What Caught My Eye Today

Recession - The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said its group of academic economists who determine business cycles met and decided that the U.S. recession began last December. Thanks for the tip. I'm not sure I would have noticed that the economy was in the toilet otherwise. The White House commented on the news that a second downturn has officially begun on President George W. Bush's watch without ever actually using the word "recession," a term the president and his aides have repeatedly avoided. Instead, a spokesman remarked upon the fact that NBER "determines the start and end dates of business cycles." Somebody certainly appears to be choosing their words very carefully. Seems to me that we're just splitting hairs here. The decision on the recession means that during the eight years that Bush has been in office, the country has seen two recessions. The first downturn lasted from March 2001 until November of that year. Then again, what president really wants to leave a legacy on not one, but two recessions--see I'm not afraid to call a spade a spade--on their watch.

Presidential Transition - President-elect Barack Obama picked a national security team headed by former campaign rival Hillary Clinton and Bush administration holdover Robert Gates. Obama named Clinton as Secretary of State and said Gates would remain as Defense Secretary, a post he has held for the past two years. Obama also introduced retired Marine General James Jones as White House National Security Adviser, former Justice Department official Eric Holder as Attorney General, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security and Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations. He now has selected half the members of his Cabinet, and is filling out the top echelons of his administration at an unusually quick pace during his transition as he seeks to fulfill his goal of being able to "hit the ground running" when he takes the oath of office on January 20. is it just me or do you think the Situation Room is going to look an awful lot like a trashed frat house with the first international crisis comes to a head. It will also be interesting to see how this U.N. Ambassador being re-elevated to a Cabinet level position plays out. In the Bush administration the U.N. Ambassador answered to the Secretary of State. Rice will still report to Clinton in the Obama administration, but technically she will be a peer to Clinton. In my experience, those dotted line reporting structures tend to lead to unnecessary, and sometimes ugly, turf wars. Let's just hope that Obama can keep some semblance of order in the playground.

India - India demanded Pakistan take "strong action" against those behind the 60-hour siege that left at least 172 people dead, as new details emerged about the gunmen and the survival training that enabled them to thwart Indian commandos. The United States called on Pakistan to fully cooperate with investigations into the attack, which has strained relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. One never likes to read about strained relations between countries that have a long history of distrust of each other, but when both countries happen to be in possession of a nuclear arsenal, that in all likelihood is pointed at the other, then you are really talking about a bleak situation. India's Home Minister resigned as more details of the response to the attack emerged and a picture formed of woefully unprepared security forces. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised to strengthen maritime and air security and look into creating a new federal investigative agency and promised to expand the commando force and set up new bases for it around the country. Maybe they could call the new agency the Homeland Security Ministry. That's basically what the United States did after the September 11 attacks. On a more serious note, I will be fascinated to see what investigators determine was the motivation behind these attacks which--let's be honest here--were conducted almost flawlessly.

Brazil - Brazil has announced a plan to reduce deforestation rates in the Amazon region by 70% over the next ten years. The plan follows a call for international funding to prevent further loss of the Amazon rainforest. The 70% figure comes from averaging levels of deforestation in the 10 years up to 2005, the plan aims to see a reduction in deforestation of nearly 6,000 square kilometers per year or about half the current annual rate of deforestation. You might be wondering why this is such a big deal; well, here is your answer... Just in terms of avoided deforestation in the Amazon, the plan foresees a reduction of 4.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide that won't be emitted up to 2018--which is more than the reduction efforts fixed by all the rich countries. Hard to imagine that by doing nothing (in other words, stopping deforestation), you are actually doing something to help the planet. It never ceases to amaze me just how resilient this rock we call Earth truly is. We keep hitting the old girl, and she keeps on picking herself up to fight another day.

And finally, a couple of sports headlines that caught my eye this weekend.

Cycling - Lance Armstrong will ride in the 2009 Tour de France, marking the first time he will compete in that race and the Giro d'Italia in the same year. "I'm committed to riding for the best guy," Armstrong said Monday, acknowledging the taxing schedule could leave him riding in a supporting role in France. Armstrong's Astana team includes 2007 Tour winner Alberto Contador and is loaded with other talented riders. "We'll abide by the same code that I do: cycling is team sport, while we'd all like to win," he said. Armstrong as a "domestique"? I'll believe it when I see it. Still, the dudes at the Versus television network (not too mention Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin) must be thanking their lucky stars that the Tour will include arguably its biggest star at least one more time.

Football - New York Giants star receiver Plaxico Burress is set to turn himself in to authorities and will be charged after accidentally shooting himself in the thigh at a New York nightclub on Friday night. So is being a dumb-ass considered a felon or just a misdemeanor? The incident occurred Friday night at the Latin Quarter club. Burress was in hospital overnight and released on Saturday afternoon. Burress, who has 41 receptions for 454 yards and four touchdowns this season, had already been ruled out of the Giant's next game after aggravating a hamstring injury early in a victory over the Arizona Cardinals the week before. Buress had signed a five-year, 35-million-dollar contract extension prior to the season, but has been having a tumultuous year. He was suspended for the team's October 5 game against Seattle after missing a team meeting. He was also involved in a sideline confrontation with coach Tom Coughlin during a game and has been fined several times. Don't you think that some of the Giants brass was secretly hoping that Buress didn't hit something a little more important? Not much, mind you. Just enough to sideline this moron permanently?