Apparently, "Blood Money" Now Includes "Green Cards"
Last we heard about the families of Raymond Davis' victims, they were held in custody until they agreed to accept the blood money Pakistan offered on our behalf.
Things are looking up for the family members, though. Eighteen of them have…
Another Secret OLC Opinion: This One on Information Sharing
As MadDog and I were discussing on this thread, the May 6, 2004 Jack Goldsmith opinion on the warrantless wiretap program references an OLC opinion that appears not to have been publicly released or, even in the course of FOIA, disclosed.
Thus,…
Working Thread on Illegal Wiretap Memo
As I noted in this post, DOJ has released two of the memos used to authorize the illegal wiretap program. I made some brief comments on the November 2, 2001 John Yoo memo here. This will be a working thread on the May 6, 2004 Jack Goldsmith…
Newly Released OLC Opinion Reveals How Yoo Relied on Eliminating Fourth Amendment to Wiretap Illegally
As Josh Gerstein and Jack Goldsmith note, DOJ just released two of the opinions underlying the warrantless wiretap programs. They both focus on the May 6, 2004 opinion Goldsmith wrote in the wake of the hospital confrontation; I'll have far…
Chris Smith Opposes IRS Enforcement on Undeclared $$, But Supports IRS Enforcement on Undeclared Babies
Chris Smith co-sponsored HR 4, which would overturn the provision of health care reform that required all businesses to issue 1099 forms for goods and services in excess of $600. The whole point of the 1099 provision was designed to crack down…
NSA's Clusterfuck Financial Management
I'm reading through the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's report on what it did last Congress. Among a number of interesting details, the report describes really really bad accounting at the National Security Agency (NSA).
The report…
Judge Questions Government's Persecution of DADT Activists
I'm busy watching this hearing today (and trying to watch one that happened last week). It's hard to watch two hearings at once!
But I didn't want you think I was still celebrating St. Paddy's Day, so for the moment I'll direct you to this…
BIFFOs and Banksters
I almost got distracted from working my yearly post around this picture of Mr. EW and I in Moneygall, taken back in 2008 when Brian Cowen was about to become Ireland's Taoiseach and Barack O'Bama was about to officially get enough delegates…
Why Won't Jeh Johnson Answer Hank Johnson's Question about Forced Nudity?
The House Armed Services Committee is having a hearing on Law of War Detention. Much of it has focused on Jeh Johnson affirming that military commissions line up with American values. (In other words, it is fairly depressing.)
But an interesting…
US Cheating on European SWIFT Agreement Reveals Safeguards Were Oversold
As I noted last night, the US has been violating the spirit of its agreement with the EU on access to the SWIFT database--the database tracking international financial transfers. Rather than giving Europol specific, written requests for data,…
US Cheats on SWIFT Agreement with Oral Requests
I have tracked the American negotiations with the post-Lisbon EU to get continued access to the SWIFT database, the database that tracks international money payments.
Basically, after the Lisbon Treaty went into effect last year, the EU Parliament…
Pakistan Pays Blood Money So We Don't Have To
As Jim White reported this morning, Raymond Davis has been released after the families of his victims were paid blood money per Sharia law.
We've really gotten to bizarro-land when a possible Blackwater contractor has been saved by Sharia…
Photos from MadMI, Lansing
Thought I'd share some pics from the rally today in Lansing. It's a decent sized crown--6,000 around noon; they expect to get a whole bunch of teachers out for the last set of speakers at 4:30.
Here's the crowd just outside of the Capitol…
Dylan Ratigan, Law Professors and I All Agree: Obama Needs to Explain or End Manning's Treatment
On Friday, Dylan Ratigan and I had a podcast chat about the treatment of Bradley Manning. Among other things, we talked about the "Constitutional Law Professor" President's rather bizarre response when DOD told him it was standard procedure…
Nuke Industry: We Don't Plan for Disasters as Big as Fukushima
I'm headed out to Lansing shortly--hopefully I'll be posting updates from the biggest protest MI's capital has seen in a long time.
But I wanted to point out something funny (as in, "oh jeebus we're all going to die" funny) about the American…
The Secrets Military Commissions Keep that Civilian Courts Don't
As I mentioned in my earlier post on the new Gitmo protective order, DOD is reportedly preparing to charge Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri for his role in the Cole bombing for trial in a military commission. That's worth keeping in mind because the…
DOD: Defense Attorneys Can't Tell Detainees What They Said
DOD just issued a new protective order that will cover the military commissions they're about to roll out. (h/t Carol Rosenberg) I'm still reading the document. But I wanted to highlight this requirement.
Statements of the detainee that detainee's…
DOD Gives Manning Caveman Gown, Says They're Not Humiliating Him
With all the attention focused on Bradley Manning's treatment yesterday because of PJ Crowley's ouster, DOD has done a lot of pushback on the notion that taking away Manning's underwear is "ridiculous, counterproductive, and stupid."
The…
Killer: A Tribute To My Neighbor Alice
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bmaz
I have some pretty cool souls in my 'hood. And more than one rock star. But none bigger than Alice Cooper. He is actually much different that most people think; a great father, a community leader in several ways (some pretty public, some…
WikiLeaks Reveals How the British Lied to OECD about BAE Bribery
A WikiLeaks cable dated March 5, 2007 has raised new interest in the BAE bribery scandal (AP, WSJ, Telegraph). While no one seems to have noted this, the cable shows that the British lied to their counterparts at the OECD about details of the…