Drones: Counterterrorism But Not Strategy
As one of the few civilian Americans who has been present in a zone where the US operated its drone campaign, David Rohde has a fairly unique perspective from which to comment on the tactic. And while in this long piece on drones, he recognizes…
Senate Judiciary Committee: Closing the Barn Door after the Barn's Been Foreclosed
Sometime this week, the long-awaited terms for the foreclosure settlement will be released, giving banks immunity for much of the fraud and forgery they committed in the course of taking homeowners' houses.
Which makes the timing of this…
Grand Rapids Dem Telling People to Shut Up about Choice Again
Even as Rick Santorum was losing MI, largely because he attacked women's autonomy, the same local operative who told me I wasn't well-informed enough to express an opinion on my own congressional district's politics was telling Howie Klein he…
After Arguing People Shouldn't Attack Media Indiscriminately, Jamie Dimon Attacks Media Indiscriminately
When last we saw Jamie Dimon being a dick, he was appealing to what he presumably imagined was reporters' shared sense of indiscriminate victimization.
Is it surprising that people lash out after such a severe recession in which we’ve seen…
Obama's Detainee Waivers Exempt Aspirational Terrorists from Military Detention
During the debate on the NDAA, I noted that Obama could just issue an order saying the military primacy required by the law would only kick in after a civilian trial.
Nothing in the bill allows Congress to override the procedures developed…
Iran Moves Toward Opening Parchin to IAEA; Warrick Surprisingly Disrupts Israel's "Zone of Immunity" Argument
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_dRPRtzacc[/youtube]
In a long interview with RT, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asqar Soltaniyeh, explained yet again that Iran's position is that the team from the IAEA that visited Iran earlier this…
Vagina's Vengeance: Republicans Officially Killing Their Party for Birth Control
Last night,stupid Catholic commentators like Chris Matthews, tried to blame Rick Santorum's loss in MI on his Kennedy comment. Santorum must have lost MI's significant percentage of Republican Catholics, Matthews figured, because he said he…
The Emptywheel Primary Trash Talk
It's here!! Yep the fateful Emptywheel Primary day! Why is it the Emptywheel Primary you ask? Well silly, because today is the Super Tuesday of GOP primaries in both Michigan and Arizona. My Mormons versus Marcy's Hutaree. Gonna throw down baby.
I…
US Vows No Change of Course in Afghanistan Despite 17% of NATO Deaths in 2012 From Fratricide
Displaying a remarkable inability to process the meaning of ongoing events, both White House spokesman Jay Carney and Pentagon spokesman George Little ventured dangerously close to "Baghdad Bob" territory on Monday, declaring that there…
NYPD's Fearmongers Are Arguing It's More Useful to Spy on 2nd Graders than Disrupt Real Plots
Chuck Schumer, the NYDN, and the NYPost keep up their attacks on the AP's exposure of the NYPD's spying program. Increasingly, NYPD's fearmongers are getting cornered on the question of efficacy.
Schumer, rarely a courageous man, made full…
Djibouti's Cable News
Remember back in 2008, when a mysterious cluster of intercontinental cables were cut, knocking parts of the Middle East and South Asia (notably Egypt and Pakistan) off telecom networks?
Well, we've got another cluster of cut cables again,…
If the Drug Czar Does Not Supervise the Money It Doles Out, Who Does?
At the Daily Press Briefing today, Jay Carney was asked whether the White House approves of the NYPD spying on New York and New Jersey's Muslim communities.
He responded by claiming that the Office of National Drug Control Policy--the Drug…
Ray Kelly: Please Call My Spying "Enhanced Police Investigation"
In the city in which the NYT news page insists on calling torture "harsh" or "enhanced interrogation" when America does it, I'm not surprised that NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly objects to news outlets calling his spying spying.
“I just wish…
Cheney's Torture Apologist Complains Cheney's Torture Program Necessitates Plea Deals
As I suggested the other day, the news that Majid Khan has negotiated a plea deal raises interesting questions about why the government decided to offer him one.
What I haven’t seen anyone explain, however, is why the government has suddenly…
Hiding Report on Fratricide in Afghanistan Doesn't Make It Go Away
On January 20, the New York Times carried what they at first thought was a scoop on a "classified" report (pdf) on Afghan military and police personnel killing NATO forces. After they were told that the Wall Street Journal had written on the…
White House Drug Czar Helps Pay for CIA-on-the-Hudson
In its latest update on NYC's spying on Muslims, the AP reports the program is partially funded by the White House Drug Czar in grants associated with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program.
Some of that money — it's unclear exactly…
Obama's Malign Neglect of Federal Judiciary Redux
Right about this time last exactly one week ago, in relation to predictions of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's retirement, I was describing the derelict judicial policy regarding nominations and confirmations that has characterized the White House of…
After Ray Kelly Proved Incapable of Hosting a Terrorist Trial, His Supporters Shouldn't Call OTHER Cities Overmatched
The NYDN and NYPost continue their uncritical defense of the NYPD's spying on residents of other cities. In response to continued outrage that NYPD's officers profiled Newark's and Paterson's Muslim community, the New York fearmonger papers'…
AP Shows Civilian Casualties Equal To or Worse than TBIJ, Drone Boosters Declare Victory
There's something funny about the response I've seen so far to the AP report on the number of civilian drone strikes.
The AP reports that 30% of the drone strikes in the last 18 months in North Waziristan were civilians or police; discounting…
Is David Petraeus Leaking to Undercut the President? Or Is Someone Framing Him?
The WaPo has the latest in seemingly yearly series of leaks of Top Secret cables designed to undercut the President's plan to withdraw from Afghanistan.
The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan sent a top-secret cable to Washington last month warning…
