As we’ve been told since 9/11, the government needs certain special powers in order to keep us safe from terrorism. The PATRIOT Act, FISA Courts, telecom immunity, the NSA looking at your naked pictures – all of this is made or enhanced in the name of fighting the type of monsters who perpetrated the 9/11 …
Continue reading “It’s Not About Fighting Terror, It’s About Having Power”
At least 109 people were killed today, and another 148 were wounded. A large clash between Peshmerga forces and Islamic State militants near Kirkuk left many casualties, as did bombs in Baghdad.
Bowe Bergdahl has caused quite the uproar among the military community lately. The soldier, who may or may not have deserted his post in 2009, was recently released in a prisoner exchange for five Taliban members who had been held at Guantanamo. For all the debate regarding whether Bergdahl is a traitor, the conditions of …
Continue reading “Does Bowe Bergdahl = 5 Taliban Commanders? Why We’re Asking the Wrong Questions”
With numbing regularity, Israel bombs the Gaza Strip, home to 1.8 million Palestinians, from the air, land, and sea, and the excuse is always the same: Hamas "terrorists" don’t accept Israel’s “right to exist.” The specific trigger this time: the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers. Hamas has publicly stated that it was not …
Continue reading “US Taxes Pay for Israeli War Crimes”
“Chilling” is the word lawyers use to describe governmental behavior that does not directly interfere with constitutionally protected freedoms, but rather tends to deter folks from exercising them. Classic examples of “chilling” occurred in the 1970s, when FBI agents and U.S. Army soldiers, in business suits with badges displayed or in full uniform, showed up …
Continue reading “Frightening People into Silence”
Testimony Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa Introduction Without doubt, the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) represents a significant failure of U.S. policy. However, such a reverse was not entirely unexpected. The Iraqi government …
Continue reading “The Rise of ISIS: Iraq and Beyond”
A second grand ayatollah has come out against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki retaining his premiership, while the U.N. high commissioner called for a political solution. The fighting goes on, though. At least 51 were killed and 43 more were wounded, but dozens more casualties went uncounted.
As a matter of faith, some people believe that God can see and hear everything. But as a matter of fact, the U.S. government now has the kind of surveillance powers formerly attributed only to a supreme being. Top “national security” officials in Washington now have the determination and tech prowess to keep tabs on …
Continue reading “Does Uncle Sam Have a God Complex?”
Originally posted at TomDispatch. You’re not in the United States. Oh sure, look around at the fog lifting over the New England countryside or the diamond deserts of Arizona, but this land isn’t your land, not anymore. It’s a place controlled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and your constitutional rights do not apply …
Continue reading “Bill of Rights Rollback in the US Borderlands”
Fox News reports it’s entirely legal in many jurisdictions for criminals to change their names, citing the case of an Oklahoma man convicted of impersonating a police officer – as well as a would-be school bus driver who is a convicted sex offender. It’s a problem in Australia, too, where rapists, murderers, and "fraudsters" simply …
Continue reading “Neocons Go Undercover” 
