News Nuggets 1033

DAYLEE PICTURE: Lightning over the Caspian Sea in northern Iran.  From National Geographic.

UP-FRONT VOTER ID NUGGET!!
Commentary: Pennsylvania Voter ID Law is Morally Indefensible (Patrick Kerkstra) from the Philadelphia Inquirer via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 
"Before the case against Pennsylvania's Voter ID law got its hearing in Commonwealth Court, ID advocates could pretend they were the good guys. This campaign isn't about voter suppression, they could say with a straight face; this is about putting an end to voter fraud. But over seven days in a Harrisburg courthouse, that plausible deniability was shredded."

Why Hillary Clinton Snubbed the Syrian National Council on Istanbul Visit (Mike Giglio) from the Daily Beast
"Clinton met with Syrian activists in Turkey, but not the Syrian National Council, ostensibly the revolution’s unified voice. Her snub seemed to stem from a desire to tell the fractious group to get its act together—and perhaps to signal that America is moving on."

You'll Never be Chinese (Mark Kitto) from Prospect Magazine
"I wanted China to be the place where I made a career and lived my life. For the past 16 years it has been precisely that. But now I will be leaving. I won’t be rushing back either. I have fallen out of love, woken from my China Dream. ... The Chinese are told on a regular basis to feel aggrieved at what foreigners have done to them, and the Party vows to exact vengeance on their behalf."

Investors Prepare for Euro Collapse (Martin Hesse) from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"Banks, companies and investors are preparing themselves for a collapse of the euro. Cross-border bank lending is falling, asset managers are shunning Europe and money is flowing into German real estate and bonds. The euro remains stable against the dollar because America has debt problems too. But unlike the euro, the dollar's structure isn't in doubt."

German Economy Is Running Out of Steam from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"German economic growth slowed to 0.3 percent in the second quarter from 0.5 percent in the first, new figures showed on Tuesday. The numbers have economists warning that the euro-zone slowdown and weaker global growth are about to catch up with Germany, where the economy may even shrink in the third quarter."

The Right Completes Its Hostile Takeover of Romney (Michael Hirsh) from National Journal
"... with his veep choice Romney is sending a message to the American electorate, more forthrightly than ever, that he won't be moving to the middle after all. He seems to be affirming that he is just about as ideologically conservative and as captured by the GOP base as Obama has been painting him. "

Paul Ryan’s Plan and the Next ‘New Normal’ (Mohamed A. El-Erian) from the Washington Post
"...  the economy would not recover in a normal cyclical fashion. Instead, we wrote in a May 2009 paper, “growth will be subdued for a while and unemployment high; a heavy hand of government will be evident in several sectors; the core of the global system will be less cohesive and, with the magnet of the Anglo-Saxon model in retreat, finance will no longer be accorded a preeminent role in post-industrial economies.” ... the new normal that asserted itself has involved significant human suffering. Unusually high unemployment has persisted, particularly among youths, along with a surge in those classified as long-term unemployed and those who completely dropped out of the labor force."

Romney/Ryan: The Real Target (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times 
"It is — as Jonathan Chait also seems to understand — about exploiting the gullibility and vanity of the news media, in much the same way that George W. Bush did in 2000. Like Bush in 2000, Ryan has a completely undeserved reputation in the media as a bluff, honest guy, in Ryan’s case
supplemented by a reputation as a serious policy wonk. None of this has any basis in reality..."

Is Paul Ryan a Ticking Time Bomb as Mitt Romney’s Running Mate? (Howard Kurtz) from the Daily Beast
"The congressman is getting glowing press, but journalists are just starting to examine his record. Howard Kurtz on the long paper trail that could alienate moderate swing-state voters just getting to know Paul Ryan."

GOP Pros Fret Over Paul Ryan from Politico
"Away from the cameras, and with all the usual assurances that people aren’t being quoted by name, there is an unmistakable consensus among Republican operatives in Washington: Romney has taken a risk with Ryan that has only a modest chance of going right — and a huge chance of going horribly wrong."

Republicans Concerned Ryan Could Cost Party House and Senate Seats from The Hill
"“There are a lot races that are close to the line we're not going to win now because they're going to battle out who's going to kill grandma first, ObamaCare or Paul Ryan's budget,” said one Republican strategist who works on congressional races. “It could put the Senate out of reach. In the House it puts a bunch of races in play that would have otherwise been safe. ... It remains to be seen how much damage this causes, but my first blush is this is not good.”"

OLYMPICS NUGGET!!
The London Scorecard from Vanity Fair
"The medals are all handed out, the 150,000 condoms have been discarded, and even Michael Phelps has gone home. So how did the host city handle the 2012 Olympic Games? Our London office judges the highs and lows."

ANCIENT EGYPT NUGGET!!
Two Previously Unknown Sets of Heavily Worn Down Pyramids Discovered in Egypt by Google Earth from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Discovery made by American researcher Angela Micol, who studied satellite images 5,000 away in North Carolina.  One site spotted on satellite is three times the size of Great Pyramid at Giza."

SUNKEN TREASURE NUGGET!!
Ingot recovered from 'Ship of Gold' Which Sank Off the U.S. in 1857 Expected to Sell for £100,000 - 211 TIMES its Original Value from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Loss of the ship led to 'Panic of 1857' - the first world-wide financial crisis."