Crisis Begets Opportunity

British warships arrive in Gibraltar amid tension with Spain

"British warships arrived in Gibraltar on Monday for scheduled exercises amid tensions with Spain over fishing around the British Mediterranean enclave. Although British, Spanish and Gibraltarian authorities have said the navy’s arrival at the British overseas territory is long-scheduled, some in Spain see it as provocative. Spain claims the territory, population just 30,000, which it ceded to Britain by treaty 300 years ago. In Monday’s German Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo accused the Spanish government of creating conflict to distract attention from corruption allegations against the ruling People’s Party." Continue reading →

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IMF Historian Whitewashes The Soviet Spy Career Of The Fund’s Founder

"President Harry S. Truman’s efforts to keep secret the FBI’s investigation of FDR official Harry Dexter White’s illegal activities was the reason why White never became managing director of the Fund – and indeed the reason why the tradition of a European heading the Fund, rather than an American, began in the first place. What Truman, and indeed the FBI, had been unaware of in 1946 was that intercepted wartime Soviet intelligence cables would establish White’s culpability. Decrypting of such cables, part of the top-secret 'Venona Project,' took place over many decades, and the first one mentioning White’s activities was not known to the FBI before 1950." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIMF Historian Whitewashes The Soviet Spy Career Of The Fund’s Founder

Four suspected Egyptian militants killed in first confirmed Israeli drone strike

"Although reports of Israeli drone use over Sinai have surfaced in the past, this is the first to come with official acknowledgement. In a statement on its website, the jihadist Ansar Beit al-Maqdis group confirmed that its militants had been the target of the Friday strike. It listed the name of four fighters who had been killed. Security officials said that the attack had taken place with the consent of the Egyptian authorities, Reuters and the Associated Press reported. If true, this level of cooperation would be a departure from that experienced under the rule of President Mohamed Morsi, ousted during a military takeover last month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFour suspected Egyptian militants killed in first confirmed Israeli drone strike

Stop-and-Frisk: How Government Creates Problems, Then Makes Them Worse

"Ask yourself why after so many decades of apparent failure — drugs are plentiful, accessible, and inexpensive — prohibition persists, as if spending more taxpayer dollars or coming up with some new law-enforcement gimmick will bring success. Maybe prohibition has not failed at all. Maybe the purpose is simply to spend the money and expand law enforcement. Maybe all the moralizing is simply a ruse. And maybe what Thomas Paine said about wars also applies to the war on drugs: 'a bystander, not blinded by prejudice nor warped by interest, would declare that taxes were not raised to carry on wars, but that wars were raised to carry on taxes.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStop-and-Frisk: How Government Creates Problems, Then Makes Them Worse

Is the Constitution Bailing Out the Banks?

"Scarcely touched by the nation’s housing recovery, Richmond is about to become the first city in the nation to try eminent domain as a way to stop foreclosures. The city plans to use eminent domain to buy both current and delinquent loans, with the city writing down the debt to allow homeowners to refinance at a new, lower amount through a government program. Naturally, the original lenders have warned that such a move will bring a host of lawsuits and halt mortgage lending in any city that adopts such an unconstitutional scheme. What promises to follow is a mess of epic proportions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs the Constitution Bailing Out the Banks?

Egypt declares month-long state of emergency over violence

"Egypt declared a month-long state of emergency Wednesday as violence raged across the country following a crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. The nationwide state of emergency will begin at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT), the presidency said in a statement read out on state television." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt declares month-long state of emergency over violence

Yemen: American Foreign Policy in Action

"Yemeni security forces have been put on high alert amid warnings of an imminent attack by al-Qaeda in Sana’a, as the US and Britain withdrew embassy staff and urged their citizens to leave the country. BBC Arabic quoted a Yemeni security source as saying 'extraordinary and unprecedented' security measures had been taken, with armoured vehicles deployed at the presidential palace and other sensitive government and foreign installations in Yemen’s capital. Dozens of al-Qaeda operatives were said to have streamed into Sana’a in the last few days, apparently to take part in a terrorist attack, the BBC said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYemen: American Foreign Policy in Action

Democratic anti-gun ‘guide’ urged using Trayvon Martin’s death to hit NRA, guns

"Newly uncovered Democratic anti-NRA talking points urge anti-gun advocates and politicians to hype high-profile gun incidents like the Florida slaying of Trayvon Martin to win support for new gun control laws. 'The most powerful time to communicate is when concern and emotions are running at their peak,' said the 80-page document titled 'Preventing Gun Violence Through Effective Messaging,' and produced by three Democratic firms led by the polling and research outfit Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDemocratic anti-gun ‘guide’ urged using Trayvon Martin’s death to hit NRA, guns

Get Ready for Endless Bogus Terror Alerts

"It didn’t take long for the pushback following outrage over revelations that we live in an all-encompassing high-tech Stasi police state. Edward Snowden made his revelations known exactly two months ago today . The government has responded by concocting yet another vague and unsubstantiated terror threat it describes as the most serious since the September 11 attacks. The latest terror alert is a precursor of things to come." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet Ready for Endless Bogus Terror Alerts

T.S.A. Expands Duties Beyond Airport Security

"With little fanfare, the agency best known for airport screenings has vastly expanded its reach to sporting events, music festivals, rodeos, highway weigh stations and train terminals. Not everyone is happy. T.S.A. and local law enforcement officials say the teams are a critical component of the nation’s counterterrorism efforts, but some members of Congress, auditors at the Department of Homeland Security and civil liberties groups are sounding alarms. T.S.A. officials would not say if the VIPR teams had ever foiled a terrorist plot or thwarted any major threat to public safety, saying the information is classified." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingT.S.A. Expands Duties Beyond Airport Security