The NSA Is Giving Your Communications To Foreign Governments

Even assuming, arguendo, that Israel is the noblest nation to ever grace the Earth, I don't see how anybody could agree to a deal like this. It's insane. 

Israel Information Sharing Raises Questions about Efficacy of NSA's Minimization Procedures

"The Guardian's latest Edward Snowden story yesterday reported that an information sharing Memorandum of Understanding written sometime after March 2009 laid out the sharing of unminimized US collections with Israel. The agreement appears to newly share such unminimized content based on unenforceable assurances from Israel that it will minimize US person data and destroy any communication involving a US government official. Whatever else this story may do, it casts serious questions on the efficacy of the minimization procedures that lie at the core of FISA Court oversight over the government's spying program."

http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/09/12/israel-information-sharing-raises-questions-about-efficacy-of-nsas-minimization-procedures/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=israel-information-sharing-raises-questions-about-efficacy-of-nsas-minimization-procedures

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The Worst Form Of Corporate Welfare

And perhaps the largest.  Eisenhower was right. So was Smedley Butler.  War is a racket, and the military-industrial complex Ike warned about has grown beyond our control.  It doesn't have to be this way.  As Atrios has pointed out many times, we could have an industrial policy that focuses on building things Americans need: there is plenty of gravy out there for contractors that don't involve blowing things up.  Water and sewer projects, the energy grid, the data/telecom network, high speed rail, rapid transit systems, schools, renewale energy, toxic cleanups, flood prevention.  Burying utilities.  But the only thing our policymakers seem to have endless piles of cash for are weapons and spying.  We pretend we don't have an industrial policy in America but we do, and sadly that policy is to build cool toys that blow shit up.

Syrian Rebels Just Started Receiving U.S. Weapons Shipments

Long before the situation in Syria escalated into a United States bomb threat and Vladimir Putin touting his commitment to peace in the New York Times , the U.S. was focused mainly on whether it shoul…

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/syrian-rebels-just-started-receiving-us-arms.html

Some Basic Facts On Syria

I'm always amazed by the willingness of some of my countrymen to attack other countries when they don't know anything at all about them.  Here are some basic facts about the country, the people and the history.

Top Ten things Americans need to Know about Syria if they're going to Threaten to Bomb It

"Despite the vigorous national debate about intervening in Syria, there is some reason to think that most Americans could not find it on a map. Here are some key points about Syria that this blog has been trying to underline."

http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/americans-theyre-threaten.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29

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There Will Be No Mayoral Runoff

Thompson will drop out before the week is out.  Of course, that means unless Squadron takes one for the team, the City will spend $20 million on a runoff election for an office with a $2.5 million annual budget.  I hope Dan (whom I know and like personally) thinks hard about the calculus here. If he stays in and loses, it will come back to haunt him.  It's a tough call.

RWDSU and UFCW Get Behind Bill de Blasio Too

"The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 have joined SEIU 32BJ in endorsing Mr. de Blasio, sending a not-so-subtle hint to his Democratic rival Bill Thompson, who is waiting to see if he can eke into a runoff election. "The consensus was that clearly Bill de Blasio won the race. We all need to get behind this candidate and we think he would make an excellent mayor for all New York," RWDSU's spokeswoman told Politicker this evening shortly after the decision was made."

http://politicker.com/2013/09/rwdsu-and-ufcw-get-behind-bill-de-blasio-too/

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Why Thompson Is Toast - Greg David on New York Blog | Crain's New York Business

I agree with all of the analysis in the attached Crains piece. I'd just
add that there's no way in hell that 32BJ doesn't go for deBlasio at
this point. Game, set, match.  UPDATE: 32BJ has gone for deBlasio.

"Bill Thompson may think that it makes sense to wait for all the
ballots to be counted to see if he can contest a runoff for the
Democratic mayoral nomination, but the truth is the race is over. Mr.
Thompson will be forced to concede soon. Here's why."

Barry Ritholz On Larry Summers

Among other things, this post contained the gem below.  Maybe I'm an idealistic fool, but I'm hopeful that Janet Yellen gets the job and Summers gets dumped.

Random Thoughts

"• I am starting to suspect that the Larry Summers lock on the Fed Cheif position is less of a lock than previously believed. Its not just that he is an ass who does not get along with others and lacks the temperament to be Fed chief, or that his judgement is awful, or that he is one of the major deregulators who helped cause the crisis. Oh wait, IT IS ALL those things."

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2013/09/random-thoughts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBigPicture+%28The+Big+Picture%29

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NSA Spying Is A Dystopian Nightmare Out Of Mao's China

Only now it's automated - there's no need to peek in your neighbor's window to make sure he's watching dear leader's speech.  This is an evil system with no place in an open society.

Imagine the Informants You Can Coerce When You Spy on Every Single American

"Which means the real utility of this program has been about something else. The ability to track the relationships of every single American. And they were using it to find informants. Even while the number of terrorists this program discovers has been minimal, the number of FBI informants has ballooned, to 15,000. And those informants are trumping up increasingly ridiculous plots in the name of fighting terrorism. The ability to track the relationships of every single American (or now, a huge subset of Americans, focusing largely on Muslims and those with international ties). And they were using it to find informants."

http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/09/11/imagine-the-informants-you-can-coerce-when-you-spy-on-every-single-american/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=imagine-the-informants-you-can-coerce-when-you-spy-on-every-single-american

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