Carla Bruni vs. Michelle Obama

Claws out! France’s first lady Carla Bruni alleges in her new tell-all book that Michelle Obama thinks that her job as America’s first lady is “hell.”

Michelle Obama thinks being America’s First Lady is ‘hell’, Carla Bruni reveals today in a wildly indiscreet new book.

Miss Bruni reveals that Mrs Obama replied when asked about her position as the U.S. president’s wife: ‘Don’t ask! It’s hell. I can’t stand it!’

Details of the private conversation, which took place at the White House during an official visit by Nicolas Sarkozy last March, emerged in Carla And The Ambitious, a book written in collaboration with Miss Bruni.

Perhaps she’s jealous of Mrs. Obama’s incessant vacations while the country writhes in economic turmoil? If what Bruni alleges is true, of course Mrs. Obama would hate the job because the glitz has worn off now that her husband’s approval ratings are in a death spiral.

Until now I hadn’t formed an opinion of Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy, but now I find her to be as loose with her discretion as she was with her body back when she was younger and not resigned to kitten heels because stilettos were ill fitting of a woman her age – even if I share her implied shock of such an admission from the First Lady. The swipe at the mother of Mr. Sarkozy’s children is embarrassingly tacky as well, but nothing shocks me from a woman willing to humble the status of the French first lady by putting out a comical little folk album.

Relatedly, remember how we were told that if Obama was elected he’d win prom queen of the world and Europa would respect us again? Not so much?

Castro: Um, Maybe Communism is Hurting Our Economy

Interesting:

Raul Castro said Sunday that his government will scale back controls on small businesses, lay off unnecessary workers and allow more self-employment — significant steps in a country where the state dominates nearly every facet of the economy.

[…]

About 95 percent of all Cubans currently work for the government and Castro has suggested that as many as one in five state employees are redundant. He promised job cuts, calling for “the reduction of work forces that are considerably bloated in the state sector.”

BP Exonerated, White House Implicated in Lockerbie Bomber Release

Remember when Senators Gillibrand and Schumer alleged that BP had a role in the Lockerbie Bomber release and they called for an investigation?

The four senators from New York and New Jersey are calling for an investigation into BP‘s alleged involvement in the release of the Lockerbie Bomber and for a moratorium on Libyan oil drilling.

[…]

In light of the news that Megrahi, reportedly living comfortably in Libya, may live that much longer, Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, with their New Jersey counterparts Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, called for the U.K. to reexamine Megrahi’s release to see whether BP was involved.

Now that we know BP had nothing to do with Abdel Baset al-Megrahi’s release and that it was the White House that actually worked with Scottish officials to broker the deal, will Gillibrand, Schumer & co. call for an investigation into the administration, too? They wanted to enact a moratorium based upon these allegations:

The senators are also calling for a moratorium on drilling off the Libyan coast.  “We do not think that BP should be allowed to drill until we have resolution on this issue,” Gillibrand said.  Although the U.S. doesn’t have the authority to call such a moratorium, “we are calling the UK to assist us in this,” she said.

Oh, the White House feigns surprise almost as good as Bill Clinton:

The document, acquired by a well-placed US source, threatens to undermine US President Barack Obama’s claim last week that all Americans were “surprised, disappointed and angry” to learn of Megrahi’s release.

[…]

The US has tried to keep the letter secret, refusing to give permission to the Scottish authorities to publish it on the grounds it would prevent future “frank and open communications” with other governments.

Sketchy, indeed.

No More Eggs by the Dozen: EU Micromanages British Sales

File this under one of the most ridiculous egregious examples of big government micromanagement that I’ve ever seen. British food merchants are now forbidden to sell products by the number (i.e. a dozen eggs, rolls, et al.) and are told they must sell by weight only. It’s also forbidden to put the weight AND the number of items on the package. Why? Because the EU is crazy. Hi, welcome to big government.

Until now, Britain has been exempt from EU regulations that forbid the selling of goods by number. But last week MEPs voted to end Britain’s deal despite objections from UK members.

The new rules will mean that instead of packaging telling shoppers a box contains six eggs, it will show the weight in grams of the eggs inside, for example 372g.

Or that a bag of white rolls has 322g inside instead of half a dozen. The rules will not allow both the weight and the quantity to be displayed.

[…]

The move could cost retailers millions of pounds because of changes they will have to make to packaging and labelling, as well as the extra burden of weighing each box of food before it is put on sale.

The cost is likely to be passed on to shoppers through higher grocery bills.

The cost that merchants will be forced to incur complying with this law will be astronomical. Yes, at a time when the world economy is teetering on the edge, let’s make it more difficult for families to afford food! Let’s raise the cost of their groceries as a way to help them. If you told me that Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter was writing these regulations I would be completely unsurprised.

Look how much time they have on their hands:

The new labelling row is the latest in a long line of European Union food policy scandals.

The EU passed a directive in 1994 ruling that top-of-the-range bananas had to be ‘free from malformation or abnormal curvature of the fingers’. The directive was ridiculed as a symbol of bureaucratic excess in Brussels.

In 1988, it ruled that top-of-the-range cucumbers must bend by only 10mm per 10cm in a directive designed to help packaging and transport.

In 1979, another directive ruled that carrots should be termed as fruits, as the Portuguese made jam out of them.

In 2003, a threatened European ban on smoky-bacon crisps was averted at the last minute when MEPs forced through amendments after a backlash from the British public.

Finger-curved bananas? Ghastly! But a ban on bacon crisps? ATROCITY. David Cameron will meet his first test as prime minister going toe-to-toe with the EU over this.

If cap-and-tax passes we’ll face a similar intrusion.

Britain Falling Out of Love with Obama Over BP Mismanagement

Harsh considering The One ran his campaign like he was running for prom king.  This top headline from British paper Daily Mail:

Not only is Obama wrecking our economy, but now his share of the blame – his heinous standards and even worse calls under his MMS man Ken Salazar which contributed to the rig explosion, a rig that the Obama admin once called the “industry standard for safety” — the mistakes of his administration are also having a negative impact on the British economy:

Since the accident on April 20, BP  –  which accounts for £1 in every £7 paid out in dividends to British pension pots  –  has lost £55billion from its stock market value.

The continuing fall threatens the wider economy because most British insurance companies, building societies and pension funds have large holdings of the firm’s shares.

After shredding foreign relations with Israel, Obama’s handling of the disaster (and his refusal to meet with the CEO whose ass he talked of kicking and whose neck Robert Gibbs talked of stepping on, what great WWE-esque talk) now our relationship with Britain:

Last night, as Britain and the U.S. stood on the brink of a major diplomatic crisis:

• One of Britain’s leading businessmen wrote an extraordinary open letter to President Obama attacking his ‘prejudicial and personal’ stance against BP;
• Experts said the failure to stem the damage from the spill had left the beleaguered firm vulnerable to a takeover or even ‘Chapter 11’ bankruptcy in America;
• Downing Street said Mr Cameron will speak to President Obama about the disaster for the first time this weekend, as it emerged that the pair have not spoken formally since a congratulatory call on the day the Tory PM entered No 10;
• A BP petrol station came under attack in the U.S. as calls for a boycott of its forecourts gathered pace;
• Fears grew that BP is considering scrapping payouts to shareholders to appease American anger, hitting millions of pensions in Britain.

Until now, the Government has attempted to keep its distance from the row caused by the massive oil leak following an explosion on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

But amid growing warnings from business leaders and MPs that the White House’s rhetoric is fuelling a collapse in confidence in the company’s future, Mr Cameron has now been dragged to the heart of the affair.

All because he sheltered the Deepwater Horizon from a regulation.