■"Russians Cite Porous Security In Jet Bombings," by C.J. Chivers, New York Times, 16 September 2004, p. A1.

See if this sounds familiar:

First through police bungling, then in part through a petty bribe, the two Chechen women who killed themselves and 88 others in the bombings of two Russian passenger jets last month were able to pass uninspected through layers of airport security and checks, even after being identified as possible terrorists, Russia's senior prosecutor said Wednesday.

Yes, yes, I know, the conspiracy types will see the master plan at work on this one too, but it's really just the global principal of low-paying jobs yields sloppy work and a susceptibility to corruption.

Putin doesn't so much need to beef up his security services and police, but clean them up. He needs to pay people better. That means better collection of taxes. That means more economic rule sets, which in turn attracts investment, and so on and so on.

See, you can do the military-market nexus with just about any news story!