Robert Gibbs: Basket of Individual Freedoms Includes Freedom to Access the Internet
In a press briefing on the situation in Egypt (and probably his last briefing ever), Robert Gibbs made a stunning, but important statement.
We believe in the basket of individual freedoms includes the freedom to access the Internet and…
The NeoCons' Long Animosity towards Mohamed el Baradei
As Siun noted yesterday, Mohamed el Baradei issued a statement critical of US support for Hosni Mubarak in advance of returning to Egypt (and, as of now, being put under house arrest).
Of course, you in the West have been sold the idea that…
Obama Gives Manufacturing a Promotion
Since Ron Bloom--IMO, the most effective member of the Auto bailout team--got named the special advisor for manufacturing in September 2009, those of us insisting the country has to reinvest in manufacturing have argued Bloom should get more…
Working Thread on FCIC Report
I keep trying to immerse myself in the FCIC Report, but keep getting distracted--I guess I'll have to read it this weekend. But it's high time I put up a working thread for the rest of you.
The report itself is here.
Lambert Strether has…
"Consular Employee" Charged with Murder in Pakistan
The NYT has a sanitized version of the story of a "US Consular employee" who has been charged with shooting two Pakistanis.
An American official, Raymond A. Davis, 36, appeared in court here on Friday on charges of murdering two Pakistanis…
Illinois Supreme Court Rules For Rahm Emanuel Ballot Inclusion
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bmazThe Illinois supere Court has reversed the ruling striking Rahm Emanuel from the ballot and has ruled him fully eligible to be elected and serve as Mayor of Chicago.
DOD Press Office Scrambling to Explain Bradley Manning's Treatment
Something is badly amiss in DOD's efforts to tell its side of how it is treating Bradley Manning.
It started on Monday when NBC's Chief Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski (that is, not a hippie) published an article with two big…
The Mythification of the Looting Elite
As more and more people talk about how inequality threatens our economic system and just in time for Davos, the January 22-28 edition of the the Economist had a special report on "The Global Elite." While the edition has been out there for a…
A Sputnik Moment without the Moon
I laughed yesterday when I first saw the SOTU excerpts with Obama's description of a Sputnik moment. Mind you, he had already used--or rather, cribbed--the language before. So the language itself wasn't funny.
Rather, it was that he planned…
The NYT's "Heads Up" Meeting with the FBI on Wikileaks
The NYT has a very long profile on their interactions with Wikileaks, about which I will have more to say.
But I wanted to point to this meeting, which Bill Keller describes as the NYT's effort to give the government a "heads up" on the diplomatic…
Visa: WikiLeaks Guilty until Proven (Twice) Innocent
The AP reports that a Swedish company Visa Europe hired to study whether WikiLeaks was breaking the law or Visa's own rules has "found no proof the group's fundraising arm is breaking the law in its home base of Iceland." But, the AP goes on,…
The Sun Belt Needs a Killer App
Fresh off Obama imploring the country to "win the [vaguely defined, and definitely not defined as preventing climate change] future," Calculated Risk has a new chart, showing the decline in unemployment by state. It's useful to show not just…
Rahm's Ballot Eligibility Case Appeal and White House Interference
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bmazPresident barack Obama and his White House have interjected themselves into the state and local ballot litigation in an attempt to influence the pending determination by the Illinois Supreme Court, and have coordinated and conspired with Rahm Emanuel to do so.
Did Manning Zerofill His Computers? Or Did the Military?
Wired has a post on MSNBC's report that "there is apparently no evidence he passed the files directly to [Julian] Assange, or had any direct contact with the controversial WikiLeaks figure." In it, Kim Zetter looks to the chat logs to try to…
CNN: Military Investigating Why Brig Commander Put Bradley Manning on Suicide Watch [Update: Or Maybe Not]
CNN elaborates on something MSNBC reported last night. Not only did Quantico Brig Commander James Averhart improperly put Bradley Manning on suicide watch for two days last week, but the military is now investigating why he did so.
The U.S.…
Rove and the (Escape) Hatch Act
When Michael Mukasey announced in 2008 no one would be charged for politicizing DOJ, I had this to say.
Understand: Mukasey has turned into a terrible shill for the Administration. But it has been clear for over a year that the Administration…
Government Admits Brig Commander Improperly Put Bradley Manning on Suicide Watch
The government has admitted to MSNBC that the Brig Commander at Quantico improperly put Bradley Manning on suicide watch last week.
The officials told NBC News, however, that a U.S. Marine commander did violate procedure when he placed…
Did DOJ Subpoena Ex-Spook's Lawyer to Discredit Any Whistleblower Motive?
Via Jeff Stein, the St. Louis Beacon reports that DOJ not only (unsuccessfully) subpoenaed James Risen in their pursuit of alleged MERLIN source Jeffrey Sterling, but they successfully subpoenaed Sterling's one-time lawyer, Mark Zaid.
Mark…
Peter King's "Danger from Within"
As Adam Serwer notes, one of the most interesting things about this long story on how Peter King came to split with a Muslim community close to his district as he increasingly attacked Muslims in general after 9/11 is the description of the…
Is That Why We Bombed the Chinese Embassy?
As soon as I read the news that the new Chinese stealth fighter might have been reverse-engineered from an F-117 Nighthawk shot down during the NATO bombing of Serbia, I wondered the same thing implied (though not explicitly stated) in this…