"At his confirmation hearing on Thursday, President Barack Obama’s nominee for CIA director refused to state whether or not waterboarding was a form of torture. When pressed by Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, John Brennan said the simulated drowning technique should be banned. However, he repeatedly declined to label the practice torture." Continue reading →
"Thanks to NBC News, a lot of (now-former) drone supporters are confronted with a confidential Justice Department white paper justifying presidential killing of American citizens abroad, seemingly on the basis of thin air. The document, 16 pages of Bushian doublespeak, declares 'Here the Justice Department concludes only that where the following three conditions are met, a U.S. operation using lethal force in a foreign country against a U.S. citizen who is a senior operational leader of al-Qa’ida or an associated force would be lawful.' In other words, we’ll obliterate you because of reasons, and you’re now a terrorist because we said so." Continue reading →
"The Obama administration is considering more assertive action against Beijing to combat a persistent cyber-espionage campaign it believes Chinese hackers are waging against U.S. companies and government agencies. As The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported that their computer systems had been infiltrated by China-based hackers, cybersecurity experts said the U.S. government is eyeing more pointed diplomatic and trade measures. The U.S. itself has been named in one of the most prominent cyberattacks — Stuxnet — the computer worm that infiltrated an Iranian nuclear facility, shutting down thousands of centrifuges there in 2010." Continue reading →
"Since these reporters and editors did not consider it a violation of the privacy and safety of others to reveal which homes have guns and which homes don't, we went to see which of them would be willing to put a sign up publicly declaring their homes to be gun-free zones. While we didn't find any members of the media with the strength of their convictions, we did find quite a few guns, and some good explanations for why they might be necessary. Guns for Me, but not for Thee." Continue reading →
"If you, I, or any other U.S. person abroad fails to report some information to the U.S. government under Chapter 61, Subchapter A, Part II, Subpart A of the Internal Revenue Code, we might have to pay the U.S. government tens of thousands of dollars of fines, regardless of the actual underlying tax deficiency. If the U.S. government fails to report some information to us under the exact same Subpart, we get zip. So don’t get too excited when you hear that today’s Federal Register is missing something; after all, it’s only the ninth time in sixteen quarters that Timothy Franz Geithner has violated this single provision of the law of the land." Continue reading →
"Even more hilariously hypocritical than the 1974 Jackson–Vanik Amendment — which slaps trade sanctions on countries imposing unreasonable barriers to emigration of their citizens — I bring you 26 USC § 891: 'Doubling of rates of tax on citizens and corporations of certain foreign countries', a law originally passed in 1934 and still in effect today." Continue reading →
"A senior Chinese official said on Friday that the United States should cut back on printing money to stimulate its economy if the world is to have confidence in the dollar. Asked whether he was worried about the dollar, the chairman of China's sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation, Jin Liqun, told the World Economic Forum in Davos: 'I am a little bit worried.' China is the biggest purchaser of U.S. Treasury bonds, using its enormous foreign currency reserves primarily to buy U.S. securities as a long-term investment." Continue reading →
"Ever wonder how Mayor Bloomberg gets away with gun control lectures while he has his own security detail? Yeah, so did we. But don't expect any answers from Bloomberg. Just expect harassment from his bodyguards." Continue reading →
"A bill making its way through the Arizona state legislature would require public high school students to swear an oath to defend the Constitution before they receive their diplomas. If passed, it would require principals to verify in writing that a student had recited the following oath before they were allowed to graduate, beginning in the 2013-2014 school year." Continue reading →
"Ben Swann of Full Disclosure takes a look at statements by President Obama that he wants to prevent even one more child’s death at the hands of a mass shooter. Ben is asking why the President isn’t ending a drone strike policy that is responsible for 11 times the number of child deaths." Continue reading →