DOJ Ethics: PIN Heads, Bloch Heads & The Rocket
Whoooosh! And, like that, the complete acquittal in USA v. William Roger Clemens came and went. The five year long, over $10 million Clemens prosecution was a joke on the tax paying American public.
And so it goes for one defendant accused…
Zardari Changes Prime Minister Candidates After Warrant Issued; Viral Video Mocks Powerful in Pakistan
In a week that has seen rapid changes in Pakistan's civilian government, it appears that President Asif Ali Zardari's political party, the PPP, has had to change its choice to replace Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who was ousted earlier…
After Month of False "Transparency," Administration Invokes Secrets Again
During the entire past month of leaks on targeted killings, I suspected that when the government finally got around to responding to the NYT and ACLU FOIAs for the OLC memo authorizing Anwar al-Awlaki's death, it would once again claim the topic…
Iran's Cat and Mouse Game at Parchin Continues; Albright Takes Bait Yet Again
After a disappointing ending to yesterday's final session of the P5+1 talks in Moscow, we now must deal with even more of the cat and mouse game Iran is playing at Parchin. I have posted on this issue a number of times, so I won't go back into…
Suicide Bomber in Khost Targets Biometric Screening Checkpoint?
A suicide bombing in Khost, Afghanistan has caused multiple casualties today. Accounts of the bombing by Reuters and the New York Times have substantial differences in pertinent details, but the Reuters account stands out because it suggests…
The Only Independent Reviewer of Targeting and Minimization Refuses to Review It
On May 4, Senate Intelligence Committee members Ron Wyden and Mark Udall asked the Intelligence Community Inspector General to determine whether it was feasible to determine how many US persons have been spied on under the FISA Amendments Act.
The…
Multiple Attacks in Kandahar Area Include at Least Two by Attackers in Afghan Police Uniforms
The last 24 hours or so have seen multiple attacks carried out in the Kandahar area. It appears that at least two of them were carried out by men wearing Afghan police uniforms. Only one of these two attacks is now being described as a "green…
Pakistan's Supreme Court Rules Gilani No Longer Prime Minister
On April 26, Pakistan's Supreme Court found Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in contempt of court for his refusal to ask Switzerland to re-open a corruption investigation into President Asif Ali Zardari. Today, the Supreme Court ruled that…
It's Not a Pee Pee or a Wee Wee, It's a Vagina
I gotta say, getting our asses handed to us has inspired progressives to put the party back in political party. And the performance of Vagina Monologues just yards from where State Rep Lisa Brown, 3 days ago, was silenced for saying vagina one…
Rocket Pitches A No Hitter; DOJ Whiffs A Golden Sombrero+2
Six up, and six down for William Roger Clemens. From Jim Bambach at Newsday:
Former Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens was acquitted Monday on all six counts in his trial on charges he lied to Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing…
Vaccination and Leak Wars
In spite of the fact that the Administration's cooperation with Hollywood on an Osama bin Laden flick is included among the leaks Republicans want investigated, there has been no discussion about how the CIA's use of a vaccination program as…
P5 +1 Talks Resume in Moscow With Iran Sanctions Set to Ratchet Up
The latest round of talks between the P5 + 1 countries and Iran on Iran's nuclear technology are underway today in Moscow amid mixed signals on whether any progress is expected. There is significant pressure on Iran in these negotiations as…
Michael Hayden's Stone Walling
As a number of outlets have reported, in his book, Daniel Klaidman describes Michael Hayden's effort to convince Obama to approve 6 torture techniques by demonstrating some of them on David Shedd.
But [Hayden's] most unusual prop was David…
Time to End the War in Iraq
The War Powers Resolution 6-Month Report has gotten unusual attention because it officially announces we're at war in Yemen and Somalia (though I suspect the Administration has only finally officially announced we're at war against al Qaeda…
The Machine Approving the Failing Flying Robots
As I noted earlier this week, drones have proven to be very expensive failures in the last few weeks.Yesterday, Danger Room described yet another example, the Army's Gray Eagle (and since I obsess about these things, note the failed chip).
Beginning…
The Soon to Be Announced War in Yemen
In response to my speculation that the Administration might be treating UndieBomb 2.0 as one part of a larger secret including our war against Yemeni insurgents led out of the NSC, a reader Mark Hosenball alerted us to Mark Hosenball's reporting…
The "Most Transparent Administration Ever" Treats Recess Appointments with Greater Secrecy than Illegal Wiretapping
Charlie Savage just released the OLC opinion he got in response to a FOIA on opinions relating to recess appointments (this became an issue after Obama appointed Richard Cordray head of the Consumer Financial Protection Board using a recess…
Ron Wyden: "An Obvious Question I Have Not Answered"
In the background of the larger drama of the leak witch hunts is a paragraph that, to me, summarizes where the balance between secrecy and sanity is in our country.
An obvious question that I have not answered here is whether any warrantless…
"Cozy Ties Between Regulators, Politicians and Utilities" Gives New Nuke Agency in Japan, Business as Usual on Wall Street
Reuters reports this morning that Japan's lower house of parliament has passed a law authorizing creation of a new nuclear regulatory agency. The second paragraph of the story stands out to me:
The 2011 Fukushima disaster cast a harsh spotlight…
DiFi Admits She Okayed Unleashing 21st Century WMD with Inadequate Details
The reason Dianne Feinstein is so torqued about the StuxNet story, according to this SFChron piece, is because she learned things from it that she didn't know as a Gang of Four member.
Feinstein declared, "This has to stop. When people say…