SAR #13214

The security state has trumped the Constitution.

Pawn to King's Knight Three: Edward Snowden has left his Moscow airport limbo for at least a year of temporary asylum in Russia. Sore loser Obama is threatening to cancel this fall's summit meeting with Putin. Odds of Snowden escaping decades in a US prison have dropped from 100 to 1 to 98 to 1.

Wording, Wording: Secretary of State John Kerry says the US hopes to stop committing acts of aggression in Pakistan "very, very soon" because the U.S. has "eliminated enough innocents most of the threat." Kerry also suggested that US forces might “stay in Afghanistan after 2014.”

Just So Story: The GOP finally got a chance to implement part of the Ryan budget – the holy grail of conservative wet dreams – and failed. It seems that when it comes to actually cutting government spending in their own districts, even right wingers enthusiasm for smaller government goes... well, THUD. Which led House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) to conclude “Sequestration — and its unrealistic and ill-conceived discretionary cuts — must be brought to an end.” 
 
Mission Accomplished; More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in July. By Iraqis.

Bunga Bunga: Italy's top court has upheld Berlusconi's tax fraud conviction. This, being Italy, does not mean the former Premier will be going to jail. The court ordered the five-year ban on Berlusconi's participation in any public office be “reviewed.” In that the current government depends on support from Berlusconi's party for its continued existence, don't count Silvio out yet. 
 
Correction: The headline reads: 'New Michael Lewis Story Makes Goldman Sachs Look Absolutely Ruthless', when it should have read "New Michael Lewis story shows how absolutely ruthless Goldman Sachs is."

One Down: Goldmanite Fabrice Tourre has been found guilty of committing mortgage securities fraud to the tune $1 billion. Because this was a civil, not criminal, proceeding, the worst punishment Tourre faces is not being able to do it again. 
 
Curious. Very Curious: A woman in NY claims that Googling “pressure cookers” led to six police agents showing up at her home asking questions about her and her job, her husband's ancestry and her recipe for quinoa. The FBI and Nassau County police agencies say it never happened. Suffolk County police are saying that it did. A toss-up. Her name is Catalano; Google it. 

The Parting Shot:

Splish splash. Piazza San Marco, Venizia