The U.S. Army Central Command's Twitter and YouTube feeds were hacked today, possibly by ISIS or someone sympathetic to ISIS (although the possibility that the hacker is just maximizing the LULZ cannot be ruled out): The first rogue tweet was posted about 12:30 p.m. It appeared to come from sympathizers with the Islamic State militant … Continue reading WELL THIS IS REASSURING

Remember the other day when we looked at a delightful "bomb, bomb Iran" piece from Dick Cheney's former National Security Adviser, John P. Hannah? Well, we need to revisit that piece briefly. See, in the midst of a rant about the efficacy of military action in preventing states from developing WMD, which was mostly a … Continue reading I’m sure this is central to his point

Without minimizing what's happening in France, let's also note that Boko Haram may have just killed 2000 people in a sustained assault on the northeast Nigerian town of Baga: It’s not clear how many people were killed in Baga. Early reports on Thursday said hundreds. Others said it was many more. Musa Alhaji Bukar, a … Continue reading Bad all over

Until yesterday, Senator Mark Kirk, from my old home state of Illinois, was one of the few elected Republicans willing to acknowledge the reality of climate change and man's impact on it. Then this happened: Kirk, who was serving in the House at the time but is now running for reelection in the Senate, described … Continue reading Money always talks

I was away from the blog yesterday (and most of today, for that matter; that's what happens when they cancel school and you have a car that needs a new battery) when news broke of the unspeakable terrorist attack on the offices of the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. I'm not sure I could have … Continue reading Provocation is the point

Everybody, meet John P. Hannah: John's illustrious career in public service included a brief period in the Bush State Department as an aide to John Bolton in the Office of Arms Control and International Security (2001), followed by stints as Dick Cheney's Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (2001-2005), his Assistant for National Security Affairs … Continue reading Yes, Dick Cheney’s former national security adviser, let’s try war with Iran; what could go wrong?

If you're like me (and you're reading this blog so, duh), you're a big fan of Frederick County (MD) commissioner Kirby Delauter. Oh, ha ha ha, I can practically hear you saying "who the hell is Kirby Delauter?" right now, because you are obviously making a joke, and I really love the fact that you … Continue reading Kirby Delauter (yes, that Kirby Delauter) upset that reporter used Kirby Delauter’s name in article about Kirby Delauter

My newest at LobeLog looks at some cautiously optimistic developments in the Iran nuclear negotiations (unconfirmed reports that the Iranians have agreed to ship a substantial portion of their uranium stockpiles to Russia for conversion to fuel rods, comments from Rouhani that suggest he's beginning to make the domestic political case in favor of a … Continue reading Up at LobeLog: Signs of momentum on the Iran talks, but can negotiators act before Congress does?

Late last week Egypt's Court of Cassation, its highest appellate court, ordered a retrial for the three Al Jazeera journalists -- Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed -- who were arrested there in December 2013 for reporting that was deemed too sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood (you know, because Real Democracies like Egypt often … Continue reading Egypt is retrying three Al Jazeera journalists