Pakistan's intelligence chief, Ahmed Shuja Pasha, appeared before the country's Parliament today. He acknowledged their intelligence failure over Osama bin Laden, offered to resign and blasted the U.S. for invading Pakistan's sovereignty to conduct the raid. He also denounced U.S. drones in Pakistan. After his appearance, Parliament passed a resolution that condemned the raid and called for a re-evaluation of Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. and revamp the security agencies so there would be no repeat.

The resolution expressed support for Pakistan's military and demanded the U.S. cease sending drones into Pakistan. And called for an independent inquiry into the raid at Abbouttabad. [More....]

In In re Sommers and Caggano, Bankruptcy Judge (in the Southern District of New York) Cecilia Morris denied the United States Trustee's motion to dismiss the joint bankruptcy petition of a gay couple, who were married in Vermont, on DOMA grounds. The judge wrote:

[T]he constitutionality of DOMA has been questioned by two cases filed in the district courts of this Circuit. [cites omitted] The Department of Justice also concluded that DOMA would not withstand constitutional analysis under heightened scrutiny. See Letter from Tony West to Judge Barbara S. Jones (Feb. 24, 2011) [. . .] (containing as an attachment Letter from Eric H. Holder, Jr. to John A. Boehner (Feb. 23, 2011)). In Windsor v. United States, which is currently pending in the Southern District of New York, the Assistant Attorney General filed a letter stating that "heightened scrutiny is the appropriate standard of review for classifications of sexual orientation" and that "[s]ection 3 of DOMA may not be constitutionally applied to same-sex couples whose marriages are legally recognized under state law; and that the Department will cease its defense of Section 3 in such cases." See Letter from Tony West to Judge Barbara S. Jones (Feb. 24, 2011) (Docket No. 10), Windsor v. United States, No. 1:10-cv-8435 (S.D.N.Y.).

[MORE . . .]

The news will have to wait for me today, so here's a place to discuss the day's news and other topics.

Never in a million years could I ever imagine writing about Kim Kardashian (pictured) and her sister Kourtney going global; but here I am. - Link

Donald Trump's decision to play the "I may run for President" publicity card and amp it up to 11 this year is doing serious damage to the Trump brand. This is significant to the Trump business interests as the reality is the myth of of Donald Trump, Master Builder, business genius, is a fabrication. Donald Trump has successfully built a licensing business - he licenses the Trump name. In that sense, Trump is a business genius the way Kim Kardashian is - though in fairness to the Kardashians, they did not start out with a family fortune, just some vague celebutante status. Today, the New York Times reports:

“I have made myself very rich,” [Trump said] recently, sitting in his palatial suite at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. “And I would make this country very rich.” But regardless of whether Mr. Trump ultimately seeks the presidency, his attempt to promote himself as a savvy financial manager who can lead America out of its economic rut is bringing new scrutiny to his own business practices.

This scrutiny is revealing that Trump is a flim flam man. More on the flip.

Pakistan allowed U.S. officials to interview the three wives of Osama bin Laden who were at the compound in Abbottabad during the raid that killed Osama.

The wives were described as "hostile." Why wouldn't they be? All three lost a husband, one (or two, depending on which inconsistent report you believe) lost a son, and one was shot in the leg.

Reportedly, the eldest of the three wives spoke for the group. That would be Khairia Saaba, otherwise known as Umm Hamzah, who is 7 years older than Osama and the mother of the missing or dead or captured Hamza bin Laden. [More....]

It's a busy work day for BTD and me. Here's an open thread, all topics. welcome.

What a faux headline from the AP, "Diary: Bin Laden eyed new targets, big body count." From the body of the article:

Intelligence officials have not identified any new planned targets or plots in their initial analysis of the 100 or so flash drives and five computers that Navy SEALs hauled away after killing bin Laden.

....Officials have not yet seen any indication that bin Laden had the ability to coordinate timing of attacks across the various al-Qaida affiliates in Pakistan, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq and Somalia.

They can't even conclude AQAP and the other al Qaida groups paid attention to his musings. AQAP is far more relevant and operational than Osama. [More...]

The media should stop paying so much attention to Osama's son Omar (who seems out for money and fame and had little if any connection to his father in the past decade) and more to Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula. Who cares Omar and his mother sue the U.S.?

AQAP leader Nasser al-Wahishi posted a new threat to Americans and Jews today.

"Do not think of the battle superficially... What is coming is greater and worse, and what is awaiting you is more intense and harmful," Wahishi said, according to a SITE translation.

"We promise Allah that we will remain firm in the covenant and that we will continue the march, and that the death of the sheikh will only increase our persistence to fight the Jews and the Americans in order to take revenge."

President Obama's poll bump won't last long if they succeed. Things that will make them even madder: Killing Anwar al-Awlaki (here's their past threat on that) or mistreating Osama's wives. The killing of Osama bin Laden has opened up a whole new can of worms.

The ACLU reports the Dream Act has been reintroduced in Congress.

The DREAM Act would provide affordable post-secondary education and military service opportunities for young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, have lived here for at least five years and have graduated from high school....The reintroduced bill includes a critical provision that would restore states’ authority to determine students’ residency for purposes of higher education benefits, a provision that was removed from the bill voted on by the last Congress.

Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam has been found guilty of all 14 counts in his insider trading trial. His bond was continued until sentencing, with a condition of home confinement. His lawyer promises an appeal.

Prosecutors say his sentencing guideline range is about 19 1/2 years. Sentencing is set for July 29.

Pakistan and the U.S. say they are still in dialogues over the U.S. "interviews" of Osama bin Laden's three wives. What's holding it up and why does Pakistan say it has not yet received a formal request for access?

My guess: The U.S. is not just asking for permission to interview the women in Pakistan. It wants to extradite them to the U.S. for interrogation. The State Department is now making statements about the women and the interview requests. Why would they be involved if extradition was not on the horizon? State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said yesterday: [More....]

Travelled yesterday. Busy the next few days. Travelling again on the weekend. In short, not much posting from me for the next week.

Open Thread.