Friday: 6/14/13

Middle East

Iran

How the world views Iran.  "Global perceptions of Iran are at an all-time low. That’s at least according to a new poll by Pew’s Global Attitudes Project, which surveyed views of Iran from 39 countries around the world and found only 20 percent of respondents viewed Iran favorably compared to 59 percent who viewed the country unfavorably. Interestingly, Iran enjoys some of its highest favorability ratings in Muslim-majority countries in the Asia-Pacific. For the countries in which Iran was viewed unfavorably, two issues stand out: its nuclear program and human rights record."  Andrew Detsch at the Diplomat.

Qatar

Transition time.  "The team that has overseen Qatar's growth into a regional powerhouse is changing. Arab and Western diplomats reported this week that Emir Hamad, 61, is soon going to replace the prime minister with his son, the 33-year-old Crown Prince Tamim, and would then abdicate power himself in favor of Tamim. The news prompted an almost audible 'OMG' across major world capitals, and among Qatar's neighbors -- a novice leader at a time of tension and great flux, after all, seems enormously risky."  Simon Henderson at Foreign Policy.

Syria

The CIA prepares to deliver arms to the Syrian rebels.  "The CIA is preparing to deliver arms to rebel groups in Syria through clandestine bases in Turkey and Jordan that were expanded over the past year in an effort to establish reliable supply routes into the country for nonlethal material, U.S. officials said. The bases are expected to begin conveying limited shipments of weapons and ammunition within weeks, officials said, serving as critical nodes for an escalation of U.S. involvement in a civil war that has lately seen a shift in momentum toward the forces of President Bashar al-Assad."  Greg Miller and Joby Warrick at the Washington Post.

The driving factors behind the change in Obama's Syria policy.  "The Obama administration tied ... arming Syria's rebels to findings that chemical weapons had been used in the civil war—but the decision ... was the product of two months of increasingly unsettling assessments about the war ... These included growing U.S. concerns about large-scale battlefield deployment of militants from the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah ... and President Bashar al-Assad's more recent battlefield gains."  Adam Entous at the Wall Street Journal.

Which weapons could turn the tide in Syria?  John Hudson at Foreign Policy.

The US is considering a 'kill switch' for Syrian weapons.  "As the U.S. mulls which weapons to send rebels fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, security officials say they are considering the use of technology that could remotely monitor and disable guided weapons ... There remains the option of placing sophisticated technology, such as encryption chips, into these weapons that could prevent them from firing under certain conditions, such as if U.S. forces or aircraft were in the area, or after a certain amount of time. Embedded GPS technology could be used to ensure the weapons aren’t used outside of areas where they are intended."  Joel Schectman at the Wall Street Journal.

A map of the 23 places the US will bomb if there's a no-fly zone in Syria.  John Reed at Killer Apps.

Yemen

New round of protests in Yemen.  "Yemeni security officials say thousands have protested in the capital against 'excesses' by security forces, calling for the overthrow of the president and national security apparatus. The demonstration came during the funeral of 13 Shiite protesters who were killed in clashes with police last Sunday. The protesters had been demanding the release of political detainees, and attempted to storm intelligence headquarters in Sanaa."  Ahmed Al-Haj at the Associated Press.

Politics

Congress

Congress hits a new low. "Since the dawn of modern polling, Congress has never been this unpopular. Gallup reported yesterday, 'Americans' confidence in Congress ... is down to 10%, ranking the legislative body last on a list of 16 societal institutions for the fourth straight year. This is the lowest level of confidence Gallup has found ... for any institution on record." What's more, it's a bipartisan phenomenon ... Now that there's split control over the chambers, every one of every partisan and ideological stripe feels equally comfortable criticizing the institution with similar zeal." Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

DOD

What the military is (and is not) doing to address the sexual assault crisis.  Kumar Ramanathan at Think Progress.

The Economy

A 'modest proposal' for reducing the deficit.  "Every month, the Labor Department releases a report packed with data about how the U.S. job market fared the previous month ... Traders who want it five minutes early can write Uncle Sam a $25,000 check ... Getting the information even earlier than that could be worth more ... This thought experiment is ... triggered by the revelation ... that Thomson Reuters, which distributes the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index, makes the information available to paying subscribers five minutes before the masses and hands it to select high frequency tradering firms two seconds before that, for even more money."  Neil Irwin at Wonkblog.

Elections

Court upholds Christie's New Jersey special election.  "A three-judge appellate panel has rejected a challenge to Gov. Chris Christie's decision to call a special election to fill the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg's seat in October, three weeks before the regularly scheduled November election. "Without question, the Governor was authorized to call a special election in this circumstance," state Superior Court Judge Jane Grall wrote. Grall said the Legislature 'has delegated broad authority to the State’s governor.'"  Matt Friedman at the Star-Ledger.

Energy and the Environment

Obama promises action on climate change in July.  "With his administration under pressure from environmentalists to reject the Keystone XL pipeline project, President Barack Obama plans to unveil a package of separate actions next month focused on curbing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions ... While Obama has not detailed the specifics of his plan ... pipeline opponents anticipate the package will include final rules from the Environmental Protection Agency to limit greenhouse-gas emissions from new power plants ... The White House plan may also include pledging to issue a standard for limits on existing power plants."  Lisa Lerer at Bloomberg.

Farm Bill

Why farm subsidies survive. "The survival of farm subsidies is emblematic of a larger problem: Government is biased toward the past. Old programs, tax breaks and regulatory practices develop strong constituencies and mindsets that frustrate change, even when earlier justifications for their existence have been overtaken by events. It's no longer possible to argue that ag subsidies will prevent the loss of small family farms, because millions have already disappeared. It's no longer possible to argue that subsidies are needed for food production, because one major agricultural sector -- meat production -- lacks subsidies and meat is still produced."  Robert Samuelson at Real Clear Politics.

Fort Hood

The judge presiding over the Fort Hood shooting case has banned Nidal Hasan from arguing that he was defending the Taliban.  "A military judge barred Army Maj. Nidal Hasan on Friday from arguing at his court-martial that he was legally acting to protect Taliban leaders when he killed 13 people and injured 32 others in a shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Hasan ... has said the shootings were a premeditated 'defense of others' to safeguard Mullah Mohammed Omar and other Taliban leaders in Afghanistan from attacks by the U.S. military. Hasan, 42, a Muslim-American Army psychiatrist, faces the death penalty if he is convicted in the Nov. 5, 2009, shootings."  M. Alex Johnson at NBC.

Foreign Policy

Polls show chemical weapons affect public opinion on Syria. "The Obama administration, which had long resisted sending weapons to antigovernment forces in Syria’s civil war, has decided to supply them with small arms after concluding that the troops of President Bashar al-Assad have used chemical weapons against them, according to American officials. The shift in administration policy on Syria seems reflective of public opinion ... Americans are deeply wary of the United States becoming involved in the fighting in Syria. But they also show that public support for intervention increases sharply under circumstances where it is confirmed that the Assad regime used chemical weapons."  Micah Cohen at FiveThirtyEight.

GOP

Here we go again.  "Minority voters are too dependent on the government to understand what’s good for them, and that’s why they don’t vote for Republicans, according to a panelist at the influential Faith And Freedom Coalition Conference’s minority outreach discussion ... Thompson suggested that the reason Republicans couldn’t make inroads with voters of color 'are being paid by the government' with benefits. He argued that the best thing for Republican minority outreach would be understanding this dynamic, and thus figuring out how to cut federal benefit programs and make minority voters more pliable to free-market views."  Zack Beauchamp and Rebecca Leber at Think Progress.

Guns

Despite setbacks in Congress, gun safety is making progress in the states.  "Since the Newtown tragedy, gun regulation has made enormous gains in states across the country ... Connecticut, Maryland and New York passed packages that include laws to expand and improve background checks, limit the sale or transfer of ... assault weapons and large-capacity... magazines, require safety training and improve systems for keeping guns away from domestic violence abusers and the dangerously mentally ill. Delaware and Colorado passed laws requiring background checks on all gun sales ... California added enforcement teeth to its law to confiscate guns from criminals and the mentally ill."  Robyn Thomas and Juliet Leftwich at the LA Times.

And the Senate might go for another try on background checks. "'Delicate talks' are underway 'on a new background-check measure that advocates hope could change enough votes from no to yes.' Quiet talks between Senators Mark Begich ... and Kelly Ayotte ... officially do not exist. Both senators voted no in April ... Senator Richard Blumenthal ... said a new version of the gun bill would most likely enhance prosecutions of those who violate existing gun laws and further clarify that new legislation would not and could not lead to a national database of guns or gun ownership ... As recently as April, it looked like the fight was over. It's not."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

Nevada Gov. Sandoval vetoed a new background check law.  "Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval ... vetoed Democratic-backed legislation that would have strengthened gun-control rules by requiring background checks on customers in all gun sales in the state, including private transactions. The Republican governor said in a veto statement that the bill amounted to an erosion of Nevadans' constitutional right to bear arms that would do 'little to prevent criminals from unlawfully obtaining firearms.' The bill ... would have also required Nevada courts to send information about legal defendants who are found to be mentally ill to a national clearinghouse for all new gun purchases."  Alexia Shurmur at Reuters.

Health

Republican Governor Jan Brewer - the latest ACA hero.  "Progressives find themselves in the unlikely position today of feeling warm thoughts towards Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, best known until recently as an advocate for ethnic profiling as a tool for enforcing immigration laws. Brewer managed to bludgeon her Republican-controlled legislature into a grudging decision to accept the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion provisions."  Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly.

The far right was outmaneuvered in Arizona.  "Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer muscled her way to victory in her crusade for Medicaid expansion Thursday, outmaneuvering conservative opposition to push through a key piece of President Barack Obama’s agenda. Over the objection of Republican legislative leaders, a coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats sent Brewer a bill on Thursday, extending Medicaid to an estimated 300,000 low-income uninsured Arizonans, transforming the state into the unlikeliest of Obamacare allies at a critical time for the White House."  Jason Millman and Kyle Cheney at Politico.

Immigration

The Gang of Eight is gunning for Marco Rubio.  "Republican and Democratic senators in the 'gang of eight' immigration reform group gave Marco Rubio an earful at a private meeting ... telling him they were frustrated with his public embrace of overly conservative border security measures ... The details ... shed new light on the ... strategic calculations the gang of eight is making as it seeks to navigate its proposal past conservative opposition through the Senate. The meeting hints at the true nature of the collective kabuki that the gang of eight is engaged in as it seeks to create just enough space to the right for Republicans to embrace the bill — without moving it so far to the right that it alienates Democrats." Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.

The far right is running the House on immigration.  "A poison-pill amendment offered by ... Steve King of Iowa ... blew up the Dream Act, taking away all discretion from the Department of Homeland Security to focus its deportation resources on criminals and miscreants and forcing the department to end any deferral in the deportation process that enables 'dreamers' to stay in the United States ... Not a single Republican on the Homeland Security Subcommittee voted against the poison-pill amendment. The only logical explanation is a frightening one: They are all intimidated by the more extreme and radical forces in their party."  Norm Ornstein at the Atlantic.

And they're pushing hard for the Hastert rule. "An insurgent group of House Republicans is pushing to codify the 'Hastert rule' to only allow bills with majority GOP support to come to the floor ... With an immigration rewrite looming and Boehner unwilling to guarantee that he’ll follow the Hastert rule, some of the more conservative House Republicans are nervous a compromise will be brought to the floor that falls short of their priorities — such as provisions to guarantee border security — and includes components many dislike, including a pathway to citizenship that some blast as a form of 'amnesty.'"  Emma Dumain at Roll Call.

We're already subsidizing healthcare for undocumented immigrants.  "It isn’t widely known, but taxpayers already do subsidize health care for illegal immigrants. That’s been true for years and is likely to expand under Obamacare. The program doesn’t really have a name, but it is referred to colloquially as emergency Medicaid. It is reimbursement offered to hospitals to provide emergency and maternity care to people who, based on their income and other factors, would be eligible for regular Medicaid if only they weren’t a) in the country illegally, or b) in the country legally but not lawful long enough to join Medicaid (five years)."  Sandhya Somashekar at Wonkblog.

LGBT Rights

The ENDA moves to the front burner. "Earlier this week ... Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a centrist Democrat from North Dakota, became an ENDA co-sponsor, a week after Sen. Angus King ... added his name to the same list ... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ... became the bill's 50th co-sponsor. To overcome a Republican filibuster, ENDA will almost certainly need 60 votes, not 50, but the list is steadily growing. In the House, the legislation had 175 co-sponsors as of yesterday, which is also nearing the 218 threshold ... Reid has promised a floor vote on the bill in this Congress. So far, it has three Republican co-sponsors: Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen ... and Sens. Susan Collins ... and Mark Kirk."  Steve Benen at Maddowblog.

Michigan

11 charts that show why Detroit is falling apart and heading for bankruptcy.  Josh Barro at Business Insider.

North Carolina

NSA

How Gen. Alexander became the most powerful intelligence officer in the history of the US.  "This is the undisputed domain of General Keith Alexander ... Never before has anyone in America’s intelligence sphere come close to his degree of power, the number of people under his command, the expanse of his rule, the length of his reign, or the depth of his secrecy. A four-star Army general ... He is director of the world’s largest intelligence service, the National Security Agency; chief of the Central Security Service; and commander of the US Cyber Command. As such, he has his own secret military, presiding over the Navy’s 10th Fleet, the 24th Air Force, and the Second Army."  James Bamford at Wired.

NSA-proof encryption exists; it's just too inconvenient to use.  "Software capable of withstanding NSA snooping is widely available, but hardly anyone uses it. Instead, we use ... applications whose data is reportedly accessible through PRISM. And that’s not a coincidence: Adding strong encryption to the most popular Internet products would make them less useful, less profitable and less fun ... Consumers have overwhelmingly chosen convenience and usability. Mainstream communications tools are more user-friendly than their cryptographically secure competitors and have features that would be difficult to implement in a NSA-secure fashion."  Timothy Lee at Wonkblog.

The UK wants nothing to do with Snowden.  "The British government has warned airlines around the world not to allow Edward Snowden, who leaked information on top-secret U.S. government surveillance programs, to fly to the United Kingdom."  Thanyarat Doksone at Talking Points Memo.

Pennsylvania

The budget crisis meets the education system.  "State and municipal governments across the country have been strip-mining their school districts in an attempt to defray budget deficits ... And now it’s Pennsylvania’s turn. There the school district is moving forward with plans to lay off some 3,783 education professionals and scrap 23 schools as part of a plan to reduce its $304 million deficit."  Ned Resnikoff at MSNBC.

SCOTUSwatch

The Myriad ruling triggers a race for better, cheaper cancer tests.  "Companies and a university are moving to offer cheaper and broader genetic testing for breast cancer risk to a growing group of women, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended Myriad Genetics ... monopoly ... Within hours of the decision, the University of Washington and Ambry Genetics ... said they would immediately offer expanded testing that included the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which Myriad has had under patent since the late 1990s ... It could also mean lower prices for the screening, which can cost as much as $4,000 for Myriad’s most comprehensive version of its BRCA cancer gene test."  Robert Langreth and Shannon Pettypiece at Bloomberg.

Texas

Gov. Perry misses the boat on the First Amendment.  "Whenever I hear ... a politician – say that the First Amendment protects freedom of religion, not freedom from religion, I just want to start screaming ... That statement ... shows great ignorance of our founding principles. The latest offender is Texas Gov. Rick Perry ... signing legislation guaranteeing people’s right to say 'Merry Christmas' ... Perry popped off, 'Freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religion.' Actually, Gov. Perry, it does ... Roger Williams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison ... understood this. You see, religious freedom must, by its very nature, include the right to reject all religion or else it isn’t really religious freedom."  Rob Boston at Americans United.

War on Terror

Republicans principles run smack into Guantanamo.  "The small-government, fiscally prudent Republicans in the House have voted to preserve a significant expansion of government power — and to keep spending nearly $1.6 million per prisoner per year at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp."  Andrew Rosenthal at Taking Note.

International

Asia

India's population to overtake that of China sooner than expected.  "According to the 2012 revision of World Population Prospects, released by the UN on Thursday, India's population will overtake China's around 2028. Previous forecasts had suggested that India wouldn't catch up until 2035 or even 2045. By 2028, both countries will have around 1.45 billion people, the UN said in a press release."  Jason Overdorf at Real Clear World.

Central America

The next Panama Canal, in Nicaragua?  "Nicaraguan lawmakers ... granting a Hong Kong company the right to build a $40-billion cross-country shipping canal that could compete with the Panama Canal — if it is ever built. Experts say that ... changes in shipping patterns and construction costs could easily thrust the proposal onto the large list of discarded plans for a Nicaraguan canal ... The challenges for Nicaraguan canal planners have always been enormous ... It would entail slashing through around 180 miles of thick tropical terrain — roughly triple the length of the Panama Canal — and then pumping a virtual sea through a series of locks deep enough for massive cargo ships." Damien Cave at the New York Times.

Europe

Iceland backs out of its EU bid.  "Iceland's bid to join the EU is over, the country's foreign minister told the European Commission on Thursday ... Both parties in the new government had campaigned against EU accession."  Benjamin Fox at EUobserver.

The future of the European aerospace industry.  "At some point over the course of the next decade or so all three of the continent’s fourth-generation fighter aircraft will cease production. Conceivably, at least one could be out of production by the end of this decade. So far there is no fully-funded European project to replace any, or all, of them. It should not be taken for granted that a European project of some ilk will simply coalesce ... There are three fundamental questions ... First is the notion ... of sovereignty; the second is the associated issue of sustaining key technologies within national – or at least European – boundaries, thus supporting local industry; and the third is, can it be afforded."  Douglas Barrie at Breaking Defense.

Polisci

Oversight of government agencies can have its drawbacks.  "Assigning oversight roles to more people, institutions and committees may have the perverse effect of creating more autonomy for an agency ... There are two particular problems ... the first of which is that if there is more than one principal with differing preferences, the agent may 'play' one principal against the other to get what the agent prefers ... The second problem is that each individual principal may shirk her duties; counting on the others to provide oversight."  Tobias Gibson at the Monkey Cage.

Miscellaneous

Fail.  Absolute fail.  "The Associated Press has discovered a Nazi living in Minnesota. Michael Karkoc, 94, lied to American officials about his World War II activities in order to emigrate and actually commanded a notorious SS unit that (as notorious SS units are wont to do) committed numerous war crimes. How was Karkoc found after so long? He has violated a couple of the most basic tenets of Concealing Your War Crimes. Rule No. 1: Do not write a memoir about your war crimes."  Jonathan Chait at New York Magazine.

Interesting outcomes at 'Panera Cares.'  "A Panera Cares Café looks just like any of the other 1,600 Panera locations ... There are no prices listed next to items ... and no cash registers. Instead, donation boxes sit on the counter, with signs telling customers: 'Take what you need; leave your fair share.' Panera cashiers ... hand patrons receipts indicating how much the items would normally cost, and let them decide how much to leave ... So far, it's worked. Most of the cafés are consistently self-sustaining, with approximately 60 percent of patrons paying the suggested price, 20 percent paying less or nothing, and another 20 percent paying more than the cost of their meal."  Amy Sullivan at the National Journal.