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| DAYLEE IMAGE: The Rapa River in Sarek, Sweden. From National Geographic. |
See my sort-of monthly appearance on the Lynn Cullen Live! Program!
Sunday, March 29, 2015
In Russia: Changes in Everyday Life
Nobody Wants to Live in the Mean New Russia (Ivan Sukhov) from the Moscow Times [in English]
"They want to leave Russia because the social microclimate — the people whom they meet every day at work, at home and on the street — is changing for the worse. They see that people are becoming angrier, meaner and even dangerous. However, that aggression did not appear out of nowhere."
"They want to leave Russia because the social microclimate — the people whom they meet every day at work, at home and on the street — is changing for the worse. They see that people are becoming angrier, meaner and even dangerous. However, that aggression did not appear out of nowhere."
Is There a "Shelf life" on Oil?
Oil headed to $100? $30? It may not matter (Ron Insana) from CNBC
"It may not matter because energy alternatives could soon make oil a worthless commodity. It may seem unthinkable, but history is replete with commodities that not only lost the bulk of their value, but also their utility."
"It may not matter because energy alternatives could soon make oil a worthless commodity. It may seem unthinkable, but history is replete with commodities that not only lost the bulk of their value, but also their utility."
Hundreds of Poles mob convoy of U.S. troops
Hundreds of Poles mob convoy of U.S. troops driving through eastern Europe from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Troops from the 3rd Squadron of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment were passing through Polish town of Bialystok. Residents lined the streets to greet the soldiers as they posed for pictures with locals who offered them gifts. The soldiers had been taking part in a NATO exercise to
demonstrate their readiness to defend its members. Poland borders both Ukraine and Russia and the conflict between the two countries has caused anxiety there."
"Troops from the 3rd Squadron of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment were passing through Polish town of Bialystok. Residents lined the streets to greet the soldiers as they posed for pictures with locals who offered them gifts. The soldiers had been taking part in a NATO exercise to
demonstrate their readiness to defend its members. Poland borders both Ukraine and Russia and the conflict between the two countries has caused anxiety there."
The Sun Is Rising On Solar Panels
The Sun Is Rising On Solar Panels, And There’s No Fighting It from National Memo
"Huge numbers of Americans have been installing solar panels, thanks to better and cheaper technology. Businesses that stand to lose from this fact have set off clashes in nearly half the states — from Maine to California and Washington to South Carolina. ... So Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can huff and puff about a “war on coal,” but to little avail. By the way, the domestic solar industry now employs more workers than does coal mining."
"Huge numbers of Americans have been installing solar panels, thanks to better and cheaper technology. Businesses that stand to lose from this fact have set off clashes in nearly half the states — from Maine to California and Washington to South Carolina. ... So Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can huff and puff about a “war on coal,” but to little avail. By the way, the domestic solar industry now employs more workers than does coal mining."
Budgetary Con Jobs
Trillion Dollar Fraudsters (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"Does this mean that all those politicians declaiming about the evils of budget deficits and their determination to end the scourge of debt were never sincere? Yes, it does. Look, I know that it’s hard to keep up the outrage after so many years of fiscal fraudulence. But please try. We’re looking at an enormous, destructive con job, and you should be very, very angry."
"Does this mean that all those politicians declaiming about the evils of budget deficits and their determination to end the scourge of debt were never sincere? Yes, it does. Look, I know that it’s hard to keep up the outrage after so many years of fiscal fraudulence. But please try. We’re looking at an enormous, destructive con job, and you should be very, very angry."
New Report: Student Loan Crisis Worse than Thought
New Federal Data Show Student Loan Borrowers Suffering More Than Previously Believed from the Huffington Post
"By the new metric, which the department has never used before, roughly 33 percent of borrowers were more than five days late on one of their federal student loans as of Dec. 31. (Since the department only released individual figures for its four largest contractors, rather than a total percentage, however, the actual figure may be a few percentage points higher or lower.) Previous measures had put the delinquency rate much lower, masking the true amount of distress among borrowers trying to make good on their taxpayer-backed debts."
"By the new metric, which the department has never used before, roughly 33 percent of borrowers were more than five days late on one of their federal student loans as of Dec. 31. (Since the department only released individual figures for its four largest contractors, rather than a total percentage, however, the actual figure may be a few percentage points higher or lower.) Previous measures had put the delinquency rate much lower, masking the true amount of distress among borrowers trying to make good on their taxpayer-backed debts."
Bipartisanship FInally Surfacing Somewhere in Washington?
Pelosi, Boehner Rekindle Bipartisanship With $214 Billion Medicare Deal from the Huffington Post
"It's almost like seeing a unicorn run through Congress. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have teamed up on a bill, and it's a biggie. It would fix a massive funding gap in Medicare, extend health care for poor children and make long-term spending cuts."
More evidence of a singular shift that seems to be occuring in Congress -- Boehner and Pelosi seem to have to come to an "accommadation" on certain legislation. The goal: to sideline the Tea Party extremists in the GOP. Stay tuned.
"It's almost like seeing a unicorn run through Congress. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have teamed up on a bill, and it's a biggie. It would fix a massive funding gap in Medicare, extend health care for poor children and make long-term spending cuts."
More evidence of a singular shift that seems to be occuring in Congress -- Boehner and Pelosi seem to have to come to an "accommadation" on certain legislation. The goal: to sideline the Tea Party extremists in the GOP. Stay tuned.
South Carolina: Not What It Used to be for the Bush Family
Jeb's South Carolina firewall fails to take shape from Politico
"His reservoir of support is neither as wide nor as deep as he might have hoped. Twice before, South Carolina has delivered for the Bush family. In 1988, it famously served as George H.W. Bush’s firewall after he finished third in Iowa. Twelve years later, it served the same role for George W. Bush after John McCain’s New Hampshire victory. But as Jeb Bush seeks to become the third in his family to win here, he’s finding the state almost unrecognizable. The electorate in the first primary state in the South is more conservative than before — and the former Florida governor is perceived as a moderate. Much of the old Bush team has defected to other candidates. And the presence of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is eating into Bush’s natural base of support."
"His reservoir of support is neither as wide nor as deep as he might have hoped. Twice before, South Carolina has delivered for the Bush family. In 1988, it famously served as George H.W. Bush’s firewall after he finished third in Iowa. Twelve years later, it served the same role for George W. Bush after John McCain’s New Hampshire victory. But as Jeb Bush seeks to become the third in his family to win here, he’s finding the state almost unrecognizable. The electorate in the first primary state in the South is more conservative than before — and the former Florida governor is perceived as a moderate. Much of the old Bush team has defected to other candidates. And the presence of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is eating into Bush’s natural base of support."
The GOP: Looking for Alternatives in all the wrong places!
Unhappy With a Moderate Jeb Bush, Conservatives Aim to Unite Behind an Alternative from th New York Times
"In secret straw polls and exclusive meetings from Iowa to California, the leaders are weighing the relative appeal and liabilities of potential standard-bearers like Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and the former governors Rick Perry, of Texas, and Mike Huckabee, of Arkansas."
Wow! Who's missing from this list? Scott Walker. Has he been a bad boy latly? -- Nuggetsman
"In secret straw polls and exclusive meetings from Iowa to California, the leaders are weighing the relative appeal and liabilities of potential standard-bearers like Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and the former governors Rick Perry, of Texas, and Mike Huckabee, of Arkansas."
Wow! Who's missing from this list? Scott Walker. Has he been a bad boy latly? -- Nuggetsman
Scott Walker’s interview debacle
How the movie “Trading Places” explains the Iran/Israel conflict! (Joan Walsh) from Salon
"A friendly interview with righty Hugh Hewitt gave Walker a do-over on his foreign policy flubs. Um, it didn't work. ... Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is widely viewed as botching his early opportunity as nominal frontrunner for the 2016 GOP nomination. Even on the right, some former admirers are lamenting Walker’s early mistakes handling questions about evolution, President Obama’s religion and how he would handle ISIS (he memorably compared the challenge to battling pro-union Wisconsin protesters in 2011.)"
"A friendly interview with righty Hugh Hewitt gave Walker a do-over on his foreign policy flubs. Um, it didn't work. ... Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is widely viewed as botching his early opportunity as nominal frontrunner for the 2016 GOP nomination. Even on the right, some former admirers are lamenting Walker’s early mistakes handling questions about evolution, President Obama’s religion and how he would handle ISIS (he memorably compared the challenge to battling pro-union Wisconsin protesters in 2011.)"
Friday, March 20, 2015
News Nuggets 1511
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| DAYLEE PICTURE: The Boreal Forest and the MacKay River in Alberta, Canada. From National Geographic. |
For Russia's Economy, Ukraine is the Last Straw
Russian Economy Was Doomed Before Ukraine from the Moscow Times [in English]
"The conflict in Ukraine, and the associated economic statecraft employed by both the West and Russia in response to it, offers a convenient explanation for Russia's recent economic woes. But the truth is that the Russian economy has been weakening for several years, and that the Ukraine situation has merely exacerbated pre-existing tendencies."
"The conflict in Ukraine, and the associated economic statecraft employed by both the West and Russia in response to it, offers a convenient explanation for Russia's recent economic woes. But the truth is that the Russian economy has been weakening for several years, and that the Ukraine situation has merely exacerbated pre-existing tendencies."
Europe cuts NATO spending while the U.S. pays
Indefensible Defense Budgets Coming Out of Europe from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"An analysis of the 2015 spending plans of the countries in the 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization indicates that the old problem of the United States bearing a disproportionate share of its cost is getting worse rather than better."
"An analysis of the 2015 spending plans of the countries in the 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization indicates that the old problem of the United States bearing a disproportionate share of its cost is getting worse rather than better."
POLL: Most Chinese Say Their Military Can Crush America
Most Chinese Say Their Military Can Crush America in Battle (Zachary Keck) from the National Interest
"The vast majority of Chinese citizens believe the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could seize islands in the East and South China Seas, even if the U.S. military were to intervene in the conflicts. No less than 87 percent of respondents said that the Chinese military already possessed the capability to take back the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands from Japan, according to a recent public opinion poll. When asked whether they still believed the PLA could achieve this objective if the U.S. intervened in the conflict, 74 percent said yes."
This is a very dangerous mindset! Those who follow this blog and the comparative defense reports we've put out there looking at China and the US's capabilities know that China is in NO position to take on the US virtually anywhere, much less in a situation involving the navies of the two countries. In this poll, you see the box the Chinese have put themselves in: if the US (or ANY country for that matter) should get involved in a dust-up with China, can the Chinese leadership back down without losing face with the folks back home? This polling suggests not.
"The vast majority of Chinese citizens believe the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could seize islands in the East and South China Seas, even if the U.S. military were to intervene in the conflicts. No less than 87 percent of respondents said that the Chinese military already possessed the capability to take back the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands from Japan, according to a recent public opinion poll. When asked whether they still believed the PLA could achieve this objective if the U.S. intervened in the conflict, 74 percent said yes."
This is a very dangerous mindset! Those who follow this blog and the comparative defense reports we've put out there looking at China and the US's capabilities know that China is in NO position to take on the US virtually anywhere, much less in a situation involving the navies of the two countries. In this poll, you see the box the Chinese have put themselves in: if the US (or ANY country for that matter) should get involved in a dust-up with China, can the Chinese leadership back down without losing face with the folks back home? This polling suggests not.
Republicans Lead in Cutting Unemployment Benefits
A Lot Fewer Americans Get Unemployment Benefits Than You Think from the Huffington Post
"The share of unemployed Americans who receive unemployment insurance benefits has dwindled to its lowest point in decades, thanks in part to benefit cuts in Republican-led states. Just 23.1 percent of unemployed workers received state unemployment benefits at the end of 2014, according to a new analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal Washington think tank. The rate has hovered beneath 24 percent since 2011 and bottomed out at 22.1 percent in November 2013."
The report is HERE.
"The share of unemployed Americans who receive unemployment insurance benefits has dwindled to its lowest point in decades, thanks in part to benefit cuts in Republican-led states. Just 23.1 percent of unemployed workers received state unemployment benefits at the end of 2014, according to a new analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal Washington think tank. The rate has hovered beneath 24 percent since 2011 and bottomed out at 22.1 percent in November 2013."
The report is HERE.
On the Clintons: Moving Forward and Looking Back
Hillary’s Prickly Apologia (Frank Bruni) from the New York Times
"Clinton’s challenge is to persuade an electorate that has known her since the Mesozoic era and trudged wearily with her through so much political melodrama that to vote for her is to turn the page, to embrace a new chapter, to move forward. On Tuesday she didn’t look as if she was leaning into the future. She looked as if she was getting sucked into the past. That’s not where voters want to go."
"Clinton’s challenge is to persuade an electorate that has known her since the Mesozoic era and trudged wearily with her through so much political melodrama that to vote for her is to turn the page, to embrace a new chapter, to move forward. On Tuesday she didn’t look as if she was leaning into the future. She looked as if she was getting sucked into the past. That’s not where voters want to go."
Obama's Scandal-less White House
The Joy and the Drama (Josh Marshall) from Talking Points Memo
"For all the Republican carping about IRS and Benghazi! (TM), the Obama years have been essentially scandal-less. There's just nothing to work with. Obama doesn't have weird hangers-on; staff don't surface disputes and ego battles in the press; things just don't happen. You do not get surprises."
"For all the Republican carping about IRS and Benghazi! (TM), the Obama years have been essentially scandal-less. There's just nothing to work with. Obama doesn't have weird hangers-on; staff don't surface disputes and ego battles in the press; things just don't happen. You do not get surprises."
What the Iran Letter Got the GOP
Amateur Hour in the GOP-led Senate (Fred Kaplan) from Slate
"The letter 47 Republican senators sent to Iran is one of the most plainly stupid things a group of senators has ever done."
"The letter 47 Republican senators sent to Iran is one of the most plainly stupid things a group of senators has ever done."
The Prospects for China and Russia allying again
China and Russia vs. the United States? (Huiyun Feng) from The Diplomat
"The future of a China-Russian relationship depends largely on relations these two countries have with the West, especially the United States. If Washington pushes too hard on oil prices, Ukraine, and NATO expansion toward Russia, and if the U.S. rebalances too far against China in the Pacific, China and Russia may indeed move towards a formal alliance, even if that may not have been what they originally wanted."
"The future of a China-Russian relationship depends largely on relations these two countries have with the West, especially the United States. If Washington pushes too hard on oil prices, Ukraine, and NATO expansion toward Russia, and if the U.S. rebalances too far against China in the Pacific, China and Russia may indeed move towards a formal alliance, even if that may not have been what they originally wanted."
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