News Nuggets 717

A cheetah at a South African animal rehabilitation center.  From National Geographic.

UP-FRONT CAMPAIGN 2012 NUGGET!!
Rick Perry: The Great Campaigner from the Texas Monthly
"Today, there are only two sure things in life: Every few years Rick Perry will run for office, and every few years Rick Perry will grind his opponents into dust...  A few were against relatively weak opposition, but many were against prominent figures who were expected to give Perry a run for his money... But all of them fell to Perry's deep coffers, disciplined campaign style, occasional refusal to debate, and (semi-) popularity among Texans.""

Unfriended: Arab Leaders are at Last Starting to Desert the Syrian Regime from the Economist [of the UK]
"Syria’s neighbours, whose long silence reflected fears that Mr Assad’s fall might cause more trouble than his survival, seem to have changed their minds."

Ex-Kadhafi Colonel Says Regime Crumbling from Agence France Presse
"An imprisoned Libyan army colonel who surrendered to the rebel forces two months ago told AFP on Saturday that Moamer Kadhafi's regime is riven with division and in the process of collapse."
We'll see.  I've been predicting the imminent collapse of this regime for months and been consistently wrong.

Gloating China, Hidden Problems (Niall Ferguson) from the Newsweek
"Beijing has chastised the U.S. for fiscal recklessness, but it may be headed for an economic collapse of its own."
I'll have to say that, in the main, I don't think much of Ferguson's analysis -- he is so predictably, relentlessly negative on the future.  Here he casts his lens of "doom-and-gloom" on China.

The South China Sea Is the Future of Conflict (Robert Kaplan) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The 21st century's defining battleground is going to be on water."

Britain's Discontent (Elissa Curtis) from the New Yorker
"What are they protesting, and where did the rage come from?"

These Riots were Political. They were Looting, Not Shoplifting (Gar Younge) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"The riots cannot be explained by criminality or deprivation alone. But they were unwise and failed to advance any cause."

Amid Rise of Multiculturalism, Dutch Confront Their Questions of Identity from the New York Times
"She remembered sunbathing topless on her balcony in the 1980s. “It’s inconceivable now,” she said. “Now my next-door neighbor doesn’t even greet me in the hallway, he can’t look at me, and it’s been 28 years,” Ms. Kuhlman said. Then she laughed bitterly. “He doesn’t work; I work. I work all shifts. I pay taxes. I work for them!” Willem Stuyter, nursing a beer, broke in. “It’s already too late,” he said. “In 10 years this will be a Muslim state.”"

You Want Compromise? Sure You Do (Sheryl Gay Stolberg) from the New York Times
"... a number of political analysts and social scientists say the intransigence has as much to do with Americans outside the capital as lawmakers within it. If Americans want to know why their elected officials can’t compromise, these scholars and pundits say, perhaps they ought to look in the mirror. “Americans are self-segregating,” said Bill Bishop, author of “The Big Sort,” a 2008 book that examined, in the words of its subtitle, “why the clustering of like-minded America is tearing us apart.”"

Tea Party’s Heyday May be Coming to an End, Say Political Experts from The Hill
"The reign of the Tea Party may be coming to an end in Washington, according to academic political experts who say polls show a backlash against the conservative movement."

GOP Primary Map Fractures from Politico
"In the span of a single day, the GOP presidential nomination battle just got a lot messier—and, quite likely, a lot longer. Saturday’s straw poll results in Iowa, coupled with Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign kickoff in South Carolina, have suddenly upped the intensity of the 2012 campaign and left the GOP further than ever from settling on a nominee."

Republican Race Tightens into Three-Way Brawl from Agence France Presse via Raw Story
"The Republican White House race has sharpened into a three-way brawl, pitting a moderate businessman and a Tea Party firebrand against a Texas governor promising the best of both worlds."

After Iowa, Republicans Face a New Landscape from the New York Times
"While Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Perry and Mr. Romney each have emphasized cutting attacks on Mr. Obama, they now face the need to begin drawing distinctions with one another and set up what could be a long and hard-edged campaign for the party’s nomination."

Ten Things to Take Away from Ames. What Michele Bachmann's Win Means (Toby Harndon) from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"The results are in and it’s a big night for Representative Michele Bachmann, who secured 4,823 votes, just edging out Representative Ron Paul, who got 4,671. ... What do the results mean? Here are 10 things to take away from today."

COLD WAR HISTORY NUGGET!!
Secret Papers Reveal Truth Behind Soviet Collapse (Christian Neef) from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"Communist hardliners staged a coup against Mikhail Gorbachev 20 years ago, and the Soviet Union collapsed soon afterwards. Previously unknown documents, which SPIEGEL has obtained, show just how desperate the last Soviet leader was as he fought to retain power -- and how he begged Germany for money to save his country."