Our Unilateral Counterterrorism Operations in Somalia
A detainee in what Jeremy Scahill describes as "a secret prison buried in the basement of Somalia’s National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters, where prisoners suspected of being Shabab members or of having links to the group are held"--one…
Emptywheel Leaving Firedoglake
It is with very mixed feelings that I announce emptywheel will be leaving Firedoglake at the end of this week.
About six years ago, I started blogging on the abuse of power. At first it was the CIA Leak case. Then it was torture. And warrantless…
In 1,200 Word Profile on Eric Cantor, WaPo Neglects to Mention His Bet against the US
So the WaPo did a 1200-word profile on Eric Cantor's central role in debt ceiling negotiations. And somehow they never get around to mentioning that Cantor has a bet placed against US Treasuries.
Eric Cantor, the Republican Whip in the House…
Hamid Karzai's Brother Killed by Guard
This is going to make it more difficult for us to declare victory and withdraw from Afghanistan.
Ahmed Wali Karzai, the Kandahar provincial council chief, was killed during a gathering, said provincial governor Tooryalai Wesa. He did not …
How the Government Hid Their Pacha Wazir Mistake by Denying Habeas Corpus
Scott Horton's revelation that the detainee described as "CAPTUS" in Glenn Carle's book, The Interrogator, is an Afghan named Pacha Wazir reveals something else: in spite of the fact that Carle realized the CIA had been mistaken about Wazir's…
No Wonder They Hired Andy Coulson
Amid news that News Corp is playing games with its BSkyB bid (and even that Murdoch might sell News International entirely), the Guardian reports that Gordon Brown, like everyone else in England it seems, was hacked by "journalists across News…
RomneyCare Didn't End Medical Bankruptcies
Surprise surprise. Getting everyone insurance is not enough to eliminate medical bankruptcies. (h/t Susie)
To gauge whether healthcare reform in Massachusetts had eased bankruptcies, the researchers looked at a random sample of Massachusetts…
On the Wisdom of Keeping Up Offensive Pressure
As we hear about how heroic this victory was over the next few days, remember what went into it: first, superior fitness. Thankfully these women did not rest on their reputation for greatness, but instead put in the hours of training to…
Trash: F1 British Grand Prix, Sweater Vest Forfeitures & Foxsuckers
There are a lot of sports deserving of some Trash Talk this weekend, including the one and only British GP from Silverstone, Derek Jeter...Jetah..., getting his 3,000th hit and the gleeful schadenfreude over The. Ohio. State. University. having…
Is "National Security" a Good Excuse to Pursue Policies that Undermine the Nation-State?
Here I was steeling myself for a big rebuttal from Benjamin Wittes to my "Drone War on Westphalia" post on the implications of our use of drones. But all I got was a difference in emphasis.
In his response, Wittes generally agrees that our…
Panetta: Kill 20 Leaders, End the War on Terror
Leon Panetta kicks off his new job as Secretary of Defense with a trip to Afghanistan. On the plane over there this morning, he told reporters that we just need to kill 10 or 20 leaders of al Qaeda and we will "strategically defeat" al Qaeda.…
David Plouffe: ALSO Wrong on Consumer Confidence
Greg Sargent has a post arguing that complaints about David Plouffe's comments about unemployment are being distorted.
It seems Plouffe was actually asked a question about whether and how the unemployment rate would impact the Presidential…
Obama's Plan to Address 9.2% Unemployment: Send More Jobs Overseas
At today's press conference responding to the lousy jobs report, Obama offered a few suggestions for how to create jobs: patent reform, infrastructure investment, confidence fairies and ... "free trade."
But as the Economic Policy Institute…
Who Knew Firing Public Workers Increases Unemployment?
BLS:
Total nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in June (+18,000). Following gains averaging 215,000 per month from February through April, employment has been essentially flat for the past 2 months. Employment in most major…
Visa Shuts Down DataCell's Donation Processing for WikiLeaks Again
Well, I guess this will add to the evidence that Visa is refusing to accept donations from DataCell because it works with WikiLeaks.
For a few hours on Thursday, credit card donations once again flowed to WikiLeaks through a payment gateway…
David Plouffe's "Same Old War Horses"
Scarecrow, Digby, and Jon Walker rightly took David Plouffe's promises that a 9% unemployment rate won't hurt Obama's reelection chances to task.
But I'm at least as appalled by this part of Plouffe's statement:
The White House’s top political…
Guardian: Andy Coulson to Be Arrested in Hacking Scandal
The Guardian is reporting that former News of the World editor and David Cameron flack Andy Coulson received notice today to show up at a London police station to be arrested tomorrow.
Andy Coulson has been told by police that he will be arrested…
Credit Card Companies Forestall Legal Trouble by Allowing Donations via DataCell
Remember that suit Wikileaks' hosting company, DataCell was about to file? Today was the day they were planning to do so. And surprise surprise, Visa and MasterCard have suddenly decided to start processing payments from DataCell again.
Late…
Is Anwar al-Awlaki The Unnamed "National of the United States" In Warsame Indictment?
So, is it truly the case that Awlaki is indeed the unnamed "national of the United States" here in the Warsame indictment? I don't know for certain, but it sure as heck fits the facts as we know them and the depraved refusal of the American government to talk about or let the public know its basis for impunity in marking an American citizen for extrajudicial termination with prejudice.
Yet Another Torture Cover-Up
When the Brits announced a year ago they'd hold an inquiry into torture, I suggested it was an attempt to get torture victims like Binyam Mohamed to settle so the British government could conduct a sham investigation. In November, Mohamed…