Quit yer bitching.
Archives for November 2013
We’re All Terrorists Now
This is how absurd things have become both here and over the pond:
British authorities claimed the domestic partner of reporter Glenn Greenwald was involved in “terrorism” when he tried to carry documents from former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden through a London airport in August, according to police and intelligence documents.
Greenwald’s partner, David Miranda, was detained and questioned for nine hours by British authorities at Heathrow on August 18, when he landed there from Berlin to change planes for a flight to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
After his release and return to Rio, Miranda filed a legal action against the British government, seeking the return of materials seized from him by British authorities and a judicial review of the legality of his detention.
At a London court hearing this week for Miranda’s lawsuit, a document called a “Ports Circulation Sheet” was read into the record. It was prepared by Scotland Yard – in consultation with the MI5 counterintelligence agency – and circulated to British border posts before Miranda’s arrival. The precise date of the document is unclear.
“Intelligence indicates that Miranda is likely to be involved in espionage activity which has the potential to act against the interests of UK national security,” according to the document.
“We assess that Miranda is knowingly carrying material the release of which would endanger people’s lives,” the document continued. “Additionally the disclosure, or threat of disclosure, is designed to influence a government and is made for the purpose of promoting a political or ideological cause. This therefore falls within the definition of terrorism…”
Anyone still want to mock Snowden for having the good common sense to flee to Hong Kong or Russia?
Chuck Hagel vs. several Governors
Recently, as we all know, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was rescinded, and gay and lesbian military personnel have been allowed to serve openly in the ranks, and this included military personnel receiving recognition of same-sex marriages after the Supreme Court declared the Federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstituional. This has been one giant nothingburger for the most part, which was not terribly surprising to anyone who served in the armed forces for the last several years. Especially among recent combat veterans for whom the most important question was “can this person beside me do the job?” Almost all other considerations are subordinate to that. Competence is more highly valued than just about anything else when people’s asses are on the line.
Unless one happens to be a GOP governor of (surprise) a southern state.
An Important Thing Nobody Cares About
The nomination of Janet Yellin is important and got a lot of attention, perhaps out of proportion to her importance. The nomination of the head of the FCC got almost no attention, and his job is pretty important. So it’s no surprise that Tom Wheeler, who was just confirmed, has the following resume:
Wheeler was the president of the cable industry lobby about 30 years ago and later led the lobbying group for the cellphone carriers. In recent years, he has worked at venture capital firm Core Capital, investing in technology start-ups.
Putting a former lobbyist in charge of the regulatory body overseeing a set of industries that already have precious little regulation is an unfortunate decision by President Obama, and I can’t see how it be anything but a setback for consumers.
Talking Heads
Here’s the Guardian’s interactive feature which intersperses interviews with Ron Wyden, Zoe Lofgren, Jeremy Scahill and Voldemort. It does explain the relevance of the NSA leaks pretty well if you’ve been looking for an explanation.
Open Thread: Happy Diwali / Deepavali !
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MOAR LIGHTS, more fireworks, more sugar — perfect holiday. Please forgive me if I’m jumping the starters’ pistol here…
(CNN) — Fireworks boom, bulbs flash, and flames flicker as tens of millions of people across the globe celebrate the beginning of the Festival of Lights.
Diwali — from the word Deepavali, meaning “row of lights” — is observed by Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities, who celebrate for five days in autumn to mark the victory of light over darkness.
This year, the festival begins on November 3, with splashes of color, lighting displays and blaring parties set to greet Diwali’s arrival.
Celebrated for centuries across much of the Indian subcontinent, Diwali is now exploding: spreading the promise of wealth, knowledge and happiness to new communities across the world…
Fireworks are said to drive away evil spirits and, at this time of year, many Hindus will also clean the house and light small oil-burning lanterns to attract Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth into the home.
But the celebration is anticipated with excitement by many across India — as well as neighboring Sri Lanka and Nepal — regardless of religious beliefs…
From the ‘Dewali in Boston‘ Facebook page
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Friday Night Open Thread
Another day of appointments with doctors and other folks, and still working through my issues, which I know I haven’t talked about much lately, but I will update you when I feel like there is something to say. It’s been a really long couple of months and I just wanted to thank all of you for being good sports in my semi-absence and being so supportive (and that goes double for the front pagers). It’s so weird to be a misanthropic introvert but still appreciate your emails and kind thoughts. One of you folks sent me a pillow, which was super sweet, but unfortunately I never got to use it. Someone else claimed it:
She always knocks all the blankets down and then lies on them like the Princess and the Pea. The pillow was on the other couch, but she apparently decided it needed to be relocated to her own personal bed.