Khadr's Confession and the Lies We Tell
Omar Khadr's confession makes me sad. Sad that we insisted on prosecuting a child soldier for defending himself. But also sad for the lies we included in his plea deal to prop up the government's dubious stories about Khadr and detainees generally.
For…
Debbie Stabenow v. Ben Nelson; Cherry Orchards v. Con Agra
This could be an interesting, beneficial outcome of this year's election: Debbie Stabenow ascending to Chair the Agriculture Committee.
As of his last calculation, Nate Silver gives the Democrats an 84% chance of keeping the Senate. But they'll…
The Investigative Process
Adam Levitin, one of the first people to tell investors how the foreclosure crisis may just point to much larger problems introduced by securitization, has this to say about what we need to do to get out of this mess.
I was glad to hear Ben…
How Does Frago 242 Relate to Our Collaboration with the Wolf Brigade?
The biggest headline from Friday’s Wikileaks dump (everywhere but the NYT, anyway) is that the “US ignored torture.” But the way in which an official policy ignoring torture was followed by collaboration with one of Iraq’s torture squads…
Wellstone Accused of Voter Fraud, Threatened with Death, Day before His Plane Crash
There's absolutely no reason to think that the barely literate postcard sent to Paul Wellstone's office the day before his plane crash had anything to do with his death.
The FBI files [released in FOIA to Minnesota Public Radio] reveal, for…
Are Iran's Bags of Euros for Daudzai Bigger than CIA's Bags of Dollars for Karzai's Brother?
The outage of the day is the report that Hamid Karzai's chief of staff, Umar Daudzai, receives a steady stream of bags of Euros from Iran.
One evening last August, as President Hamid Karzai wrapped up an official visit to Iran, his personal…
Should Elena Kagan Really Be Getting Shooting Lessons from the Koch-Addled Hunting Buddy of the Guy Who Shoots People in the Face?
I admit I'm no big fan of Elena Kagan. But tell me whether I'm justified in worrying about this?
Data point 1: On at least one occasion, Antonin Scalia participated in the Koch brothers' secret sessions plotting to advance the Koch agenda.
Data…
Eric Holder's Defense of Ashcroft to Defend the Material Witness Statute
The NYT has a worthwhile editorial lambasting the Obama DOJ's pursuit of SCOTUS review in Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, which will probably result in expanded immunity for government officials that abuse the law so as to abuse the rights of Americans.…
How Does Frago 242 Relate to Our Collaboration with the Wolf Brigade?
The biggest headline from Friday's Wikileaks dump (everywhere but the NYT, anyway) is that the "US ignored torture." But the way in which an official policy ignoring torture was followed by collaboration with one of Iraq's torture squads raises…
Omar Khadr Pleads Guilty
As you may have heard on Twitter, Omar Khadr has plead guilty to all charges against him.
Omar Khadr, the only Canadian, only child soldier and only Guantanamo Bay detainee charged with battlefield homicide in the killing a U.S. soldier,…
America Is a Beautiful Place, Unaccountable Elite Edition
It says something about our country that the person who wrote this op-ed could, in a few short years, go on to serve as the primary economic advisor to the President. (h/t scribe)
And this study shows that measured this way, the mortgage market…
Fannie and Freddie Near a Deal with Title Industry
As I noted in my last post on the move, led by Fidelity National, to require banks to warrant against "incompetent or erroneous affidavit testimony or documentation,” the move was largely about getting Fannie and Freddie on board and with…
Trash Talk: It Is All About Dallas
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bmazYankees get bounced, Rangers on the way to their first World Series and Brett Favre is going back to Lambeau. Oh, and the first ever Korean Grand Prix is being run and the new track looks good.
If DOD's Got a Problem with Wikileaked Names, They've Got a Problem w/NYT
Before the Wikileaks document dump this afternoon, DOD and Murdoch were out with claims that the impending dump would put 300 Iraqis at significant risk of reprisal. As Wikileaks noted via Twitter, the article falsely claimed that Wikileaks…
Fourteen Other Incidences of Blackwater Firing on Iraqi Civilians
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism says there are 14 incidences recorded in today's Wikileaks dump alleging that Blackwater fired on Iraqi citizens (their site appears to be overloaded, so be persistent).
Two years before Nisour Square,…
David Petraeus' Escalation(s)
Le Monde did this graphic of the what kind of deaths the Wikileaks document dump records happening when (blue are American soldiers killed--darker--or injured; green are civilians killed or injured).
In an article on another revelation in…
In June 2004, DOD Issued Instructions to Ignore Iraqi-on-Iraqi Torture
Al Jazeera has this video and the Guardian a story on Frago 242, which both outlets say is one of the most alarming revelation in Wikileaks' new document dump. From the Guardian:
This is the impact of Frago 242. A frago is a "fragmentary…
When Did Clarence Thomas Go to the Koch Conspiracy Fest? And Did He Bring Ginni?
As you've no doubt heard, the right wing conspiracy does exist. As the NYT reported the other day, the Koch brothers host semi-annual secret get-togethers to strategize with other rich conservatives and media people about how to advance their…
James Clapper Continues to Express Willingness to Allow GAO to Review Intelligence
I have been pretty critical of Obama's appointment of James Clapper to be Director of National Intelligence. And while I still have my concerns about Clapper's close ties to the Intelligence Industrial Complex, I am heartened by Steven Aftergood's…
Juan Williams' Irrational Fear of Non-Terrorists
I'm happy to see Juan Williams and his crappy analysis gone from NPR. But the whole ruckus over Juan Williams' firing from NPR over his admission that he does a double take when he sees people dressed in obviously Muslim garb is missing…