Leaked documents reveal secretive influence of corporate cash on politics

The pervasive influence of corporate cash in the democratic process, and the extraordinary lengths to which politicians, lobbyists and even judges go to solicit money, are laid bare in sealed court documents leaked to the Guardian.

 Wisconsin governor Scott Walker holds up a dollar bill while speaking at the American Legislative Exchange Council in 2015. Photograph: Denis Poroy/AP

The John Doe files amount to 1,500 pages of largely unseen material gathered in evidence by prosecutors investigating alleged irregularities in political fundraising. Last year the Wisconsin supreme court ordered that all the documents should be destroyed, though a set survived that has now been obtained by the news organisation.

The Stimulus Our Economy Needs

Future policymakers might choose to consider some additional tools that have been employed by other central banks,” Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said in a widely watched speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday. She was referring to a number of possible monetary steps to help the economy, including potentially the much-debated notion of “helicopter money.” So what is helicopter money? It’s a basic, important policy concept with a truly awful name.

The term essentially refers to a fiscal stimulus that is explicitly funded by newly created money from the central bank, a permanent new injection of funds directly into immediate government spending. Now, the idea that governments, with or without the help of central banks, should spend substantial resources on creating jobs, both directly and through private sector incentives, is widely accepted among economists across the political spectrum. However, calling what might be a perfectly justified period of direct cooperation between the fiscal and monetary authorities during a period of acute economic weakness “helicopter money,” as proponents of the policy have done, almost certainly dooms it to failure.

U.S. will seek billions more to support Afghan military efforts

Afghan border police take their positions following clashes with Pakistani forces on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in eastern Nangarhar province on Wednesday. (Noorullah Shirzada/AFP/Getty Images)

America’s longest war is about to include more cash for Afghanistan’s army and police force — without any new conditions to try to ensure it doesn’t get gobbled up before making it to the battlefield.

The Irrational Exuberance About the Iranian Economy

"You’re so happy!” I couldn’t help but smile at Kaveh as I climbed into the backseat of an old, white Iranian Peugeot taxi on a warm May evening in 2014. By any measure, my friend should have been stressed: He had spent the last 90 minutes winding his way through Tehran’s congested traffic trying to find me. The Iranian capital’s infamous crush of Peugeots, Kia Prides, and motorbikes is often endearing for a newcomer to the city, but, for any resident, an hour-and-a-half of driving through the smog and congestion of Tehran’s narrow streets is normally a recipe for a nervous breakdown. But when I saw him nearly two years ago, Kaveh wasn’t just calm, he was beaming. “I’m just happy to see you here,” he replied simply as he climbed back into the taxi.

This is How the Liberal World Order Ends

In 1967, Britain unexpectedly announced the end of what, for decades, had been a genuinely global foreign policy. In response to the depreciation of the pound sterling, expensive decolonization campaigns, and the evolving attitudes of the baby boomer generation, Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s Labor government abruptly announced that his government would change course, prioritizing welfare over warfare. That would include withdrawal from all bases “East of Suez.” In response, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk complained that he “could not believe that free aspirin and false teeth were more important than Britain’s role in the world.” But the danger of such a patrician attitude to foreign policy — one that views domestic considerations as illegitimate — is that, over time, foreign policy can become seriously disconnected from the priorities of the electorate.

US LNG reaches out to global markets

With the first LNG export terminal in Sabina Pass, Louisiana now in operation, the US LNG export is becoming a reality, but low oil prices are constraining its future prospects.

Opportunities and challenges

The effects of the US LNG exports on global markets are still very much unknown, but there are both opportunities and challenges. LNG export terminals give the US economy a tremendous opportunity to take full advantage of the new resource that came with the era of hydraulic fracturing, and to join the competitive global game worth around $160 billion annually.

Does the United States Have a Gun Problem or a Terrorism Problem?

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In  the wake of the San Bernardino attack, the panel raises questions about how the U.S. government handles its own national security and the growing imbalance between real threats and perceived ones. Is gun control the real problem? Or has the U.S. government been too lax in its monitoring of terrorist activity? And can the American people trust that the U.S. Congress has its priorities in place when it comes to keeping them safe?

Lax Americana

What’s the biggest challenge facing American statecraft today? Reaching a meaningful global agreement on climate change? Countering a rising China? Containing the Islamic State? Convincing Vladimir Putin to cool his jets (both literally and figuratively)? Making sure Iran fulfills the nuclear deal and doesn’t make more mischief in the Middle East?

DON’T FEAR THE DIRTY BOMB

At the recent Democratic presidential debate, the candidates were asked to identify the biggest threat the U.S. national security. Hillary Clinton, the candidate on stage with the most federal government experience, stated that she most worried over “nuclear material that can fall into the wrong hands.” She continued, “I know the terrorists are constantly seeking it, and that’s why we have to stay vigilant, but also united around the world to prevent that.” Clinton’s answer came on the heels of an Associated Press report about a criminal organization in Moldova that tried to sell nuclear material to an Islamic State group. Predictably, the story received a lot of media attention.

Barack Obama and the Powell Doctrine, Reconsidered

President Barack Obama was elected to extricate the United States from Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a sad irony of his presidency that among his foremost foreign-policy legacies will be leaving American involvement in both countries as among the first and most complex challenges his successor will face.

It’s Time for the United States to Start Worrying About a Saudi Collapse

As if there weren’t already enough problems to worry about in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia might be headed for trouble. From plummeting oil prices to foreign-policy missteps to growing tensions with Iran, a confluence of recent events is mounting to pose some serious challenges for the Saudi regime. If not properly managed, these events could eventually coalesce into a perfect storm that significantly increases the risk of instability within the kingdom, with untold consequences for global oil markets and security in the Middle East.

Greece between Russia and the United States: The Syria-bound flights

On September 6, Washington asked Athens to close airspace to Syria-bound Russian aid flights. Earlier the same day, Kremlin requested and received Athens permission to transport humanitarian aid to Syria for the period between September 1-24.  A quagmire for the interim government in Greece?

A truly hard and complex decision was made by the interim government in Athens which essentially has no full authorization to deal with such delicate political and strategic decisions. Nevertheless, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded negatively to US request.  This decision will go without repercussions for the Greek side, but it is meaningful of how both the US and Russia are planning to employ their influence on the surrounding and neighboring countries,  as well to the biggest reception and first transit states for refugees, like Greece.

Now the truth emerges: how the US fuelled the rise of Isis in Syria and Iraq

The war on terror, that campaign without end launched 14 years ago by George Bush, is tying itself up in ever more grotesque contortions. On Monday the trial in London of a Swedish man, Bherlin Gildo, accused of terrorism in Syria, collapsed after it became clear British intelligence had been arming the same rebel groups the defendant was charged with supporting.

 Illustration by Eva Bee

The prosecution abandoned the case, apparently to avoid embarrassing the intelligence services. The defence argued that going ahead withthe trial would have been an “affront to justice” when there was plenty of evidence the British state was itself providing “extensive support” to the armed Syrian opposition.

The Company Getting Rich Off the ISIS War

For the Middle East, the growth of the self-proclaimed Islamic State has been a catastrophe. For one American firm, it’s been a gold mine.

Photo Illustration by Emil Lendof/The Daily Beast

The war against ISIS isn’t going so great, with the self-appointed terror group standing up to a year of U.S. airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve No Longer Key Part Of U.S. National Security

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), once seen as a cornerstone of America’s energy security, is losing its shine in Washington.

The SPR was established in the aftermath of the 1973-1974 oil embargo, which led to high gasoline prices, fuel rationing, price controls, and long lines at gas stations. The U.S. government decided to stockpile oil in salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana, fuel that could be used in the event of a supply outage. Today, the SPR holds 695 million barrels of oil.

NYSE resumes trading after unprecedented shutdown

The New York Stock Exchange reopened Wednesday after an unprecedented, nearly four-hour halt in trading that authorities said was caused by a major technical glitch.

Trading halted on NYSE floor(0:46)

Trading activity ground to a halt as the New York Stock Exchange suspended all trading due to technical issues. (Reuters)

The freeze in trading at one of the world’s largest exchanges was highly unusual. A U.S. official told The Washington Post that there was “no indication” that the problems were the result of a cyberattack. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that the incident “seems like a technical issue.”

The Euro Intercepts

Press Release Top German NSA Targets Top German NSA Intercepts

The United States National Security Agency has been massively targeting phone numbers of top German ministers and public officials responsible for commerce, finances, economics and agriculture – including even Angela Merkel's personal assistant. WikiLeaks publishes today, 1 July 2015, a list of 69 German government telephone numbers from a high-priority NSA target interception list demonstrating economic and political espionage against Germany for almost two decades. WikiLeaks is also publishing classified interception reports resulting from the surveillance, showing the US and UK spying on German officials discussing their positions and disagreements on the solution to the Greek financial crisis.

WikiLeaks Files Said to Show N.S.A. Spied on French Leaders

WikiLeaks published documents late Tuesday that it says shows the United States National Security Agency eavesdropped on the last three French presidents.

There was no immediate confirmation of the accuracy of the documents released in collaboration with Libération, a left-leaning French newspaper, and the investigative website Mediapart.

US trade deficit soars to six-year high: Signal or noise?

With the US trade deficit at a six-year high, analysts have attributed the widening gap to a strong appreciation of the US dollar coupled with labor strikes at ports along the California coast. Is the rising deficit a true economic signal, or just noise?

Last week saw a perfect storm for US trade as the Department of Commerce reported the highest trade deficit since October 2008. The trade deficit ballooned by 43% in the month of March, making it the biggest month-to-month jump in 18 years.

World War II and the Origins of American Unease

We are at the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. That victory did not usher in an era of universal peace. Rather, it introduced a new constellation of powers and a complex balance among them. Europe's great powers and empires declined, and the United States and the Soviet Union replaced them, performing an old dance to new musical instruments. Technology, geopolitics' companion, evolved dramatically as nuclear weapons, satellites and the microchip — among myriad wonders and horrors — changed not only the rules of war but also the circumstances under which war was possible. But one thing remained constant: Geopolitics, technology and war remained inseparable comrades.