News Nuggets 444

 Baby bearcats at a Berlin animal park.  Can't say I know much about these critters.  From the Huffington Post.

Ahmadinejad Returns to Chaos (Reza Aslan) from the Daily Beast
"Don’t let the Iranian president’s confidence at the U.N. last week fool you: He is going home to a country in political turmoil, an economy on the verge of utter collapse, and a government in total deadlock."

North Korea's 'Evil' Sister (Philip Shenon) from the Daily Beast
"Kim Kyong Hui, sister to the outgoing ruler, got a big promotion in Pyongyang Tuesday, putting her at equal standing in North Korea’s nuclear-armed military with the dictator’s youngest son and heir apparent, Kim Jong Un. Philip Shenon on the new four-star general’s reputation for being a mean drunk, bumping off political rivals, and driving her own daughter to suicide."
This country is so messed up!

US-Japan Ties in Focus After Boat Row (Editorial) from the China Post [of Taiwan in English]
"As a result of increased Chinese assertiveness — despite continued insistence that its rise will be peaceful — other countries on China's periphery, besides Japan, are also beginning to see the need to hedge against the emerging power."

Bangladesh, 'Basket Case' No More (Sadanand Dhume) from the Wall Street Journal
"For the outside world, much of the country's history can be summed up as a blur of political protests and natural disasters punctuated by outbursts of jihadist violence and the occasional military coup.  No longer."
Who knew?

NATO Confirms Senior al-Qaida Commander Killed from the Associated Press via RealClearWorld
"A NATO air strike killed a senior al-Qaida commander in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday, while Pakistan is investigating reports that a separate CIA drone-launched missile killed the insurgents' No. 3 commander in its territory"
These types of stories have become so routine that one has to wonder what the state of al-Qaida's leadership is right now.  What kind of impact are these killings having on the organization?  I'd love to know.

Welcome to the Stay-Put Economy (Derek Thompson) from the Atlantic
"Recessions have a way of freezing things. Credit, spending, labor mobility: everything seizes when uncertainty clutches the economy."

The White House, Rouse Style (Marc Ambinder) from the Atlantic
"If President Obama selects Pete Rouse, his former Senate chief of staff, to be a caretaker executive in the White House, there will be little visible manifestation of Rouse's presence to the outside world. Inside the White House, however, while circadian rhythm will be less frenetic, the changes will be significant."

Basic Religion Test Stumps Many Americans from the New York Times
"Americans are by all measures a deeply religious people, but they are also deeply ignorant about religion."
I am SOO surprised!

Imagining a Deficit Plan from Republicans (David Leonhardt) from the New York Times
"In their Pledge to America, Congressional Republicans have used the old trick of promising specific tax cuts and vague spending cuts. It’s the politically easy approach, and it is likely to be as bad for the budget as when George W. Bush tried it."

Tea and Crackers: How Corporate Interests and Republican Insiders Built the Tea Party Monster (Matt Taibbi) from Rolling Stone Magazine
"Scanning the thousands of hopped-up faces in the crowd, I am immediately struck by two things. One is that there isn't a single black person here. The other is the truly awesome quantity of medical hardware…"
This piece is REALLY funny.  The title alone is priceless!

The Tea Kettle Movement (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"Based on all I’ve heard from this movement, it feels to me like it’s all steam and no engine. It has no plan to restore America to greatness. The Tea Kettle movement can’t have a positive impact on the country because it has both misdiagnosed America’s main problem and hasn’t even offered a credible solution for the problem it has identified."

In a similar vein:
The Serious Right vs. "The Pledge" (Andrew Sullivan) from the Atlantic
"We do care about the fiscal crisis looming, and we will do all we can to highlight those conservatives and liberals serious about tackling the problem and those who aren't. The current GOP leadership is absolutely not serious about it, will have no mandate to do anything serious if they win the House this fall, and no-one, Democrat, Republican or Independent, should be under any illusions about that."

POLITICAL BOOK NUGGET!!
Mapping a Left Turn: A Book Review of Herding Donkeys from the Wall Street Journal
"Mr. Berman, a smart young liberal journalist who writes for the Nation, isn't merely a pundit hopping on the Obama bandwagon a bit too late. His book—about how grass-roots progressives helped to revive Democratic fortunes and make Mr. Obama president—is a well-reported tour de force that would be worth reading as a snapshot in time even if the Democrats went the way of the Whigs after November."