News Nuggets 1097

DAYEE PICTURE: Dusk in Mustang province in Nepal.  From National Geographic.

Chinese No Longer Bow to Autocratic Rule from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"The time of autocratic rule has passed for China's Communist Party. At one time it was understood that the people would obey, and everyone would get rich in return. But economic success will no longer suffice. Now the Chinese are demanding freedom and security too."


The World is Safer. But No One in Washington Can Talk About it (Greg Jaffe) from the Washington Post
"There’s one foreign policy fact that President Obama and Mitt Romney dare not mention this election season. No American general will speak of it. Nor will it displace the usual hot topics at Washington’s myriad foreign policy think tanks. Measured by most relevant statistics, the United States — and the world — have never been safer."


Chinese Netizens Like Obama and His Gangnam Style (Adam Minter) from Bloomberg News Service
"If the Chinese could vote in the U.S. election, President Barack Obama would likely win in a landslide. That win, however, would have almost nothing to do with his policies toward China (the Chinese aren’t fans)."

Virginia Voter Fraud Case Expands to Focus on GOP Firm from the Washington Post
This story further demonstrates the enormity of GOP cynicism.  Voter fraud, that bête noire of rightwing fantasists for years now, turns out to be an area Republicans have been nurturing for some time.  INCREDIBLE! 
"The investigation into the arrest of a man on charges of dumping voter registration forms last month in Harrisonburg, Va., has widened, with state officials probing whether a company tied to top Republican leaders had engaged in voter registration fraud in the key battleground state, according to two persons close to the case."

“O-H?” “I-O!!” (Mark Halperin) from Time Magazine
"I’ve been back on the ground about 24 hours in the Buckeye State and here are my first impressions of the end game: ... Don’t kill me for the obvious, but the near absence of racial diversity in the Romney crowds is teased out further by the contrast with the rainbow the President draws. It is more striking than I have ever experienced it in any presidential campaign I have covered."

Thanks To Hurricane Sandy, Obama Supporters Feel Better About Odds (Jon Ward) from the Huffington Post
"Republicans like Karl Rove and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman aren't the only ones who think that Hurricane Sandy has helped President Barack Obama politically."

Why Do White People Think Mitt Romney Should Be President? (Tom Scocca) from Slate
"Parsing the narrow, tribal appeal of the Republican nominee."

Barack Obama and the Paradox Behind his African American Support Base (Gary Younge) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"The ascent of the first black president has coincided with a steep descent in the economic fortunes of black Americans. But that hasn't impeded their outward optimism about Obama."

Obama Camp Claims 1.8 Million New Swing State Voter Registrations from Talking Points Memo
"President Obama’s campaign released numbers Saturday that illustrate the robust ground operation Democrats say will secure him a second term Tuesday night. In a memo sent to reporters, the Obama campaign said it opened more than 5,000 get-out-the-vote “staging locations” Saturday morning in advance of the big push for votes Tuesday."

Presidential Polls 2012: Obama's Battleground Advantage Holds (Mark Blumenthal) from the Huffington Post
"The veritable fire hose of data turned on in the final days of the 2012 campaign leaves little doubt that while the national popular vote remains too close to call, President Barack Obama holds slim but meaningful leads over Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the battleground states that will likely decide the presidential election."

Polls Show Obama Maintaining Lead In Ohio, Advancing In Colorado (Nate Cohn) from the New Republic
[Along with the solidly blue states,] "the combination of Wisconsin, Nevada, and Ohio provides Obama with 271 electoral votes. As of today, there is not a single non-partisan survey showing Romney ahead in any of these three states."

Lincoln's Lessons for Obama (Andrew Ohirhir) from Salon
"In Spielberg's "Lincoln," a vilified president outfoxes his hateful opponents in a bitterly divided America."

The 10 Most Outrageous Completely Made-Up Obama Scandals from National Memo
"Republicans often claim that we know less about this president than any other in history. They like to pretend that somehow during the most heated primary challenge in decades, the Clinton camp simply failed to vet Barack Obama. Then the press let him dance into the White House without ever questioning a word he said. The fact is that since Bill Clinton left office, Barack Obama is the most investigated man on the planet. And since all this hounding hasn’t resulted in one significant scandal, the right continually invents or recycles stories to feed the narrative that he is somehow un-American or unworthy of the presidency."

IN-SEN: Mourdock Collapses In Polls In Indiana Senate Race (Henry Decker) from National Memo
"According to a new Howey/DePauw Indiana Battleground poll, Republican Richard Mourdock’s infamous remarks about rape have doomed his chances of winning Indiana’s Senate election."

ANCIENT EGYPT NUGGET!!
Egyptian Princess' Tomb Dating from 2500 BC is Discovered Near Cairo from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"A princess' tomb dating from about 2500 BC has been discovered near Cairo, the Egyptian government revealed today. The discovery was made in the Abu Sir region south of Cairo by a team of archeologists from Czechoslovakia. We have discovered the antechamber to Princess Shert Nebti's tomb which contains four limestone pillars,' Mohamed Ibrahim, Egypt's antiquities minister, said."

TECHNOLOGY NUGGET!!
Stanford Scientists Build the First All-carbon Solar Cell from the Palo Alto Patch
"Researchers have developed a solar cell made entirely of carbon, an inexpensive substitute for the pricey materials used in conventional solar panels."

HOLLYWOOD NUGGET!!
The Man Who Made Star Wars from the Atlantic
"The idea was to make a high adventure film for children. The result was the box-office hit of all time. The man responsible was George Lucas."

CLASSIC GAME NUGGET!!
How the Monopoly Board Could have Looked: Patents Reveal the Original Ideas Behind Some of Our Most Popular Games and Toys from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Beloved of households everywhere, these childhood favourites are a well-known addition to any play room. But these patents show just how different the creator's original idea for their toy were, and how they evolved into the much-loved game they are today. Monopoly began life in 1903 as 'The Landlord's Game'."