The Washington Post: Defense Department officials announced yesterday that the Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which has been deployed in Mosul since last summer, will be extended for as long as 120 days to boost security in Baghdad.
28 July 2006
progress in the WOT
slow and steady... this is encouraging: KOLKATA (Reuters) - Pakistan has sought the help of an Indian state to revamp its system of madrasas after accusations some of the Islamic schools teach religious hatred and are breeding grounds for militancy. ~ "We have read about the madrasas of West Bengal and hopefully we can replicate them in our reforms program," Mohammed Khalid Jamali, a first secretary at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi, told Reuters late on Thursday.
"We have written to the West Bengal government to gather knowledge about religious tolerance practiced in the madrasas, the curriculum and the successful reforms program," he said.
27 July 2006
NEWSWEEK: Making Enemies
Hamas and Hizbullah should not be confused with Al Qaeda. Bush's insistence on doing so shows his failure to understand his foes. [definitely worth reading the full article]
"lefty spook du jour"
LOL! Labels are fun, aren't they? Nevermind that he was a FOX News consultant and contributor... it's inconvenient to tell the truth, ain't it Paul?
fraud, waste and abuse
Thy name is DHS. It's well past time to disband DHS, return its member agencies to their previous status, and simply make security and counter-terrorism programs a National priority. Enough is enough.
26 July 2006
Was your motorcycle stolen from your California home?
you're apparently not alone. C/o ResourceShelf's Docuticker:
“The National Insurance Crime Bureau today announced the top ten states for motorcycle thefts in 2005. They are, with theft totals in parentheses, as follows:”1. California (9,110) 2. Florida (6,324) 3. Texas (5,755) 4. North Carolina (3,053) 5. Ohio (2,573) 6. Arizona (2,464) 7. New York (2,195) 8. Indiana (2,186) 9. Georgia (2,159) 10. Pennsylvania (2,021)
25 July 2006
Judge: enough crying wolf about National security
Judge Denies Government and AT&T Motions to Dismiss NSA Case "The compromise between liberty and security remains a difficult one. But dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security."
200 year old whales
more from National Geographic:
Rare Whales Can Live to Nearly 200, Eye Tissue Reveals Scientists have looked into the eyes of rare bowhead whales and learned that some of them can outlive humans by generations—with at least one male pushing 200 years old. "About 5 percent of the population is over a hundred years old and in some cases 160 to 180 years old," said Jeffrey Bada, a marine chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.
cool
National Geographic: Radar images of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, reveal a continent-size region of river valleys, hills, plains, and mountains. The area looks remarkably similar to terrain here on Earth, scientists say.
blast from the past
Bush, 2000: "As president, should I become the president, I will rebuild the military power of the United States of America,´´ Bush told the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Milwaukee. ~ "The current administration inherited a military ready for the dangers and challenges facing our nation. The next president will inherit a military in decline,´´ Bush said. "The best intentions and the highest morale are undermined by back-to-back deployments, poor pay, shortages of spare parts and equipment and rapidly declining readiness.´´
FAS: DOD DOCTRINE ON MILITARY DECEPTION
The role of deception in military operations is illuminated and elaborated in a new Department of Defense doctrinal publication. Military deception refers to "those actions executed to deliberately mislead adversary decision makers as to friendly military capabilities, intentions, and operations, thereby causing the adversary to take specific actions (or inactions) that will contribute to the accomplishment of the friendly mission." The principles of deception and their execution are described in some detail in the 79 page publication. Some types of deception are "perfidious" and are prohibited by the laws of war. "Acts of perfidy include, but are not limited to: feigning surrender or waving a white flag in order to lure the enemy into a trap; misuse of protective signs, signals, and symbols in order to injure, kill, or capture the enemy;" and so on. Even when properly executed, a deception operation or cover story "may fail for many reasons. It is possible that the target will not receive the story, not believe the story, be unable to act, be indecisive even if the story is believed, act in unforeseen ways, or may discover the deception." Furthermore, the document explains, one must assume that the enemy is also engaged in deception, creating the need for "counterdeception" programs, both defensive and offensive. Offensive counterdeception "focuses on forcing an adversary to expend resources and continue deception operations that have been detected by reinforcing the perception that friendly forces are unaware of them." The new publication concludes with a series of maxims summarizing central lessons of experience in the field, and a suggested reading list. See "Military Deception," Joint Publication 3-13.4, July 13, 2006: http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3_13_4.pdf
23 July 2006
new DHS authorization requires establishment of "comprehensive information sharing network"
and national biosurveillance integration system... FCW.com
22 July 2006
yep
WAR IS THE ultimate sire of unintended consequences. And there is no reason to believe that what has been true of past wars will not be true of the current Mideast war -- a conflict in which Iranian and Syrian missiles fired by the Lebanese Shi'ite militia Hezbollah are landing in Israeli towns while Israel's air force drops bombs not only on Hezbollah positions and weapons but on Lebanon's infrastructure and on the civilian population.
The sooner the bombs and rockets are stopped, the better for all concerned. [more at The Boston Globe]
good point
Target practice If just about anything can be considered a terrorist target, there is little point in keeping a list
medical journals as BigPharma propaganda tools
NYT: July 23, 2006, Our Conflicted Medical Journals Leading medical journals seem to be having a difficult time disentangling themselves from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. If they cannot stop printing articles by scientists with close ties to these businesses, they should at least force the authors to disclose their conflicts of interest publicly so that doctors and patients are forewarned that the interpretations may be biased. ~~~~~~ An even more egregious set of events occurred at Neuropsychopharmacology, which recently published a favorable assessment of a controversial new treatment for depression resistant to conventional therapies. Left unmentioned was that eight of the nine authors serve as consultants to the company that makes the device used in the therapy. The ninth works directly for the company. Just to make things particularly incestuous, the lead author of the study is the journal’s editor and a consultant to the company. He has been accused in the past of promoting therapies in which he had a financial stake.
21 July 2006
Chicago Tribune makes an excellent point
Who fights for Lebanon? More than a week of Israeli airstrikes have pounded Hezbollah targets, but have also, tragically, killed Lebanese civilians. It's unclear how many rockets Hezbollah has left, but it's likely to be a considerable number. Now a full-blown Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon is hinted. Israel may calculate that it is the only way to effectively push Hezbollah far from the Israel border and silence the rocket fire into Israeli towns. But that carries huge risks. And the pressure to stop the violence is growing. On Thursday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for an immediate halt to the escalating conflict, echoing the words of Lebanon's prime minister, Fuad Siniora. Israel faces a tough choice. If it invades, it faces the bitter prospect of a protracted war that will likely create more sympathy for Hezbollah among the Lebanese. But if it accepts a cease-fire, Hezbollah is still there, still holding kidnapped Israeli soldiers, having burnished its credentials as a real power in the region. Hezbollah's leaders will have trumped the Lebanese government and shown the world that they--and by extension, Syria and Iran--are running the country. And that would be a disastrous outcome. Lebanon, with the UN's help, finally expelled most Syrian troops and agents last year. That was an inspirational moment for the country. Its success as a democracy is crucial to reshaping the Middle East. But Siniora's government has been unable or unwilling to move on a UN directive to disarm Hezbollah and station its own army on the border with Israel. At a meeting of foreign diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, Siniora ripped the nations that have resisted putting pressure on Israel to halt its military operations. "Is this what the international community calls self-defense?" "Is this the price we pay for aspiring to build our democratic institutions?" No, it is, unfortunately, the price Lebanon is paying for permitting Hezbollah, a part of the government, to pursue its own belligerent foreign policy. Lebanon has some 70,000 troops doing ... what? The standard explanation is that the government is too weak, too divided, and that ordering the Army to disarm Hezbollah in the south could kindle another civil war. But UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said in an April report that the Lebanese army could take up positions in southern Lebanon. "The Lebanese Army Command has informed me that it faces no operational constraints in creating a presence in the south ... but has not received political instructions to take such action," he wrote. Israel faces a tough choice--but Lebanon does too. Doing nothing may bring the same result as doing something: the fall of the government, a possible resurgence of civil war. But this is a government born to unite and defend Lebanon for all its citizens. Hezbollah fights for Syria and Iran. Who fights for Lebanon?
20 July 2006
report: US Government Health Care Spending is Unsustainable
"One way to think about the unsustainability of the current path over time is to compare the United States and Canada. If private sector health care spending grows at the same rate as the public sector, the United States will be spending two-thirds of its national income on health care by 2050." [the full report from the National Center for Policy Analysis is here]
19 July 2006
primum non nocere
Let this be a lasting lesson... hospital staff and medical workers can't just kill people when they find it difficult to care for them.
"This is not euthanasia. This is homicide," Attorney General Charles Foti told reporters. "We're talking about people that pretended that maybe they were God."
18 July 2006
FEMA to Lousiana: "This hurricane season, we will do your jobs for you...
...because we don't want your negligence to cause the death of another 1000 people. All we need is some basic information... "
straight shootin Putin
The Washington Post: 'Democracy,' Russian-Style Bush: "There will be a Russian-style democracy... I don't expect Russia to look like the United States." When Mr. Bush recommended democratic reform for Russia, Mr. Putin went for the jugular: "We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq," he said. When questioned about Russia's rampant corruption, Mr. Putin suggested that the British were the experts, and he invoked a campaign finance scandal that has tainted Mr. Blair.Is Bush capable of calculating anything correctly? This man is dangerously ignorant.
17 July 2006
no shit Sherlock
Frank Luntz and Karl Rove figured this out long ago. Some experiment. How Common Ground of 9/11 Gave Way to Partisan Split
NYT: The Real Agenda
so true: It is only now, nearly five years after Sept. 11, that the full picture of the Bush administration’s response to the terror attacks is becoming clear. Much of it, we can see now, had far less to do with fighting Osama bin Laden than with expanding presidential power. [full editorial here]
16 July 2006
WaPo: Wiretap Surrender
SENATE JUDICIARY Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has cast his agreement with the White House on legislation concerning the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance as a compromise -- one in which President Bush accepts judicial review of the program. It isn't a compromise, except quite dramatically on the senator's part. Mr. Specter's bill began as a flawed but well-intentioned effort to get the program in front of the courts, but it has been turned into a green light for domestic spying. It must not pass.
13 July 2006
tell me about it
The fact is, for most Americans, this war is an abstraction,'' says Sgt. Zack Bazzi, one of three soldiers featured in ``The War Tapes,'' a provocative new documentary opening Friday for an exclusive run at the Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose. ``It's a yellow ribbon, it's a bumper sticker, it's a care package to a soldier, or a pat on the back to someone in uniform as they walk through an airport. But that's it. The American people, whether they support this war or don't support it, are taking a position on something about which they are fundamentally ignorant.'' [War in the raw: U.S. SOLDIERS IN IRAQ WIELD CAMERAS TO SHOW REALITIES TRANSCENDING POLITICAL DIFFERENCES]
"This is an economy-driven insurgency,"
a very interesting report from Boise Weekly chronicling the Idaho 116th Brigade Combat Team's tour of duty in Iraq. Worth reading from top to bottom. [Postcards from Hell: A two-week series about the year-long Iraq tour of the Idaho 116th Brigade Combat Team] excerpts: "The battalion that was there before us, the 1-27th Infantry, had 130-some IEDs go off against them during their year," Kincheloe says. "We had 900-plus." ~~~~~~ And when it comes to the enemy, Turnbow's story also reveals it's often not who we think it is. Who is the AIF? (Part One)
By using the vague acronym AIF ("anti-Iraqi forces"), the military concedes that there is no single, clear-cut enemy in Iraq. Sometimes the enemy is surprising.
Turnbow has a good idea who tried to blow him up last year in northern Iraq--and it wasn't someone on the usual list of Al-Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam, Islamists, jihaddis, Wahabbis, Baathists, Saddam loyalists or common criminals. His hunch is: "Colonel Faisal of the Iraqi Army. He's the battalion commander at Taza and an individual I worked very closely with," Turnbow says. "I was never able to substantiate that with enough proof to reel him in, but I think I came close."
As a former member of the Iraqi special forces, Faisal had the know-how to set up a car bomb; he had knowledge of Turnbow's movements; and, after two quick disputes with Turnbow involving a contract to feed the local Iraqi troops for a year, Faisal may have had sufficient motive. Turnbow says that Faisal created a side company and put in a bid, which was rejected because it wasn't competitive. Then Turnbow learned Faisal was strong-arming the winning bidder.
"First, I reject his bid on the food contract, then I have the nerve to inquire why my contractor is being shook down after leaving the gate and being paid. I think these factors led to his desire for my life," Turnbow says. ~~~~~~
"I went over there expecting Fallujah every day. [But] a lot of the job is a humanitarian mission," Kish says. "When we trained to go to Iraq, we trained to fight in the streets every day ... which gives you the expectation everyone you meet wants to kill you. And that's not true."
"The situation over there changes so much. It's so fluid." That training was outdated by the time they arrived, Kincheloe says. ~~~~~~
"This is not a war, it's a police action," Turnbow says. "We [National Guardsmen] tend to talk more to people. Active duty rolls into town and they lay down the law. I think it gives more of an occupation feel ... I don't think the populace felt so occupied when we were there."
Yet noting the bomb attack on himself and the 900-plus against Task Force Griz, Turnbow says, "No matter how much good you do, you're always the Sheriff of Nottingham." ~~~~~~
Is There Progress?
"You ask me a question I ask myself every day. I want to know how my story ends," Turnbow says. "To be honest, I'm not sure how to answer."
There may no longer be a nation of Iraq, he senses, noting that Iraqis cheer the misfortune of countrymen from a different sect or ethnicity. "It took a tyrant like Saddam to hold it together," he says.
After a year of funding Iraqi Army and police projects, Turnbow believes nothing will change until Americans take their checkbook and leave, forcing Iraqis to act on their own.
"We are treating this like a colonial power," Kincheloe says. "Drop the lines and let the people split up into three states."
hallelujah!
Good riddance! In a fitting final tribute to one of the most infamous traffic bottlenecks on the East Coast, one last dashboard-pounding jam is likely to occur this weekend at the old Woodrow Wilson Bridge as southbound motorists are shifted onto the new span. The last driver to cross the decaying 45-year-old structure will probably do so Saturday, at the midpoint of a weekend of backups that will begin at 8 p.m. tomorrow when the inner loop of the Capital Beltway is reduced to a single lane so it can be realigned with the new bridge.
12 July 2006
Halliburton's feast at the Iraq trough is over
Good news for the American taxpayer, bad news for the malfeasants.
she said it
"While I appreciated the visit last week by Undersecretary Levey -- after the program's existence was reported in the media -- our oversight obligations are far from fulfilled." - House Oversight Subcommittee Chairwoman Sue Kelly (R-NY)... [from GovExec.com]
11 July 2006
you had me until the 6th word
"One of my favorite bloggers, crazy f'ing moonbat" You had such a good start too...
passing thought: on hackishness in the echo chamber
The more you droan on and on about how the SWIFT article in the New York Times somehow endangers America... or foolishly proclaim that the decision to publish the story was politically-motivated to cause election year damage to George Bush... or draw parallels to today's bombing in Bombay as some sort of illustration of what could now happen 'thanks to' the decision to publish the story.... the more you make known to the World that the partisan hack with the political agenda is actually you.
Robert Novak Acknowledges Confidential Administration Sources
Washington Post: In a column to be published on Wednesday, Novak said he told Fitzgerald in early 2004 that White House senior adviser Karl Rove and then-CIA spokesman Bill Harlow had confirmed for him, at his request, information about CIA operative Valerie Plame. Novak said he also told Fitzgerald about another senior administration official who originally provided him with the information about Plame, and whose identity he says he cannot reveal even now.
10 July 2006
Fear as a Weapon
Commentary: How the Bush administration got away with its abuses of power. By Glenn Greenwald
09 July 2006
Bush quickly losing support of fellow republicans
"These allegations may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of the law, and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies." [more from the NYT]
quote of the day
Josh Marshall: If you need help getting your car out of a ditch, would you turn to the guy who just drove it in there or to the stranger who stops to help?
Christian Science Monitor: The government's current war with the free press
You would not expect that I, as a journalist, would exhibit total neutrality in such a war. And so let me quote Justice Potter Stewart in his opinion in the Pentagon Papers case in 1971: "In the absence of governmental checks and balances present in other areas of our national life, the only effective restraint upon executive policy and power in the area of national defense and international affairs may lie in an enlightened citizenry.... Without an informed and free press, there cannot be an enlightened people." [full report here]
08 July 2006
CRS: U.S. Democracy Promotion Policy in the Middle East: The Islamist Dilemma
This report assesses U.S. policy toward Islamist organizations in the Arab world, specifically those groups that have renounced violence and terrorism. The report analyzes U.S. government attitudes toward Islamist movements and investigates how U.S. democracy promotion policy is applied in three Arab countries with a significant Islamist presence in the political sphere: Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan. ~ As U.S. democracy promotion policies have moved forward, policy makers have confronted a significant dilemma: how to respond to challenges posed by political Islamist movements (i.e. parties and political organizations that promote social and political reform in accordance with Islamic religious principles that may lead them to oppose U.S. foreign policy). In response to this dilemma, some observers have questioned whether the United States should exert pressure on Arab governments to open their political systems and respect human rights with the knowledge that such steps, if successful, may benefit Islamist groups. Representing a powerful and popular political force in the Arab world today, many Islamist political parties and organizations are largely opposed, at least rhetorically, to key aspects of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, such as support for Israel, the occupation of Iraq, and the large U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf. Elections in Iraq, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority that were supported by the United States have strengthened the political positions of Islamist organizations, including, in the case of Hamas, armed groups that have refused to renounce violence. Non-violent Islamist groups, which have chosen or been permitted to peacefully participate in politics, present their own challenges to U.S. policy makers. ~ While many continue to speculate over the direction of U.S. democracy promotion in the Middle East, Congress may use its oversight authority to bring further clarity to the Administration's regional strategy, particularly on the issue of dealing with Islamist groups. [download the full report here]
07 July 2006
they're not gonna just 'go away' people
A younger, savvier global terror cell and we're not going to bomb them away either. So it's about time we got a wee bit smarter about our problem.
Maryland's embarassing drunken uncle
Senile William Donald Schaefer really has become an embarassment to the State of Maryland. Hopefully this is the year that the old man decides to finally go away. The Schaefer legacy?
Originally published July 7, 2006
It is a sad thing to watch the self-destruction of an 84-year-old politician who meant so much to Baltimore for so many years. But the days of excuse-making are long since past. We can no longer dismiss William Donald Schaefer's tirades, his petty, misinformed and often incoherent soliloquies before the Board of Public Works, as merely Schaefer being Schaefer. This is no amusing quirk of personality, no unintended gaffe. This is calculated political theater, and its premeditation makes it all the more pathetic.
In a display that made even his most die-hard supporters cringe, Mr. Schaefer railed against the cost of educating immigrant children and Korean children in particular at this week's board meeting. His ire was provoked by a public school testing program that is financed by federal funds and required by federal law. Afterward, when he was questioned by Sun reporter Jennifer Skalka about why he objects to teaching English to non-English-speaking students, his response was to call her a "sweet little girl." And when asked if he would debate Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens, a fellow Democratic candidate for comptroller, he said he "wouldn't debate her on how to bake a chocolate cake."
What is the purpose of such behavior? To remind voters of his irrational anger toward a McDonald's clerk with poor English language skills he publicly ridiculed two years ago? Or perhaps he thought the electorate had forgotten his videotaped "walk again" remark to a young female state employee, which transformed him into a national laughingstock earlier this year. Surely it is not the behavior of a comptroller who has filed for re-election, not one who wants to retain his office - or a respected legacy. Polls suggest Mr. Schaefer is vulnerable this fall. He faces credible opponents in the Democratic primary. These bizarre State House episodes, Wednesday's deliberate demeaning of women and immigrants being only the most recent example, go well beyond the pale. People are openly wondering if Mr. Schaefer's health or mental state is sound. It's hard to blame them. What a tragic denouement to a remarkable career of public service. And what a shame that the rest of us must bear witness to it.
06 July 2006
Vladimir Putin - bonafide freak
This doesn't even make sense: "He seemed to me very independent, very serious, but at the same time a boy is always vulnerable. He was very sweet. I'll be honest, I felt an urge to squeeze him like a kitten and that led to the gesture that I made, there was nothing behind it really," he said, smiling.
peace in the Middle East
How pathetic. Something that everyone seems to agree on... all substantive differences between Jews, Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem get set aside based on a common hatred of gay people. Bigotry unites. Jerusalem Post: "Religious leaders protest gay parade - Even as the ties between Palestinian and Israeli politicians strained against the current crises in Gaza, religious officials from the Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities united Tuesday to oppose a gay pride parade in Jerusalem."
I'm pretty sure there's a law against this
a very specific one, actually. C/o the Law Librarian Blog:
DOD Spying on Student Protest Groups Extended to Monitoring E-Mail
The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that the DOD monitored e-mail messages from college student who were planning protests against the war in Iraq and against the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy against gay and lesbian members of the armed forces, according to surveillance reports released last month per a FOIA request by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The FOIA request covered government surveillance at the State University of New York at Albany, Southern Connecticut State University, the University of California at Berkeley, and William Paterson University of New Jersey. [JH]
its your birthday!!
We all know it's tough to be the King. So, in appreciation for all you've done for us, we dedicate this front page article to you about how your life is so challenging. We sincerely hope things get easier for you. Maybe another vacation?
05 July 2006
the halls of the Pentagon
“Over the years, you learn that 95 percent of the good stories you get in the hallways. The more you’re out in the hallways the more likely you are to stumble on a story or pick up on vibes,” said Martin. When you read or hear something attributed to a senior defense department official, said Martin, it’s probably from a conversation that took place in the hallways. [more here]
read every single word
When the history of this war is written, this editorial lethargy will receive just as much condemnation as the faulty reporting on WMD before the war... [E&P: Blood on Our Hands]
DEADLINE: July 14th
why do I have a feeling this is a deadline that'll be missed? Rumsfeld subpoenaed over Abu Ghraib [excerpt] Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., signed the subpoena on Shay's behalf. "When the committee requests information from executive branch departments and agencies, we try to be reasonable and accommodate their legitimate concerns about the volume and the sensitivity of what we're asking for," he said. "But if the [Defense] Department won't even return a call, after three months, and begin that dialogue, we really have no choice but to subpoena the material and compel their attention to our request." Davis, Shays and Waxman are seeking: ? Provance's unredacted testimony; ? All communications relating to the interrogation, treatment or detention at Abu Ghraib of Iraqi General Hamid Zabar, his son and any other relatives; ? Communications relating to any other cases in which family members of detainees or others held at Abu Ghraib were involved in any way in an interrogation; ? All drafts of the report on the investigation of Abu Ghraib; ? All communications relating to information provided by Provance about Abu Ghraib.
"perception management"
interesting Recognising its vulnerability to information and media flows, the DoD has identified the information domain as its new 'asymmetric flank'. In a series of recent internal studies, the Pentagon has made it a priority to become more adept at influencing perceptions of a military campaign, both in the theatre of conflict itself and in the wider viewing audience. Against this background, the investigation into the incident at Haditha takes on an added importance. As well as determining whether or not an atrocity was committed, the DoD is seeking to communicate the message that such incidents are neither typical of nor intrinsic to US counter-insurgency operations in Iraq.
indeed
ArmsControlWonk.com: Taepo-Dud
The North Korean have now blown it by actually testing a system that was always worth much more as a bargaining chip than as a military capability. Continued attempts to hype the threat (by either the DPRK or the National Missile Defense Agency) will now be much harder to make with a straight face. (Good thing the Senate added funds to the anti-missile program last week, before it became clear Kim was drawing to an inside straight). Finally, all those reporters and analysts who have been talking about both the North Korean missiles and the US anti-missiles as if both were proven capabilities should slap themselves in the face and snap out of it.
david ignatius to Bush administration: TRUST MUST BE EARNED
The administration should be working carefully with Congress to build a permanent legal framework -- rather than using anti-terrorist agitprop against the New York Times in an effort to patch together the old scaffolding. The government needs a new legal structure partly to help keep its secrets. "Trust us" is not a winning argument in America -- either with newspaper editors or the public at large. Trust in government is earned by a pattern of trustworthy action, not by secrecy, evasion and partisan division. And the best way to rebuild lost trust is informed public debate.
04 July 2006
Balt. Sun - Celebrate the patriotism of dissent
July 4, 2006 WASHINGTON -- Let's take note of what Independence Day has become and what it should mean.
To the faux-patriotic pomp and bombast we have come to associate with this day of celebration-cum-commemoration have now been added the devil's ingredients of indefinite post-9/11 security paranoia and militaristic arrogance.
We have taken too much to heart, too unthinkingly, John Adams' vision for the day, described in a July 3, 1776 letter to his wife Abigail: "I am apt to believe that [Independence Day] will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. ... It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews [shows], games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more."
Sadly, we have ignored the vision expressed by Thomas Jefferson 50 years later. In his last letter before he and Adams died July 4, 1826, he declined an invitation to come to Washington to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, saying of the document and the day set aside to commemorate it: "May it be to the world, what I believe it will be ... the signal of arousing men to burst the chains ... and to assume the blessings and security of self-government. That form, which we have substituted, restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion. All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man. ... For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them."
another evacuation drill planned for tonight
Add this to the long list of reasons I don't watch the fireworks on the National Mall anymore. Let's hope this year's test goes better than last, where basically the moral of the story was: If there's a mass evacuation from the District of Colombia, keep a pair of tennis shoes handy... you'll need them when you realize that walking is faster.
definition of insanity: Adam Isacson reminds us
The Real Solution for Colombia's Drug Problems Monday, July 3, 2006; A20 In "More Help for Colombia" [op-ed, June 26], Robert D. Novak employs a tired tactic: slapping the "soft on drugs" label on any who oppose the current U.S. policy toward Colombia. Critics, Mr. Novak implies, are betraying brave Colombian anti-drug police officers who risk their lives every day. Why, though, must these police risk all for a strategy that hasn't affected Colombian coca and opium? Since Plan Colombia began in 2000, we have seen $4.7 billion spent and 2,500 square miles sprayed with herbicides. Yet U.S. government satellites found more coca in Colombia last year than they did in 2000, while cocaine and heroin street prices have actually declined. Coca cultivation will decrease only when Colombia can govern its rural areas, where more than 75 percent of the people live in poverty. Those who insist on spraying instead of governing are doing a disservice to Colombia's police officers by forcing them to face mortal danger for a strategy that isn't working. ADAM ISACSON Director of Programs Center for International Policy Washington
Crooks 'R Stupid: Cynthia Donovan
Wow, this woman is retarded:
CHERRY HILL, Md. -- A suspected ice cream thief was easily caught by authorities - she was sitting behind a convenience store counter eating the ice cream. Harford County woman Cynthia Tykson Donovan, 47, was arrested last week at High's convenience store. Sheriff's deputies responding to a store alarm found Donovan sitting behind the cashier's counter eating an ice cream cone. She was charged with second-degree burglary, theft, and malicious destruction of property over $500, the Cecil Whig reported. Cecil County Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Campbell said a large rock was used to shatter the store's front door.
Sore Loserman
So Joe Lieberman is "threatening" to run as an Independent if he loses this year's primary. Someone please remind this idiot of the ridiculously high reelection rate for Senate incumbents. If the voters of Connecticut choose someone else over Sell Out Joe, then its a clear indictment against him... personally. Running as an Independent at that point would be a waste of everybody's time and money. If Joe loses, he should retire.
Murray Wass' latest at National Journal
[excerpt] President Bush told the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case that he directed Vice President Dick Cheney to personally lead an effort to counter allegations made by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV that his administration had misrepresented intelligence information to make the case to go to war with Iraq, according to people familiar with the president's statement. Bush also told federal prosecutors during his June 24, 2004, interview in the Oval Office that he had directed Cheney, as part of that broader effort, to disclose highly classified intelligence information that would not only defend his administration but also discredit Wilson, the sources said. [more]
this may explain a lot
Humans Wired to Respond to Short-Term Problems Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert argues that humans are exquisitely adapted to respond to immediate problems, such as terrorism, but not so good at more probable, but distant dangers, like global warming. He talks about his op-ed piece which appeared in Sunday's Los Angeles Times. [audio available at NPR]
If only gay sex caused global warming Why we're more scared of gay marriage and terrorism than a much deadlier threat.
03 July 2006
when 'winning' actually isn't
There are 2 people in particular who could wisely use the next 48 hrs to prevent themselves from making the biggest mistake of their lives. Run away people. It ain't worth it.
CSM: Are all lives equal?
interesting: For Iraqis to get a claim paid is harder than getting a rebate on your iPod. First you must have all your documents in order - birth certificates, witness accounts, proof of identity, etc. Most witnesses are afraid to come forward for fear of retribution. Obtaining birth certificates and proof of identity for some is nearly impossible, due to displacement or other mitigating circumstances. Then, you must get "proof of negligence of US soldier from a US soldier or unit."
some deterrent
Hersh's New Yorker article is now online here.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Pentagon officers have told the Bush administration that bombing Iranian nuclear facilities would probably fail to destroy that country's nuclear program, the New Yorker magazine reported on Sunday.
The senior commanders also warned that any attack launched if diplomacy fails to end the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions could have "serious economic, political, and military consequences for the United States," the article said, citing unidentified U.S. military officials.
Bill Arkin: campaign consultant and general hater of all things Rand Beers
WaPo national security columnist and blogger Bill Arkin, who rarely goes out of his way to lend a helping hand to Democrats, has this odd post this morning on The Century Foundation's most recent report [The Forgotten Homeland]. After reading it I'm left to wonder whether Bill was just releasing some pent up frustration over Rand Beers and/or Richard Clarke... or whether he wanted to actually make any points, however he did offer up some campaign advice for Democrats:
A far more consequential and appealing Democratic Party argument would be: America does not need more national security spending at home; it doesn't need to create a lock-down in its cities. What it needs is a more sensible and less fearful view of the terrorist threat.There. I just saved you the trouble of reading it.
01 July 2006
LA Times: "charge the detainees"
... Bush is probably correct that some detainees, if released, would "jeopardize the safety of the American people." Those whose actions put them in that category should be identified and promptly charged.
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