UP-FRONT JAPAN TSUNAMI RELIEF VIDEO NUGGET!!
Japan Tsunami Clean-up: So Much to Be Done VIDEO (Ian O'Neill) from Discovery News
"He also wrote about what he saw during a trip to the city of Ishinomaki, one of the many cities hit hard by the tsunami. In this article and video, Ian documents the journey made by a group of volunteers led by three brothers who travel to tsunami-devastated Ishinomaki City."
Devastating video of the carnage wrought by the tsunami on a small city.
IN-CASE-YOU-MISSED-IT LIBYA NUGGET!!
Obama's Moral Case For War (Peter Beinart) from the Daily Beast
I posted this last week -- and I was re-reading it yesterday and caught this key phrase Beinart uses:
"Ask someone who demands moral consistency in humanitarian war how exactly they propose to intervene in Congo and you will quickly realize that the call for moral consistency is actually a call for immoral consistency. The point of invoking the horrors of Congo is not to convince the US to act to stop the horrors of Congo; it is to ensure that, out of respect for the raped, murdered and maimed in Central Africa, we allow innocents to be raped, murdered and maimed in North Africa as well. The Congolese, presumably, will find it comforting to know that the great powers are as just as indifferent to savagery in other lands as they are to the savagery in theirs."
An interesting answer to the "consistency" argument.
Libya: Defections and Dilemmas from the Guardian [of the UK]
"From the beginning of the intervention the encouragement of defections has played an absolutely central role."
Liquidating Gaddafi (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post
"Col. Moammar Gaddafi has always depended on one strategic resource to hold his loopy government together, and that's cash. But as the U.N.-backed coalition tightens its squeeze, Gaddafi is slowly running out of money -- and his inner circle is showing early signs of collapse."
Ignatius touches on a set of issues that I think many analysts are missing concerning the conflict in Libya. Today, there is a lot of conversation in the MSM about stalemate descending on Libya with Qaddafi consolidating his hold in the west and the rebels doing so in the east. The problem was this narrative is that, as Ignatius is implicitly suggesting, time is not on Qaddafi's side -- while it is on the side of the rebels. With each day, more war material is flowing in from Egypt, the rebels are getting more training, becoming more effective, and, as stated here, getting more money and troops. In contrast, Qaddafi's situation is the opposite. His resources (soldiers, food, weapons, and cash) are quite finite. IF Qaddafi had ready access to vast amounts of cash, he could easily address discrepancies in the other three areas. Without that money, even in the medium term he's doomed.
Mahmoud Gebril: The Rebel Who Could Run Libya from Time Magazine
"The last time a Libyan leader traveled to the U.S. and Europe to talk to his international counterparts, he wore desert robes, slept in a Bedouin tent, and vilified the West in incomprehensible diatribes. Now, the Libyan leader holed up in meetings with top diplomats in foreign capitals wears a suit and tie, speaks flawless English, and flaunts a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. In brief: Mahmoud Gebril is about as jolting a contrast from Muammar Gaddafi as one can imagine."
A PITT grad -- amazing.
Islamists in Egypt Seek Change Through Politics from the Los Angeles Times
"It may have been a secular revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, but religious groups — some with violent pasts — have been building grass-roots networks for years. Now ultraconservative and moderate groups feel their time has arrived."
IF this article is correct and Islamist groups are willing to work within a political framework to achieve their goals, this would be EXCELLENT news. As a practical matter, in Egypt and elsewhere, conservative religionists made up a significant percentage of the population. For decades, radical Islamists have had, in many ways, a free ride. They could blast away (both literally and figuratively) at existing governments without ever having to submit their own nutty theories to real voters and to be responsible for anything. Iran's experience, as viewed from across the region, has done nothing to increase the credibility of Islamist theories of governance. IF conservative Muslims are willing to actually work within some kind of pluralistic system, they will HAVE TO pony up -- and most analysts I've read are skeptical that, when given a choice, even conservative Islamist voters will stick with them for long. This is especially so, given the forces that were driving the so-called 'Arab Spring,' demands for more jobs, more freedom, and democracy. These are all things the Islamists would be the least likely and the least capable of delivering.
Bernard Lewis:'The Tyrannies Are Doomed' from the Wall Street Journal
The West's leading scholar of the Middle East, Bernard Lewis, sees cause for optimism in the limited-government traditions of Arab and Muslim culture. But he says the U.S. should not push for quick, Western-style elections."
I deeply respect Bernard Lewis -- but I think he is overly optimistic here.
Islam and the Arab revolutions from the Economist [of London]
"Religion is a growing force in the Arab awakening. Westerners should hold their nerve and trust democracy."
The Neocons Flummoxed: Libya, Kosovo and Iraq (Editorial) from El País [of Spain in English]
"They like that Obama is using force to defend those standing up to dictators. … But they do not like having him subject to U.N. Security Council authorization instead of it being enough to have Congressional approval or resort to his own presidential powers. … Neither do they like that Obama has relinquished the central role to Sarkozy and leadership to NATO."
Visions of Female Identity in the New Egypt from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"The women of the Muslim Brotherhood played a supporting role in Egypt's revolution, and now they want to have a hand in shaping its democratic future. Although many wear Western clothing under their veils, use Facebook and Twitter, and talk the talk of emancipation, they still seem to be wrestling with what it means to be a modern Muslim woman."
Terry Jones Defiant Despite Murders in Afghanistan Over Qur'an Burning from the Guardian [of the UK]
"US Pastor is Showing No Regrets about an Act of Hatred that Provoked a Massacre of UN Staff Amid Deadly Riots ... Local Muslim and Christian church leaders want Jones to stay away. So far, even in the light of recent events, Jones shows no signs he will do so. In his statement he voiced not a hint of backing down and a staggering lack of self-awareness. "Muslim dominated countries can no longer be allowed to spread their hate against Christians and minorities," Jones stated."
Y'know, someone needs to buy this idiot and his band of lunatics tickets to Lahore, Pakistan and let him burn all the Korans they want over there such that at least Jones et al., will be the ones to take the consequences -- not a bunch of innocent relief workers.
A little hint of the blowback from the Koran-burning stunt by Rev. Jones in FLA. Yes, what about those Christians who might actually live in the Middle East and South Asia?
Pakistan Christians to Mourn U.S. Pastor's Quran Burning from The Daily Jang [from Pakistan in English]
“Christian leader Julius Salik said that the condemnable act of a cursed Christian has blackened the face of humanity in the world, so he blackened his face. He called it a conspiracy to destroy the peace of minorities around the world.”
The Koran-Burning Pastor's Crocodile Tears (John Avlon) from the Daily Beast
"Pastor Terry Jones is insisting he didn't mean for his actions to cause any harm. But The Daily Beast's John Avlon says this kind of "reluctant" extremism is increasingly becoming America's default excuse."
Pastor Terry Jones is insisting he didn't mean for his actions to cause any harm. But The Daily Beast's John Avlon says this kind of "reluctant" extremism is increasingly becoming America's default excuse.
The Economic Pieces are Falling into Place from the Economist [of London]
"TURN off the alarms. After several weeks when the data pointed to a recovery still struggling to achieve escape velocity, the March employment report provided reassuring evidence that, at a minimum, it is still gaining altitude."
Auto Sales Jump Again in March (Daniel Indiviglio) from the Atlantic
"...gas prices are encouraging Americans to buy a new, higher gas mileage car sooner, rather than later."
Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% (Joseph Stiglitz) from Vanity Fair
"Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few. Yet in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation’s income—an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret."
Gauging the Pain of the Middle Class (Robert Frank) from the New York Times
"I call it the toil index. It measures the number of hours that median earners must toil each month to be able to rent a house in a school district of at least average quality. "
In the Middle East, Women Aren’t Pet Rocks (Kathleen Parker) from the Washington Post
"Whether the topic is Libya’s rebels or Afghanistan’s “reconciliation” with the Taliban, the pivotal question is, or should be: What about the women? During my brief tenure as a CNN anchor, I insistently raised this question and was consistently disappointed by the answer, which more or less went like this: “Yes, well, the women. Too bad about the women. They’ll suffer.”"
Labor Pains and the GOP (Michael Winship) from Salon
"There's a joke making the rounds and it goes like this: Big Business, a Tea Partier and Organized Labor are sitting around a table. A dozen cookies arrive on a plate. Big Business takes 11 of them and says to the Tea Partier, "Pssst! That union guy is trying to steal your cookie!""
‘No Cop in the State’ Would Arrest WI Senate Dems from Raw Story
"Fitzgerald now admits in an interview with the Journal that his efforts to compel the Democrats back to the State House were "a mess" and that when he tried to give a statewide order for law enforcement to arrest the missing lawmakers, “There was no cop in the state that would enforce it.”"
HERE's the original story form the Wisconsin State Journal
GOP Res-2012: The 2012 Speculatron Weekly Roundup (Linkins and Siegel) from the Huffington Post
"Yes, the race has taken a decidedly weird turn."
A candidate-by-candidate look at the GOP field.
Team Huntsman Admits ‘Huge Disadvantage’ in Iowa from the Daily Caller
"Now, The Daily Caller has learned that the initial strategy for Huntsman’s campaign-in-waiting at Horizon PAC is to avoid focusing resources to campaign in the nation’s first caucus and socially-conservative state of Iowa. “We haven’t ruled out playing in Iowa, but we have a huge disadvantage when it comes to the infrastructure, money, and time other candidates have spent in Iowa,” a Republican strategist aligned with the Huntsman campaign, told The DC."
I remain convinced that Huntsman is aiming for 2016 with the view that the political landscape will be more hospitable for moderate GOPers like himself. This view is supported by this item from Bloomberg News. Now, I know it is VERY EARLY for any meaningful look at 2016 -- but let's look anyway. Unlike next year, I think a VERY CHALLENGING field of candidates could emerge from the GOP. With Huntsman, I see Marco Rubio from Florida, Chris Christie from New Jersey, and (some may laugh) Jeb Bush. Much will depend on if the Tea Party remain ascendant or somehow decline. My prediction: the Tea Party will be hugely diminished by then.
JAPAN DOG NUGGET!!
Safe and Hound: Tsunami Dog Found Alive and Well in Japan after THREE WEEKS Adrift at Sea on a Floating House from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"It appears almost too good to be true, but this little dog has been found alive and well adrift at sea, an astonishing three weeks after the tsunami that devastated Japan."
You wonder how the dog survived that long.
BOOK REVIEW NUGGET!!
Otto von Bismarck, Master Statesman: A Review of Bismarck, A Life by Jonathan Steinberg (Henry Kissenger) from the New York Times
"Within nine years, Bismarck untied this knot in what Jonathan Steinberg, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, describes as “the greatest diplomatic and political achievement by any leader in the last two centuries.”"
WORLD WAR II BOOK REVIEW NUGGET!!
Helping Refugees After World War II: A Review of The Long Road Home by Ben Shephard from the New York Times
"The war and the Holocaust forced millions of civilians across national frontiers. Afterward, multitudes of ethnic Germans were expelled from Eastern Europe and many of the Jews in Poland fled from a new wave of persecution there. Those lucky enough to survive these migrations faced months and years in limbo as the authorities wrestled with the logistical, political and moral difficulties involved in returning them home — or in finding them a new one."
BIBLE HISTORY NUGGET!!
When the King Saved God (Christopher Hitchens) from Vanity Fair
"An unbeliever argues that our language and culture are incomplete without a 400-year-old book—the King James translation of the Bible. Spurned by the Establishment, it really represents a triumph for rebellion and dissent. Accept no substitutes!"
No comments:
Post a Comment