News Nuggets 647

 The Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.  From National Geographic.

UP-FRONT OBAMA EULOGY NUGGET!!
Barack Obama Speaks At Joplin Memorial from KMBC-TV via YouTube
A very nice eulogy & tribute to those who died saving others during the tornado in Joplin.  It's relatively short and worth hearing in its entirety.

Gaddafi to be Told to Stand Down or Face Apache Attack from the Guardian [of the UK]
"If South African president Jacob Zuma's peace mission fails, Nato will deliver its heaviest blow to Libyan leader's forces."

Libya’s Opposition Offers Amnesty to Gaddafi Regime and Raises Pressure from the Financial Times [of the UK]
"Libya’s opposition provisional government has raised the pressure on the country’s embattled dictator, promising amnesty to his supporters if they switch sides immediately."

Russia 'Fires' Qaddafi (Editorial) from the Gazeta [of Russia in English]
“I have decided to dispatch my special envoy to Africa, Mr. Margelov. He is flying out to Libya immediately … If the colonel steps down voluntarily, then we can discuss how to go about it, what country might take him in, on what terms, what he can keep and what he must lose.”

Nuclear Talks Call Iran's Bluff (Meir Javedanfar) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"The west has already demonstrated how effective a two-pronged approach of diplomacy and sanctions can be."

Egypt’s Next Crisis: One of Self Discovery (Robert Worth) from the New York Times Sunday Magazine
"Three months after the revolution, Egypt is in the agony of self-discovery. As other Arab revolutions founder or lapse into civil wars, Egypt has achieved far more than its young rebels ever hoped for. "

US Put Pressure on Saudi Arabia to Let Women Drive, Leaked Cables Reveal from the Guardian [of the UK]
"Documents given to WikiLeaks show Obama administration pushed Saudis to give female citizens more rights."

The G8 Proves Its Relevance (Stewart Patrick) from the Council on Foreign Relations
"The G8 summit affirmed the group's importance as a U.S. partner as it seeks a common front on the "Arab Spring" uprisings, and in forging collective action on human rights and security matters, says CFR's Stewart Patrick."

On the Deficit, the Negotiations Behind the Negotiations (Ezra Klein) from the Washington Post
"Republicans are negotiating not over the deficit, but over tax rates and the size of government. ... Democrats, meanwhile, lack a similarly clear posture: most of them are negotiating to raise the debt ceiling, but a few are trying to survive in 2012..."

Debt Limit at Heart of GOP's Impending Civil War (Robert Reich) from the San Francisco Chronicle
"So the Street and big business are quietly trying to push the Tea Partiers in the House to moderate their hard-line demands. But Tea Partiers couldn't care less about the debt limit. To them, the debt limit is a giant bargaining chip to get their demands met."

Black Chatter, Not Leadership (Jill Nelson) from The Root
"Jill Nelson has had enough of the irrelevant, privileged-class debate about Cornel West's criticism of Barack Obama."

Myths about the 2012 GOP Field: Baloney on Rye, Served with Weak Tea from Daily Kos
"Media pundits and reporters have a wonderful ability to repeat nonsense often enough so as to start to believe it. Here are some examples."
A LENGTHY examination of many mythes about the GOP field generated and repeated by the MSM.  Very interesting.

Forecasting a Nasty 2012 Campaign (Jack White) from The Root
"RightWatch: White rage and a dearth of new Republican ideas should result in a noxious and racially tinged campaign next year."

Palin Trial Balloon (Shushannah Walshe) from the Daily Beast
"The former Alaska governor is using her bus tour to gauge interest in a presidential bid, says a knowledgeable source. Shushannah Walshe on the way to tell if she’s in or out."

The GOP’s Rolling Thunder Revue (Michael Hirsh) from the National Journal
"They’re either star-spangled mountebanks or "serious but boring." Can anyone be a real presidential candidate in a party that’s lost its way?"

Is a Sarah Palin State Visit Too Much to Hope For? Run, Sarah, Run! (Marina Hyde) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"The Arizona house, the movie, the bus tour – do we dare to dream Sarah Palin is going to run for the US presidency?"

TORNADO NUGGET!!
If a Tornado were Headed Toward You, What Would You Do? from the Wichita Eagle [of Kansas]
"You might be shopping, visiting a nursing home, driving a car or attending a movie. Emergency officials recommend following these basic guidelines if you find yourself in an unfamiliar place when a tornado approaches:"
You have to figure the folks in Kansas know what they're talking about on this score!

URBAN GROWTH NUGGET [of a sort]!!
This is a City Built for a Million People - but No One Lives Here: The Mongolian Metropolis Thrust into the 21st Century from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"There is no joy in asking if China has outgrown its strength after ten years of blazing, enthralling growth. But it may have done so. The hedge-fund managers, those canny vultures of finance, are beginning to circle slowly, high overhead. They are starting to bet on the bursting of the Chinese bubble. These people did not become very rich indeed by guessing wrong. And one of the reasons for their gloomy guesswork is here, in the strange, wistful landscape of Inner Mongolia, birthplace and home of Genghis Khan."

SUMMER TRAVEL NUGGET!!
Here Comes Road-Trip Season: 20 Ways to Save Gas (Daniel Indiviglio) from the Atlantic
"As of May 23rd, the average price for a gallon of regular conventional gasoline was $3.79, according to the Department of Energy. A year earlier, the same gallon cost just $2.42. Luckily, there are steps you can take to use less gas."