An extensive well-focused exposè in today's New York Times "DealBook" column, "Banks’ Lobbyists Help in Drafting Financial Bills", documents that Wall Street banks and swaps dealers are writing the Dodd-Frank rules, and also the House bills to implement other Dodd-Frank rules, which are the

Commenting on the New York Times "DealBook" Friday expose, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said, "Who needs Republicans when Wall Street has the Democrats?"

In a lengthy speech Thursday at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., President Obama delivered a carefully worded defense of his Administration's policy of targeted drone assassinations, including against at least four confirmed American citizens.

A bipartisan bill to constrain drone assassinations of American citizens and permanent residents was introduced on May 23 by Sen. Angus King (D-Maine), with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as a co-sponsor. While the bill requires a multi-step process inside the intelligence community to confirm that a given target is a terrorist—the Constitution and due process are still missing.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich announced today that the Syrian government has conveyed its intention "in principle" to participate in the upcoming Geneva II convention being co-sponsored by the Russian and American governments. The conference, announced earlier this month when U.S.

From Israel to Germany to leading voices in the Arab world, reports are proliferating that the Syrian rebels are losing ground, and have no chance of toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad unless there is foreign military action against Syria.

Concerns about U.S. missile defense plans for Europe are at the center of an international conference on European security that opened in Moscow Thursday morning.

As of late Thursday afternoon, two breaking news items hit the headlines. First, Lois Lerner, head of the Tax Exempt Organization section of the IRS, refused to resign (as asked), and was put on administrative leave.

On the eve of a broadly announced speech allegedly to declare a new "National Security Policy," Barack Obama had his Attorney General, Eric Holder, write a letter to the Congressional Judiciary Committees admitting four of his judicial murders, that of Anwar al-Aulaki and three other American citizens.

In a column published late last night on the antiwar.com website, 18-year CIA veteran Philip Giraldi called for President Obama's impeachment or resignation.