News Nuggets 646

A striking photo of a small "auto graveyard" in Pioche, Nevada.  From the Los Angeles Times.

One More Victory Like That and Israel is Done For (Yoel Marcus) from Al Haaretz [of Israel in English]
"A failure of the peace process is not an option. The status quo cannot be maintained. True friends tell each other the truth."

Signs That Bin Laden Weighed Seeking Pakistani Protection from the New York Times
"Documents seized at the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed show that he and his aides discussed making a deal with Pakistan in which Al Qaeda would refrain from attacking the country in exchange for protection inside Pakistan, American officials said Thursday."

Small Signs Suggest Waning Support for Gadhafi from the Associated Press
"The shaking cacophony of bangs and bullets one recent evening all served to camouflage the thin turnout at a pro-Gadhafi demonstration in his stronghold, the capital of Tripoli. Only several hundred showed up, and many seemed more interested in having fun than in showing solidarity with the regime. On Friday, nearly two dozen Libyan soldiers, including a colonel and other officers, fled their country in two small boats and took refuge in neighboring Tunisia, where thousands of Libyan refugees have settled."

Iranian Diplomat, Detained By Egypt from Reuters via Huffington Post
"Egypt has detained an Iranian who worked at Iran's diplomatic mission in Cairo, security sources said Saturday, in a potential setback to improving ties between the two countries. Al Arabiya television named the man as Kassem al-Hosseini and described him as a diplomat who had been detained for "passing information," without giving more details."
Long-term, Egypt and Iran will NOT be buddies.  For each, their regional rivalry and core interests will (I suspect) ultimately trump any momentary lessening of tensions.

Slums Into Malls in Calcutta (Nicholas Kristof) from the New York Times
"The Communist Party in China did a much better job fighting poverty than democratically elected Indian governments. India tolerated dissent, but it also tolerated inefficiency, disease and illiteracy. But after my trips to India and China this year, I think all that may be changing. Despite the global economic slowdown, India’s economy is now hurtling along at more than 8 percent per year. Yep, India is now a “tiger economy.”"

Lockheed Martin Hit By Cyber Attack, Department Of Homeland Security Confirms from the Associated Press
"Hackers launched a "significant and tenacious" cyber attack on Lockheed Martin, a major defense contractor holding highly sensitive information, but its secrets remained safe, the company said Saturday."
As I've said here before, I think not only that these types of attacks will only increase but that ones like this are actually good in the long run.  So much of the US's cyber-infrastructure (both public and private) is NOT READY for major cyber attacks (like the Stuxnet worm that got thrown at Iran) and wake up calls are the order of the day.  Hopefully, the Dept of Homeland Security just got one.

Will President Obama’s European Spring Fling Last? from Politico
"For six days, President Barack Obama hopscotched through Europe, greeted by rapturous crowds that remain obsessed with all things Obama, from the bulletproof Cadillac that whisks him around to the kitten heels on the first lady’s feet. And for six days, Obama returned the affection of a continent that has often felt overlooked by his administration — reviving a European crush. But will it last?"

Cherchez les Femmes (Judith Warner) from Time Magazine
"The resentment — indeed, the rage — was a long time in coming. Yet no one in France was quite prepared for the wave of female anger that crested and broke in the wake of former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest in New York City for the alleged sexual assault and attempted rape of a Sofitel hotel housekeeper."

Attacking Sarah Palin from the Right (Conor Friedersdorf) from the Atlantic
"If the former governor runs for president, she'll have to spar with members of her own party for the first time at the national level."
 
Why Democrats Would Like Palin to Run (Perry Bacon Jr.) from the Washington Post
"Last October, top White House adviser David Plouffe told reporters of the 2012 GOP contest: “These guys are going to be running through hoops to please the far-right folks who are kind of the acolytes of Sarah Palin. Now maybe she’ll be running herself. Something tells me we won’t get that lucky.” He might be wrong."

A New Birther Conspiracy Theory: Trump Tricked Us (Stephanie Mencimer) from Mother Jones Magazine
"Farah and Corsi can't understand why Trump might not want to continue the fight over Obama's citizenship, so they seem to have cooked up yet another conspiracy theory: someone else put Trump up to it. "

SENIOR CARE BOOK NUGGET!!
How to Care for Your Mother: A Review of A Bittersweet Season: Caring for Our Aging Parents — and Ourselves by Jane Gross from the New York Times
"Gross, a former reporter for The New York Times who wrote pioneering stories about AIDS and autism, here takes on a subject she knows from experience: the trials of caring for an aging parent."

WORLD WAR II NUGGET!!
Paying with Life and Limb for the Crimes of Nazi Germany from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"After Hitler's war had been lost, millions of ethnic Germans in regions that are today part of Eastern Europe were expelled -- often under horrendous circumstances. It has been proven that at least 473,000 people died as they fled or were expelled. The Nazis' crimes had been far worse, but the suffering of ethnic Germans was immense."

CELEBRITY EXERCISE VIDEO NUGGET!!
Beyonce Surprises Students At Harlem School PS 161 For Her Let's Move! Flash Workout Event! from YouTube
Several days ago we captured Michelle Obama doing the "Dougie" with some middle school kids.  Here's Beyonce just showing up at a Harlem school.  Very surprising, inspiring, -- and generous on her part.  I've been hearing a lot of good things about Beyonce, a celebrity I've never thought much about one way or the other.