Free Republic

President Joe Biden announced his first political ambassadorships Tuesday, tapping former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to be the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Biden also tapped Morgan Stanley Vice Chairman Tom Nides to be ambassador to Israel. For representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization, Biden selected C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, best known for landing a United Airlines flight on the Hudson River in 2009.... ...For the prestigious, ambassador-rank post of U.S. permanent representative to NATO, Biden has chosen Julianne Smith. A former deputy national security advisor to Biden when he was vice president, Smith also directed NATO policy at the Pentagon....

It’s nearly impossible to have even a short conversation with a college administrator, politician, or chief executive without the words diversity and inclusion dropping from their lips. Diversity and inclusion appear to be the end-all and be-all of their existence. So, I thought I’d begin this discussion by first looking up the definition of diversity. Here’s my question to those who are wedded to diversity and inclusion: Are people better off the less they have in common with one another? For example, women are less likely to be able to march 12.4 miles in five hours with an 83-pound assault...

Member states will conduct a last-ditch offensive on a proposal to limit CO2 gases emitted by aircraft during the International Civil Aviation Organization conference in Montreal opening on Tuesday (27 September). The 191 members of the UN body responsible for air transport are expected to adopt a global market-based mechanism to achieve carbon-neutral growth for the aviation sector from 2020 onwards. The number of passengers flying each year is expected to double by 2035, surpassing 6.5 billion travelers. …

Nearly 300 passenger planes were scheduled to fly over the Ukraine yesterday. Some 290 commercial flights continued operating over the war zone, with just 10 fewer aircraft entering Ukrainian airspace than normal, according to European air traffic control centre Eurocontrol.

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/10/12/readout-president-obama-s-briefing-with-dhs-secretary-napolitano-and-tsa Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release October 12, 2010 Readout of President Obama’s Briefing with DHS Secretary Napolitano and TSA Administrator Pistole on Transportation Security President Obama today met with DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrator John S. Pistole to review the many enhancements that have been made to both aviation and surface transportation security. Today’s briefing was held in conjunction with the President’s regularly scheduled counterterrorism and homeland security briefing and was not prompted by any specific...

Airliners may have to fly twice the normal distance behind the new Airbus A380 superjumbo jet to avoid potential hazards from its unusually powerful wake, according to preliminary safety guidelines. The standards released to the industry by the International Civil Aviation Organization earlier this month are tentative and almost certainly more cautious than the formal rules expected next year. But if the final air-traffic procedures end up close to ICAO's initial proposal, they could undermine one of Airbus' top selling points for the largest passenger plane ever built: greater efficiency at congested hub airports.

A recent vote in Congress endorsing standardized, electronically readable driver's licenses has raised fears about whether the proposal would usher in what amounts to a national ID card. In a vote that largely divided along party lines, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a Republican-backed measure that would compel states to design their driver's licenses by 2008 to comply with federal antiterrorist standards. Federal employees would reject licenses or identity cards that don't comply, which could curb Americans' access to everything from airplanes to national parks and some courthouses. The congressional maneuvering takes place as governments are growing more interested...