Category: News

Vote near, Saudis push to modernize. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Even as Saudi Arabia struggles internally with violent extremists and externally with its image as the country that produced most of the attackers of Sept. 11, 2001, the desert kingdom's rulers are moving on multiple fronts to modernize and moderate their nation. [Boston Globe —… Continue reading Vote near, Saudis push to modernize

Now for the hard part. IN ALL THE BROUHAHA over the recommendations for intelligence reform contained in the 9/11 Commission Report, the commission's most important and sweeping recommendations – those on foreign policy – have been largely ignored. [Boston Globe — Ideas Section]

An interesting hypothesis from Chris Sanders of Sanders Research. The US has chosen to address the problem that it does not make enough of what the rest of the world wants by going to war to monopolize control of the supply and distribution of what the world needs, petroleum. There are other war aims, of… Continue reading interesting hypothesis

All That Secrecy Is Expensive. Not only is the U.S. government keeping too many secrets, it's spending too much money to do it. That's the conclusion of a government watchdog group, which estimates more than $6.5 billion was spent last year keeping data under wraps. By Noah Shachtman. [Wired News]

Bush Signs Order Bolstering C.I.A. Director's Power. President Bush issued an executive order today that grants more power to the director of central intelligence. By DOUGLAS JEHL and PHILIP SHENON. [The New York Times > Home Page]

Some good analysis from Frank Richter. “The reason the Islamist terrorists have not attacked America again at home is that bin Laden believes that Al Qaeda is winning the war. Because of American military responses to 9/11 in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Muslim world is nearly united in its anti-American attitudes.” [John Robb's Weblog]

More Americans Are Living in Poverty, Census Bureau Says. The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.3 million last year, while the ranks of uninsured swelled by 1.4 million. By BRIAN KNOWLTON. [The New York Times > Home Page]

Mass. job growth highest since ’00. Massachusetts bucked the national hiring slowdown in July as the state posted its biggest monthly job gains in nearly four years and manufacturing employment surged. [Boston Globe — Front Page]

Reuters. Kennedy — one of the most recognizable figures in American politics — told a Senate committee hearing on Thursday he had been blocked several times from boarding commercial airline flights because his name was on a “no-fly” list intended to exclude potential terrorists. [John Robb's Weblog]

The right to bear toenail clippers. Over at De Novo, someone asks what would happen if they published all the security holes they saw. Liability for terrorist attack that exploits those holes? PG's answer (which I think you can sum up as “hardly”) notwithstanding, I have to admit… … in terms of airline flight security,… Continue reading The right to bear toenail clippers