News Nuggets 1210

DAYLEE PICTURE: The Sakurajima volcano in southern Japan.  From the Daily Mail of the UK.

UP-FRONT OBAMA PHOTO NUGGET!!
President Obama Consoling a Crying Child: A Story Told in Three Photos (Dan Amira) from New York Magazine
"A small child started crying after apparently losing at the White House's annual Easter Egg Roll today. President Obama was there to console him."

The Kim Who Cried Wolf (Joe Klein) from Time Magazine
"Kim Jong Un’s current desperation is a direct result of Barack Obama’s response to the traditional North Korean strategy of making threats in order to get the rest of the world to sit down at the table and negotiate, an offer that usually yields some concessions. But Obama’s response is not to respond at all. He’s calling the North Koreans’ bluff. It is a logical strategy, given past results: concessions achieved, the Koreans quit talking. If Obama’s strategy works, Kim’s only rational moves will be to back down and hide away, or back down and negotiate–on our terms. But he also has irrational options and, again, what if he doesn’t back down?"

My Hyperinflation Vacation (Graem Wood) from the Atlantic
"A trip to the Iranian resort island of Kish illuminates the pressures, limits, and strange consequences of economic sanctions."

Eurozone Unemployment Reaches Record High Of 12 Percent from the Huffington Post
"The eurozone economy has passed another bleak milestone. Official figures Tuesday showed that unemployment across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro has struck 12 percent for the first time since the currency was launched in 1999."

Will Obama’s Majority Survive? (Jonathan Chait) from New York Magazine 
"The Republican Party appears to be caught in a double bind, in which the electorate is growingly progressively less white, and even younger white voters hold less conservative views than older ones. What’s more, evidence suggests that voters maintain the partisan allegiances they form at a young age. The picture looks grim for the GOP."

Hillary Clinton’s First Test from Politico
"Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign begins this year in Virginia. She hasn’t said anything about 2016, but Terry McAuliffe’s 2013 gubernatorial campaign is serving as a testing ground for Clinton’s clout, operatives and donors."

Democrats’ Prospects in 2014 Are Worth an Honest Debate (Stuart
Rothenberg) from Roll Call
"“It’s pretty rare that one can read an article, agree with just about every individual detail in the article, and yet disagree with the article completely.” And disagree he does, in a measured, detailed way, arguing that “microanalyses” invariably miss political waves and changes in voter sentiment. So here is my reaction to Singiser’s criticism: I completely agree with you, Steve."

Social Conservatives Fight Back (Jonathan Martin) from Politico
"Leading cultural conservatives, including the movement’s standard-bearers from the past two presidential campaigns, have had it with Republican elites faulting them for the party’s losses and are finally ready point a finger back at the establishment."

CULTURAL ICONS NUGGET!!
Lady Gaga Turned Down $1 Million to Perform During RNC from the Washington Examiner
"Not even a million dollars could convince Lady Gaga to perform during last summer's Republican National Convention. ... other entertainers also said "no thanks" to appearing at the GOP convention including Dolly Parton and the rapper Pitbull, who Republicans hoped to feature at an event for the Hispanic Leadership Network."
I find this kind of story irresistible -- because it raises so many questions about the mindset of convention organizers. I can completely get Parton being invited -- but LADY GAGA!? Why not Madonna? Or David Sedaris? Or Kim Kardashian? Or Cher?  Or any number of other cultural personalities who have spent their careers running from so-called "mainstream" American values?

SILENT ERA HOLLYWOOD NUGGET!!
Young Charlie Chaplin Photo Reveals He Used To Be A Total Babe (PHOTOS) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"We could hardly recognize the dapper silent star without his fedora, cane and handy moustache. But we have to say the comedian is quite the hunk. Thank you, Buzzfeed, for showing us our new favorite (posthumous) heartthrob."