Free Republic

George Tsunis speaking to the US senate in January - Source: Screen Grab Senior members of a professional body representing US diplomats have called on the country's Senate to reject George Tsunis, the nominee ambassador for Norway. Tsunis committed a serious of embarrassing blunders in his January pre-appointment hearing, which led one Norwegian politician to call for a public apology from Barack Obama, the US President. On March 7, fifteen former presidents of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) wrote a letter to key US Senators including former Presidential candidate John McCain, urging them to reject President Obama's nominee...

Norwegians cast ballots Monday in a parliamentary election that could see the power in the oil-rich nation shift for the first time since 2005 to a center-right coalition, including an anti-immigration party. Despite Norway’s strong economy and low unemployment, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s center-left coalition has been trailing in opinion polls for months. The Conservative Party, headed by Erna Solberg, has seen a surge in support amid pledges to increase the availability of private health care and cut taxes on assets over $140,000. … The conservatives have said, for the first time, that they are prepared to form a coalition...

Stavanger, Norway — The National Review cruise pulled in on Tuesday to this coastal city, which clearly is the center of the country’s fabulously successful oil industry. Outside of Texas, it’s unlikely you would find a Petroleum Museum in the United States like the one that occupies a prominent place on Stavanger’s waterfront. We depend on the oil industry for our daily needs, but then either disparage it or ignore it. Not so Norway. The museum in Stavanger, which opened in 1997, makes obligatory nods toward climate change and alternative fuels. But among the pictures of modern windmills and solar...

WE will be eating Israeli potatoes,” announces our host, with mischievous, defiant glee. He is Kristian Norheim, “international secretary” of the Progress party, the Reaganite, Thatcherite party here in Norway. Seven of us are gathered for a festive meal. What’s the big deal about Israeli potatoes? Ah, you need to get to know Norway. Israel is not the favorite country of this country. This is a country where Israeli products are typically boycotted and damned, not eaten. Norway’s government was the first outside the Islamic world to recognize Hamas. Put it this way: Norway’s attitude toward Israel is approximately that...

Daniel Johnson: Your party, the Progress Party, has sometimes been accused, on the left and in parts of the media, of being far-right, comparable to Le Pen - what is your answer to that? Siv Jensen: First of all, it's important for me to clarify what we stand for. We are a classical liberal party, and are very much in favour of market mechanisms. We seek to improve the competitiveness of Norway, which is actually getting worse and worse. And when it comes to what is, I guess, the most critical issue, immigration, I believe that we stand for the...

<p>WASHINGTON — One of the most contested states in presidential politics is center stage Sunday night as FOX News airs a Republican candidates primary debate in Orlando, Fla., that is sure to be used by the 2008 contenders as a chance to cater to the party's conservative base.</p>