Without a doubt, the story underpinning all the other stories this week was WIKILEAKS. It started at the beginning of the week, with the release of hundreds of thousands of secret government documents and cables.
The mass release left media outlets all over the world asking themselves what guidelines to use when deciding to publish or not to publish.
Amongst the most entertaining leaks were the revelations of American diplomats' thoughts of leaders around the world. My favorites:
Nicolas Sarkozy: "Has a thin-skinned and authoritarian personal style" and is "an emperor with no clothes."
Silvio Berlusconi: "Feckless, vain, and ineffective as a modern European leader."
Dmitry Medvedev: "Plays Robin to Putin's Batman" and is "pale and hesitant."
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "Like Hitler."
While these highlights were entertaining at first glance, their release sparked a global diplomatic crisis for the United States.As Hilary Clinton seethed over the leaks, the Economist's Democracy in America blog saw the upside of the leaks.
On top of the current batch of leaks, WikiLeaks' next target is widely expected to be a major US bank.
Of course, that new round of leaks might be delayed while WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange runs from Interpol, who announced a "red notice" this week for his arrest in connection to an ongoing rape investigation.
Interesting.....I didn't know Interpol got involved in Scandinavian rape cases.
And then the site came crashing down. Allegedly, patriotic American hackers attacked the site so many times that its web host could no longer keep it running. So now WikiLeaks is in a fight to survive.
IN OTHER ONLINE NEWS
Twitter is looking to raise $3bn to fuel its drive to become a profitable business.
Meanwhile, the ever-profitable Google attempted to buy Groupon for $6bn. However, the latest word has it that Groupon are rejecting Google's offer.
THE DEFICIT BATTLE CONTINUES
Each day this week brought us closer to Friday's highly anticipated release of the final Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan (below):
DeficitPanelReport_120110
Momentum for an actionable deficit plan finally began to emerge, with the release of several alternative plans. Paul Krugman pointed out the Progressive Deficit Plan on his blog. Ezra Klein spoke with commissioner Andy Stern, who has his own plan, which tackles not just America's budget deficit but also its long-term government investment deficit. As he points out, with the short-term incentives offered by elections, it's tough for elected officials to vote for investment in the future at the expense of voters in the present. Klein's story also has links to plans from Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Alice Rivlin. And of course, there's always Paul Ryan's Roadmap for America's Future, which one could argue opened up the debate in the first place.
Speaking of Paul Ryan, he wrote in Investor's Business Daily this week that the Fed should refocus on its original mission of ensuring price stability rather than its more recent goal of promoting "maximum employment."
On the other hand, Paul Krugman argues that if Republicans force the Fed to focus only on a stable dollar we'll be locking ourselves into the same "prison" the Spanish have found themselves in as a result of being trapped by the Euro.
THE REST OF THE ECONOMY....
...is still grinding along slowly. Friday's payrolls numbers and unemployment rate disappointed massively, with global markets dropping on news that unemployment had risen again to 9.8%.
And while it's not new news (in fact, it was out last month and I just didn't notice), a whopping 14% of the US population is using food stamps.
COMINGS AND GOINGS...
Former White House budget director Peter Orszag is widely expected to take a senior role at Citi. As a protege of Robert Rubin, who joined Citi after serving as Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration, his choice comes as no surprise.
On the Senate floor, Sen. John McCain saluted Russ Feingold, who lost his re-election campaign last month. And Chris Dodd yielded the floor for the last time.
FOR THOSE STILL ON THE POLITICAL SCENE
Obama froze pay for federal employees. Speaking of trimming the expenses, even new Congressmen will be sleeping in their offices.
Joe Scarborough tells the GOP that they should take on Palin. The not-so-secret secret? He's right. Here's hoping they listen.
Boehner and McConnell told Obama to heed the voters. And then their earmark ban failed. (Quiz for Wisconsin voters: guess which of your senators was one of only seven Democrats to vote for the ban?)
On the other hand, food safety reform passed in the Senate but may be blocked in the House due to a technicality.
OUTSIDE THE STATES
The rise of emerging markets is the world's biggest trend. That must be why The Economist examined the dangers of a rising China.
The US and South Korea just agreed on a new trade agreement, making it the biggest trade pact since NAFTA.
And Ireland is for sale? (The page is a tad old, but still classic).
OTHER GOOD STUFF
Bill Gates discusses trade, optimism, and aid in Africa. Which is timely, as he (along with Warren Buffett) top Foreign Policy magazine's list of the Top 100 Thinkers.
Drew Brees was selected Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. Meanwhile, Derek Jeter's been negotiating with the Yankees for more money.
Russia trounced England (represented by the ultimate triumvirate: David Cameron, Prince William, and David Beckham) in the race to host the World Cup in 2018.
In an even bigger (and more confusing) upset, Qatar beat the US and Australia for the right to host in 2022.
Qatar? Are you serious? Nate Silver's 538 blog looks at just HOW RIDICULOUS that choice is.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
It's that time of the year. Obama celebrated Hannukah this week and the White House Christmas tree is up. Check out the time lapse video here.
