Fred Reed: Terrorism in Boston

"The return on investment is phenomenal. For example, the attack on New York cost perhaps several hundred thousand dollars. Yet it drew the US into multiple drawn-out, losing wars costing hundreds of billions of dollars, and transformed America from a reasonably free country into a rapidly deepening Orwellian gloom. A tiny input, a stunningly large effect. If terrorism were a hedge fund, it would be the hottest buy on the planet. It is truly slick. The terrorists don’t do serious damage to the attacked country. They stimulate the victim society to damage itself." Continue reading

Continue ReadingFred Reed: Terrorism in Boston

Princeton grad accused of spying for Cuba while employed by State Department

"Former United States government employee Marta Rita Velazquez ’79 has been accused of espionage for Cuba against the United States, according to an indictment released by the FBI on April 25. Velazquez is charged with passing documents and information regarding national defense to Cuban intelligence. The indictment, which was originally returned by a Washington, D.C. grand jury in 2004 and only unsealed yesterday, also alleges that Velazquez helped recruit U.S. citizens to serve as Cuban agents. One alleged co-conspirator, Ana Belen Montes, pleaded guilty to espionage in 2002 and is now serving a 25-year sentence in the US." Continue reading

Continue ReadingPrinceton grad accused of spying for Cuba while employed by State Department

CIA ‘gave millions in cash’ to Karzai over the years

"The CIA has delivered tens of millions of dollars in cash packed in suitcases and backpacks to the office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade. 'We called it ghost money,' Khalil Roman, Karzai’s deputy chief of staff from 2002 to 2005, told the Times. 'It came in secret, and it left in secret.' The money was aimed at obtaining influence, but instead fueled rampant corruption, current and former officials told the newspaper. There appears to be no oversight over the secret CIA money, which is aimed at gaining influence by paying off warlords and politicians including some linked to the drug trade and even the Taliban." Continue reading

Continue ReadingCIA ‘gave millions in cash’ to Karzai over the years

Boston bombers’ uncle married daughter of top CIA official

"Ruslan Tsarni married the daughter of former top CIA official Graham Fuller, who spent 20 years as operations officer in Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong. In 1982 Fuller was appointed the National Intelligence Officer for Near East and South Asia at the CIA, and in 1986, under Ronald Reagan, he became the Vice-Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, with overall responsibility for national level strategic forecasting. At the time of their marriage, Ruslan Tsarni was known as Ruslan Tsarnaev, the same last name as his nephews Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the alleged bombers." Continue reading

Continue ReadingBoston bombers’ uncle married daughter of top CIA official

Humiliating Viral YouTube Interview To Cost Job Of Argentina’s Economy Minister?

"Argentine Economy Minister Hernan Lorenzino’s appearance on Greek television in which he abruptly ended an interview and refused to speak about inflation in Argentina has spurred speculation he may quit, Clarin newspaper reported, without citing its sources. President Fernandez met with Lorenzino to express her concern that he lost credibility among voters after he told an aide at the interview that he wanted 'to go' after the reporter asked what he planned to do if the IMF sanctioned the country for not improving its inflation index, Clarin said. Deputy Eco. Minister Kicillof would replace Lorenzino, Clarin said, without citing anyone." Continue reading

Continue ReadingHumiliating Viral YouTube Interview To Cost Job Of Argentina’s Economy Minister?

Cowardice Redefined: The New Face of American Serial Killers

"A little after 10:00 p.m., and a serial killer is getting ready to make his move. He has watched and waited for this moment for some time. He watches his victim get out of a cab and dig in his pockets for money. Two of his children run out to the porch to greet their daddy. The killer presses a button and watches as the victim, the taxi driver and the two children are vaporized. Other people in the house, the man's wife, parents and three other children are badly injured and burnt by the high explosive. The house next door partially collapses, killing an elderly woman and injuring her grandson. But this is just the beginning." Continue reading

Continue ReadingCowardice Redefined: The New Face of American Serial Killers

Graham says FBI should confront people who view ‘Islamist’ websites

"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), appearing Sunday on CBS’s 'Face the Nation,' said that he believes Americans would be made safer if Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agents would physically confront non-criminals over their web surfing activities, especially if that person is on a watch list and has been looking at 'Islamist' sites online. He added that if someone federal agencies had received tips about 'goes on the Internet for the whole world to see, to interact with radical Islamic websites, how do we miss that?'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingGraham says FBI should confront people who view ‘Islamist’ websites

Kenya’s new cellphone money model could disrupt global banking industry

"M-Shwari is a new banking platform that allows subscribers of Kenya’s biggest mobile network, Safaricom, to operate savings accounts, earn interest on deposits, and borrow money using their mobile phones. It expands on Kenya’s revolutionary use of sending money by mobile phone — known as M-Pesa, 'mobile money' in Swahili — launched in 2007 and now widely used across the east African nation, where some 70 percent of people have mobile phones. With a minimum transfer of cash set at five shillings — around five US cents — the application revolutionised day-to-day banking for millions left out of the formal system." Continue reading

Continue ReadingKenya’s new cellphone money model could disrupt global banking industry