Breaking: Albright Discovers That After Covering Buildings at Parchin With Pink Tarps, Iranians Now Removing Tarps!
It seemed that David Albright and his Institute for Science and International Security had reached a new low when on August 24 they wowed the world with their analytical powers by explaining to us the meaning of Iran draping buildings at…
Eric Holder Rewards the Teams that Gave Torturers and Mortgage Fraudsters Immunity
As TPM's Ryan Reilly noted yesterday, among the awards Attorney General Eric Holder gave out at yesterday's Attorney General's Award Ceremony was a Distinguished Service Award to John Durham's investigative team that chose not to prosecute Jose…
FBI Arrests Bangladeshi Goldfinger in the Stupidest FBI Sting Yet
As you've no doubt heard, the FBI has arrested another pathetically feeble alleged terrorist in another one of its FBI concocted stings. The FBI says their latest mark's name is Rezwanul Nafis, but I'm going to call him Goldfinger.
You see,…
Scary Iran Plotter Pleads Guilty
Manssor Arbabsiar has reportedly plead guilty to the plot to kill the Saudi Ambassador.
I look for a more detailed description of the plea deal.
But if he has indeed plead guilty we'll never get the answer to a question I've had: whether…
Nun on the Bus Tells Paul Ryan to Turn Off the Camera
[youtube]UgzQ5tjV_Fo[/youtube]
As I noted the other day, Paul Ryan's fake soup kitchen photo op was important not just because it shows him to be a big-footing asshole, but because he may have endangered the funding of a charity serving the…
Congressman Bill Young on Latest Constituent Killed in Afghanistan: "It Is That Bad"
Last month, Florida GOP Congressman Bill Young changed his stance on Afghanistan, stating that it is now time to withdraw as soon as possible and that "we’re killing kids that don’t need to die". Saturday, yet another of Young's constituents…
The Libya Question
I think I'm nearly alone on the left in believing the Libya question in last night's debate was not a total win for President Obama. I think he could have been even stronger than he was in his own answer, where he talked about how seriously…
DC Appeals Court Throws Out Hamdan Conviction
Back in 2009, then Assistant Attorney General David Kris predicted that appellate courts might throw out material support military commission convictions because material support is not a law of war crime.
There are two additional issues I…
Prediction: Mitt Will Condemn Capitalist Consolidation Tonight
If I had my way, President Obama would defend his investments in alternative energy by saying something like this:
In 1945, a great Democratic President sealed an alliance with our Saudi allies that cemented our energy security for the next…
How NATO Will Game the Numbers on Afghan National Security Force Size
Last month, when the combination of rising green on blue killings and anger over the anti-Islam film finally shut down most joint operations between NATO and Afghan forces, I predicted that this would lead quickly to Afghan National Security…
Will Paul Ryan's Photo Op Hurt a Catholic Charity's Efforts to Feed the Poor?
The Nuns on the Bus have been saying for months that Paul Ryan's miserly budgetary approach betrays his Catholic values. The Bishops agree. Joe Biden even called Ryan out for "taking issue" with the Church's social teachings.
Just days after…
Which Came First: The Radicalization, the Armed Jihadists, or the Monarchs Supporting "Democracy"?
There have been a series of reports on Syria that culminate in today's report that most of the arms being shipped to Syria have gone to jihadists.
Most of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel groups…
Malala Moved to UK for Treatment as Anger Aimed at Taliban Builds
Yesterday, Pakistan's MQM political party held a huge rally in Karachi in support of fourteen year old Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban on Tuesday because of her outspoken views on the education of girls in Pakistan's Swat…
R.I.P. Senator Specter, You Will Be Missed
The Snarlin has ceased; via CBS News:
US Senator Arlen Specter, whose political career took him from Philadelphia City Hall to the US Congress, died Sunday morning at his home in Philadelphia at the age of 82 from complications of non-Hodgkins…
Breaking: Panetta Equating Crude Iranian Cyberattacks with Pearl Harbor, Iran Infiltrated Aramco
Today, the NYT--serving its role as spokesperson for the Cold War against Iran--confirms what blabby Joe Lieberman told CSPAN last month: the government suspects Iran was behind a series of crude cyberattacks on US banks.
Or to put it differently,…
Trash With No Name
Sorry about the late hour of the Trash, I got a bit preoccupied with qualifying at the Korean Grand Prix and, well, fell asleep apparently. Mark Webber took pole with Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel close behind. Alonso's Ferrari took P4…
Panetta Misses Underlying Problem with Cyberwhines
We can play a game we often play here at emptywheel with Leon Panetta's address on cybersecurity last night. For each major attack he discusses or potential threat he envisions, there is an equivalent one that has or could easily happen without…
Corporations Are People, and Beans Are People, But Healthy Women Are Not People
[youtube]E2h8ujX6T0A[/youtube]
Contrary to just about everyone, I liked the way Martha Raddatz asked the abortion question in last night's debate, because it gave Joe Biden an opportunity to point out how Paul Ryan ignores the entire social…
Fourteen Dead and 170 Infected: Poor Regulation Built That
The latest figures indicate that fourteen people have died and at least 170 have been sickened by fungal meningitis arising from an injectable form of the steroid drug methylprednisolone. The bulk of the cases have occurred from patients receiving…
Putting the Torture Back in the Torture Whistleblowing Case
Kevin Gosztola has suggested and Josh Gerstein has confirmed that, along with Matthew Cole and Scott Shane, John Kiriakou has subpoenaed the Washington Post's Julie Tate to give a deposition in his leak case.
The Shane subpoena is unsurprising.…