutal. Things look particularly grim for the euro area ..."
Capitalism, Not Culture, Drives Economies (Fareed Zakaria) from the Washington Post
"Ironically, the argument that culture is central to a country’s success has been used most frequently by Asian strongmen to argue that their countries need not adopt Western-style democracy."
Romney Hasn’t Done His Homework (Jared Diamond) from the New York Times
"It is not true that my book “Guns, Germs and Steel,” as Mr. Romney described it in a speech in Jerusalem, “basically says the physical characteristics of the land account for the differences in the success of the people that live there. There is iron ore on the land and so forth.” That is so different from what my book actually says that I have to doubt whether Mr. Romney read it."
The Hiring of the President (Todd S. Purdum) from Vanity Fair
"It’s Mitt Romney’s mantra: America needs a leader with strong business credentials. Yet history shows the opposite—private-sector successes flopped in office. Meanwhile, there is one important kind of experience Romney may not have."
Case in point:
Romney's CEO Style Rankled Mass. Lawmakers from the Associated Press
"Unlike his three GOP gubernatorial predecessors, the politically inexperienced Romney was never at ease in the chummy world of trading favors for votes. He bypassed rank-and-file Democrats and dealt mostly with the party's legislative leaders during his four-year term, though he did work with Democrats to pass the state's health care overhaul."
On Mitt Romney’s Naïve Evasion Strategy (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"From his tax returns to his slippery policy proposals, Romney is doing everything he can to fend off serious scrutiny. Can a master of prevarication make it into the White House?"
Naive? I would not call this strategy at all naive. Deeply cynical, yes. And it has been a surprisingly successful strategy if you look at the 2010 congressional elections and Sarah Palin's rise. I think this election will be the real test as to who is "naive".
Harry Reid Doubles Down On Romney Tax Charge (Luke Johnson) from the Huffington Post
"Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) didn't back down Wednesday from his accusation, made in an interview with The Huffington Post, that he heard that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes for a decade. "I am not basing this on some figment of my imagination," he told Nevada reporters on a conference call, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I have had a number of people tell me that." He declined to name his source."
'Kiss My Ass': Fear and Loathing in the Romney Campaign (Joe Conason) from Real Clear Politics
"The emerging truth about the man who will soon accept the Republican presidential nomination is that -- like Sarah Palin -- his handlers cannot trust him to cope with unscripted questions. That was particularly true on this trip, where his plenteous gaffes would only have multiplied if anyone had been able to ask a tough question."
Negative Talk About Romney Spikes After Gaffes (Alex Roarty) from National Journal
"Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s gaffe-filled foreign trip did some political damage stateside, according to a poll from Conversation Nation, a joint project of National Journal and the survey research firm Keller Fay Group."
Roarty gets a two-fer today!
It's Not Just the Economy, Stupid (Alex Roarty) from the National Journal
"A trip that should have been perfunctory for a presidential nominee has elicited fierce blowback, first from the British authorities and later from Palestinians. As former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel put it, Romney "made a mess of being a tourist.""
Olympics Badminton Scandal Rocks China (Dan Levin) from the Daily Beast
"The badminton scandal isn't only a blow to the Olympics, but for China—a nation obsessed with gold medals, stars, and the 'feather hair ball'—it’s devastating, writes Dan Levin."
Romney’s New Auto-bailout Ad Swings and Misses (Jennifer Rubin) from the Washington Post
"In short, I don’t get the point of the ad. It seems to be written for the Obama campaign team and not the voters. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being Reagan’s “Morning in America,” this is a 2. Maybe a 1."
For God, Texas and Golf (Gail Collins) from the New York Times
"It’s so ironic, people. The national electorate is totally turned off by partisan standoffs. You can almost hear the public imploring, will you guys please just make some back-room deals? And, at that same moment, the Republican candidates are being pushed into being more and more intractable."
CLASSIC MOVIES NUGGET!!
The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time from the British Film Institute
Not one vote for Casablanca?! WTF!
"846 critics, programmers, academics and distributors have voted – and the 50-year reign of Kane is over. Our critics’ poll has a new number one." http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/50-greatest-films-all-time
OWL VIDEO NUGGET!!
BIZARRE!!
Shapeshifting Owl from YouTube
CUTE ODD ANIMAL VIDEO NUGGET!!
Pygmy Jerboa from YouTube
No comments:
Post a Comment