If a captain fell asleep at the helm of an oil tanker traversing dangerous waters, the ship owners and the public would demand that they never be put in command of a ship again. But, despite 12 years of being asleep at the wheel, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized United Nations agency responsible for international shipping, is demanding that it be re-appointed to have sole responsibility for addressing the rapidly rising greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector.

The long-anticipated debate on financial services reform was scheduled to begin on the House floor yesterday. But in a bad sign for reformers, conservative Democrats managed to wring damaging concessions out of House leadership before the debate even began.