P5 +1 Talks Resume in Moscow With Iran Sanctions Set to Ratchet Up
The latest round of talks between the P5 + 1 countries and Iran on Iran's nuclear technology are underway today in Moscow amid mixed signals on whether any progress is expected. There is significant pressure on Iran in these negotiations as…
Michael Hayden's Stone Walling
As a number of outlets have reported, in his book, Daniel Klaidman describes Michael Hayden's effort to convince Obama to approve 6 torture techniques by demonstrating some of them on David Shedd.
But [Hayden's] most unusual prop was David…
Time to End the War in Iraq
The War Powers Resolution 6-Month Report has gotten unusual attention because it officially announces we're at war in Yemen and Somalia (though I suspect the Administration has only finally officially announced we're at war against al Qaeda…
The Machine Approving the Failing Flying Robots
As I noted earlier this week, drones have proven to be very expensive failures in the last few weeks.Yesterday, Danger Room described yet another example, the Army's Gray Eagle (and since I obsess about these things, note the failed chip).
Beginning…
The Soon to Be Announced War in Yemen
In response to my speculation that the Administration might be treating UndieBomb 2.0 as one part of a larger secret including our war against Yemeni insurgents led out of the NSC, a reader Mark Hosenball alerted us to Mark Hosenball's reporting…
The "Most Transparent Administration Ever" Treats Recess Appointments with Greater Secrecy than Illegal Wiretapping
Charlie Savage just released the OLC opinion he got in response to a FOIA on opinions relating to recess appointments (this became an issue after Obama appointed Richard Cordray head of the Consumer Financial Protection Board using a recess…
Ron Wyden: "An Obvious Question I Have Not Answered"
In the background of the larger drama of the leak witch hunts is a paragraph that, to me, summarizes where the balance between secrecy and sanity is in our country.
An obvious question that I have not answered here is whether any warrantless…
"Cozy Ties Between Regulators, Politicians and Utilities" Gives New Nuke Agency in Japan, Business as Usual on Wall Street
Reuters reports this morning that Japan's lower house of parliament has passed a law authorizing creation of a new nuclear regulatory agency. The second paragraph of the story stands out to me:
The 2011 Fukushima disaster cast a harsh spotlight…
DiFi Admits She Okayed Unleashing 21st Century WMD with Inadequate Details
The reason Dianne Feinstein is so torqued about the StuxNet story, according to this SFChron piece, is because she learned things from it that she didn't know as a Gang of Four member.
Feinstein declared, "This has to stop. When people say…
Verboten: Vagina and Vasectomy
In spite of the fact that MI's economy--which had been turning around--is now turning back down again, the Republicans who run Lansing are busy enacting new restrictions on abortion and contraception. Busy with that, and busy silencing two state…
Hugo Chavez' Balsa Wood Drone
There were two very fascinating pieces of news out of Venezuela today.
First, Venezuela has officially surpassed Saudi Arabia in terms of proven petroleum reserves.
Venezuela surpassed Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest holder…
Sheldon Adelson Could Buy Bibi a Very Effective October Surprise
The Internet is abuzz today with Sheldon Adelson's announcement that he has already donated $10 million to Mitt Romney's SuperPAC and plans to provide limitless donations to defeat Obama.
Forbes has confirmed that billionaire Sheldon Adelson,…
"The Yemeni situation and ... the Iranian cyber situation"
As MadDog noted yesterday, Dianne Feinstein seemed to answer a question I've written about here and here regarding the scope of the leak investigations.
She said the U.S. attorneys would not face political pressures from the Obama administration…
The Baitullah Mehsud Propaganda
I have twice before noted some curious details about Joby Warrick's telling of the events leading up to Baitullah Mehsud's death. I noted that it is another example--like the Iraq War--of an attack justified by nukes in which the nukes were…
A Tale of Two Senators: Feinstein Calls for Apology to Pakistan, Paul Attempts to Defund
You know that things are truly screwed up regarding US policy on Pakistan when the "best of Senators" is Dianne Feinstein, but it's hardly surprising that Rand Paul would step up in the Senate to carry Dana Rohrabacher's sentiments forward and…
Peak Chicken: PA's Drinking Water versus Saudi Extravagance
This FT article--describing the calculations stakeholders are making in face of the realization that the US is the only non-OPEC nation to have increased petroleum output in the last three years--is worth reading. As reported, OPEC members are…
The Whack-a-Moles Leave Women Unaroused
Pew Research has started polling whether people around the world approve of America's use of drones against terror leaders.
Do you approve or disapprove of the United States
conducting missile strikes from pilotless aircraft called
drones…
Can Hillary Turn on Electricity in Yemen Better than AQAP?
Due to the vagaries of smart phone RSS feeds, I re-read this story over the weekend. In addition to describing Secretary of State Clinton's speech before the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference--in which she described how special ops…
Karzai Objects to Sham Agreement on Air Strike "Restrictions"
Hamid Karzai lashed out yesterday against the continued use of NATO air strikes in civilian areas. He angrily referred to police actions in the US and France, noting that even when the most dangerous suspects are being sought, houses where they…
An IP Tax, before It's Too Late
[youtube]N-Pfl6_DlF8[/youtube]
While I was at Netroots Nation, I thought a lot about how the US could tax Intellectual Property. When I saw Honeywell's CEO claim he should pay no taxes I thought about how much his tech relied on protecting…
