Lambert Dogs the Press
I beat the NYT to actual close reading over the weekend and it made a stink.
But Lambert documents his superior canine instincts from five years ago.
Je repete. 2004-05-09, Corrente:
Maybe there is a smoking gun. ... Somebody's got to authorize the dogs, the kennels, the handlers, and the purpose.
Zelikow's Destroyed Memos
Last night, as I was beginning my catalog of the interrogation reports used in the 9/11 Report, the former Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission was on Rachel Maddow, elaborating on his Foreign Policy article where he revealed how the Bush Administration destroyed his objections to the May 2005 Bradbury Memos.
Anonymous Liberal had a very good take on Zelikow's story (which basically matches what bmaz said to me via email).
SSCI Torture Narrative
The SSCI just released a narrative--originally requested by Jello Jay--of the general history of torture under the Bush Administration, including, purportedly, all the OLC memos that support torture (though it doesn't include the 2003 one Michael Hayden referenced the other day).
I'll have a few more details in a bit.
Abu Zubaydah: Waterboarded 83 Times for 10 Pieces of Intelligence
The torture apologists are out in force, insisting that torture produces useful information. Cheney's even promising to release information from CIA cataloging all the useful information that came from torture. But we don't have to wait for Cheney. We already have a way to assess how much intelligence we got directly from torturing Abu Zubaydah: the 9/11 Report. And the 9/11 Report tells us AZ only provided 10 useful piece of intelligence during his interrogations.
Breaking: Torture Architect John Rizzo Still Working at CIA
The ACLU is reporting something that I've suspected.
According to the CIA public affairs office, Rizzo is still Acting General Counsel.
John Rizzo, the man who worked with both Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury to pre-authorize torture, is still being paid by you and me to make sure that the CIA follows the law.
Did Cheney Order Up Abu Zubaydah's 83rd Waterboarding?
When the CIA ordered up an extra session of waterboarding for Abu Zubaydah, did it do so on Cheney's orders?
The SASC Smoking Gun on Waterboarding
The SASC Report on Torture strongly suggests that CIA was following one set of guidelines, but had gotten approval from DOJ for another set of guidelines.
SASC Torture Report, Working Thread
The Senate Armed Services Committee just released its report on torture.
Spencer has a post on it here.
Remember, as you're reading it, that not only did they repurpose SERE. But we know they went far beyond SERE in its application.
I'll be reading it as I fall asleep and should have more detailed comments tomorrow morning.
Cheney Plans to Continue to Manufacture Intelligence
It sounds like Cheney's only asking for CIA to disclose information on what torture produced so he can use it for his memoirs.
OLC + CIA = CYA
Spencer's story on a previously unknown 2007 OLC memo suggests the CIA continued to distrust Bush's willingness to give them policy cover for torture.
Those CIA Employees Don't LOOK Pissed that Obama Released the Torture Memos
The Village has been out in force declaring that Obama's decision to release the torture memos will hurt the morale of CIA's employees. But there are those in the CIA who it will reassure.
Dan Quayle's and John Snow's Flunkies Putting Greed Ahead of America
(Image by twolf)
Now for an update from the most loathsome intersection of the financial and the auto crisis...
You'll recall that last we heard, Chrysler was hoping to stay alive long enough to have Fiat's Sergio Marchionne swoop in and save it. Even if that happens, though, Chrysler will need to get some customers to buy its cars until such a time as Marchionne can do his magic.
And to get customers, they're
Revisiting Jane Harman's Over-Reaction to Partisan Pressure on FISA
When I suggested Jane Harman shouldn't undercut Democratics in the House on FISA in 2007, she badly over-reacted. I wonder whether her reaction has anything to do with today's story in CQ?
McCain on the Torture Memos
John McCain thinks waterboarding KSM 183 times in a month is a bad idea (to his credit he says any use of waterboarding is a bad idea). Even still, he thinks releasing the torture memos was wrong. I wonder if that's because the memos reveal the disdain with which the Bush Administration treated Congressional efforts to end the torture program?
Ponzi Nation, Monday Edition
Another day another Ponzi scheme broken up by the SEC.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Philadelphia-area investment adviser and its principal with misappropriating millions of dollars in client assets, and obtained an emergency court order freezing their assets.
The SEC alleges that through a commingled brokerage account, Donald Anthony Walker Young of Coatesville, Pa., and Acorn Capital Management, LLC misappropriated more than $23 million from investors buying limited partnership interests
Jane Harman: Stupid and Reckless, Not the Victim of Illegal Wiretaps
Jane Harman was not illegally wiretapped. On the contrary, she very stupidly said things to someone who was widely reported to be under investigation.
Alberto Gonzales' Blackmail Notes and Jane Harman's Support
Remember how Alberto Gonzales made notes of the March 10, 2004 Gang of Eight meeting so he could blackmail members of Congress on the warrantless wiretap program? Well, it seems to have worked.
What Does a House Intelligence Chairmanship Cost?
According to NSA intercepts, Jane Harman agreed to help AIPAC avoid criminal charges in exchange for AIPAC's help getting the HPSCI Chairmanship.
The al-Haramain Case Stays On Track
It was late and welcome news Friday afternoon when Judge Vaughn Walker's decision in the al-Haramain case came in. The seminal importance of Walker's decision to allow the matter to proceed against the fierce efforts to dismiss it by the government simply cannot be overstated.
Is There a 2003 Waterboarding Memo We're Missing?
We know the August 1, 2002 memo directly pertained to Abu Zubaydah. We know the 2005 memos were, in part, addressed to Hassan Ghul. Is there a 2003 memo addressing whether KSM could be waterboarded?
