Commodity Bubbles and the Resource Curse
The FT links to this Oxford Policy Management study showing that 15 low and medium income countries have become newly dependent primarily on some commodity--fuel or minerals--for export income in the last 14 years.
The number of low- and middle-income…
In Constitutional Showdown, Pakistan Supreme Court Cites Quaint Olmstead v. US on Rule of Law
The precarious hold that Pakistan's civilian government has on power took another severe blow today, as the Supreme Court handed down a decision (pdf) which threatens to find Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani unfit to hold office. At issue…
Obama Swaps a JP Morgan Chase Chief of Staff for a Citi One
Former JP Morgan Chase Exec Bill Daley has finally quit the job he sucked at, White House Chief of Staff. He will be replaced by former Citi Exec and current OMB Director Jack Lew.
Chicagoan Bill Daley is stepping down as White House chief…
The Beat from Hell: Carol Rosenberg's Decade Covering Gitmo
For the record, Carol Rosenberg has been covering Gitmo for more than the decade that has elapsed since she arrived there on January 9, 2002 to cover the impending arrival of the first war on terror detainees. She filed this story on March 22,…
While NY Times Agitates for Resumption of Drone Strikes, Peace Talks Set to Add Afghanistan, Haqqani Network
Over the weekend, the New York Times published a piece whose headline seemed to cry out that drone strikes in Pakistan need to resume: "Lull in Strikes by U.S. Drones Aids Militants in Pakistan". In reading the article, it is difficult to find…
William Welch, Jeffrey Sterling, and the Sixth Amendment
As Josh Gerstein reported, the government has submitted a filing in its appeal of some rulings in the Jeffrey Sterling case that reveals a little more about their reason for appealing. The key detail is that the government considers two people,…
The Corporatist Free Speech Superiority of the Roberts Court
Adam Liptak has a pretty interesting article up in today's New York Times on the relative free speech strength of the Supreme Court under the leadership of John Roberts.
The Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the conventional…
Wildcard Weekend and Battleship Potemkin Trash
Sometimes you see things that just make you shake your head and say "what the hell is going on here?"
Here we are at the start of the NFL Playoffs - the always thrilling, and often surprising Wildcard Weekend - topped off by the Saturday…
Peter King, Movie Mogul
Peter King, the former terrorist sympathizer conducting witch hunts against alleged terrorist sympathizers, is not one to assail others for their gross hypocrisy. And technically, that's not what his complaint about apparent Administration plans…
Now that DOJ Has Revised Rape Stats, Will They Finally Do Something about Prison Rape?
DOJ has rolled out a new definition of rape today, designed to reflect both that men can be raped and that people of both sexes get raped at times they are unable to consent.
Attorney General Eric Holder today announced revisions to the Uniform…
The Upside of Evidence-Free Nuke Accusations Against Iran? We Can Declare Victory!
One would think that, within a month of the US finally withdrawing its troops (leaving behind a vast mercenary force) from the nearly nine year nightmare in Iraq that was launched on the basis of evidence-free accusations, and only days after…
Karzai and US Fight over Who Gets to Run the Abusive Prisons
As I noted, President Obama reacted to the NDAA's requirement that DOD actually review detainees' cases to figure out if they should be held by claiming the authority to make our prison at Bagram largely exempt from the law.
At one level,…
On Strategy, Drones, and Climate Change
Try this exercise.
Open up the new Defense Strategic Guidance DOD released today. Hit Ctrl-F. Type in "drone." Count how many times the word appears in the strategic document that is supposed to guide us through 2020.
Now do the same,…
John Yoo Defends Senate's Authority to Sit Around and Do Nothing
Yes, it is hysterical, in general, that John Yoo has finally discerned some limits to the President's authority under Article II now that Obama used a recess appointment to get around Senate obstruction.
The president’s power over what are…
The McChrystal Apologists Ignoring McChrystal's Own Take
The WSJ has a scathing critique of Michael Hastings' The Operators (see Spencer's more interesting take here). While it complains that Hastings doesn't profile local indigenous groups and conflates hating the Afghan war with being antiwar, its…
Early Effects of NDAA Iran Sanctions Being Felt: EU Agrees on Oil Embargo, China Cuts Oil Contracts by Half
Among the many controversial provisions in the NDAA which President Obama signed into law on New Years Eve are provisions aimed at disrupting Iran's ability to export oil by punishing countries that do business with Iran's central bank.…
Is NYPD Avoiding "Terrorism" Charges in New Years Day Bombings To Claim They Didn't Miss a Terrorist Attack?
The NYPD has caught the suspect in the New Years Day firebombings in Queens. The suspect, Ray Lazier Lengend, will be arraigned today (though he is also being evaluated for fitness to stand trial). Lengend will be charged with 18 counts, among…
The Challenge To Richard Cordray Not Being Discussed
The internets are alive with the sound of excitement over the appointment today by President Obama of Richard Cordray to be Director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB). And, as Brian Buetler correctly points out, by doing it today,…
Obama Promised Admin Would Not Indefinitely Detain American Citizens without Trial, But Continues to Deport Them
On New Year's Eve, President Obama promised that his "Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens."
But his Administration continues to deport them.
Consider the example of Jakadrian…
How Dare the President Protect Consumers!?!?!
We'll have to come back to the issue of why President Obama decided to use his recess authority to appoint Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Board but not Dawn Johnsen or Elizabeth Warren. But for now, I'd like to collect…
