Vaughn Walker Issues Final al-Haramain Opinion on Damages and Attorney Fees
Judge Vaugn Walker has issued an extremely significant decision in the illegal wiretapping case of al-Haramain v. Bush/Obama. He has awarded damages and attorney fees to the plaintiffs on their claims of illegal and unconstitutional surveillance by the US government.
Obama Formalizes His Indefinite Detention Black Hole
The Obama administration is preparing an executive order that would formalize indefinite detention without trial for some detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but allow those detainees and their lawyers to challenge the basis for continued incarceration.
Geezer Returns: Special Old Fart Trash
In case you have not heard, some guy who last week was not a starting quarterback will suddenly start for the Minnesota Vikings tonight on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears. Who knows what this untested and unknown quarterback…
"Austerity" Merriam-Webster's Word of 2010
Merriam-Webster has made "austerity" it's word of the year for 2010.
Topping the list is austerity, defined as "enforced or extreme economy." Lookups for austerity peaked dramatically several times throughout the year, as people's attention…
161,948 SARs Become 103 Investigations and 5 Arrests
The WaPo rolled out one last story to shore up their "Top Secret America" Pulitzer bid before the end of the year. I agree with Glenn's overall assessment of this latest installment:
As was true of the first several installments of their "Top…
Protecting DC's Metro from the FBI and Facebook
While I've been in moving hell (one more day, a long drive, and then!!! relax), there have been two developments in the FBI's efforts to fearmonger in the DC Metro.
As I first reported several weeks ago, TSA Director and former FBI Deputy Director…
Snowy and Wooden Trash
Yakkety Yak, Take Out The Papers and the Trash
More Cheney Get Out of Jail Free Costs: Mitchell and Jessen's $5 Million Indemnity Agreement
The AP has a story on Mitchell and Jessen's torture defense. The lead of the story describes how CIA protected the torturers both by paying all of their defense costs--up to $5 million--as well as paying it directly out of CIA funds.
But there's…
Teh Gay Are Stealing the Rainbows! Who Will Protect Richie Blackmore?
Do dogmatic conservative religious nutjobs ever stop to think how insane they sound? No. Now they are whining that teh gay are stealing the rainbows.
Christmas Special: Half Off Dick Cheney's Freedom!
Just a quick post while I'm packing so you all have fresh thread to unwind.
And also to note that Halliburton did manage to convince Nigeria to give them a half-off special for Dick Cheney's freedom, though they had to bring Poppy Bush and…
Wal-Mart Hikes Toy Prices Just as Congress Gives the Waltons Huge Tax Breaks
If there was ever any illusion that the super-rich would start acting nicer after Congress gave them both income and estate tax breaks, I present Wal-Mart's thanks for Congress' willingness to make the Walton family even richer: (h/t Consumerist)
Wal-Mart…
Quasi-Governmental Entities AT&T and Verizon Blocking Wikileaks Sites
We know the government is blocking Wikileaks sites: the Air Force, the Library of Congress, the Department of Education, as well as orders from the State Department that its employees should not read the leaked cables.
Which is why I find it…
Republicans Vote to Ban the Terms "Wall Street" and "Deregulation"
Apparently, the Republicans on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission have abandoned the commission because the other six members would not agree to ban the phrases "Wall Street" and "deregulation" from the final report.
The four Republicans…
Halliburton Tries to Get Half Off Its Bribe for Cheney's Freedom
As I noted last week, Halliburton is in negotiations to reach a plea deal with Nigeria to drop its bribery charges against Dick Cheney. At that point, Nigeria was demanding $500 million for such a deal, which led Gregg to quip, "So, Cheney Halliburton…
Timmeh Geithner to House of Representatives: Fuck Off And Die
A month ago, Brad Miller and a dozen other Congressmen -- including House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank -- wrote the Financial Stability Oversight Council to ask that they look into the systemic dangers of foreclosure fraud.…
Bernie Sanders Quotes Jeff Immelt: "I am a Nut on China"
This was, IMO, the highlight of Bernie Sanders' non-filibuster on Friday:
GE is of course one of our major corporations, and in fact this recent disclosure pointed out the taxpayers of this country, through the Fed, provided $16 billion in…
Throwing our PATRIOT at Assange
Last week, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder admitted what bmaz laid out yesterday -- the problems with prosecuting WikiLeaks' Julian Assange under the Espionage Act. But at the same time, he said, the Espionage Act may play a role in a possible…
A Tale of Two Bailout Paybacks
As promised over the weekend before I realized I had forgotten my Toobz, I wanted to compare the behavior of two bailout recipients, the UAW and the banksters.
A number of people have pointed to this intriguing interview about the Korea Trade…
The Misplaced US Determination To Indict Assange
The US determination to prosecute Julian Assange is not just a destructive and myopic scheme to effect prior restraint in a digital world, it is laughable from the point of legal foundation.
Militarized Trash Talk
When Dwight Eisenhower warned of the creeping military-industrial complex, little did he know it would invade even the football trash talk of the liberal blog set. But, yet, here we are this week all soldiered up.
That is because the big story…