Friday, February 6

USS Cole Suspect Charges Dropped

“The U.S. government has dropped charges for now against the Saudi man it accuses of masterminding the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 American sailors as the ship sat at the dock in Yemen .”

Panetta Vows “New Chapter” at CIA

“Leon Panetta, nominee to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said Thursday that he would 'turn the page to a new chapter' at an institution that, according to current and former officials, faces a host of internal challenges.”

Panetta Open to Tougher Methods in Some C.I.A. Interrogation

The “new chapter” reads like the old. (NY Times)

Solis Nomination Vote Delayed After Tax Issue Arises

“A Senate committee put off its vote on Representative Hilda Solis’s nomination as labor secretary, one day after her husband paid to settle tax liens.”

How Government Destroys Community

“Christopher Wellman lays out a clear and concise comparison between taxation and theft, on pages 3 to 5 of Is There a Duty to Obey the Law?, which after the introductory paragraph on page 3, was a pleasant surprise. Evidently, though, he is 'not an anarchist', a decision he bases presumably on several 'plausible' premises which must obtain in order to justify the state, the crucial element of which is the consequentialist appeal: ‘States can render their services without imposing unreasonable costs upon those they coerce.’”

Wetlands--An Environmental Issue for Free Marketeers

“When it comes to at least one green cause, wetlands preservations, however, environmental and conservative interests appear aligned. Quite simply, governments do far more to destroy wetlands than free markets ever have, and preserving these critical areas increases natural disaster resistance.”

Instead of a Manifesto

Thomas Knapp takes on “the debt.”

World Worries How U.S. Will Pay for Stimulus

“Even as the U.S. Congress looks for ways to expand President Barack Obama's $819 billion stimulus package, the rest of the world is wondering how Washington will pay for it all.”

Caught Between Army and Insurgents in Swat

“Mariam Jan (not her real name), aged 13, describes the constant flow of human traffic she can see from her window in the Swat Valley town of Sangota: Large numbers of people are leaving, trudging up a dusty track towards Swat’s main city of Mingora.”

Israel, Iran, Pakistan World's Least Popular Nations

“Israel, Iran, North Korea and Pakistan are widely seen as exerting the most negative influence on world affairs, according to the latest in a series of annual global surveys by the BBC's World Service on popular perceptions of the world's most powerful or newsworthy nations.”

Blog Posts I Consider Essential

Francois Tremblay shares his list.

Photographe Maroc

A photo blog.