I was looking over the Bloomberg web site today and thinking of George Orwell's classic "Animal Farm." The reason was a story on that site about the CEO of JPMorgan Chase who was reported to have threatened the British that if they do, indeed, go through with their 50 percent tax on financial executive discretionary bonuses in excess of 25,000 pounds, a huge Canary Wharf … [Read more...] about JPMorgan To Britain: Gimme Or Else
Information Sharing Critical for Airline Security
Guest post by Jared Stancombe Jared Stancombe, a 2009 graduate of Indiana University, is currently an analyst for a U.S. government agency responsible for national security. He is also in the officer selection process for the U.S. Marine Corps. He lives in Washington, D.C. Republicans are chomping at the bit to blame the latest terrorist incident on President Obama. … [Read more...] about Information Sharing Critical for Airline Security
Airline Terror
Cartoon by Mike Keefe, The Denver Post. This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Airline Terror
Ban the Burqa? Not so fast…
An interesting, if somewhat inflammatory article comes to us today from Barbara Kay at Pajamas Media, in which she calls upon "the West" (however we are to define that term today) to ban the burqa and nix the niqab. She pulls no punches and comes right out of the gate praising France and Nicolas Sarkozy (of all people) for their attempts to ban the primarily Muslim full body … [Read more...] about Ban the Burqa? Not so fast…
The Gitmo Connection to the Underwear Bomber
Via ABC News: Two al Qaeda Leaders Behind Northwest Flight 253 Terror Plot Were Released by U.S. Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. Al Qaeda … [Read more...] about The Gitmo Connection to the Underwear Bomber
Terrorism and the Illusion of ‘Total Security’: NRC Handelsblad, The Netherlands
So what do people in The Netherlands think of the issue of air safety, after Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport was used as an entry point into the United States for what seems to have been al-Qaeda's latest suicide-madman? In typical, practical Dutch fashion, the NRC Handlesblad, in an editorial written yesterday, picks apart recent criticism and concludes that those who seek … [Read more...] about Terrorism and the Illusion of ‘Total Security’: NRC Handelsblad, The Netherlands
North Korea Holding American Citizen
The ever zany DPRK has announced that they are holding an American citizen prisoner. According to the reports it was a Korean-American missionary who told relatives he wanted to sneak into the oppressive and isolationist state. The man may be It provided no details, but the description appears to match the case of 28-year-old Robert Park of Arizona who wanted to bring a … [Read more...] about North Korea Holding American Citizen
Is That A Bomb In Your Pants
John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Is That A Bomb In Your Pants
2010 Promises to be a “Dirty” Election Year
Not just between political parties -- but within political parties. … [Read more...] about 2010 Promises to be a “Dirty” Election Year
TMZ Gets “Punked” With Fake JFK Nude Women Photo
TMZ -- perhaps one of the most enjoyable, well-written and best reported celebrity news/gossip sites on the web -- has just gotten "punked" in a media event that shows the dangers of 21st century 24/7 media competition. Print media (in this race with its arms and legs tied, a broken back and a hernia), new media, blogs, websites, TV, cable -- are all now trying to get … [Read more...] about TMZ Gets “Punked” With Fake JFK Nude Women Photo
ABC News: Photo of Failed Bomber’s Potentially Explosive Underwear
ABC News has posted this photo of the potentially explosive underwear worn by alleged Northwest 253 bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. As is well-known by now, it failed to go off, otherwise it could have been the first catastrophic crotch crash. The troubling thought: a harbinger of future air catastrophes? Meanwhile, from now on if a guy in a pickup bar says he has … [Read more...] about ABC News: Photo of Failed Bomber’s Potentially Explosive Underwear
Our Flawed Airport Security System
We have seen how easy it is to place blame with the benefit of hindsight in the case of alleged Nigerian suicide bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Two glaring glitches in airport security leap out as the suspect is being charged in federal court with trying to detonate an explosive device while Northwest Airlines Flight 253 approached Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas … [Read more...] about Our Flawed Airport Security System
Amsterdam Airport Authorities: Special Scanners Not Used Because of Privacy Rights (UPDATED)
The Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad reports today that Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport was not using special millimeter wave scanners that would have detected the explosive powder that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab used to set off the fizzled explosion aboard Northwest flight 253. According to Schiphol airport spokesperson Mirjam Snoerwang, "European regulations tell us we can only … [Read more...] about Amsterdam Airport Authorities: Special Scanners Not Used Because of Privacy Rights (UPDATED)
America Should ‘Hire Private Jets for Muslims’: Elaph, United Kingdom
Is it time for the United States to segregate Muslim passengers and force them to fly on Muslim-only flights? That is just one of the politically-incorrect suggestions of Khadir Taahar, an Arab-Muslim and a regular columnist for Iraq's Kitabat newspaper, who authored this article for Britain's Arabic Elaph news portal. For Elaph, Taahar writes in part: Yesterday, Allah … [Read more...] about America Should ‘Hire Private Jets for Muslims’: Elaph, United Kingdom
English Replacing Police Radio Codes
Unlike some of my peers in the twilight of their lives, I don't spend too much time lamenting the good old days. Yes, I feel saddened that my chosen profession in the newspaper business has failed to repair its economic model which has turned it into a dinosaur. But it did come as a shock that police departments throughout the country are phasing out the radio dispatch … [Read more...] about English Replacing Police Radio Codes
Nate Silver Does the Math on Airline Terror
What are the odds of being on a commercial air flight with a terrorist? After crunching the numbers, Nate Silver tells us: Not very high (emphasis is Nate's). … [Read more...] about Nate Silver Does the Math on Airline Terror
Reinventing Reality
Mary Matalin told CNN's John King yesterday that former Pres. Bush "inherited" 9/11 from the Clinton administration: … [Read more...] about Reinventing Reality
Iran Regime Crackdown: Moussavi’s Nephew’s Body Confiscated as Dissidents Arrested’
There are signs now that the regime in Iran is expanding its crackdown and that the news this week could be increasingly grim: some dissidents have been arrested and the body of a key of Ali Habibi-Mousavi, opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi's nephew, is now missing. News reports are saying "allegedly confiscated" but the odds are it is unlikely to be a case of … [Read more...] about Iran Regime Crackdown: Moussavi’s Nephew’s Body Confiscated as Dissidents Arrested’
On the Failed Underwear Bomber
He failed, it took place and this shows that the United States won't be safe until Obama is out of office according to some. An interesting roundup... that shows again how the terrorism issue has become a huge political football. … [Read more...] about On the Failed Underwear Bomber
In Defense of Harry Reid (Guest Voice)
WASHINGTON -- Punditry in the nation's capital has its own rhythms, and one common practice involves almost everyone beating up on the same politician at the same time. Such assaults are rarely about ideology, though I have found that liberals or Democrats are often the object of these sustained attacks, perhaps because journalists are overly sensitive to charges of … [Read more...] about In Defense of Harry Reid (Guest Voice)