Free Republic

Retired Adm. Dennis Blair, the former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, is surfacing as a leading contender for the director of national intelligence, sources say. The director oversees the nation’s intelligence activities and is the principal adviser to the president and his National Security Council. In addition to leading Pacific Command and filling several high-powered jobs within the military, Blair was the associate director of central intelligence for military support, coordinating intelligence and military operations during the Clinton administration. He retired from the Navy in 2002. Blair receives high marks from those in the defense and intelligence communities. “He...

How an Iranian business with close ties to the country's nuclear program obtained restricted equipment for enriching uranium is the focus of multiple investigations being conducted by western agencies. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday night that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and western intelligence agencies have been probing the Iranian firm's procurement of "critical valves and vacuum gauges" since Jan. 14. The IAEA launched its investigation after receiving a tip that the equipment allegedly reached the Iranian business through a Chinese company's intermediary.

Picture a Wall Street trader striding through the doctor's waiting room and flopping down on the couch. He rages about the collapse of WorldCom, then falls silent. His therapist leans forward and asks quietly, "And how did that make you invest?" Psychologists are not new to company boardrooms or trading floors. In the 1990's, the science of market psychology became an industry as financial institutions, and especially hedge funds, hired psychologists to hone their competitive edge — be it analyzing investor choices, coaching money managers or revealing clients' unconscious desires. The use of psychotherapy by market professionals to find their...

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Shares of Tyco International lost more than a quarter of their value Monday after Dennis Kozlowski resigned as chairman and chief executive of the diversified conglomerate amid reports that he is under criminal investigation for allegedly avoiding New York sales taxes. The company said in a statement that Kozlowski had decided to leave the company for "personal reasons." John Fort, who served as Tyco chairman and CEO from 1982 to 1992, will assume executive responsibilities until a permanent replacement can be hired. The stock had tumbled $5.94, or 27 percent, to $16.01 by late afternoon trade....