Let’s start this post off with a pop culture confession: I didn’t like The Hangover. I realize that this probably puts me in the minority of the American movie-going public (the film earned nearly a half-billion dollars at the box office, making it the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all-time), but I found it to be a bit too crass and a bit too formulaic for my taste.
House floor action on the FY 2014 Defense Appropriations bill
The House of Representatives yesterday approved the FY 2014 Defense Appropriations bill (H.R. 2397) by a vote of 315-109. The big headliner was the debate and vote on an amendment to the bill offered by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) to curtail the National Security Agency’s surveillance activities. The amendment failed 205-217 in an extremely close vote that saw both parties split almost evenly and hold an unusually excellent debate.
The Changing Taliban
A recent New York Times article revealed that the Obama administration is considering withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan ahead of the planned 2014 withdrawal date, raising questions about what the country might look like after foreign forces exit – whenever that may be. The answer is critical, as the future of post-withdrawal Afghanistan has implications for the entire Asian continent.
The UK’s Trident Program: Sink or Swim?
Well, it looks like the US isn’t the only country grappling with the issue of nuclear modernization. Across the Atlantic, the British government is in the midst of such a debate. The latest shoe to drop was the release on July 16 of a much-anticipated government-commissioned report titled the “Trident Alternatives Review.” The report put forth a range of possible alternatives to the country’s current nuclear deterrent.
There You Go Again
In a July 12 report to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development on the planned Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) in Tennessee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) validated many of the concerns that have been raised about the project, including its burgeoning costs and endless delays as a result of management incompetence.
