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…
The Final Countdown: Championship Sunday NFL Trash Talk
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bmazYep, that's right folks, it's the Final Countdown. No, I am not talking about the sudden exit of the narcissistic scold Keith Olbermann from MSNBC, the news will go on just fine without him, and MSNBC will undoubtedly continue to funnel an…
Who Is Paying for Dewey Clarridge's Old Spy Novels?
Update: I'm wrong about this being buried--it will be in tomorrow's NYT, so big coverage.
When Jeff Stein reported that Mullah Omar was rushed to a hospital for heart treatment, I was pretty sure the real story was about Dewey Clarridge's…
"Competitiveness" Is Peace
I spent much of the day yesterday pointing out how stupid it was for Obama to put outsourcer, China nut, and TBTF bankster Jeff Immelt in charge of his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Meanwhile, Paul Krugman and Robert Reich have been focusing…
Jeff Immelt's GE: The Too Biggest To Fail
In my first post on how stupid it was for Obama to pick Jeff Immelt for his election season commission to appear focused on jobs, I looked mostly at how much GE has been outsourcing manufacturing and technology. Though I mentioned GE's status…
Sanders: I hope Immelt changes his mind, focuses on rebuilding manufacturing in the US
As I noted earlier, President Obama just named Jeff "Nut on China" Immelt to head his election season effort to appear serious about jobs in the US.
I asked for a statement from Senator Bernie Sanders--who has been critical of the way…
Cheney/Obama Justice: 3 Detainees + 1 Jailed Whistleblower = 19,000 Rich Tax Cheats
As a July 1, 2009 Wikileak cable released by Norway's Aftenposten makes clear, the US and Switzerland included the acceptance of three Gitmo detainees and a settlement in a suit accusing UBS of harboring tax cheats--along with an effort…
Gulet Mohamed's Interrogation without Counsel: Is this the New Miranda Policy?
Gulet Mohamed, the teen held in Kuwait, allegedly beaten, and interrogated by the FBI while in custody, is finally back in the United States. But before he reunited with his family, he was subjected to one more interrogation without his lawyer.
FBI…
Obama's Kabuki Jobs Council, Brought to You By "Nut on China" Jeff Immelt
When Google announced that Eric Schmidt was stepping down yesterday, I joked that Schmidt must be leaving to lead Obama's campaign economy -- the one he'll use to get re-elected with. After all, Schmidt is one of the Obama's closest CEO…
Report Concludes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Personally Killed WSJ Reporter Danny Pearl
A long-term report on the murder of Danny Pearl has just been released. The WaPo describes the report this way.
A recently completed investigation of the killing of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan nine years ago makes public new evidence that a senior…
Some Terrorism Scares Are More Useful Than Other Terrorism Scares
Particularly at those increasingly frequent times when our country experiences political violence and terrorism, it's important to read David Neiwert, not least because his running list of domestic terror attacks demonstrates clearly that these…
UAW: A Seat at the Table
There's always a lot of tut-tutting when the White House releases the list of people who attend a state dinner. While a lot of that, for the dinner honoring Hu Jintao tonight, has to do with which members of Congress have blown off invites (John…
"Foreclosure," "Housing," and "HAMP" Not Part of Epic on Obama's Recovery Plan
Peter Baker has an almost 6500-word article describing Obama's efforts to fix the economy.
Obama’s frustration could set the tone for the remainder of his term. For all the trials of war and terrorism, the economy has come to define his…
So, Amazon, Visa, PayPal, Was It Worth Accepting Government Lies?
Mark Hosenball reports that aside from some pockets of short-term damage, the impact of the Wikileaks leak of diplomatic cables has been embarrassing, but not damaging.
Internal U.S. government reviews have determined that a mass leak of diplomatic…
Blindspots and Fear of the Working Class
I think a lot of the discussion about Freddie DeBoer's "the blindspot" (with Steve Hynd as one exception) focuses too closely on the personalities--on whether Jane is mean in print or whether Ezra is too conciliatory--and not on whether our…
The US Prevented BabyDoc from Returning in 2006, Why Not Now?
Five years ago, BabyDoc Duvalier applied for a passport for Haiti, threatening to return in a period leading up to elections. As a series of Wikileaks cables make clear, the US pressed hard--with apparent success--to prevent his return to Haiti.…
