Homeland Security Twitter Monitoring in Action?
A month ago, EPIC liberated documents pertaining to the Department of Homeland Security's web monitoring program, including a list of terms (starting on page 20) that DHS' contractors search for in an effort to monitor threats. The domestic…
McCain, Lieberman and Graham Attempt to Revive Mass Delusion on Afghan "Success"
In yesterday's post, I pointed out the craven political decision to delay a strategic reassessment of the war strategy in Afghanistan until after the election in November. Just in case that was not enough stupidity already emanating out…
FBI Admits It Used GPS Tracking on 250 People without Probable Cause
NPR's Carrie Johnson puts together the numbers on how many GPS trackers the FBI had to get warrants for after US v Jones held that you need a warrant to attach a GPS tracker to a car. And while she doesn't state it this way, what the FBI basically…
God so loved the world he gave the Jets Tim Tebow
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As Watertiger said on Twitter,
Welcome to Gomorrah, Touchdown Jesus. #youhavegottobekiddingme
There's some other NFL news, too, about the Saints being slammed for their bounties. But that's nowhere near as…
Peter King Uses Tax Evasion Case as Proof of Hezbollah Involvement in US
Peter King is having another of his fear-mongering hearings on the Islamic threat in the US--this one focused on "Iran, Hezbollah, and the Threat to the Homeland." As part of that, they've released a whopping 2-page report on that threat, including…
Did GAO Deem Secret PATRIOT a Waste of Time?
I noticed the same thing Charlie Savage did in this letter from Senators Wyden and Udall to Eric Holder complaining about the government's secret interpretation of the PATRIOT Act. The Senators suggest that the secret program is not very useful.
We…
Despite Afghanistan Spiraling Out of Control, Allen Wants No Drawdown Acceleration Until After Election
There can be no doubt that American troops in Afghanistan have become nothing more than political pawns for the Obama administration. Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday, General John R. Allen, who commands US forces…
NSA Director Keith Alexander: The FBI Does the Domestic Collection
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Congressman Hank Johnson asked NSA Director Keith Alexander about James Bamford's Wired article describing the data storage and analysis center in UT. Unfortunately, rather than ask Alexander about these activities--storage…
Chain of Command: Some Violations of Military Discipline Are More Equal Than Others
The other day, Teddy Partridge noted a second instance of someone in the military--the previous one being the Commander-in-Chief--weighing in on Bradley Manning's guilt.
Echoing his commander in chief in issuing statements that provide improper…
Why Does Fat Al Gore Hate Flower Festivals?
This is not really my beat, but after spending the weekend in an unseasonably warm DC and returning to even warmer temperatures here in MI, I felt it deserves a post.
In DC all weekend, people were enjoying the gorgeous cherry blossoms, but…
So Much for the FBI's $100,000 Informant
MoJo, which did a superb report on the FBI's use of informants last year, reports that one of the guys they profiled in that package, Shahed Hussain, got sniffed out by a Pittsburgh area man, Khalifah Al-Akili, whom he was trying to ensnare…
As Fraud History Emerges for Bales, US Pushes FISA Court as Ideal for Afghan Night Raid Approval
The background for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, the suspect in the mass killing of civilians in Afghanistan last week, became much murkier with the revelation that his career as an investment manager ended in a judgment of $1.4 million against…
The Rationale for NSA's Bottomless Pit of Data: Hackers
In his must-read report on the bottomless data pit containing the NSA is building in Utah, James Bamford described the public explanations NSA Deputy Director Chris Inglis made when he broke ground on the facility.
[NSA deputy director Chris…
David Gregory & NBC Give John McCain Blowjob; Screw Americans
Saturday evening, the New York Times put up an important editorial, The Banks Win Again, on its website regarding the financial crisis, an editorial piece that would be key in their Sunday Morning Edition Opinion Section:
Last week was a…
Start a 8 Year Regional War and Set Iran's Nukes Back 3 Years
The headline and lead of the story everyone's buzzing about reads,
Pentagon Finds Perils for U.S. if Israel Were to Strike Iran
A classified war simulation exercise held this month to assess the American military’s capabilities to respond…
Claiming Over 12 Soldiers Involved in Massacre, Afghan Lawmakers Call for End of SOFA Immunity
For the record, I don't trust the investigation the Afghan legislators did into last week's shooting of 16 civilians in Panjwai any more than I trust DOD's own investigation. But it's their country, and they're proceeding with their results--which…
Drones Killing Fewer Civilians, But Still Killing Diplomacy
In an article describing how our use of drones in Pakistan continues to mobilize public opinion against US involvement, the NYT includes this description of how militants claim to be limiting the efficacy of some drone strikes.
During an interview…
As Bush Did with Judy Miller, Obama Insta-Declassifies for David Ignatius
One more point about the David Ignatius wankfest today.
In his story pitching OBL as a still-ambitious terrorist rather than an out-of-touch idiot, David Ignatius claimed the documents he based his article on had already been declassified.
The…
David Ignatius and Bin Laden's Biden Judgment
Presumably to buck up their campaign theme--"Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive"--the Administration pre-leaked some documents to David Ignatius taken from OBL's compound revealing that OBL hoped to attack President Obama. Ignatius…
The Wiretap Jury on the Iran War
At a moment when the Obama Administration is still aggresively pursuing James Risen's testimony on sources for an Iran story he wrote 7 years ago, on Saturday he published a new story summarizing the uncertainty surround intelligence on Iran…
