A Christmas Message from Edward Snowden
December 24, 2013
Delivered on Britain’s Channel 4: A Christmas Message From Edward Snowden.
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Is MoveOn Less Progressive Than the New York Times Editorial Board?
December 23, 2013
The New York Times is hardly a progressive newspaper – but when it comes to the surveillance state and ongoing militarism of the Obama White House, the establishment’s "paper of record" puts MoveOn.org to shame. And so, the same day that the Times editorialized to excoriate President Obama for his latest betrayal of civil liberties, […]
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‘Humanitarian Intervention’ in Central African Republic
December 20, 2013
Over at the Huffington Post, I interview Chris Coyne, professor of economics at George Mason University and author of the recent book Doing Bad By Doing Good: Why Humanitarian Action Fails, on the humanitarian interventions in Central African Republic. Here’s an excerpt: Q: What was your reaction to the Obama administration’s decision to increase support to French and African […]
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Not My NSA: Big Brother Is For the Benefit of The State and Big Business
December 20, 2013
The big, scary terrorism argument for having an unwieldy and unconstitutional NSA surveillance apparatus has been slowly disintegrating since the start of Snowden’s leaks. This week was really the death knell, with all three branches of government agreeing, at least, that the bulk metadata program doesn’t actually thwart terrorists. The Washington Post: From the moment […]
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US Meddling Is Making China More Aggressive
December 19, 2013
A lengthy report in the Spring 2012 issue of the Washington Quarterly, the journal published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, reiterates the argument I have repeatedly put forth, that the U.S.’s pivot to Asia is exacerbating tensions in the region by emboldening China’s neighboring rivals and putting Beijing on the alert. “As […]
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All Three Branches of Gov’t Agree: NSA’s Bulk Metadata Collection Doesn’t Thwart Terrorism
December 19, 2013
“The message to the NSA is now coming from every branch of government and from every corner of our nation: NSA, You have gone too far.” Those are the words of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) from the Senate chamber yesterday. And he’s right. The metadata program, in which the NSA collects, stores, and analyzes the call records of virtually […]
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Obama-Drafted Bill Would Undo Ban on US Aid to Post-Coup Governments
December 19, 2013
In a move made almost explicitly on behalf of Egypt’s military junta, the Obama administration worked with allied Senators to draft legislation that would “give the White House flexibility to decide if, and how, to maintain aid” to post-coup military regimes. That legislation just successfully passed a committee vote. Foreign Policy: On Wednesday, the Egypt […]
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Being Open About US Propaganda Efforts in Afghanistan
December 16, 2013
USA Today reports on a study published by the Army’s War College that found “U.S. propaganda efforts in Afghanistan have failed” because the military took bad (and expensive) advice from private contractors. Examples of failed efforts, according to the paper, include a proposal to pay $6,000 dowries to Afghan men to keep them off the […]
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US-Backed Bahrain Dictatorship Targets, Tortures Children: Amnesty Int’l Report
December 16, 2013
One of America’s best friends and allies is torturing children, even as they continue to receive U.S. aid, weapons, training, and defense guarantees. Amnesty International: Children are being routinely detained, ill-treated and tortured in Bahrain, said Amnesty International in a new briefing published today. Scores of children arrested on suspicion of participating in anti-government protests – including […]
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CBS “Journalist” Angling for Intelligence-Counterterrorism Job While Reporting on NSA
December 16, 2013
Over the weekend, CBS 60 Minutes ran a story about the high profile NSA spying programs revealed by Edward Snowden. It was, to put it plainly, embarrassing. Twitter was ablaze with politicos, wonks, and experts criticizing the CBS report as crude propaganda, a stenographic public relations infomercial for the NSA that asked softball questions and […]
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