Investigations: Who Funds the Taliban? We Do!

As Afghans prepare to go to the polls to elect their president on Aug. 20, a growing pile of reports is revealing the widespread drug-fuelled corruption of this country that Hilary Clinton has dubbed a "narco state." Observers told me for a story I did in Saturday's Montreal Gazette that the corruption is so bad it is helping to fuel the Taliban.

Now, an interesting story in the GlobalPost.com suggests that the Taliban's main source of funding isn't drugs (in fact, they get only a small fraction of the country's $3.4-billion U.S. opium trade) but rather protection money from the boom of Western development projects in the nation.

The piece says the funds come through high-level negotiations between the Taliban and major contractors. In other words, we fund the Taliban! The story is part of a GlobalPost series on Afghanistan, including its history and a look at the U.S. counterinsurgency facility in Kabul.

TAGS: corruption, drugs, Afghanistan

Events: Investigative Reporting Panel-Fundraiser in Toronto

Toronto's NOW weekly has done a nice write-up on our coming panel discussion-slash-fundraiser in T.O. for the Canadian Centre for Investigative Reporting. Surf here to see the piece, which includes executive director Bilbo Poynter's thoughts about the state of investigative journalism and some details on the panel. Also, visit the CCIR site for more details.

TAGS: CCIR, the biz

Investigations: New Cell Driving Laws Won't Reverse 2,600 Yearly U.S. Death Toll

Talking on cellphones while driving kills 1,000 to 2,600 people yearly in the U.S. alone, and laws that restrict yakking drivers aren't going to do much to change that, says this Mother Jones story. That's because it's the conversation - not whether the talker is on a hands-free device - that causes the "inattention blindness." Mother Jones explores why U.S. federal highway-safety officials concealed the problems for five years.

TAGS: investigations, safety