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Credit Where Credit is Due: YouTube Leads to Hollywood Contract; Million Selling Album

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Lots of Techmeme discussion around news that Uruguayan producer Fede Alvarez's $300 short film uploaded to YouTube in November 2009 (above) got him a $30m contract to make a Hollywood film: "I uploaded (Panic Attack!) on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of e-mails from Hollywood studios," he told the BBC's Latin American service BBC Mundo. "It was amazing, … [Read more...] about Credit Where Credit is Due: YouTube Leads to Hollywood Contract; Million Selling Album

Just a National Mandate to purchase Private Health Insurance

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That’s what healthcare reform has come down to: Every person who is not a government employee, and who is too poor or too old, would have to purchase private health insurance directly or through an employer. Those that make less than the Federal Poverty Level (about $21,200 per year for a family of 4 living in the lower 48 states) and those over 65 who have Government … [Read more...] about Just a National Mandate to purchase Private Health Insurance

Innocent Man Freed After 35 Years

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It's another of the sad yet joyful stories of DNA evidence helping prove a man innocent. In 1974 James Bain, then 19, was sentenced to prison for the kidnapping and rape of a 9 year old boy. Bain protesting his innocence and said he was home watching TV with his sister at the time of the crime. The conviction was based largely on the testimony of the victim who said his … [Read more...] about Innocent Man Freed After 35 Years

Al Qaeda and the Taliban Still Tied in a Knot

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Guest post by Michael Lieberman Michael Lieberman, a Truman National Security Project fellow, is an associate at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington D.C., where he works on international regulatory and compliance issues. (The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Steptoe & Johnson LLP.) This post was originally published at Partnership for a Secure … [Read more...] about Al Qaeda and the Taliban Still Tied in a Knot

The All-American Barack Obama Traveling Disaster Show

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We're a month short of a year since Barack Obama took office with sky-high approval ratings and the people prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt on a range of issues from the economy, to health care reform, to the environment. I think in order to be fair, we should acknowledge that unlike George Bush, Barack Obama has tackled head on some very difficult, and divisive … [Read more...] about The All-American Barack Obama Traveling Disaster Show

Have U.S. Drones Really Been ‘Hacked’ With $26 Off-The-Shelf Software?

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The WSJ says yes. And everyone else has picked it up and run with it. But what, precisely, does hack mean? John Biggs does some intelligent guessing: The story says, essentially, that insurgents in Iraq are “taking control” of our pilotless drones with a $25 piece of software called SkyGrabber. By “take control” the WSJ means “download video feeds … [Read more...] about Have U.S. Drones Really Been ‘Hacked’ With $26 Off-The-Shelf Software?

Full Participation for Our Women at Arms

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Did you know that, not taking into account the recent announced troop increase in Afghanistan, some 220,000 women have engaged in combat operations* in Iraq and Afghanistan? I had no idea that so many of our women in uniform had actually seen combat. And while I knew that women in our military are still barred from performing certain duties or from certain assignments, I … [Read more...] about Full Participation for Our Women at Arms

A Bird in Hand

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I have read Jon Walker's answers to Nate Silver's "20 questions for bill killers," and I don't find them very convincing. Many of them -- like the ones about the likelihood of getting a better bill through reconciliation -- are based on little more than wishful thinking. … [Read more...] about A Bird in Hand

The Democrats’ Bush Nostalgia (Guest Voice)

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WASHINGTON -- Here's what Democrats need to ponder: Can they prosper in the absence of George W. Bush? His presidency was a tonic for Democrats and led to a blossoming of political creativity on the center-left not seen since the 1930s. No tactic, no program, no leader ever did more to catalyze the party than the rage Bush inspired. The whole effort was … [Read more...] about The Democrats’ Bush Nostalgia (Guest Voice)

UPDATE: Headley “Planned Mumbai Attacks”

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UPDATE: FBI says the "US citizen and Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) operative David Headley had allegedly discussed with Pakistan-based co-conspirators the logistics of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008. "This has been stated in an affidavit submitted last week by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in a Chicago court. Headley had talked of the 'potential … [Read more...] about UPDATE: Headley “Planned Mumbai Attacks”

‘Terrorist’ David Headley: An American Spy?

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Why is the USA not allowing India to interrogate American national David Headley, the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack suspect of Pakistani origin. Is it because Headley is also an American spy? This has become a hot news topic in the Indian media. Headley, and accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana, was arrested by FBI in October for conspiring to bomb public places in India. David … [Read more...] about ‘Terrorist’ David Headley: An American Spy?