I Always Hated Pink, Anyway
From when I was 6 until I was 16, in two different houses, my bedroom was painted pink. I don't think I ever liked the color, but I learned to loathe it along the way, even if it was just my parents' half-hearted attempt to encourage me to be…
When Was the Last Time a Pope Was Shit-faced Drunk On the Streets of Paris?
The answer to that question is actually early on the morning of April 17, 2010, at least if you read chapter 11 of Michael Hastings' "The Operators" (the chapter is titled "Totally Shit-faced").
Well, it was Stanley McChrystal and his…
Mitt Cozying Up to Foreclosure Mill that Got McCain in Trouble
Back in 2008, John McCain's campaign shacked up with one of MI's two notorious foreclosure mills, Trott & Trott. That housing situation became rather uncomfortable after the Macomb County GOP Chair asserted, in an on-the-record interview,…
The NYPD Profiles Everyone's Favorite Terrorist Group, MEK
As I noted yesterday, the latest installment of Goldman and Apuzzo's exposure of the CIA-on-the-Hudson relies on a 2006 document laying out plans to profile Iranians and Shiites (and Palestinians) in anticipation of heightened US-Iranian conflict.
New…
Your Summer Schedule: Vacation, Beach, Iran War
Man, if Leon Panetta doesn't get into trouble for revealing details of Anwar al-Awlaki's targeting or confirming that Pakistani doctor Shikal Afridi was working for the CIA when he collected DNA from Osama bin Laden's compound, I wonder if he'll…
Target of New Year's Day Firebombing Also Target of NYPD Intelligence Collection
The latest Goldman and Apuzzo report on the CIA-on-the-Hudson provides proof that Ray Kelly and Mike Bloomberg's claims that religious institutions are not profiled are false.
The New York Police Department recommended increasing surveillance…
Government Awards $35 Million Contract to Expand Parwan Prison
The Obama Administration insists that it wants to close Gitmo, but Congress is preventing them from doing so.
They rarely talk about the other big detainee prison--the one with significantly less transparency and due process than exists at…
Anthrax Sent to Pakistan's PM Begs Question of Whether FBI Investigated Presumed Anthrax Sent to US Pak Embassy in 2001
Yesterday's revelation by Pakistan that a package containing anthrax had been sent to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has both shocked Gilani's security staff and provoked memories that anthrax was sent to multiple targets in Pakistan in late…
The Administration's Many Excuses for Hiding Its Targeted Killing Memo
Remember this article? It describes the debate within the Administration over how readily and extensively to acknowledge the US killing of Anwar al-Awlaki. As it describes, the debate was at least preliminarily resolved at a Situation Room meeting…
Ron Wyden Suggests Secret PATRIOT GPS Tracking May Be Illegal Under Jones
As I've suggested in my posts on US v Jones, the Justices seemed opposed to the kind of tracking we believe the government is doing under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. Yet of the three opinions ruling the warrantless use of GPS tracking in…
Michael Hayden's Risky and Edgy Schadenfreude
I've long suspected the reason Republicans have pursued Fast and Furious so relentlessly--and more importantly, have tried to implicate Eric Holder in it personally--is to exact revenge on the Attorney General because he deigned to investigate…
The Non-Counterterrorist Drone Loophole: Did Clapper Admit We Targeted Iranian Scientists?
One of the most interesting exchanges in yesterday's Threat Assessment hearing occurred between Ron Wyden and James Clapper--with David Petraeus, whom Wyden calls out, observing silently (the exchange starts at 1:01).
Wyden: Let me wrap up…
Newest Leaked NATO Report Aimed at Preventing Afghanistan Withdrawal?
Fresh on the heels of the "leak" to the New York Times two weeks ago of an already public report on Afghan troops killing US troops, another NATO report casting a bad light on the current war effort in Afghanistan has been leaked. This time…
Dianne Feinstein Calls James Clapper a Polyanna on Afghanistan
The takeaway the stenographers have gotten from yesterday's intelligence threat assessment is that the Scary Iran Plot means Iran wants to target us in this country.
They reported that even as Dianne Feinstein made it clear James Clapper…
Dianne Feinstein Complains about Executive Branch Blabbing
In her statement at the beginning of the Threat Intelligence Assessment hearing today, Dianne Feinstein complained that the Executive Branch continues to blab about things that are supposed to be secret (this starts around 11:00).
I'd also…
CIA's Drone Cowboys Complaining about "General Betrayus"
Remember when it was verboten to criticize David Petraeus, particularly in anticipation of his testimony to Congress?
Apparently it's okay to do so if you run a secret killer drones program. While couched in anonymous sources, this story…
Did Ivins Move the Refrigerator? New Cold Facts Cast Further Doubt on Amerithrax Conclusions
The top-notch Frontline/ProPublica/McClatchy group that has been continuing to investigate the anthrax attacks of 2001 and the subsequent Amerithrax investigation by the FBI posted some photos on Monday that they obtained through FOIA requests.…
Never Put Money within Reach of Jamie Dimon
I actually don't think Federal Reserve Bank of NY Board Member Jamie Dimon got his hands on the almost $3 billion of Iraqi money deposited in the FBRNY that has vanished.
An audit by [Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart]…
Dennis Ross' Red Phone
Ha'aretz reported today that, as part of an ongoing unpaid consulting gig with the Administration, Dennis Ross has a secure phone that allows him to discuss classified issues with the White House.
Apparently, a short while after Ross left his…
Leon's Book of Law
Glenn Greenwald and Adam Serwer already hit this part of 60 Minutes interview with Leon Panetta yesterday. But I wanted to tie Panetta's comments about how, "in his book" a citizen who wants to attack our people and kill Americans is first…