St. Louis Promoter Nelly Da’Celeb, Mack TV Spark Outrage Over “Battle of the Complexions” Racist Beauty Contest

Eugene Robinson

• Romney’s pants on fire May 29, 2012
  There are those who tell the truth. There are those who distort the truth. And then there’s Mitt Romney. Every political campaign exaggerates and dissembles. This practice may not be admirable — it’s surely one reason so many Americans are disenchanted with politics — but it’s something we’ve all come to expect. Candidates claim the right to make any boast o […]
• Why Bain questions matter May 24, 2012
  Who are the dastardly enemies of free enterprise who decided to make an issue of Mitt Romney’s tenure at the private-equity firm Bain Capital? Er, those would be his fellow Republicans. Listen to what Newt Gingrich said in January: “The Bain model is to go in at a very low price, borrow an immense amount of money, pay Bain an immense amount of money and leav […]

Paul Krugman

• Battle of Britain, Austerity Edition May 31, 2012
  Arguing with the Austerians. […]
• Japan as "Role Model" May 30, 2012
  At least no employment catastriphe. […]

Maureen Dowd

• Andromeda Is Coming! May 29, 2012
  Will the earth’s rotation slow down? Will we be hit by another planet or galaxy? Will our magnetic field wither? Will we ever stop singing the apocalyptic blues? […]
• The Party Animals at the Secret Circus May 26, 2012
  Is Mark Sullivan too naïve to watch over the boys-being-boys in the Secret Service? […]

Kathleen Parker

• Cory Booker’s truth — and its consequences May 25, 2012
  The past several days of Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s life have been painfully amusing to watch. Painful because Booker, a rising Democratic star, is such a good guy. Amusing, because rarely are Americans treated to such premier seats in the political theater of truth and consequence. Read full article >> […]
• The public trial of Justice Roberts May 23, 2012
  Novelist John Grisham could hardly spin a more provocative fiction: The president and his surrogates mount an aggressive campaign to intimidate the chief justice of the United States, implying ruin and ridicule should he fail to vote in a pivotal case according to the ruling political party’s wishes. Read full article >> […]

Robert Reich

• A Diabolical Mix: U.S. Wages and European Austerity May 31, 2012
  What if Europe and the US converged on a set of economic policies that brought out the worst in both... […]
• Romney-Trump in 2012! May 30, 2012
  What could Romney’s handlers be thinking when they hyped his connection with Donald Trump... […]

Memeorandum

• When hitting 400 is not good: Levels of key greenhouse gas pass milestone, trouble scientists (Associated Press) May 31, 2012
  Associated Press: When hitting 400 is not good: Levels of key greenhouse gas pass milestone, trouble scientists  —  NOAA, Will von Dauster/Associated Press - In this image released by NOAA, Chris Carparelli, adjusts a glass flask that line the walls of an air sample processing room at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory … […]
• Morgan Student Admits To Eating Missing Joppatowne Man's Dismembered Body Parts (Rakates/CBS Baltimore) May 31, 2012
  Rakates / CBS Baltimore: Morgan Student Admits To Eating Missing Joppatowne Man's Dismembered Body Parts  —  JOPPATOWNE, Md. (WJZ)—An already grisly murder takes an even more grisly twist.  A college student tells police he killed a housemate and then ate parts of the victim's heart and brain. […]
• Central Banker Calls Euro Zone Structure 'Unsustainable' (Jack Ewing/New York Times) May 31, 2012
  Jack Ewing / New York Times: Central Banker Calls Euro Zone Structure ‘Unsustainable’  —  FRANKFURT — The president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, warned Thursday that the structure of the euro currency union had become “unsustainable” and criticized political leaders who he said had been slow to respond … […]
• MSNBC Produced Its Own Anti-Romney Video in February (John Hudson/The Atlantic Wire) May 31, 2012
  John Hudson / The Atlantic Wire: MSNBC Produced Its Own Anti-Romney Video in February  —  Fox News is taking a drubbing for broadcasting a four-minute video attacking President Obama yesterday but the network's arch-rival, MSNBC, has thus far avoided criticism for an anti-Mitt Romney video it produced and broadcast in February. […]

REUTERS ELECTION 2012

REUTERS BUSINESS NEWS

• ECB, EU officials warn euro's survival at risk May 31, 2012
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank stepped up pressure on Thursday for a joint guarantee for bank deposits across the euro zone, saying Europe needed new tools to fight bank runs as the bloc's debt crisis drives investors to flee risk. […]
• Analysis: For big U.S. companies, hiring is 3 steps forward, 1 step back May 31, 2012
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - For big corporations, the labor recovery is alive, even though overall U.S. hiring has remained lackluster. […]
• Money flies out of Spain, regions pressured May 31, 2012
  MADRID (Reuters) - Spaniards alarmed by the dire state of their banks are squirreling money abroad at the fastest rate since records began, figures showed on Thursday, and the credit ratings of eight regions were cut. […]
• Jobs data points to recovery losing momentum May 31, 2012
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Private payroll growth picked up only slightly in May and claims for jobless benefits rose last week, suggesting the U.S. labor market recovery was losing steam after a strong performance early in the year. […]

REUTERS POLITICS

• Ex-Senator Edwards acquitted on campaign finance charge May 31, 2012
  GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Former U.S. Senator John Edwards was acquitted on Thursday on one count of accepting illegal campaign contributions, and the judge declared a mistrial on five other counts because the jury was deadlocked. […]
• Romney to submit personal financial statement on Friday May 31, 2012
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is scheduled to deliver his latest personal financial disclosure statement to federal elections authorities on Friday, government and campaign sources said. […]
• Senate contender Warren denies using ethnicity for unfair gain May 31, 2012
  BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren has acknowledged for the first time she told two prestigious law schools she had a Native American heritage but disputed suggestions that she used her ethnicity to help gain employment at the universities. […]
• Obama urged to threaten aid to Mexico over tuna labels May 31, 2012
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of U.S. Democratic lawmakers on Thursday urged President Barack Obama to threaten Mexico with cuts in economic assistance if the southern neighbor continues to pursue a trade case that has put U.S. "dolphin-safe" tuna labels at risk. […]

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

• Brazil lawmakers red-faced over mystery underwear May 31, 2012
  Mystery underwear found during a parliamentary session earlier this month is causing a lot of red faces in the Brazilian Congress, a report said Thursday.The red and white panties, described by O Globo daily as "rather large" and "not a G-string," were inadvertently dropped by one of five deputies who arrived late for a vote on cyber crim […]
• Judge hands Google victory in Oracle copyright fight May 31, 2012
  A federal judge on Thursday put a stake in the heart of Oracle's big-money lawsuit against Google by ruling that the application programming interfaces (APIs) at issue can't be copyrighted.The decision by US District Court Judge William Alsup came a week after a trial that ended with jurors clearing Google of patent and copyright abuse charges leve […]
• World cancer cases to rise by 75 percent by 2030 May 31, 2012
  Worldwide cases of cancer are likely to rise by nearly 75 percent by 2030, driven by demographic and lifestyle factors, according to a study published on Friday in the journal The Lancet Oncology.A team led by Freddie Bray of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France, said that in 2008 there were 12.7 million new cases of cancer, […]
• Putin and Belarus leader see 'great future' ahead May 31, 2012
  Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leader of isolated Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, praised their close ties Thursday on Putin's first trip abroad since he started his new Kremlin term.His trip to Belarus -- an ex-Soviet state blackballed by the West for its crackdown on the opposition -- comes after Putin rejected US President Barack Obama' […]

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE WORLD NEWS

• SYRIA-LEBANON: Rebels demand Hezbollah apology to free hostages May 31, 2012
  Syrian rebels said they would not negotiate for the release of the Shiite Lebanese hostages they are holding until the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an ally of Syrian President Assad’s, apologised for a recent speech, Al-Jazeera reported Thursday. […]
• QUEBEC: Student protesters present ‘bottom-line’ proposals May 31, 2012
  Quebec’s student leaders resumed talks with the government Thurs., saying they had presented proposals for the "absolute minimum" required to end the crisis over a proposed tuition hike that has brought tens of thousands of protesters to the streets. […]
• FRANCE: Facing election shipwreck, Sarkozy ‘friends’ rise up May 31, 2012
  With the right-wing UMP party predicted to lose upcoming parliamentary elections, former interior minister Brice Hortefeux (pictured left) and other French conservatives are embracing recently departed president Nicolas Sarkozy. […]
• FRANCE: Controversial ‘marriage charter’ to restrict festive Nice weddings May 31, 2012
  Fed up with overly festive weddings at Nice’s city hall, the mayor of the southern French town has penned a “marriage charter” to curb disruptive behaviour. The charter, which takes effect Friday, has sparked outrage among civil rights groups. […]