Month: May 2008

U.S. Sits on Iran Weapons Report

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The excuse is that it’s been that they’ve, turned it over to the Iraqi Government* “to pressure Tehran to curb the flow of Iranian weaponry and explosives into Iraq.

Of course, these weapons are primarily going towards the militias of Dawa and ISCI, who are, nominally at least, the government in Iraq.

The reality is that they are doing what worked so well for Joe McCarthy. Claim to have a list, and use it as a club, even when no such list exists, or when such a list is so poorly made as to be laughable.

I imagine we’ll see selected leaks when Maliki attempts to use it for partisan political advantage during the provincial elections.

*An oxymoron if there ever was one.

The Government’s Secret Detention List

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I’m wondering if I am on that list.

My guess would be that if martial law were to be declared, it would be in mid to late November, following a Democratic victory,* because it would be to cover up their own wrongdoing.

Christopher Ketcham of Radar Magazine makes the case that the US government has a list of 8 million people that they will detain without process if martial law is declared. That’s just under 3% of the population.

He makes a convincing case that the entire scene with Ashcroft in the hospital being browbeaten to sign a document was in fact a surveillance program connected to a, “so-called Continuity of Government (COG) programs”, centered in FEMA‡, where it evades the oversight done on what is normally considered the state security apparatus (FBI, CIA, other TLAs, etc.).

I’m not sure which is more depressing to me, the fact that this might be the plan of Bush and His Evil Minions™, or the fact that I have so little faith in those career bureaucrats in the US state security apparatus to obey their vows to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

*And let’s be clear….At this point, that means Barack Obama. Even if all of FL and MI are seated. Unless he is caught with a live boy or a dead girl, he’s the nominee.†
†Not my preferred outcome, but I wanted Howard Dean in 2004 and Bill Bradley in 2000, so I’m used to it.
‡That’s right, the folks who f%$#ed up Katrina are responsible for the continued existence of a law based Democracy in the US.

Sebelius Vetoes Republican Attempt to Criminalize N***ers Voting

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In Kansas, thankfully there aren’t quite enough Republithugs in the legislature to override her veto of their so-called “voter-ID bill”.

Interesting point was that she had already vetoed a similar bill last year, and they came back with one that eliminated the fee for an ID for low income Kansans.

They didn’t do that in the first place because they don’t want low income Kansans to vote.

House Armed Services Committee Votes to Cut European Missile Defense Program

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The HASC has voted to cut $220 million from the Bush administration’s request for their European missile defense program, which would place 10 interceptor missiles in Poland, and the radar in the Czech Republic.

I think that this is less about the program in and of itself, and more about the diplomatic consequences of proceeding, particularly because it would allow a lame duck to tie his successor’s hands on this contentious issue:

Democrats argued that the European missile plan should not be rushed. House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, a Democrat from South Carolina, says the program would divert funds from other U.S. defense needs, and possibly tie the hands of a new president.

“What we need to strike here is a balance, enough of a commitment to the project to let the Poles and Czechs know that we are not backing down on them, that the thing is still there it is still viable, still in the works, yet not so much commitment at this point that the next president, whoever he or she may be, does not have the flexibility to review this commitment,” Spratt said.

This has always been a dubious plan, as it does not cover much of the southern tier of NATO, and I believe that is more driven towards making Russia paranoid and hostile toward the US, because the Republicans believe that a new Cold War benefits them electorally.

The Senate voted to fully fund the program, so it will have to be resolved in conference committee.

Top CIA Official Bribed with “Sexual Companionship”

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Kyle “Dusty” Foggo:

A new indictment of a former top CIA official alleges that he received bribes in the form of “sexual companionship” in exchange for helping a friend get an edge in landing multimillion-dollar contracts from the agency.

…..

The new indictment also includes an allegation that Foggo received sexual companionship and “enrichment of a mistress,” though the allegations are not detailed in the indictment.

If you recall, he was appointed by Porter Goss as Executive Director (EXDIR) of the CIA, the number 3 post.

You may recall that Goss opposed investigating the Plame leak, saying, “Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I’ll have an investigation.”

Well, I’m not certain of the dress color, but we probably have the DNA.

Seriously, you cannot make up sh#@ like this. If I put it in a script, and sent it to Hollywood, it would get sent back as “not credible”.

Congressional Polls Update

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DSCC: Ronnie Musgrove leads Roger Wicker, who was appointed to replace Lott, by 8%, 48% to 40%. Obviously, as this is a partisan poll, it can be taken with a grain of salt, but any time an incumbent, even one who has been in office for just a few weeks is at 40%, they are in trouble

Rasmussen Reports™ has Kay Hagan(D) leading Liddy Dole(R) by 1%, 48% to 47% in North Carolina, well with in the margin of error, but with Dole as a prominent incumbent being below 50%, she’s got a fight.

They also have Marc Udall with a 6% lead over Bob Shaffer in Colorado, 47% to 41% in the race to replace retiring Senator Wayne Allard with a margin of ±4%.

D.C. Cir. to Comcast: “Making You Obey The Law Is Not A ‘Vendetta.’”

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Care of Harold Feld’s Tales of the Sausage Factory.

One of the things I like about Harold Feld’s writings on the FCC regulatory process is that, in addition to being relatively easily understood, it’s also a fun read:

But the ultimate bitch slap to Comcast and its bully boys and useful idiots comes on page 11 n.2:

The briefs filed by Comcast, the intervenors, and the amici make assertions bordering on accusations of the Commission’s bad faith. We must presume an agency acts in good faith, Thomas v. Baker, 925 F.2d 1523, 1525 (D.C. Cir. 1991), but in any case we see no substance to these assertions. (emphasis added)

Or, to translate from the legalese: “Comcast, you and the rest of the cable industry need to get over yourselves and get a clue. The FCC requiring you to obey the law is not a ‘vendetta,’ even if previous FCC

Heh.

In this case, the Federal Court slapped down Comcast hard over its insistence that it needed an exemption from set top box interoperability rules.

My Daughter Had a Concert at School Tonite

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It was painful, though no more painful than any other elementary school art activity…Children are works in progress.

My daughter sang in “chimes” and was in the orchestra.

As to the part of the concert without her?

Let’s just say that the jazz band did a version of the Mickey Mouse Club theme as a dirge…….

Tekeli li!!!!! Tekeli li!!!!! Tekeli li!!!!! Tekeli li!!!!! Tekeli li!!!!! Tekeli li!!!!! Tekeli li!!!!!

Economics Update

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Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn is now giving some pretty strong signals that there will be no further rate cuts, which indicates that the Fed might be a bit concerned about inflation now.

The currency markets are most definitely concerned about inflation (which is another word for currency devaluation), and so the dollar has dropped. It’s near a month low.

Oil just smashed the $130 barrier, settling at $133.17/bbl, and retail gasoline hit another record.

Real estate continues to face downward pressures, with Mortgage applications falling 7.8%last week. So even though we are in buying season, people are not looking to buy.

Finally, we have what appears to be the collapse of a monoliner insurer with CIFG Guaranty having its rating cut to junk status. They were downgraded from AAA in March, and Moodys just downgraded them further from A1 to Ba2, 7 levels at one swoop.

The business for monoliners is dependent on having an AAA rating. Put a fork in them, they are done.

Zimbabwe Update

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There are now allegations of assassination plans against Morgan Tsvangirai though he is planning to return. It has been put off a couple of times now, but he needs to start campaigning soon, as the date for the presidential runoff is set at June 27.

In the department of Kafka, we have Mugabe accusing the MDC of political violence and arresting newly elected MDC MPs.

In related news, violence against refugees, particularly those from Zimbabwe is spreading across South Africa.

With unemployment among the poor in excess of 30%, and the use of refugee labor to keep down native wages as an unofficial policy of the government, this was foreseeable.

However, a part of this may very be a result fact that the refugee flows have been driven by Thabo Mbeki’s unqualified support of Robert Mugabe, and so some element of rage against him, particularly now that he is a lame duck, may be a contributing factor.

Finally, the International Crisis Group is warning of the possibility of a military coup. I agree.

I could see them deposing Mugabe before the elections, as really believes that he cannot be defeated in the election, and senior officials in the state security apparatus harbor no such delusions. They stole the first round.

They realize that investigations into human rights violations over the years would be a personal threat to them.

Bush had the US Army Torture People for the Chinese

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Just when I can’t imagine it get any worse, we have a report that U.S. Soldiers did the ‘Dirty Work’ for Chinese interrogators.

I believe that I have said on a number of occasions that Bush and His Evil Minions™ are objectively pro torture. By this, I mean that the want to torture.

They don’t care if it gives good information. They don’t care if the blowback creates more terrorists. They don’t care if it exposes Americans to torture.

They simply want to torture for some sick psycho-sexual gratification. How else can you explain them telling soldiers to torture prisoners on behalf of the totalitarian communist regime of the People’s Republic of China?

U.S. military personnel at Guantanamo Bay allegedly softened up detainees at the request of Chinese intelligence officials who had come to the island facility to interrogate the men — or they allowed the Chinese to dole out the treatment themselves, according to claims in a new government report.

Buried in a Department of Justice report released Tuesday are new allegations about a 2002 arrangement between the United States and China, which allowed Chinese intelligence to visit Guantanamo and interrogate Chinese Uighurs held there.

According to the report by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine, an FBI agent reported a detainee belonging to China’s ethnic Uighur minority and a Uighur translator told him Uighur detainees were kept awake for long periods, deprived of food and forced to endure cold for hours on end, just prior to questioning by Chinese interrogators.

This leaves me stunned. This is evil on a level that I would have thought beyond even them.

I was misinformed.

Russia Protests Outside Military Aid to Georgia

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The back story is in 2002, the US started suppling military aid to Georgia to fight “al Queida backed forces”, but these forces never existed, and the aid continues.

The Russians, quite reasonably, see this as a provocation directed at them. (see here and here)

The arming of Georgia, like the westward expansion of NATO, is seen by the Russian government as a real threat to their own security, particularly given the guarantees made in the early 1990s that there would be no westward expansion of NATO.

As I’ve said before, I think that part of this agenda is a desire by Republicans to recreate the Slavic menace for political advantage.

What are the Leading Economic Indicators?

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Barry Ritholtz does a very good job of taking us through what is actually in the LEI, and he notes changes that might render it less accurate.

In terms of the recent numbers, which have been surprisingly upbeat, he notes that, “The 0.1% LEI reading was marginally positive primarily due to 3 factors: 1) increasing stock prices (.16); 2) Positive yield curve (.14); 3) An unfathomable 0.13% increase in building permits.”

I don’t place much stock in the stock market as a predictor, and the yield curve going positive is an artifact of the Fed dropping rates like a pole axed steer.

As to the increase in building permits, I gotta figure that there is just something wrong here.

In terms of the changes in the LEI, Ritholtz notes:

Recall that a few years ago, the LEI was reconfigured — mostly to include more financial factors, and less real world economic data. Inthat way, its a bit more like government data. The reconfigurations seem to be avoid showing negatives.

And I am inclined to agree.

Here is a question though: what happens when the statistics can no longer be fudged?

Go read it.

The New Hooverville is a Parking Lot

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And many of the people in America are a job loss away from it:

Harvey now works part time for $8 an hour, and she draws Social Security to help make ends meet. But she still cannot afford an apartment, and so every night she pulls into a gated parking lot to sleep in her car, along with other women who find themselves in a similar predicament.

There are 12 parking lots across Santa Barbara that have been set up to accommodate the growing middle-class homelessness. These lots are believed to be part of the first program of its kind in the United States, according to organizers.

The lots open at 7 p.m. and close at 7 a.m. and are run by New Beginnings Counseling Center, a homeless outreach organization.

Welcome to George W. Bush’s America.