News Nuggets 567

A green anemone off of Vancouver Island.  From National Geographic.

The Aborted Gaddafi Amnesty Deal (Fadel Lamen) from the Daily Beast
“As Gaddafi rants on TV again, a key insider reveals to Fadel Lamen the details of his exit offer to Libyan rebels—and the opposition's next move.”

Opposition Says Won't Pursue Gaddafi Criminally if he Quits; Libya Government Denies Offering Talks with Protesters from the Al Arabiya News Channel [in English]
"The Libyan government has denied holding talks with rebels, Al Arabiya reported, after opponents of Muammar Gaddafi in east Libya said they had rejected an offer to discuss the Libyan leader's exit, as Washington, under mounting pressure to help opposition forces, said it was premature to arm the revolutionaries."
This is totally consistent with what I argued yesterday.  This story was a plant by the rebels.  Gaddafi's rushing to deny the story because he KNOWS his own high-ups don't trust him.  For some of them, if they even suspect that he's double-dealing with them, they'll end his regime in a hail of bullets right then and there.

The Arab World Isn't Clamoring for Our Help (Anne Applebaum) from the Washington Post
"I'm listening hard, but I just can't hear the "voices around the world" that my colleague Charles Krauthammer said last week are "calling for U.S. intervention to help bring down Moammar Gaddafi." It's true that John Bolton, former U.N. ambassador and present Fox News employee, has declared
that "strong American words (and actions) were amply warranted" in Libya. It's also true that a clutch of American politicians and writers have come out in favor of a similarly muscular response as well.  But outside America's borders, all is silent."

Zakaria's World: Are America's Best Days Really Behind Us? (Joseph Nye) from Foreign Policy Magazine
“Fareed Zakaria is one of our most perceptive analysts of America's role in the world, and I generally agree with him. But in the case of his new special essay for Time, "Are America's Best Days Behind Us?," I think he paints too gloomy a picture of American decline.”

The Arab Spring (Rashid Khalidi) from the Nation
"Suddenly, to be an Arab has become a good thing. People all over the Arab world feel a sense of pride in shaking off decades of cowed passivity under dictatorships that ruled with no deference to popular wishes. And it has become respectable in the West as well. … An area that was a byword for political stagnation is witnessing a rapid transformation that has caught the attention of the world."

London Imam Subjected to Death Threats for Supporting Evolution from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Mosque suspends engineering lecturer Usama Hasan for 'antagonising' community and backing women's rights."

Rising Gas Cost Finds the Nation Better Prepared from the New York Times
“The increase in energy prices is beginning to resemble the rise in 2008. But this time, the American economy may be better prepared for higher fuel costs.”

America's Leading Black Women in Public Service from The Root
"For Women's History Month, The Root decided to spotlight some of the black women who are currently flexing their political muscles in elected office, the Obama administration and the judiciary. How many of them do you know?"

The Beadmaker's Refuge for Women (Eliza Griswold) from the Daily Beast
“Fed up with a rape epidemic and forced marriages, Rebecca Lolosoli created a village just for women in Kenya. Eliza Griswold on the artisan and activist whose work has reached the fashion world. Plus, 150 women who shake the world.”

What Will Bring Wisconsin's Democrats Back to Madison? 3 Scenarios (Natasha Vargas Cooper) from the Atlantic
Though none of the 14 state senators who are scattered over Northern Illinois -- they would not reveal where they were staying after the Gurnee meeting--are packing their bags for a return to Madison quite yet, three scenarios have emerged that could bring them back to the Capitol building this week.”

Drive to Recall Wisconsin GOP Senators Gaining Steam, Dems Say (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"Graeme Zielinski, a spokesman for the party, tells me that activists working on the recall push already collected over the weekend 15 percent of the total necessary signatures needed to force recalls in all eight of the GOP districts Dems are targeting. He says that the party -- which is helping to coordinate and keeping track of outside efforts to gather signatures -- set itself a goal of 10,000 signatures for the weekend, and has already exceeded it by 35 percent."

President Obama and the Leveling Effect (Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake) from the Washington Post
“The consistency of those numbers suggests that public opinion is largely settled when it comes to Obama and is likely to stay within that established range -- at least in the near term.”

ELEPHANT NUGGET!!
Elephants Outwit Humans During Intelligence Test from Discovery News
"These pachyderm problem-solvers are among the world's most cognitively advanced animals."

SHARK NUGGET!!
Giant Sharks Swarm in Waters Off Mexico from the Washington Post
"U.S. and Mexican scientists believe they are close to solving one of the shark world's great mysteries.  They want to know why whale sharks, the largest shark species, gather each year by the hundreds in the teal-blue waters off this Yucatan Peninsula barrier island."

HUMAN-LIKE ROBOT NUGGET!!
Robots Are Creeping Me Out: VIDEO (Paul Constant) from The Stranger blog
"Here's video of a Geminoid robot based on Professor Henrik Scharfe of Denmark's Aalborg University. It is trying to smile."