Here is your daily dose of schadenfreude. It appears that Harry Reid wants “a full airing” of the DC Madame scandal.
I’m still wondering who the other senator that Larry Flynt mentioned.
Year: 2007
Denmark evacuates Iraqi employees and their relatives – International Herald Tribune
I read this story about Denmark evacuating Iraqi employees and their relatives in the IHT.
If the US behaves in a historically consistent matter, we will leave the tens of thousands of translators and other Iraqis hanging out to dry, where many will die, and more will become stateless refugees.
This is distressing for both ethical reasons, these people have risked their lives for us, and for pragmatic reasons, each time we do this, it makes it more difficult to recruit members of the indigenous population to help us.
The fact that we do not allow anyone who has already risked life and limb to help us entry into the US is largely an artifact of bigotry, and to be fair, the US military is far worse about this than the State Deartment, which is already making noises about getting its employees into the US.
Does Privacy Sell?
I just read this story aboutAsk.com devising an aggressive privacy policy. It was couched as a way to compete with Google.
I’ve also heard about Microsoft doing the same (in the case of the Borg, however, I won’t trust them to follow through).
This is not an outbreak of corporate ethics, but rather an attempt to capitalize on a perceived weakness of Google, the Elephant in the room, regarding privacy.
My guess is that this will not make a big difference, and we’ll see relaxation of the new policies over the next 18-24 months.
A new Twist on Peer-to-Peer: Telephone Service
A company called Ooma has a new setup to make VOIP work. It will the phone lines of its subscribers to actually complete phone calls
While this is presented as reducing completion charges, the real reason for this is that it is a way of avoiding the frequently infernal machinations of the incumbent local service providers.
The baby Bells are absolutely bone headed about this, because they do not want to see real competition in their markets.
Stars and Stripes: Democrats move to rein in use of private contractors in Iraq
It’s about bloody time.
Democrats move to rein in use of private contractors in Iraq
Mideast edition, Friday, July 20, 2007
The Senate’s nine freshman Democrats announced a new effort Wednesday to rein in the use of private contractors to rebuild Iraq and to do an array of war-related jobs normally assigned to the military, The Virginian-Pilot reported Thursday.
According to the report, the group will ask Congress to create a “Commission on Wartime Contracting” that would assign auditors already employed by the federal government to ferret out waste and mismanagement in the more than $300 billion Iraq reconstruction effort.
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This has been an ongoing scandal. Whether it’s the dangerously unaccountable mercenaries from groups like Blackwater, or KBR serving substandard food provided by slave laborers, this war profiteering has been a national disgrace.
Bush Now Claims that He is King
Bush has now forbidden the Justice Department from pursuing contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials if executive privilege has been invoked.
Under federal law, a statutory contempt citation by the House or Senate must be submitted to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, “whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action.”
But administration officials argued yesterday that Congress has no power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases, such as the prosecutor firings, in which the president has declared that testimony or documents are protected from release by executive privilege. Officials pointed to a Justice Department legal opinion during the Reagan administration, which made the same argument in a case that was never resolved by the courts.
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Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University who has written a book on executive-privilege issues, called the administration’s stance “astonishing.”
“That’s a breathtakingly broad view of the president’s role in this system of separation of powers,” Rozell said. “What this statement is saying is the president’s claim of executive privilege trumps all.”
Impeachment investigations trump executive privilege. This is why proceeding should start against both Bush and Cheney tomorrow.
Pelosi and Reid will Ram Through Ethics Legislation
The legislation has been stalled because the Republicans have refused to appoint Republican members to the conference committee. The Democratic majority leaders have now decided to use a little used parlimentary maneuver to short circuit the foot dragging.
Basically, it comes down to the House and Senate Democrats working out the minor differences between the bills on their own, and then passing identical bills through both houses.
Identical bills mean no conference committee.
Where the Net Really Makes a Difference
The first place that I noticed the net making a difference in real life was when I moved to Baltimore, and I found out how much easier Mapquest made it for me to find a home where I wanted, because I knew were each address was instantly.
It’s now entering politics, where you have someone setting up a searchable database of Debra Jean Palfrey’s (aka the DC Madame) phone records.
You have also found this in the turnaround of massive document dumps by the Bush administration on the US Attorney scandal, frequently in a matter of hours.
The ability to being hundreds, if not thousands, of people together to do the scut work of investigative journalism has the real possibility being a major game changer for journalists, particularly those who don’t have the resources of the NY times behind them.
Newspapers and the Chop Shop Mentality of Private Equity
Alan D. Mutter gives us the lowdown on the damage done to newspaper as an insitution by Private Capital Management (PCM).
These folks are best known for forcing the liquidation of Knight-Ridder, and have been dumping their media holdings for quite some time (see pic).
That being said, Mr. Mutter missed the big picture, which is that most private equity functions as the equivalent of a chop shop. They part out businesses, or destroy the aspects of those businesses that made them valuable in the first place, in order to make their profit.
The current “crisis” in newspapers is less a function of declining ad revenues and readership than it is is the increasingly low quality product that is being produced to satisfy Wall St. investors.
This is How You Apologize if You are Mensch
Brian Caplan offers an apology.
Mea Culpa: How I Succumbed to Anti-Foreign Bias
Bryan CaplanA high fraction of immigrants are young, low-skilled, Hispanic males. Given these demographics, I long assumed that immigrants would have relatively high crime rates. While I kept this problem in perspective, I took it for granted that increased crime was a genuine drawback of immigration.
I was wrong.
A fascinating NBER Working Paper (earlier, free version here) by Kristin Butcher and Anne Piehl shows that, despite their demographics, immigrants are drastically less criminal than native-born Americans. In fact, immigrants have one-fifth the incarceration rate of natives. Yes, natives are incarcerated at five times the rate of the foreign-born:
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Let’s be clear, the error here is minor, as he is pro large scale immigration, he was arguing for this in spite of what he thought were crime issues, which is far more benign than what Lou Dobbs done.
I tend to be closer to Dobbs than I am to Caplan, though for economic issues (I don’t believe that there are jobs Americans won’t do, just jobs they won’t do for pennies.
38 Years Ago Today
Neil Armstrong made one small step at Tranquility Base.
Also cat blogging.
It Isn’t Just Bush Who Will Be Getting it Up the Butt
It will be the whole country.
Cheney to be in charge during Bush colonoscopy.
Be Afraid, be very, very afraid.
Another Real Estate Myth Busted
Remember how all these people are saying that the real estate crash will drive rents up, because people will be buying, not renting? Nope.
There’s a lot of softness in the rental markets too.
This will increase, as condo projects that don’t sell are forced to become rental units.
And Related to Charlie Pierce’s Comment
Mitt Romney spent nearly $2K on makeup while governor.
Who cares. Really. The only thing of interest is that the press won’t be constantly harping on this, because makeup on Mitt makes him “manly”.
This is crap. Romney is a f#$%ing moron.
When he first ran for state wide office in Massachusetts, he ran for senate against Teddy Kennedy, and it started out competitive. Some polls actually had him in the lead.
Until the debates. Romney made the point that Kennedy was born wealthy, so what did he ever have to give for public service?
Mitt…You know…There are the three brothers…The war hero, the assassinated war hero president, and the assassinated populist presidential candidate.
Mit is stoopid.
What Charlie Pierce Said.
On Fridays, he frequently contributes a pice to Eric Alterman’s Altercation:
However, where in hell do we go with that last passage there, about how the haircuts matter because “a healthy chunk of the political press corps” doesn’t like Edwards, and how they’re staying away from a sauce-for-the-goose position on Mitt Romney’s makeovers because of their own private calculations of the relative electability of the two candidates. OK, here’s the deal. Every member of that “healthy chunk” of the press corps should be fired. Today. This minute. Without pay or recompense. Let them all walk back inside the Beltway from Cedar Rapids if they have to. I value what I do. I value the work of the people in my business who do it correctly. But, holy mother of god, these people do not do what I do. It’s OK to sneer at a candidate if you don’t like him? It’s OK to create a destructive narrative out of unmitigated piffle because he doesn’t kiss your ass with the regularity you think you deserve, or because his press buses don’t run on time, or because one of his staffers was late with the Danish in Keene? I watched a roomful of them boo Al Gore seven years ago, behavior that would have gotten them run out of any press box in the major leagues. Do you think one of these jamokes — or jamokettes — is thinking, “Maybe we should lay off the haircut thing because of what we all did to Gore in 2000, and look how well that worked out.” Please.
Here’s what I think — the majority of people who cover national politics believe that history is whatever happened in the MSNBC Green Room 15 minutes earlier. I believe the campaign is covered by people with a completely unjustified sense of their own superiority, since not many of them understand or ever care about most of the issues, much less the horrendous bills that are going to come due upon whichever of these poor sods winds up with the job. I believe these people care more about their reputation around the bar at the Wayfarer in Manchester than they do about the interests of the people they purportedly serve. And, were I an editor, and someone brought me a story about John Edwards’ hair or Mitt Romney’s skin, that person would do it once. The second time, the lazy bastard would find himself typing bowling agate on Wednesday night.
Damn good thinking, and damn good writing.
OH MY GOD! Hillary has Boobs!!!
And Robin Givhan, Washington Post Staff Writer, is a boob.
She wrote an article that is entirely about the fact that Hillary’s neckline shows about 1/4 inch of cleavage.
The Washington Post: Let Rupert Murdock buy it. The quality will improve.
Horrors: 
On the Rumors of Arafat Death from AIDS
On the radio today, I heard reports that Ahmad Jibril, leader of the PFLP has said that senior officials in Fatah have confirmed that Arafat has died of AIDS.
A quick goggle revealed no particularly mainstream reports of this. I know nothing of the provenance of Israel Today, the source of the above link, and Mr. Jibril would have a number of reasons to lie anyway.
That being said, I do have my definitive opinion on the significance of this report.
It has no significance at all.
What is significant about Yassir Arafat is that he was an incompetent, corrupt, and cowardly figure whose position in life derived from who he was related, his uncle was mufti of Jerusalem, rather than any abilities on his own.
He pretty much failed, and failed spectacularly at everything he did, though he did manage to spin things to his favor.
In a word, he is not the Palestinians George Washington, but rather he is the Palestinians George W. Bush.
Why Should We Believe the US Military Now
You know the saying, fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me
U.S. says Iraqi militant nonexistent
The man known as Abu Omar Baghdadi is an actor and the group a front for Al Qaeda in Iraq, the military says.
By Tina Susman
Times Staff WriterJuly 19, 2007
BAGHDAD — In March, he was declared captured. In May, he was declared killed, and his purported corpse was displayed on state-run TV. But on Wednesday, Abu Omar Baghdadi, the supposed leader of an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq, was declared nonexistent by U.S. military officials, who said he was a fictional character created to give an Iraqi face to a foreign-run terrorist organization.
An Iraqi actor has been used to read statements attributed to Baghdadi, who since October has been identified as the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq group, said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner.
Bergner said the new information came from a man captured July 4, described as the highest-ranking Iraqi within the Islamic State of Iraq.
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Bush has purged the military of anyone who might tell an unfortunate truth to the public.
If we want our government to work, we will need to de Bushify the bureaucracy and military after he is gone.
The problem is, that we need to de Bushify the courts too, and the Constitution makes that difficult.
Future Combat Systems NLOS-C Begins Planning for LRIP.
I worked on the program for three years, though not on the NLOS-C.
This variant is the only one I expect to see service service. At the urging of the US Army’s “Artillery Mafia”, this is entering production and service well before any other vehicles as a kind of “block zero”.
This was the deal cut when the Crusader self propelled howitzer was canned.
Personally, I think that the lightweight XM777 towed 155mm howitzer is a better bet, since it’s light enough (it weighs less than a typical 105mm howitzer) to be airlifted.
FCS Industry Team to Initiate Production Planning
ST. LOUIS, July 18, 2007 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and partner Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Lead Systems Integrator for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, today announced that the Army has authorized planning for FCS low-rate initial production, including long-lead items for the first FCS capability Spin Out and Manned Ground Vehicle (MGV) early production units. The latter is focused on the Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C) initial production platform, which will be fielded in 2010 according to a Congressional mandate.
“The Army’s notification to proceed with early production planning for Spin Outs and Manned Ground Vehicles is evidence that FCS technologies are maturing according to plan and represents a crucial step toward meeting program production objectives,” said Dennis Muilenburg, vice president-general manager, Boeing Combat Systems, and FCS program manager. “It underscores the significant accomplishments of the entire FCS One Team which continues to perform and is well-positioned to deliver these early life-saving capabilities to our soldiers as quickly as possible.”
Three FCS Spin Outs to the current force will be initiated in two-year increments starting in 2008 when the FCS team delivers the first infusion of capability to the Army Evaluation Task Force (AETF) in Fort Bliss, Texas, for testing. The first, referred to as “Spin Out 1”, consists of equipment and technologies that will provide enhanced situational awareness and communication capabilities for the Current Force through technology insertions to Abrams battle tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and HMMWV vehicles. Spin Out 1 elements include network integration “B” kits consisting of an Integrated Computer System, System-of-Systems Common Operating Environment, Battle Command and Network Management software and communications system including the Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radio. Also included are Tactical and Urban Unattended Ground Sensors to provide real-time threat information in complex terrain, and the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System for remotely controlled precision fires.
A recent Critical Design Review of Spin Out 1 technologies confirmed that they meet design requirements and are ready for integration into current force vehicles and the AETF. Low-rate initial production for Spin Out 1 will support the procurement of 17 Brigade Combat Team sets to be fielded incrementally over a period of seven years, beginning in fiscal year 2008.
FCS MGVs, developed in partnership with BAE Systems and General Dynamics, will provide the Army with a new family of networked vehicles with enhanced armor and protection technology, and next-generation survivability and sustainability features that are required for successful and decisive future battlefield operations. Based on a common chassis, FCS MGVs will be more than 70 percent common, reducing spare parts and logistics costs. The NLOS-C will be the first of the eight MGV variants to be developed and fielded as part of the FCS program. It is designed to provide a networked, extended range precision attack capability against point and area targets in support of FCS Brigade Combat Teams.
Plans call for 18 NLOS-C initial production platforms to be delivered between fiscal years 2010 and 2012 at a rate of six per year, in advance of the Milestone C and low-rate initial production decisions in 2013.
The LSI, in partnership with BAE Systems and General Dynamics, plans to employ various sites for component subassembly, and final vehicle integration, assembly and test activities will be conducted, including Elgin, Okla.; Lima, Ohio; and York, Pa. Once integration and assembly are complete, the NLOS-C vehicles will undergo cannon verification testing at Fort Sill, Okla., then be transferred to Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, N.M., for system-of-systems verification testing conducted by the AETF.
On the HedgeFund/Subprime Meltdown
A survey of what is out there has the New York Post approaching this in its typically sensationalist manner, though there are some pieces of useful information:
SUBPRIME MELTDOWN COULD WIPE OUT BILLION$By PAUL THARP
The stunning formal disclosures, which eventually could affect as much as $2 trillion in various mortgage securities, is expected to trigger widespread revaluation of the paper, which some analysts believe could wipe out 40 to 50 percent of their values.
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“The hedge funds are so over-leveraged, they’ll be the first to crack,” said Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital.
By of perspective, that is about $6500 in mortgage securities for every man, woman, and child in the US, and the point about leverage is a telling one.
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The housing crunch sent the dollar plunging to a new low against the euro for the second day, to $1.3787. The greenback fell to a 26-year low against the British pound, at $2.0271.
This is where a lot of foreign investment is going, and if it’s scared off, it may not come here at all, pushing the dollar down and interest rates up.
The rather alarmist Post headline is reinforced by the fact that two Bear Stearns mortgage hedge funds have basically been wiped out. Investors have lost everything because of a relatively small drop by virtue of the amount of leverage.
So much for smart investors.
On the other side, we have Ben Bernanke claiming that everything will be fine , that the housing collapse will just a small bump int he road.
Juxtaposed with this, you have Vulture Hedge fund Black Pearl preparing to snap up cheap mortgage securities. They believe that, “The subprime market is approaching a point where ‘widespread price dislocation’ is likely.”
Translated from the legalese, this means that folks are panicking, and they intend to capitalize on this.
I trust them more than Bernanke.