Gitmo Judge: Rape Threats Are Okay If They Don't Work
Here's what the military judge in the Omar Khadr trial, Colonel Patrick Parrish, said to justify admitting Khadr's own confessions as evidence. (h/t Carol Rosenberg, whose story on this ruling is here)
There is no credible evidence the accused…
In First Act as DNI, James Clapper Adds to Redundancy Competitive Analysis
When James Clapper testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee, he rejected one of the central criticisms in the WaPo's Top Secret America series--that the redundancy in the Intelligence Community contributed to waste and intelligence…
US Paramilitaries in Colombia: Now Twice as Illegal
Remember that Jeremy Scahill report that listed Colombia among the 75 places where JSOC has deployed?
The Nation has learned from well-placed special operations sources that among the countries where elite special forces teams working for…
Why Does Anthony Kennedy Hate Lindsey Graham?
This is a rather interesting public statement from the guy who--at least before Elena Kagan and her obscure views on executive power got sworn in--was the swing vote on SCOTUS. (h/t fatster)
"Article III courts are quite capable of trying these…
The Timing of the Ramzi bin al-Shibh Tapes
I wanted to point out two details of timing on the Ramzi bin al-Shibh tapes:
The tapes were made after CIA started getting worried about making interrogation tapes
The tapes were disclosed after the CIA started trying to figure out what…
How a Previously Qualified Elizabeth Warren became Unqualified, According to a Previously Progressive Chris Dodd
July 27: Chris Dodd says of Elizabeth Warren, "She's qualified, no question about that"
August 9: Katrina vanden Heuvel tweets that several sources have told her Elizabeth Warren would be nominated "next week"
August 12: Warren meets…
Blago Lesson: It's Okay to Sell a Senate Seat, So Long as You Don't Lie about It
All you Californians ought to be getting awfully nervous about Senate-Select Carly Fiorina about now. Because the lesson I take from the Rod Blagojevich verdict--he was found guilty of just one charge of lying to the FBI, while the jury remained…
Were the Ramzi bin al-Shibh Tapes Altered Like the Abu Zubaydah Tapes Were?
Given that the AP has filled in some details about the Ramzi bin al-Shibh tapes someone had hidden under a desk at CIA, I wanted to look back at the letter DOJ wrote to Leonie Brinkema in 2007, when the government first admitted it had been…
CIA Stores Their Torture Tape the Same Place Judy Miller Does!
Remember how Judy Miller stored the notes showing that the Vice President's lackey had leaked Valerie Plame's identity to her under her desk in a shopping bag? Remember how we mocked that kind of record keeping? Well, the AP reports that the…
Breaking News: Perry Prop 8 Stay Granted By 9th Circuit
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bmazThe 9th Circuit has granted the request for stay in the Perry Prop 8 case.
Our Paramilitaries and Their Militia Play Doctor
Jim White has an important observation about the increasing militarization of our aid operations in Afghanistan.
When the medical teams come from the very same organization that disappears innocent people in the middle of the night, the US…
"He didn't threaten anybody. He opined."
When Hal Turner was led away to jail for writing that three judges who had upheld the Chicago gun ban (which has since been overturned at SCOTUS) "deserved to be killed"--and provided maps to help his readers find the judges--his son insisted…
The Bully Pulpit with Training Wheels
Folks are still arguing about whether Obama's statement about the Cordoba House was sufficiently impassioned or whether his subsequent statements backtracked off the original statement.
Now, that's not to say that religion is without controversy.…
MoDo Applauds Gibbs for Making Shit Up
I know. It almost never pays to read one of MoDo's columns seriously. But enough good lefties are pointing to this one approvingly, I thought I'd do them the favor of pointing out how typically stupid it is.
Let's start with this lovely four-sentence…
I'll Take Choice "C:" Civil Society
Barely expressed in the NYT's long story about our use of paramilitary strikes in places we're not officially at war is a conflict between three choices. The NYT piece describes the first two--a covert war run by CIA and briefed to Congress,…
KumOnaWannaJudgeYa - 9th Circuit Has Post Perry Luau Fest!
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bmazJudges will be conferencing in Hawaii as they are faced with emergency stay requests by Prop 8 Proponents.
We Can't Restore Our Country If We Underpay the Folks Restoring Our Buildings
The lowest paid full time employees at the White House--Christopher Liegel and Elizabeth Jackson--make $37,826 and $37,983 respectively (they're both "Records Management Analysts"). They presumably also get those great benefits federal employees…
Khadr Trial Suspended for at Least 30 Days
Things are not going well in our Kangaroo Court. After quickly determining a fake sentence for Osama bin Laden's cook, Ibrahim al Qosi, matters turned to trying Omar Khadr for an alleged murder that normally wouldn't be a crime that he allegedly…
Meanwhile, Womb-Bearers Get Rights Too!
While everyone has been focused on the hope that gays and lesbians may soon get the rights straight people enjoy, in Florida a court ruled that womb-bearers have some rights too, specifically to decide their own medical treatment when pregnant.…
Breaking News: Judge Walker's Prop 8 Stay Decision
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bmazJudge Walker has made his decision on the motion to stay his judgment in the Proposition 8 case.