Speed Read (May 19, 2011)

Senate appointments:

• Lucky losers: they get a soft landing - Stephen Maher, Halifax Chronicle Herald
• Harper plays Canadians for suckers - Scott Stinson, National Post
• Senate moves a cynical slap against voters - Saskatoon StarPhoenix editorial
• Wall criticizes PM's Senate appointments - James Wood, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
• Lose the election, head to the Senate - Tasha Kheiriddin, National Post
• Les perdants gagnent - Guillaume Bourgault-Côté, Le Devoir (Google translation)
• Verner ferme la porte à Labeaume - Gilbert Lavoie et Simon Boivin, Le Soleil (Google translation)

New cabinet/committees:

• A cautious set of picks that's unlikely to embarass Harper - John Ibbitson, The Globe and Mail
• Sowing the seeds of discontent in the new Tory cabinet - John Ivison, National Post
• A cabinet to make policy, not waves - National Post editorial
• Ontario gets paid back at the cabinet table - Chantal Hébert, Toronto Star
• Ontario: 15/Quebec: 4 - Quatre Québécois au conseil des ministres - Joël-Denis Bellavance et Hugo de Grandpré, La Presse (Google translation)
• Harper place ses pions (et ses amis) - Vincent Marissal, La Presse (Google translation)
• Harper extending personal control to oversight of national security and intelligence gathering - Tim Naumetz, The Hill Times
• The government is too big, not the cabinet - Terence Corcoran, National Post
• Ex-Harris stalwarts in charge of Ottawa's cuts - Les Whittington, Toronto Star
• Our army needs soldiers and guns, not more bureaucrats - Matt Gurney, National Post
• For new Industry minister [Paradis], a steep learning curve - Daniel Leblanc, Barrie McKenna, and Iain Marlowe, The Globe and Mail
• La nomination de Penashue inquiète Marois - Paul Journet, La Presse (Google translation)
• Harper missed chance to demote Bev Oda - Licia Corbella, Calgary Herald

Liberal leadership:

• Liberals eye fall of 2012 for choosing successor to Ignatieff - Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press
• Liberal senators at odds over interim-leader selection rules - Mia Rabson, Winnipeg Free Press

Foreign policy:

• Time for Canada to reconnect with the world - Gordon Smith, The Globe and Mail
• The world wants Canada's ear - Harry Sterling, Ottawa Citizen