Judge Invokes Alice in Wonderland in Denying NYT and ACLU Targeted Killing FOIAs
"YOU'D better not talk!' said Five. 'I heard the Queen say only yesterday you deserved to be beheaded!'
'What for?' said the one who had spoken first.
'That's none of YOUR business, Two!' said Seven.
[snip]
'And who are THESE?'…
Company that Engaged in Criminal Wiretapping Hails Obama's Wiretap Extension
The Wall Street Journal--owned by the same guy whose company and son are in trouble in the UK for criminally wiretapping those they wanted to collect information on--has found something to love in the Obama Administration.
Well, not everything…
Time to Fund Fat Al Gore Relief Like We Should Have Funded Iraq, Afghan Wars
Peter King, House Republican, called today for New Yorkers to stop funding House Republicans because they refused to pass a Sandy relief bill last night.
“These Republicans have no problem finding New York when they’re out raising millions…
Bipartisan Agreement: Garbage into Intel Oversight, Garbage Out
House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers made headlines on Monday by responding to a last ditch Dennis Kucinich call for more review of drone strikes by claiming that public reports on civilian casualties are "wildly wrong."
"I think that you would…
Lanny Breuer Deputizes Banks Rather than Prosecuting Them
Back when DOJ's head of criminal prosecutions, Lanny Breuer, let HSBC off without indictments, I noted that he didn't even mention HSBC's significant ties to funding terrorists.
When it came to one of the world's biggest banks, the Assistant…
Out Of The Blue & Into The Black: Sad Farewells & A Moment For Schacht
They give you this, but they gave us Schacht.
Hi there friends of the Emptywheel blog. The collective lost another longtime voice.
It's better to burn out
than it is to rust
The king is gone
but he's not forgotten.
Hey hey, my…
Future Forecast: Shocking?! Not
In advance of the new year, I’ve been looking at futurism and forecasting over the last several days. Actually, I’ve been looking at futurism for a decade; at one point in time I seriously considered a degree program in Future Studies. There…
Future Forecast: Roundup of Scattered Probabilities
While thinking about forecasting the future, I collected a few short-term predictions for the year ahead worth kicking around a bit. After gazing deeply into my crystal ball, I added a few predictions of my own.
The National Weather Service’s…
Wiretapping Your Business Records: The White House Doesn't Want You To Be Confused
Sadly, whoever liberated the White House talking points on the FISA Amendments Act extension didn't get them to TechDirt until after most of the so-called debate was over.
Particularly given this explanation for why the White House opposed…
Fiscal Cliff Football Trash Talk
There is really no explanation for the cowardice in Washington DC that allows the most important items of governance to be backed into corners and to edge of cliffs before some slimy compromise screwing everybody and punting the rest down the…
Future Forecast: Ignoring Half the Picture Yields Surprisingly Poor Results
It's that time of year when we not only take a look backward, but a look forward to the future. Unfortunately in doing so, we rely heavily on so-called experts, whose vision suffers from two fundamental limitations:
They're overwhelmingly…
Debate over Public Gun Information Undermines Excuse for Guns
I'm agnostic about but very interested in the uproar over the publication of people in the NY suburbs who have permits to own handguns. It does infringe on the privacy of people who are engaging in a protected activity. But at the same time,…
Ron Wyden: Liar, Liar, Alexander Pants on Fire
Ron Wyden, Dianne Feinstein, and a few other Senators are conducting what constitutes "a debate" on the FISA Amendments Act extension.
The highlight of the debate, thus far, came when DiFi promised to wave a classified letter answering some…
Washington Post Lifts Veil Further on CIA's Global Response Staff, Raymond Davis
Greg Miller and Julie Tate provide some fascinating reading in today's Washington Post, where they provide many new details on the CIA's Global Response Staff and reveal that its most famous (probably now former) member is Raymond Davis.
One…
Dear FBI: Show Your Work
While we've been celebrating with our families, the Partnership for Civil Justice and the NYT have been reading through a set of documents showing the nationwide surveillance of Occupy Wall Street.
The documents and the FBI's defense of them…
Christmas at Emptywheel: Friends Current and Past
And so we reach another Christmas Eve together here at the Emptywheel Blog. And I mean together, because this is a community, from Marcy, Jim White and me, to all of you who participate here with us. You are not just names on a computer screen,…
Holiday Trash Talk: Football, Fun and Frivolity
Ah, here comes the holiday weekend. With Monday being Christmas Eve, many of us are already on a giant holiday roll. Whether you are or not, it is time to engage in some holiday trashing.
Last night was some gawdawfully named thing called…
Scott Bloch and Roll: DOJ Takes a Holiday Friday News Dump
The event we have all been waiting for is here in time for the Christmas Holidays! Yes, it is the long awaited news on the DOJ "prosecution" of the former Office of Special Counsel head under the Bush/Cheney regime, Scott Bloch.
As you may…
Wayne LaPierre Demands $5 Billion Subsidy for His NGO
The central thrust of Wayne LaPierre's press conference offering "solutions" in the wake of the Newtown massacre is to put armed security in every school.
There were 98,706 public schools in 2008-9 (plus 33,740 private schools, which I'll…
Court Dismisses Suit on Constitutionality of Filibuster
Among the hottest issues looking forward to the beginning of the 113th Congress is the status of the filibuster. Will it remain in the status quo of recent decades, the 60 vote Senate roadblock, or will there be movement to return, or at least…
