Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

• Fighting Words - By Michael A. Cohen | Foreign Policy

  So why, then, are Republican candidates treating Iran like it's the modern embodiment of Nazi Germany, al Qaeda, and the Soviet Union, all wrapped up in a mischievous and explosive ball? The long answer is Americans don't like Iran, they are afraid of nuclear weapons and images of mushroom clouds, and Muslims with weapons of mass destruction are scary. Frankly, GOP primary voters care about threats to Israel -- and sanctions and diplomacy are less impressive than the promise that American airplanes will soon be dropping bombs on reinforced bunkers.

• Do Innovation Consultants Kill Innovation? | Co.Design

  Are companies more innovative than ever before? Judging from the vast number of Fortune 500 companies professing their commitment to innovation, the answer is yes. But we sense that the more a company talks, thinks, and strategizes about innovation, the less real, big innovation it produces.

• Bungee Jumper's Cord Snaps In Freak Accident; Australian Erin Langworthy Survives Plunge

  Bungee Jumper's Cord Snaps In Freak Accident; Australian Erin Langworthy Survives Plunge

• William Daley to step down as Obama's chief of staff - chicagotribune.com

  William Daley is stepping down as White House chief of staff and budget director Jack Lew is taking over the President Obama’s team as it heads into a tough election year, senior administration officials say.

• IDF Finally Concedes Gaza Attacks Originated in Sinai, Not Gaza « Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place

  When even the most hawkish of Israel military correspondents concede (implicitly) the IDF’s version of the Eilat terror attacks is rubbish, you know you’ve been vindicated.  You’ll recall that back in August, after the incident, Alex Fishman, Idan Landau and I all demolished the claims by the IDF that the attackers were Gazan.  We argued that the attack originated in Sinai and that Sinai Islamists organized it and carried it out.  Eli Lake, Avi Issacharoff and any number of obedient water carriers dutifully reported IDF and U.S. intelligence nonsense.  The lies spouted by the IDF were also used to justify killing the top leadership of the Popular Resistance Committees and 25 other Gaza civilians having nothing to do with the raid.

• Papa John's apologizes for receipt's racial slur - CNN.com

  Papa John's Pizza fired a cashier at one of its New York restaurants and apologized to an Asian-American customer for a receipt that identified her as "lady chinky eyes." "We were extremely concerned to learn of the receipt issued in New York," the company said in a statement posted on its Facebook page Saturday.

• Two more monks set themselves alight in China - CNN.com

  A former Tibetan monk has died and another is seriously injured after setting themselves on fire in southwest China's Sichuan province on Friday -- the 13th and 14th acts of self-immolation in the country since March. A 22-year-old man set himself ablaze at a crossroad in Aba county in the Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture before police put the fire out and sent him to a local hospital, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

• Siri blows off some steam and curses at British boy | Death and Taxes

  According to the Sun, Charlie Le Quesne, 12, learned that lesson the hard way this week when he picked up a display model of the iPhone 4S at a store and asked, “How many people are there in the world?” Siri’s answer: “Shut the f*** up, you ugly t***,” the Sun reports. “I thought I must be hearing things,” Le Quesne’s mother told the Sun. But when they asked again “the same four-letter stuff blared out.”

• Israel seeks revenge for hacking - FT.com

  ** I find the Israeli definition of terrorism rather entertaining. So stealing credit cards is terrorism, but the intentional bombing of UN buildings sheltering refugees is collateral damage. ** The Israeli government has threatened to retaliate against the hacker who last week published the credit card details of thousands of Israelis, with one senior official comparing the cyberattack to a “terrorist operation”. Danny Ayalon, the deputy foreign minister, warned that the attack represented “a breach of sovereignty comparable to a terrorist operation, and must be treated as such”. He added: “Israel has active capabilities for striking at those who are trying to harm it, and no agency or hacker will be immune from retaliatory action.”

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