In Syria, an Opening for the West to Bring about Assad’s Downfall (Ausama Monajed) from the Washington Post
"Conventional wisdom suggests that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, like Moammar Gaddafi in Libya, will weather the Arab Spring by brutality alone. But the Assad regime’s days are numbered."
Libya Clashes Escalate But a Diplomatic Compromise Looms (Tony Karon) from Time Magazine
"Military and diplomatic signs point increasingly towards some measure of compromise by both sides in shaping an outcome that neither the regime nor the rebels would have countenanced when their struggle began."
Pakistan's Army Rule (Ashley J. Tellis) from the National Interest
"How US Navy SEALs took down the entire civilian government of Pakistan in one day."
Why China’s Heading for a Hard Landing, Part 1 (A. Gary Shilling) from Bloomberg News Service
"Few countries are more important to the global economy than China. But its reputation as an unstoppable giant -- as a country with an unending supply of cheap labor and limitless capacity for growth -- masks some serious and worsening economic problems."
China’s “Conflict Handbags”: Labor Unrest Time Bomb in China (Gordon Chang) from Forbes Magazine
"Worker anger is evident across Guangdong, which has been hit this month by a wave of strikes. Hundreds of migrant workers fought police in Chaozhou in the eastern part of the province. In the middle of the month, in the industrial center of Dongguan, 2,000 employees struck a plant owned by Japan’s Citizen Watch to protest long working hours and low pay. And in Zengcheng, the “Blue Jeans Capital of the World,” thousands of migrant workers rioted after government-hired thugs knocked down a pregnant 20-year-old itinerant vendor. For three days, migrants overturned official vehicles and set fire to government buildings."
Blue Water Dreams: Why China Wants an Aircraft Carrier (James Holmes) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"...the best guide for figuring out what it all means in terms of China's naval strategy isn't the latest edition of Jane's Fighting Ships, but rather the two-plus-millennia-old History of the Peloponnesian War. In his chronicle of the protracted war between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century B.C., the Greek general and historian Thucydides proclaims that "three of the strongest motives" animating states' actions are "fear, honor, and interest.""
Obama's Non-Doctrine in Africa (G. Pascal Zachary) from the Atlantic
"How personal experience, domestic politics, and cautious foreign policy led him to a defensive, vague, and ultimately wise approach to his father's continent."
The Greek Mental-Health Crisis: As Economy Implodes, Depression and Suicide Rates Soar from Le Mond [of France] via Time Magazine
"While the rest of Europe may be tormented by the thought of having to cough up ever more money to bail out Athens, the once carefree Greeks are getting more depressed by the day. Psychiatrists say that the economic crisis has triggered a 25% to 30% increase in the number of patients seeking their help."
Does GOP Have a Compromise on Debt? from the Washington Post
"As President Obama prepares to meet Monday with Senate leaders to try to restart talks about the swollen national debt, some Republicans see a potential path to compromise: significant cuts in military spending."
Cuomo, Obama and the Realm of the Possible (Nate Silver) from the New York Times
"It might well have been the right strategy — I don’t come to a conclusion about that. But I do think it’s fair to characterize it as a risk-averse strategy. And that, at the core, is what bothers some liberals about Mr. Obama’s approach to the presidency. Fairly or not, they want him to push the envelope more than he has and to take a few more chances — to expand the realm of the possible, as Mr. Cuomo seems to have done in New York."
A fair assessment of Obama v. Cuomo's approach and how they land for the Democrats' liberal base. Given the enormity of the problems Obama has had to face, I think minimizing risk has served him pretty well.
"It might well have been the right strategy — I don’t come to a conclusion about that. But I do think it’s fair to characterize it as a risk-averse strategy. And that, at the core, is what bothers some liberals about Mr. Obama’s approach to the presidency. Fairly or not, they want him to push the envelope more than he has and to take a few more chances — to expand the realm of the possible, as Mr. Cuomo seems to have done in New York."
A fair assessment of Obama v. Cuomo's approach and how they land for the Democrats' liberal base. Given the enormity of the problems Obama has had to face, I think minimizing risk has served him pretty well.
President Cuomo (Robert Shrum) from The Week
"The bold New York governor who brought same-sex marriage to the Empire State has become a civil rights hero — and a 2016 contender."
I was Wrong About Same-sex Marriage (David Frum) from CNN
"Most conservatives have reacted with calm -- if not outright approval -- to New York's dramatic decision. Why? The short answer is that the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality. The case has not passed its test."
Behind N.Y. Gay Marriage, an Unlikely Mix of Forces from the New York Times
"The story of how same-sex marriage became legal in New York is about shifting public sentiment and individual lawmakers moved by emotional appeals from gay couples who wish to be wed. But, behind the scenes, it was really about a Republican Party reckoning with a profoundly changing power dynamic, where Wall Street donors and gay-rights advocates demonstrated more might and muscle than a Roman Catholic hierarchy and an ineffective opposition."
Andrew Cuomo Beats the Odds (Richard Cohen) from the Washington Post via RealClearPolitics
"To review how Cuomo got the Legislature to approve same-sex marriage -- it was, really, his bill -- is to see a shrewd politician apply his craft."
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Appears, Stands Before Houston Crowd from ABC News
"Giffords, D-Ariz., entered, being pushed in a wheelchair, to a standing ovation from a crowd of hundreds at the awards ceremony auditorium at Space Center Houston, which is next to the Johnson Space Center. Her hair was much shorter than in previously published photos. She was wearing glasses, a beige scarf, a light shirt, jeans and sneakers. She smiled and waved to the crowd."
Sinking G.O.P. Poll Numbers May Put Florida in Play from the New York Times
"Mr. Scott’s sinking popularity has Republican politicians and some strategists worried that his troubles could hamper their chances of tilting the state’s 29 electoral votes back into their column in 2012. President Obama won Florida by 2.8 percentage points in 2008."
What Being a "Flake" Really Means (Steve Kornacki) from Salon
"..the GOP's elites will suddenly be forced to confront the possibility that she could roll to the nomination -- unless they unite to send clear, unmistakable signals to rank-and-file Republican voters that supporting her would not be healthy for the push to unseat Obama. They may not use the specific term "flake," but make no mistake, at that point a chorus of elites will speak up to deliver the same basic message that Wallace communicated on Sunday."
Michele Bachmann: Can She Survive Being Taken Seriously? (Ed Kilgore) from the New Republic
"...this week, with the impeccably timed formal launch of her presidential campaign, Bachmann is about to enter a period of enormous peril in which her background, ideology, and rhetorical habits are about to get the kind of exposure only a Kardashian could enjoy. Can she possibly survive as a viable contender?"
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