Today’s Links: October 23, 2012

OPINION

SCOTT GOTTLIEB: “ObamaCare vs. Women”
“Here’s a sampling of what the Preventive Services Task Force dings: chlamydia screening in most women over 25; cervical-cancer screening in those over 65; breast-cancer screening using digital mammography or MRI instead of the traditional plain film. Screening for ovarian cancer and the genes that raise a women’s risk of breast cancer also don’t make the cut. Same for clinical breast exams in women older than 40. […] This is what happens when benefits are defined in Washington, rather than by a marketplace of competing plans that cater to patient preferences.”

RICHARD FLORIDA: “The New Geography of Finance”
“Greater New York, surprisingly, ranks just 18th of large metros, with 5.8 of its workforce employed in finance-related occupations, up from 5.3 percent in 2006. Also surprising: The top-ranked large metro in the country is greater Washington, D.C., where finance occupations make up nearly ten percent (9.8 percent) of total employment, up from 8 percent in 2006.”

DAVID FRUM: “Tonight’s a Reminder of Why So Few Americans Care About Foreign Policy”
“Tonight’s debate reminded me of that Saturday Night Live sketch from the 2000 debate in which Darrell Hammond’s Al Gore answered, “I agree” to everything said by Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush. On Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Israel, Romney again and again repudiated any substantial policy difference between himself and the president.”

NEWS

FOREIGN POLICY – Guantanamo Defense: No War Crimes if No War
“Al-Nashiri faces trial in a special tribunal for war-time offenses known as a military commission for allegedly orchestrating the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000 as well as attacks on two other ships. But his lawyers say that since the U.S. wasn’t at war at that time, the 47-year-old shouldn’t be tried at Guantanamo. ‘The fact of going to war is a decision by the political branches, either Congress or the president or both,’ attorney Richard Kammen said Monday. ‘It’s not something to be arrived at retroactively by a bureaucrat who is not appointed by Congress because it has huge consequences.'”

ENERGY DRINKS – Anais Fournier’s parents file wrongful death lawsuit against Monster Beverage Corp.
“Wendy Crossland and Richard Fournier, both of Hagerstown, allege the energy drinks contributed to Anais’ death, which was officially caused by “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity complicating mitral valve regurgitation in the setting of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome,” according to her death certificate and court records.”

ENERGY – As unconventional U.S. oil, gas boom, so do jobs: report
“The U.S. oil and gas rush is cutting into jobless numbers, supporting a total of 1.7 million jobs this year, a number that will swell to almost 3 million by 2020, a leading consultant said in a study released on Tuesday.”