News Nuggets 1349

DAYLEE PICTURE: The kash harvest in India.  From National Geographic.

Obama's Complete Nelson Mandela Memorial Speech

Inside the Kiev Crackdown (Anna Nemtsova) from the New York Times
"Ukraine’s government is busing riot police into the capital as mass protests continue to roil the street and activists brace for violence."

Why the Trade Deal in Bali Was a Game-Changer (Daniel Drezner) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Ministers from around the world sealed the first global trade deal in a generation on Saturday in a move hailed as a tonic for both the global economy and the battered credibility of the World Trade Organisation."

Think American Debt Is Bad? Try China (Benjamin Carlson) from the Global Post
"If you think US debt is bad, consider China. China is amassing debt at a blistering pace. Since June of last year, more than 10 provinces and cities in China have loaded up on fresh stimulus plans that total up to 20 trillion yuan ($3.3 trillion), according to a recent report by the Chinese newspaper First Financial Daily. Even in China, where everything is bigger, that figure is huge. Jaw-droppingly huge. To compare, it's roughly five times the amount the government pumped into China's economy to stave off the global financial crisis in 2008-2010. Worse yet, it's a mountain on top of a mountain. ... The huge figures call attention to the problems the central government faces trying to wean local governments off using risky debt infusions to jack up GDP."

Look at the Stats: America Resembles a Poor Country (C.J. Werleman) from Alternet
"We're number one, sure, but in things like early onset diabetes and per capita incarceration."

Health Care Exchange Is Vastly Improved, Users Say from the New York Times 
"Interviews with consumers and navigators in several states found the technical errors that had bedeviled visitors to the site for weeks seemed to have been tamed, and applicants were finally selecting health care plans under the Affordable Care Act."

Highmark Health Plan Enrollment Skyrockets from Healthcare.gov from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"Enrollment in Highmark Inc. health plans leapt in the last month as the federal government's Healthcare.gov site began working more smoothly. The state's largest health insurer said it had 10,112 people in the state sign up for coverage through the website created under the Affordable Care Act for uninsured people in Pennsylvania and 35 other states to shop for insurance. That's up significantly from the 1,665 people who had signed up as of Nov. 12, Highmark said."

The Irony Is That Obama's 'Like Your Plan' Fiasco Will Make It Difficult To Repeal Obamacare (Avik Roy) from Forbes Magazine
"It’s a long-time historical pattern: Republicans and conservatives are really good at the short-term politics of health care, but in the long term, they usually lose."

History Will Forget the Obamacare Website's Bungled Launch (Lucia Graves) from National Journal
"The media has written a cruel first draft, but it won’t last."
I think this author is correct IF there are no more huge breakdowns with the site -- and so far things are looking pretty good on that front.

Ex-Clinton Aide Expected to Join Obama (Jackie Calmes) from the New York Times
Speak of the Devil!!  I was just saying last week how Obama needed to shake up his political team .. and lo and behold:
"The recruitment of the longtime Democratic strategist John D. Podesta comes as the president is seeking to recover public support after the flawed rollout of the new health insurance marketplaces."
Now, we'll see if Podesta can do any better.  What's next is for Obama to fire or "reassign" some of the current people, something Obama has always been loath to do.  But there should be stricter accountability for the self-inflicted political maulings Obama has sustained in 2013.

Dasani: A Future Resting on a Fragile Foundation from the New York Times 
"Dasani is one of more than 22,000 homeless children in New York City. The New York Times began following her in September 2012, when she was 11 and living at the Auburn Family Residence in Brooklyn. This is the second part in the series."

GOP Set to Stiff-Arm Conservatives Once Again? (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"If we are going to get a deal to replace the sequester, which looks likely, perhaps one key reason may be as follows: This time, the incentives favor Republicans showing they can enter into the basic give and take of governing."

But then, there's this item.  Who is right?
The Fools are at it Again!: Conservatives’ Inane New Budget Strategy (Brian Buetler) from Salon
"Remember that shutdown debacle from October? Right-wing nuts haven't learned a thing -- and a new deadline looms."

Chris Christie Administration In A Jam Over Charges Of Using Busiest U.S. Bridge In Political Payback from the Huffington Post
"The shutdown was ordered by a political appointee of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Christie's administration said the closure was justified due to a traffic study, while Democrats questioned whether it was political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee, who weeks before had refused to endorse Christie's reelection. But on Monday, the top Port Authority official threw cold water on the Christie administration's claim, testifying at a state Assembly hearing that he didn't know about any traffic study."
Boy, that didn't take long!  Christie is getting the littlest taste of what scrutiny really looks like if you're going to seriously run for the big chair in DC.  Relatedly, if this source is correct and there is no "traffic study," how could Christie's political team have allowed that statement to get out there?  It would be such an easily provable, transparent LIE.  If this story is correct, it suggests that Christie and his political team are not ready for prime time.

Dan Rather: Lara Logan Got Fooled, But My Botched Story Was True from Talking Points Memo
"What the complaint was, while eventually most of us lost our jobs, was okay, your story was true but the way you got to the truth was flawed. The process was flawed. That's not the case with the Benghazi story.  Unfortunately -- and there's no joy in saying it -- they were taken in by a man who was a fraud.""

If a Story Is Viral, Truth May Be Taking a Beating from the New York Times
"Truth has never been an essential ingredient of viral content on the Internet. But in the stepped-up competition for readers, digital news sites are increasingly blurring the line between fact and fiction, and saying that it is all part of doing business in the rough-and-tumble world of online journalism."
"Online journalism"?! Why the qualification? As if mainstream journalists somehow operate in some clearly distinct realm of reality.  The problems the Times lays out are deep and pervasive at the highest levels of the MSM.

OBITUARY NUGGET!!
Eleanor Parker, 91, Oscar-Nominated Actress, Dies from the New York Times 
"Eleanor Parker, who was nominated three times for a best-actress Oscar but whose best-known role was a supporting one, as the marriage-minded baroness in “The Sound of Music,” died on Monday in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 91."
Ironic passing given the NBC live production of The Sound of Music earlier this week.  That production has received A LOT of attention -- the reviews and commentary have been all over the place!  I watched it -- and had quite a range of responses.  My first reaction was: WHY are they remaking a musical where the movie is already such a classic?!  It's like doing a remake of Casablanca (which has been done actually) or Gone with the Wind. Why!?!  Second reaction: Carrie Underwood's singing was more than adequate -- but her acting was terrible.  Under normal circumstances I suspect her performance would have been fine -- but one thing NBC's effort showcases is how truly great Julie Andrews' performance was.  It's clear now that the role of Maria is actually a really tough role to play convincingly - particularly in our more jaded and cynical time.  Third reaction: the highlights of the production were, without doubt, the original broadway songs that did not make it to the 1967 movie, fun engaging and well-done!  Fourth reaction: the sets were exceptional.  The central hall of the Von Trapp mansion shames the set used in the movie -- and the way they moved the set around during the filming was actually well done.  Final reaction: as I was watching, I completely forgot that what I was seeing was being done LIVE!  It has been almost exactly fifty (yes, 50) years since any of the major networks have done such a high-risk treatment of a musical!  It is this last fact that really raises my overall assessment of the production.  And it seems the ratings were quite good and that NBC is very much considering doing a similar project in the future!  Good for them!