TrueNorth

Diplomacy the Chicago way

On the White House - Fund-Raising Still Has Its Perks in the Obama Era - NYTimes.com

The new ambassador to France? What is his qualification? Does he speak French?

“He does,” Mr. Gibbs said.

And the new ambassador to Britain? What is his qualification? “He speaks English,” Mr. Gibbs said.

Mr. Gibbs was kidding, but mastery of English may be one of the most relevant items on the résumé of Louis B. Susman, the new ambassador to the Court of St. James’s. Mr. Susman, a retired investment banker, earned the London posting not through diplomatic service but by collecting big checks for Mr. Obama’s campaign. Charles H. Rivkin, an entertainment mogul who once headed the company that created the Muppets, is heading to Paris for the same reason.

Smart power

RealClearPolitics - The Myth of 5 Million Green Jobs

The central finding of the study is that -- treating the data optimistically -- for every renewable-energy job that the government finances, "Spain's experience reveals with high confidence, by two different methods, that the U.S. should expect a loss of at least 2.2 jobs on average, or about 9 jobs lost for every 4 created."

Double standard

There are 70 conflicts worldwide, so why do we focus on just one? | Irish Examiner

The Russians have just announced the end of their "counter-terrorism" operation. There are no solid figures for the number of civilians killed since the second war began there in late 1999, but estimates range anywhere between 25,000 and 200,000.

Put that in context. Israel might be geographically small – smaller than Munster – but in population terms Chechnya is absolutely tiny. A region with a little more than one million inhabitants has seen anything up to one-fifth of its civilian population killed in two decades of war. And one school siege aside, we have largely looked the other way.

By comparison, 6,000 Palestinians – armed and civilian together – out of a Palestinian population in the territories three to four times that of Chechnya have died since the second intifada of 2001.

Yuck!

Canada's governor general eats seal heart

Canada's governor general ate a slaughtered seal's raw heart in a show of support to the country's seal hunters, a display that a European Union spokeswoman on Tuesday called "too bizarre to acknowledge."

Sotomayor

Mr. Predictable comes through again. 

Suicide watch at Westminster?

MP highlights suicide risk over expenses | Top News | Reuters

"The atmosphere in Westminster is unbearable," Conservative MP Dorries wrote on the blog (blog.dorries.org ). "People are constantly checking to see if others are OK. Everyone fears a suicide. If someone isn't seen, offices are called and checked."

Interesting

Dmitri Medvedev aide attacks Vladimir Putin's concentration of power - Telegraph

"The present system shows signs of overextension," Mr Yurgens said. "It shows signs of over centralisation and fragility because it is based not on institutions but on the mythological vertical of power.

"The reform process stumbled halfway. We have to push very hard to restart those reforms otherwise we will not be ready to catch up with the G8. We will remain on the level of leading emerging nations."

An increasingly influential figure in Russia, Mr Yurgens' comments will be taken as further evidence of a rift between Mr Putin and Mr Medvedev.

Although he holds no official position, Mr Yurgens runs a think tank headed by Mr Medvedev and is one of a handful of economic and political liberals close to the heart of power.

Canada overtaking the United States

Canada is now more pro- free enterprise than the United States, even before Obama really gets going ruining everything.
Cato

Not encouraging

Here's how Israel would destroy Iran's nuclear program - Haaretz - Israel News

Israeli government ministers and Knesset members who will help make the decision about whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities do not have to wait any longer for a preparatory briefing by the Israel Air Force.

They can read about all the possible scenarios for a strike on Iran, and about the potential risks and chances of success, in a study by Abdullah Toukan and Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Too true

College grad: ‘I wish I’d gone to prison instead’ - The Red Tape Chronicles - MSNBC.com

Hernan Castillo is treading water, trying to survive under the weight of $5,200 in credit card debt and $30,000 in student loans. He’s making payments on time, but the Orange County, Calif., resident sees little hope for getting out of the warehouse job he holds and landing a job as an accountant, the field in which he earned his degree. And forget about saving money for a home or retirement. He now firmly believes the money he spent earning a college degree was a waste.

"Every day I wish I had never gone to college,” Castillo said. “It has been the biggest mistake of my life. Sometimes I wish I had gone to prison instead of college. At least I would have learned a trade or two and started being independent once I got out."