A number with three commas in it is a big number, particularly when you’re talking about money. So when you hear that the US has spent $6,000,000,000 training the Afghan police force, you’d think we ought to be getting a pretty good return on that investment, and that the Afghans will be ready to oversee […]
Tonight on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow ripped apart Republicans — Senators Susan Collins, Lindsay Graham, and Mitch McConnell — who have been attacking the Obama administration for its handling of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the attempted Christmas day undie-bomber. As Maddow pointed out to these lawmakers, the constitutional right to an attorney when arrested applies to everyone […]
Over the weekend, British authorities arrested Jim McCormick for fraud — the kind of fraud that put lives at risk. McCormick sold bomb-detecting equipment to security forces in Iraq, to the tune of $85 million. The problem is that his devices were useless. They were in essence nothing more than divining rods, the pseudo-science quackery […]
Two quick airport notes as I begin my trip home from Biloxi. Delta charges passengers $25 for each checked bag, but on their regional jets, which are too small for most carry-ons to fit in the overhead compartment, they offer “planeside valet,” where you gate-check your bag at the end of the jetway. A baggage […]
As Chris Dodd was announcing that he won’t run for re-election for the US Senate seat from Connecticut that he’s held for 30 years, I was talking on KIRO/Seattle with Josh Kraushaar of Politico about the implications of that decision (and a similar one from Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota). We also discussed how […]
Bruce Schneier, an aviation security expert, joined me on KIRO/Seattle this morning to talk about the still-changing response to the failed attempt to blow up Northwest 253 on Christmas. We talked about whether the full body scanners now being deployed worldwide will truly help us catch an Al Qaeda member intent on creating mayhem, and […]