Dvorak News Blog

Drone Attacks on US Soil? Why not? Next stop? Kill All Political Enemies.

By John C Dvorak Saturday February 23, 2013

The Justice Department “white paper” purporting to authorize Obama’s power to extrajudicially execute US citizens was leaked three weeks ago. Since then, the administration – including the president himself and his nominee to lead the CIA, John Brennan – has been repeatedly asked whether this authority extends to US soil, i.e., whether the president has the right to execute US citizens on US soil without charges. In each instance, they have refused to answer.

I watched some Liberal Obama supporters on MSNBC defending all this saying that it’s OK to kill people like this because “they want to kill us.” This logic is never extended because these are the same folks who eschew the death penalty as uncivilized. Thus they do not want to kill someone who actually does kill “us.” But it is OK, without trial to kill someone in a precrime manner who supposedly “wants to kill us.” The illogic of this thinking is amazing to me.

No Agenda
Eat A Baseball

By John C Dvorak Saturday February 23, 2013

2 Comments

Executive Producer: Random Hillbilly
Associate Executive Producers: John White, Shawn Brooker, Sir Ryan Bemrose
Art By: Thoren

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Neo-Nazi with an illegal arsenal was stalking Black and Jewish community leaders

By Eideard Saturday February 23, 2013

17 Comments

FBI agents recently warned community leaders in the Detroit area about a possible racist plot by a convicted felon and alleged neo-Nazi sympathizer who was arrested after he was discovered with an arsenal of assault rifles and other weapons, a law enforcement official tells NBC News.

al-Qaed’a’s 21 Tips For Not Getting Droned

By Uncle Dave Saturday February 23, 2013

8 Comments

The document includes advice such as “hide under thick trees” (believed to be bin Laden’s contribution), and instructions for setting up a “fake gathering” using dolls to “mislead the enemy”.

Found by the Associated Press in a building in Timbuktu, the ancient city occupied by Islamists last year, the document is believed to have been abandoned as extremists fled a French military intervention last month. It is a Xeroxed copy of a tipsheet (pdf) authored by a Yemeni extremist that has been published on some jihadi forums, but that has made little appearance in English.

The list reflects how al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghbreb anticipated a military intervention that would make use of drones, as the war on terror shifts from the ground to the air.

Big Banks – Disaster Waiting to Happen – At Our Expense

By Uncle Dave Friday February 22, 2013

25 Comments

On television, in interviews and in meetings with investors, executives of the biggest U.S. banks — notably JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon — make the case that size is a competitive advantage. It helps them lower costs and vie for customers on an international scale. Limiting it, they warn, would impair profitability and weaken the country’s position in global finance.

So what if we told you that, by our calculations, the largest U.S. banks aren’t really profitable at all? What if the billions of dollars they allegedly earn for their shareholders were almost entirely a gift from U.S. taxpayers?

Granted, it’s a hard concept to swallow. It’s also crucial to understanding why the big banks present such a threat to the global economy.

Soledad O’Brien out as CNN host – returns to documentaries

By Eideard Friday February 22, 2013

19 Comments

Soledad O’Brien will no longer be a host on CNN, but she’s staying with the network — sort of.

Full backflip on the slopes…in a Mini 4WD

By Eideard Thursday February 21, 2013

11 Comments

Guerlain Chicherit has been a favorite rally raid driver of ours for a while. We cheer for him in the annual Dakar Rally – especially now that he’s driving for Mini.

As difficult as Dakar can be – he didn’t face anything like this in this year’s competition.

Radiologists Fail To Spot Gorilla In Cat Scans

By lperdue Thursday February 21, 2013

27 Comments

83% of radiologists missed the gorilla in this lung scan.

Most people would like to think that when Blue Shield rips them off and makes them pay for most of a cat scan, that They’ll get their money’s worth when the radiologist checks it out carefully. But no. Most won’t even find that gorilla in their lungs that’s causing the cough.

According to NPR:

This is because when you ask someone to perform a challenging task, without realizing it, their attention narrows and blocks out other things. So, often, they literally can’t see even a huge, hairy gorilla that appears directly in front of them.

That effect is called “inattentional blindness” — which brings us back to the expert lookers, the radiologists.

Hiding Sexual Abuse Behind the First Amendment

By Uncle Dave Thursday February 21, 2013

23 Comments

The First Amendment argument, advanced by some legal scholars, derives from a belief that churches ought to be considered autonomous, self-governing institutions whose internal decision-making is off-limits to secular courts. Religious institutions, including the Roman Catholic Church, have invoked the Constitution in arguing that they shouldn’t be liable for the hiring or supervision of a priest facing abuse allegations.

“To the extent there’s a First Amendment issue they’re talking about, it is not about sexual abuse as a First Amendment right. It is about the church deciding for itself how to respond to claims of misconduct among its members,” said Douglas Laycock, a University of Virginia law professor who specializes in the law of religious liberty.

And then there’s the whole issue of the cardinal and his role shielding sexually abusive priests who is going to vote for the next pope.

Vaguely rude place names of the world

By Eideard Wednesday February 20, 2013

27 Comments

Click through to larger and interactive map

Thanks to Barry Ritholtz

DH Unplugged
Rocking On

By John C Dvorak Tuesday February 19, 2013

13 Comments

Is anyone noticing this anomaly?

Here is the latest conversation I had with money manager Andrew Horowitz…. new insights for anyone who invests in anything.

Click here for non-Flash version.click ► to listen:

Right click here and select ‘Save Link As…’ to download the mp3 file.

No Agenda Podcast
Sponsor Influence

By John C Dvorak Tuesday February 19, 2013

10 Comments

Executive Producer: Sir Jason
Associate Executive Producers: Wilfred B Kesseler, Sir Tallest Knight, JuicedRiders.com, James von Achen
Art By: CitizenX

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Supreme Court Diving Into Money in Politics Again

By Uncle Dave Tuesday February 19, 2013

23 Comments

Everyone admits money in politics taints and destroys Congress’ ability to act responsibly, fairly, etc. on pretty much anything. But political contributions are a long-used method to bribe… er, um… make your voice be heard. What should the Court do?

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to delve once again into the controversial issue of limits on money in politics.

This time, it’s the limits placed by federal law on how much an individual can contribute to candidates and political organizations.

The court today agreed to take up a challenge brought by an Alabama man who claims it’s unconstitutional to prevent him from giving more than $46,200 to candidates and $70,800 to PACs and political committees. He does not challenge the limit on contributions to an individual candidate, but he does claim it’s unconstitutional to prevent him from contributing to as many candidates as he wishes.

Spokesman for Heart Attack Grill – dies of heart attack

By Eideard Tuesday February 19, 2013

40 Comments

52-year-old John Alleman suffered a heart attack on the street outside the restaurant. The unofficial spokesman of the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas has died from a heart attack he suffered last week Monday.

Getting What You’re Paying For In Interwebitube Download Speed?

By Uncle Dave Monday February 18, 2013

29 Comments

The Federal Communications Commission constantly monitors broadband service providers in the United States and the commission recently updated its report for the month of February. One part of the FCC’s study that always draws particular interest is the section that shows how closely ISPs come to providing customers with data speeds that match advertised speeds, and its latest report analyzes data collected in September 2012. Unfortunately for U.S. broadband subscribers, ISPs’ performance in September strayed a bit further from advertised speeds compared to a similar study from the FCC that analyzed July data.

The FCC’s most recent study found that more than half — or eight out of 15 — of the major ISPs it analyzed provided download speeds that fell short of their advertised speeds in September. Another three ISPs provided download speeds that averaged at or above advertised speeds during a 24-hour period but fell beneath those speeds during peak hours.