News Nuggets 746

An African Spurred Tortoise.  From the National Geographic.

Gaddafi's Birthplace 'Captured by Rebels' in Battle for Last Libya Coast Stronghold from the Guardian [of the UK]

"Rebels claim control of centre of Sirte after three-pronged attack with Gaddafi's son Khamis said to be barricaded in at sea front."
An interesting story if true.  Rebel sources have consistently exaggerated their gains, usually in reality being several weeks behind where they say they are. 

Gaddafi's Overthrow Gives China's Leaders More to Feel Insecure About (John Garnaut) from the Sydney Morning Herald [of Australia]
"For China's leadership there is much more at stake than Libya's oil. The rolling ''jasmine revolution'', the NATO military intervention in Libya and the fall of Gaddafi each go to the core of the Communist Party's conceits and insecurities."

Bahrain Boils Under the Lid of Repression (Anthony Shadid) from the New York Times
"While the turmoil elsewhere has proved unpredictable — the ascent of Islamists in Egypt, the threat of civil war in Syria and the prospect of anarchy in Yemen — Bahrain suggests that the alternative, a failed uprising cauterized by searing repression, may prove no less dangerous."

Ahmadinejad's Impotence (Geneive Abdo) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad meant to kick off his annual visit to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York with the grand gesture of releasing two U.S. hikers held captive for over a year. Instead, he was humiliated in public by Iran's powerful judiciary, which stated on Wednesday that the president could not fulfill that promise. Nothing could more clearly symbolize Ahmadinejad's fading fortunes."

New York Town Clerk Refuses To Let Same-Sex Couple Get Married from the Huffington Post
"Rose Marie Belforti, the town clerk for the small town of Ledyard, has publicly stated that she will not sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples and refused to do so for Katie Carmichael and Deirdre DiBiaggio on Aug. 30. ... Belforti has cited religious reasons that prevent her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. ... The town's government is behind Belforti, saying it cannot force her to issue licenses."
This is a very interesting case.  I think these town officials may be setting themselves up for one hell of an expensive civil law suit.

Reality Check, Please (Michael Hirsh) from the National Journal
Our PUNDIT-OF-THE-DAY!!
"Today we face another presidential-succession process at a crucial moment in history. And I get the sense that we in the media are still just dancing around the real issues of character, readiness, and substance. Can’t we pretend, for a moment, that we’re Jackie and Arthur, parsing the here and now for real—not for the cameras—and talking the way real people talk? No speeches, no posturing for posterity, and no worrying about offending conventional wisdom. Here’s what that might sound like."

In the same vein (and almost as good) is this item:
The Problem of Media Stupidity (Eric Alterman) from the Nation
"There is a specter haunting America today. It is the specter of stupidity. A few months ago, I wrote a column I called “The Problem of Republican Idiots.” ... No less alarming is that this stupidity is apparently contagious. The men and women who inhabit the upper reaches of the US media (and pull down the multimillion-dollar salaries) appear to believe that to do their jobs properly, they must make themselves behave like idiots in order to be “fair” to the Republicans and their idiotic ideas."

Don't Sweat the Jewish Vote (Eric Alterman) from the Daily Beast
Alterman gets a two-fer today!
"Pundits are pointing to the Republicans' capture of Anthony Weiner's seat as a sign that Jews will abandon the Democrats in 2012. Eric Alterman on why it's nothing but wishful thinking."

Lessons Learned from the Palin Debacle (David Frum) from The Week
"How to avoid another disastrous Republican national nomination"

Here's why I think there will be few lessons learned:
MSNBC's Deutsch: Republicans Love Perry's "Arrogant Pugnaciousness" (VIDEO) from MSNBC
"If you watch Perry last night, whenever, for instance, anybody was going after him, he had this kind of like smirk like, 'What are you talking about? I'm right.' And if you look at a persona of a party. If we were going to describe the Republican Party as a person -- it's Wall Street, it's the Tea Party, it's we'd rather fight than switch, ... It's an overall persona, an I don't care what this guy says. ... He had what I call that arrogant pugnaciousness that the Republicans, they just eat it up.""

DINOSAUR NUGGET!!
Dinosaur Feathers Found in Amber (PHOTOS) from Discovery News
"A stunning array of prehistoric feathers, including dinosaur protofeathers, has been discovered in Late Cretaceous amber from Canada."

HIDDEN KITCHEN NUGGET!!
Victorian Kitchen that has Remained Untouched for 60 Years Discovered in Stately Home Renovation (PHOTOS) from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"The kitchen's entrance had been blocked since the Second World War with a collection of unwanted belongings."
Some amazing photos of this place!  Check them out!

OUTER SPACE NUGGET!!
Week Brings Hail of Planets: Seventy-Four Discoveries Include One With Two Suns; Global Teams Vie for Finds (VIDEO) from the Wall Street Journal
"Astronomers announced Thursday the discovery of a rare planet that orbits two stars, like Tatooine in the "Star Wars" films, adding to a growing inventory of alien worlds in the curiosity shop of the cosmos."
The video that comes with this story is very COOL!

VERY VERY BIG TUNNEL NUGGET!!
This Ain’t Your Ancestors’ Ice Bridge – Russia To Build Tunnel Across Bering Strait from the Singularity Hub
Forbes Magazine has a story on this as well.
"A comment made by Maxim Bystov, deputy head of Russia’s agency for special economic zones, in 2007 may shed a little light: “This will be a business project, not a political one.” ... Russian Ministry of Economic Development official Viktor Razbegin told RT that the project is already moving forward. ... Proponents of the tunnel argue that it would enable ‘round-the-world shipping that’s faster, cheaper, and safer than shipping across water. They estimate the network would carry about 3 percent of the world’s cargo and eventually turn a profit after about 15 years of operation."

MOVIE REVIEW NUGGET!!
A Review of Drive: Ryan Gosling's Minimalist Car-Chase Movie is Painfully Suspenseful from Slate
I usually don't post film reviews here, but this one has been receiving exceptional reviews!
Drive (The Weinstein Company), the eighth film by the Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, enters the viewer like a sharp unseen blade. The rate at which this compact, masterful thriller ramps up in intensity is quick but stealthy. You're just starting to groove on its understated postmodern style when it shivs you between the ribs."