Anas al-Libi Dies of Cancer before Trial
Back in an October post laying out Abu Anas al-Libi's challenge of the interrogation he underwent on a Navy ship, I wrote,
Meanwhile, the government is not providing al-Libi cancer treatment doctors at Duke said during the summer he needs…
FISA "Physical Searches" of Raw Traffic Feeds, Hiding in Plain Sight?
I'm still trudging through NSA's reports to the Intelligence Oversight Board, which were document dumped just before Christmas. In this post, I want to examine why NSA is redacting one FISA authority, starting with this section of the Q1 2011…
The IOB Reports on the Internet Dragnet Violations: "Nothing to Report"
I've been working through the NSA's reports to the Intelligence Oversight Board. Given that we know so much about the phone and Internet dragnets, I have been particularly interested in how they got reported to the IOB.
By and large, though,…
NSA Obfuscated to Congress about Back Door Searches in 2009
The NSA got a lot of criticism for releasing its IOB reports on December 23, just as everyone was preparing for vacation. But there were three reports that -- at least when I accessed the interface -- weren't originally posted: Q3 and Q4 2009…
Emptywheel's Bowl Mania Trash Talk
Wildcard weekend in the NFL is coming up soon! But, it is New Years Eve and we are well into the meat of NCAA Bowl Season. There are both traditional bowls to yammer about and the new fangled college Football Playoffs. A cornucopia if you will!…
How ABC Investigative Reports Turn into NSA Briefings to the SSCI
I'm still working through the NSA reports to the Intelligence Oversight Board posted right before Christmas. Here's a detail (in the Q4 2008 report) I find interesting:
The Shadow Factory was published on October 14, 2008.
8 days…
As FBI's Amerithrax Case Continues to Crumble, Bureau Digs in on North Korea Claims
Less than 10 days ago, Jim laid out yet more evidence that the FBI's claimed explanation for the anthrax attack -- that USAMRIID researcher Bruce Ivins not only perpetrated the attack, but did so acting alone -- was scientifically problematic.…
Lanny Breuer's Conflicts
NYT has a story based off a CREW FOIA for details of FBI's investigations into John Ensign's efforts to buy off his mistress' husband. While the details show Ensign was even more sleazy than we knew, I'm at least as interested in this passage:
The…
No, the War in Afghanistan Did Not End
Yesterday afternoon, an AP article proudly announced to us that the war in Afghanistan has ended:
Unfortunately, the AP headline is total bullshit. There was indeed a ceremony in Kabul yesterday. And yes, it did mark (for the second time),…
End of the NFL Regular Road and Start of Bowl Season Coach Lombardi Trash Talk
Here we are at the cusp of the end of the regular season line for the NFL and official start of the college football bowl season. Man, things are not what they used to be. As I write this, I am watching the Fiesta Bowl Parade on local TV. It…
Stellar Wind and the Intelligence Oversight Board Reports
As I noted, the NSA released its quarterly reports to the Intelligence Oversight Board as a FOIA-coal-for-Christmas present. In them, we see how the NSA executed a bit of legal chicanery with respect to Stellar Wind which had previously been…
The Phone Dragnet Classified Appendix
The government has been releasing a bunch of documents under FOIA while we're all out celebrating: a classification review of the two earlier Section 215 IG Reports, as well as NSA's reports to the Intelligence Oversight Board (though thus…
We Found the Plum Pudding!
Sorry I've been absent of late--been either driving or celebrating with family. I did, however, go on a Twitter rant yesterday about the various means of tracking Santa. You can read most of it here.
I hope you're…
Expectations of Light Ahead
This painting by Swedish painter Carl Larsson, dated 1904, depicts a Christmas Eve gathering. Family members present are not giddy but quietly enjoying the prospect of the feast they will share, set out before them. Snow falls outside in…
Did Jello Jay Rockefeller Endorse Torture Based on a Fabrication?
Over at Al Jazeera, I have a piece about ASSET Y, a CIA source whose fabricated claimed served as one excuse to restart both the torture and the Internet dragnet (ASSET Y's intelligence was the excuse to restart torture).
Buried amid details…
GAO Analysis Highlights Lab Samples Excluded in Sloppy FBI Anthrax Investigation
As the last Friday before Christmas, late yesterday afternoon was the most obvious Friday news dump hour of the year, and the government didn't disappoint. The Government Accountability Office released the results of a twenty-three month long…
Week 16 Trash Talk
Hey, turns out there is actual NFL football on today. Who knew? The early game is on the NFL Network, and features the Eagles at the dysfunctional Redskins. Not long ago, the Eagles had the best record in the league, now they don't even control…
Broad Response By Pakistan to Peshawar School Attack
The deadly attack by Pakistan's Taliban, the TTP, against a school in Peshawar on Tuesday has prompted a huge and sweeping response in Pakistan and beyond. Perhaps most significantly, Pakistan's army chief, General Raheel Sharif, went to Kabul…
We're Going to Start a War to Protect a Negligent Corporation's Property?
Over at Salon, I've got a piece pushing back against claims that threats made by hackers attributed to -- with little concrete evidence -- North Korea is an attack on our First Amendment rights. It's not. It's an attack on Sony's property (or,…
John Galt Faces Prison For Contaminating West Virginia Water
Back in January, John Galt proclaimed his independence from pesky regulatory oversight in West Virginia when he contaminated the drinking water supply of over 300,000 residents. Recall that Galt did his damage through his appropriately named…