Does Treasury Believe Spreading Our Flawed Banking System Is a Solution to Terrorism?
Sheldon Whitehouse had a hearing on terrorist finance the other day. There was an interesting exchange that I think bears notice.
The hearing focused, in part, on hawalas, not least because DOJ recently prosecuted Mohammad Younis, the guy…
How Does the CIA-on-the-Hudson Program Interact with Secure Communities?
The AP has another installment of their series on the NYPD intelligence department's mapping of ethnic neighborhoods in New York. As always, you should read the whole thing, as well as the documents showing the spooks' data collection on innocent…
Once Again, US Ratchets Up Rhetoric Against Pakistan
The pattern by now is all too familiar. Once again, the US is ratcheting up its rhetoric against Pakistan. Earlier instances included the "crisis" when the US killed three Pakistani soldiers and Pakistan responded by closing strategic border…
Warrants for Innocent People Are Not Like Warrants for Suspects
As Charlie Savage reports, Ron Wyden and Mark Udall have written Eric Holder scolding him for mischaracterizations DOJ has made about how the government is using the Patriot Act, in part to collect information on people's location.
They cite…
We're Not Even Spending Enough to Educate Our Service Members' Children
Between 2002 and 2008, USAID spent $408 million on schools in Afghanistan. A significant chunk of $857 went to Iraqi education in the first several years after invasion.
Yet as American service men and women have been overseas protecting…
Relentless Expansion of the Great War on Terror Despite Achieving Primary Goal
It is widely acknowledged that with the death of Osama bin Laden and a number of other high level leaders, al Qaeda is severely crippled in its one-time haven of Pakistan. Rather than acknowledging this victory in the primary objective…
So Much for the Apolitical Fed
The claim that the Federal Reserve is insulated from politics has always been a farce. Greenspan did a number of ideologically inconsistent things that just happened to help Republicans. And given that the banks run the Fed, it would be impossible…
Scalia, SCOTUS & Troy Davis' Last Gasp
Late yesterday afternoon, the Supreme Court of the United States stayed the execution, set for Tuesday night, of Cleve Foster in Texas. The words of the order were simple:
11-6427 FOSTER, CLEVE V. TEXAS
(11A302)
The application for stay…
We're Losing More Tech Jobs Than Socks Jobs to China
Some of the more amazing stories about China's domination of manufacturing these days pertain to the cities in China that make most of just one of the world's consumer goods, like socks.
But a new study from the Economic Policy Institute…
Should David Petraeus Be Replaced With a Computer?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX4A-iSoDiU[/youtube]
Today's Washington Post brings an update on the work being done by the Pentagon to develop artificial intelligence to the point that a drone can be automated in its decision on…
11th Circuit: Padilla's Torture Doesn't Merit a Big Downward Departure, Just Because We Said So
Here's how an 11th Circuit panel of Judges Joel Dubina, William Pryor, and Rosemary Barkett dismissed Jose Padilla's objection to his conviction because of the abuse he suffered while in government custody in the South Carolina brig in the years…
The Cost of $100 Million Prison Expansions and Other "Civilian-Led" Blowback
In addition to green-lighting debt collection calls to cell phones, another of the deficit plans Obama rolled out today is basically claiming credit for military withdrawals.
The plan also realizes more than $1 trillion in savings over the…
No, Class Warfare WILL Create Jobs!
A number of people are talking about the spectacle of Representative John Fleming complaining about tax cuts on the wealthy him, suggesting that it will lead him to cut jobs. [my transcription]
Chris Jansing: With all due respect, Congressman,…
The $648 Monthly Fine for Not Having a Job
As part of the President's deficit reduction plan, he proposes changing the rules to allow debt collectors to call people on their cell phones.
Allow agencies to contact delinquent debtors via their cellular phones. The Administration also…
A Gang of Deficit Fairy Phantoms
Over the weekend, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's GA politics section published an article claiming that Saxby Chambliss' Gang of Six has become a Gang of 38.
Saxby Chambliss’ Gang of Six has grown to 38 U.S. senators from both parties,…
Despite Accuracy Improvement, Huge Increase in Afghan Night Raids Detains More Innocent Civilians
In Friday's post, I noted in passing the recent revelation that only about 50% of night raids had accurate targeting. A new report (pdf) released today by the Open Society Foundations and The Liaison Office informs us that targeting…
Cheney's War Plan for Afghanistan? Deny Safe Haven To--But Not Destroy--Al Qaeda
[youtube]ywIqvCojtsQ[/youtube]
According to Dick Cheney, our objective in Afghanistan was, from the very beginning, not about defeating al Qaeda, but rather, defeating the Taliban, while denying al Qaeda a safe haven in Afghanistan.
At…
Trash Talk: NCAA Shame, Ephs and Jeffs
Marcy is correct, the article this week in the Atlantic magazine by Taylor Branch is an absolute must read. Entitled The Shame of College Sports, the article opens with a 2001 investigatory hearing in front of the Knight commission, a NCAA oversight…
The CIA Hates Us for Our Freedom
As I've noted a couple of times, there's the suggestion that the CIA likes the NYPD's CIA-on-the-Hudson because the NYPD, unlike the CIA, is diverse enough to have people with the linguistic and cultural background to infiltrate Muslim communities.
So…
Dick Cheney Made No Mention of Millenium Plot in His Book
I'm still slogging through Dick Cheney's awful book--I will write some more comprehensive things when I finish.
But I found this passage particularly curious given recent claims by Ali Soufan and Richard Clarke that we might have been able…
