US soldiers confined to base over missing equipment* 
from nytimes: An enforcement lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission says that the agency illegally destroyed files and documents related to thousands of early-stage investigations over the last 20 years, according to information released Wednesday by Congressional investigators. The destroyed files comprise records of at least 9,000 preliminary inquiries into matters involving notorious individuals like Bernard L. Madoff, as well as several major Wall Street firms that later were the subject of scrutiny after the 2008 financial crisis, including Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and Bank of America. The S.E.C. is the very agency that is charged with making sure that Wall Street firms retain records of their own activities, and has brought numerous enforcement cases against firms for failing to do so.
assessing our independence this july 4th*
from washington post: A New York criminal court judge denied bail to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, after he was charged with attempting to rape a housekeeper at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Strauss-Kahn, also charged with a criminal sex act and unlawful imprisonment, made his first courtroom appearance after being pulled off a Paris-bound plane minutes before takeoff Saturday afternoon. Prosecutors had planned to bring him before a judge Sunday before deciding to delay a day so they could search him for physical evidence. Authorities allege that Strauss-Kahn, 62, attempted to rape a housekeeper at the Sofitel in Midtown Manhattan, where he was staying; police said she later picked him out of a lineup. He planned to plead not guilty, according to his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, who has defended a number of high-profile clients...
from ap: Every day for two years, he carried the toxic burden of a name that meant fraud to the world. On Saturday, the eldest son of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff hanged himself in his Manhattan apartment, another casualty in the saga that sent his father to prison and swindled thousands of their life savings. On the second anniversary of the day his father was arrested in the worst investment fraud in American history, Mark Madoff, 46, was found dead in the living room of his SoHo loft. He was hanging from a black dog leash while his 2-year-old son slept nearby. People close to him said he was despondent over press coverage of his father's case, an ongoing criminal investigation of Madoff family members in the multibillion-dollar scheme and his struggle to rebuild his life. The intense scrutiny approaching the anniversary "became too much for him," said a person who had recent contact with him, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
from raw story: It's crunch-time for many municipalities across the United States, but for one county in Oregon, that means a little more than in most. The district attorney in Multnomah County, the state's most populous area with over 710,000 residents, announced recently that it can no longer prosecute dozens of crimes thanks to an ever-shrinking budget.
this special interview episode from media monarchy covers the explosive case of a freelance journalist, who at the time of his death in 1991, was researching an insidious & wide-ranging conspiracy that he called 'the octopus' ... to help us examine the tentacles of this spy state, we're joined by film critic & researcher albert lanier (see: 'crisis in journalism' & 'secret societies & the media') ... the death of danny casolaro is just the beginning of our conversation. put simply & from an historical perspective: this isn't just about a dead reporter. this is more than just a software company in a contract dispute. the story of 'the octopus' connects the dots to nearly every nefarious event over the last century - and the sinister aftershocks are happening still ...
ghost troop warns of 'vigiliant guard' peril*
from reuters: A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programmer accused of stealing secret trading codes from the financial firm has been released from federal custody after posting bail, authorities said Monday. Sergey Aleynikov, 39, was arrested by the FBI Friday and charged with "theft of trade secrets." He met the terms of his $750,000 bail and was released Monday, said FBI spokesman James Margolin. Aleynikov is accused of misusing computer codes that belong to his former employer, a New York-based financial institution that authorities did not identify in court papers but sources say is Goldman Sachs... Goldman has not seen its business or clients harmed by the purported computer breach, a source familiar with the situation said Monday. The firm declined to comment. The case could shed light on the workings of intricate trading systems developed by Goldman. It also raises questions about the security of lucrative Wall Street proprietary trading operations. However, the New York Stock Exchange said Monday there was no connection between the alleged security breach and an error that dropped Goldman from a trading report the NYSE issued last week.
from reuters: The U.S. dollar is in the line of fire as leaders from the largest developed and developing countries gather in Italy for talks, as China pushes for debate on an eventual shift to a new global reserve currency. Sources have said the dollar's role probably will not be included in the final communique of a G8 meeting. Even if it does rate a mention, the language used would likely be extremely general to avoid destabilizing financial markets. Still, the symbolic importance would be immense, as it would underscore the determination of emerging economies, who will also be present in Italy for the talks, to win greater say in the global financial system and, over time, to reduce their dependence on the U.S. currency.
from afp: China, wary of the troubled US economy, has already "canceled America's credit card" by cutting down purchases of debt, a US congressman said Thursday. China has the world's largest foreign reserves, believed to be mostly in dollars, along with around 800 billion dollars in US Treasury bonds, more than any other country. But Treasury Department data shows that investors in China have sharply curtailed their purchases of bonds in January and February. Representative Mark Kirk, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and co-chair of a group of lawmakers promoting relations with Beijing [and council on foreign relations member], said China had "very legitimate" concerns about its investments.
from usa today: Jim Marshall recalls everything about that beautiful fall day. The temperature was about 70 degrees on Nov. 19, the sky was "totally blue," and the laughter from a martini bar drifted into the St. Petersburg park where Marshall, 39, sat contemplating his first day of homelessness. "I was thinking, 'That was me at one point,'" he says of the revelers. "Now I'm thinking, 'Where am I going to sleep tonight? Where do I eat? Where do I shower?'" The unemployed Detroit autoworker moved to Florida last year hoping he'd have better luck finding a job. He didn't, and he spent three months sleeping on sidewalks before landing in a tent city in Pinellas County, north of St. Petersburg, on Feb. 26.
from danger room: Forget the drone stuff. Here is your eye-popping statistic of the day: "This year, the Pentagon will employ 27,000 people just for recruitment, advertising and public relations - almost as many as the total 30,000-person work force in the State Department." That's from an Associated Press investigation, "which found that over the past five years, the money the military spends on winning hearts and minds at home and abroad has grown by 63 percent, to at least $4.7 billion this year." Staff costs take up most of the money, more than $2 billion. Another $1.6 billion goes into recruiting. About a half-billion goes towards "psychological operations, which targets foreign audiences." And, finally, "$547 million goes into public affairs, which reaches American audiences." That last one may be the most amazing figure of 'em all. Because getting a straightforward answer out of most military public affairs shops is still a root-canal-painful procedure. You'd think it'd be easier, with all those resources brought to bear.
from danger room: Blackwater Worldwide's core business - diplomat protection - is in trouble. The mercenary firm is getting kicked out of Iraq, and their actions in Afghanistan are now under investigation by the State Department's Inspector General. Which is why Blackwater is diversifying, fast. The company's latest offering: Firearms and self-defense classes for pro athletes. "The first weekend class at the company's compound in North Carolina is set for April, about six months after New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress (pictured) shot himself in the thigh inside a nightclub," the AP notes. "No athletes have signed up yet for the weekend course, which the company only began advertising this week." In some ways, it's a return to Blackwater's roots. The firm got its start "providing such training, and last year, some 25,000 people - civilians, law enforcement and military - attended its classes," the AP adds. But Blackwater isn't simply going old school. Firm CEO Erik Prince has put together teams of spies-for-hire. The company is pushing ahead with plans to protect commercial ships, traveling through pirate-packed seas. And in case that doesn't work out, Blackwater is making custom rifles, marketing spy blimps, assembling a fleet of light attack aicraft, and billing itself as experts in everything from cargo handling to dog training to construction management. But many athletes - especially NFL players - feel these days like they have to take drastic measures, to protect themselves. Which makes me think a few of them might like the idea of being trained by the world's most notorious mercenary outfit.
from threat level: The House overwhelmingly adopted legislation this week mandating the creation of a new kind of terrorist watchlist: a database of people who aren't terrorists, but are routinely flagged at airports anyway. The U.S. government maintains a list of about a million names of suspected terrorists that is crosschecked with passenger names ahead of airline boarding. The list has been dogged for years by sloppy name matches that have ensnared innocent travelers, children, prominent politicians and government officials, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' secretary of education and all men named David Nelson. Under the new plan, approved late Tuesday 413-3, innocent victims of the terrorist watchlist must prove to the Department of Homeland Security, through an undetermined appeals process, that they are not terrorists. They would then get their names put on what the legislation calls the "Comprehensive Cleared List." The legislation is another attempt to assist wrongly flagged passengers and would supersede the troubled DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, which has been criticized for being slow or unresponsive to flier complaints. The FAST Redress Act, if approved by the Senate, requires the government to report within 240 days on its progress in implementing the new list.
from bbc: A depot in France from which a large quantity of powerful explosive went missing was poorly guarded, the regional head of security has said. The storage of 28kg (61lb) of Semtex at the site near Lyon was “not usual and certainly not authorised”, Xavier de Fuerst also told the AFP news agency. A search by anti-terrorist officers is under way, and the manager of the site has been suspended pending an inquiry. Semtex has been favoured by terrorists for being very difficult to detect.
from blue ridge now: The Villarreal investigation is among scores of corruption cases in recent years that have alarmed officials in the Homeland Security Department just as it is hiring thousands of border agents to stem the flow of illegal immigration. The pattern has become familiar: Customs officers wave in vehicles filled with illegal immigrants, drugs or other contraband. A Border Patrol agent acts as a scout for smugglers. Trusted officers fall prey to temptation and begin taking bribes.
(220kb PDF). The ruling was greeted with relief by law enforcers.
from ap: A parish priest was arrested and charged on Friday with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from church accounts, including a fund for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The priest, the Rev. Patrick Dunne, 63, was arraigned on a grand larceny charge, Janet DiFiore, the Westchester district attorney, said. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison... The theft occurred between 2002 and 2007 and involved the church building fund, the regular Sunday collection and the Katrina relief fund.