Senator David Vitter submitted one of my questions to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, as part of his reconfirmation hearings, and received the following reply in writing (as already published in the WSJ online):
Apparently I found Newsweek's interview with Henry Kissinger and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton more interesting than Isaac did. Clinton makes what I think are a couple of interesting observations, including this one, about diplomacy in the modern world:
It is bad enough that Newsweek and Slate decided to run a long joint interview of Henry Kissinger and Hillary Clinton. It is even worse that Jon Meacham, the interviewer, asks questions like, "What has surprised you most since becoming secretary of state?" or "How important is the relationship between the secretary and the president?" There is also, of course, Clinton's and Kissinger's warm rapport ("Well, Henry's the expert on theory and doctrine," "I fundamentally agree," "Mm-hmm," " I would add to what Henry said.").
Oh hey look, the Drudge Report’s front page is trumpeting the news that Cuba’s foreign minister had some harsh words for President Obama over the Copenhagen climate conference. “Cuban official says Obama lied in Copenhagen... 'Imperial, arrogant'...” This is weird on a couple of levels.
The Thing Around Your Neck, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
I'm no expert, but the more I think and learn about Pakistan, the more I wonder whether there's any hope of a healthy long-term relationship between our country and theirs. Here's an example of the culture gap we're facing:
Now that the Senate bill has been slated for passage this week, the major stakeholders in the debate have begun to shift their attention to the upcoming conference committee to combine the bills from both houses—and some are already bringing their demands to the table.
Via AP:
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president on Tuesday dismissed a year-end deadline set by the Obama administration and the West for Tehran to accept a U.N.-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel, and claimed his government is now "10 times stronger" than a year ago....
The fundamental divide in opinion regarding our financial system is: Are the people running "large integrated financial groups" hapless fools, buffeted by forces beyond their comprehension and control; or do they know exactly how to ensure they get the upside and the awful, sickening downside is borne by society--including through high unemployment?
