Reason Morning Links: Blackwater Bribes, AMA Wants Marijuana Change, "Hybrid" Option in Afghanistan

• Ft. Hood investigation shows Pentagon wasn't informed of Hasan's contact with a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen; raises concerns that cross-agency intelligence sharing hasn't improved since the September 11 attacks.
• NY Times reports that Blackwater executives approved $1 million in bribes to buy support from Iraqi officials after the firm's employees killed 17 Iraqi civilians.
• Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's office demands prior approval of any student newspaper articles covering his speech at a New York high school.
• American Medical Association urges the federal government to reclassify marijuana, allowing clinical trials on medical cannabis.
• Obama now considering "hybrid" option of troops and military trainers for Afghanistan.

Comments

[Johnny Longtorso]

So wrong, yet so right. I wonder what other uses the Obamacons can find for this?

PRESIDENTIAL WINE HOLDER (DRINKING)

[brotherben]

I suppose the NSA, the FBI, and the army will explain that Major Hasan was being used as a mole to infiltrate a terrorist network and that is why he had contacts with the fellow in Yemen.

Yesterday I heard some psychobabble suggesting that Hasan was suffering from "compassion fatigue" related to his working with soldiers that had actually seen combat.

[Balls of Iron]

Bust he wasn't. He was working with those about to deploy. Big difference.

[John Tagliaferro]

Sounds more like he was working with the enemy.

[John Tagliaferro]

In Jonah Goldberg's LA Times article he moclingly calls it "Pre-traumatic stress disorder."

This MAJ is nothing but a traitor and a terrorist.

[Qualis Artifex Pereo]

Compassion fatigue? Things have really gotten out of control here.

[John Tagliaferro]

The guy first enlisted in the 1980s. He re-contrracted more than once. Now he is just discovering that he joined the wrong side of the war? This pile of bullshit is getting taller than an NBA player.

[Qualis Artifex Pereo]

Look at this bullshit: http://www.compassionfatigue.org/

[John Tagliaferro]

I can tell from the URL that I don't want to look.

[Rich]

Then just look at this.

(Props to Warty.)

[Warty]

Who Cares Wins

[Rich]

Maestro.

[MattXIV]

Or this.

[Xeones]

Ft. Hood investigation shows Pentagon wasn't informed of Hasan's contact with a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen; raises concerns that cross-agency intelligence sharing hasn't improved since the September 11 attacks.

Good thing we got that Patriot Act, though! All successfully keeping me from buying cold medicine that works and whatnot.

Fuck the US government, yo.

[John Tagliaferro]

A report this morning sounded like they tried to share info but just did it wrong. Instead of forwarding the emails to a team they just passed it to one analyst who dismissed it. Sounds like bad staffing both outside and inside the Pentagon.

[wylie]

So the next terror attack will slip through not be because of entrenched, institutional non-cooperation.

It will be because of bad staffing.

That's SOME improvement for 8 years work, right?

[BakedPenguin]

Well, as Xeones pointed out, now we also have a panoply of ineffective, intrusive and unconstitutional laws.

And we'll probably have more to deal with the aftermath of Hasan! Yay!

[briareus]

It's a feature not a bug.

[Rich]

psychobabble suggesting that Hasan was suffering from "compassion fatigue"

And the teabaggers are suffering from "oppression fatigue".

[Joseph McCarthy]

Rich,

I like your style. You sound like a real go getter!

[Xeones]

I wonder what other uses the Obamacons can find for this?

There is not a zombObamautomaton on this earth who swings enough lumber to use that in the way you are suggesting.

[anarch]

Obama and hybrid in the same sentence is racist.

Thought you'd sneak that one by, eh?

[Anita Dunn]

Kathleen Arberg, the court's public information officer, said Justice Kennedy's office had made the request to make sure the quotations attributed to him were accurate.

I completely understand.

[Joseph McCarthy]

Oh Anita,

If only we were on the same side, you would be such an asset.

[Voros McCracken]

"Obama now considering "hybrid" option"

This plan will work real well until we have to stop to plug our tanks in overnight.

[John Tagliaferro]

That's what the wind power is for. During the day they can use solar.

[brotherben]

I wonder what other uses the Obamacons can find for this?

That position reminds me of the live entertainment in a Tijuana watering hole I, umm, uhh, heard about.

[SugarFree]

We went to Tijuana, Mexico, you know... and we thought it would be fun, you know, to go to this show. Everyone's, "You gotta check out one of these shows." And, you know, it's a woman fucking a horse. We get there, and, you know, we think it's gonna be awesome... and it is not as cool as it sounds like it would be, man. It's kind of gross.

You think, "A woman fucking a horse"... and you get there and it's... a woman fucking a horse.

It was really giving it to her. And you know what... to be honest, I felt bad for her. We all just felt bad for her.

Kind of felt bad for the horse.

[John A. Roark]

Saw the same thing, but it was a donkey... and someone deliberately ran into the back of the donkey, and... well, you can guess.

[P Brooks]

Children cannot be trusted with rights.

[John A. Roark]

Or lefts.

[Pro Libertate]

Prior approval? Sounds familiar. Like some free speech rule the court insists on applying. Prior something.

[John Tagliaferro]

What's next? Licensing?

[Attorney]

Cranky old men are above the law.

[BakedPenguin]

You should restrain yourself from making comments about Kennedy that aren't pre-approved.

[anon]

Prior approval?

The only thing to do is for the school to retract their invitation. The student's might actually learn something valuable that way, instead of listening to a 90 year old fossil in a dress blather on about the majesty of law or some such nonsense.

[anon]

(I know, 's should be s)

[SugarFree]

Bart: Of forgotten veterans. Their guns are quiet now. Their helmets lost, or pawned. And yet here they are, making flags out of old clothes. Sure, they may not have the right number of stripes. And the colors are all wrong. And some purists will tell you the American flag doesn't contain the word "Jordache". But you know, if they run this up the flagpole, I'll salute. I'm Bart Simpson.

Lisa: Hmm, thank you Bart, for yet another touching "Bart's People". Now, turning to...

Bart: I just think our veterans deserve a little recognition.

Lisa: That's what Veteran's Day is for, Bart.

Bart: But is that really enough to honor our brave soldiers?

Lisa: Eh, heh, heh...they also have Memorial Day.

Bart: Oh, Lisa, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong! The important thing is, veterans deserve a day to honor them.

Lisa: They have two!

Bart: Well maybe they should have three. I'm Bart Simpson.

[monolith]

You could be talking about the Daily mail in the UK. They are doing their best to make it all about them rather than the veterans.
Though they do leave out the bit about the papers support for hitler and fascism.

[Bergholt Stuttley Johnson]

Yes, but Armistice Day is about WW1, not WW2. You could easily be on the Allied side in one, but support Hitler and Fascism in the next. Just ask Phillipe Petain, or indeed the Italians and the Japanese.

[John A. Roark]

The Japanese never gave a rat's ass for Hitler, he couldn't help them in the Pacific and they had no use for European domination. It was more of a 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' thing.

[monolith]

Well I was talking more about people wearing poppies and remembering all the British and Commonwealth servicemen not just remembrance day. papers like the Daily mail run campaigns vilifying anyone who doesn't wear a poppy. It starts earlier each year and they always like to put the name of the paper everywhere.

[JW]

Obama now considering "hybrid" option of troops and military trainers for Afghanistan.

The soldiers will lay naked in a tub of backlit goo, with tubes connected to them and stream out endless non-sequitors?

[SugarFree]

Or they could be telepathically connected to a supersmart dog that communicates with Scrabble tiles?

[Warty]

They're slightly more efficient, but not enough to justify their higher cost?

[alan]

Just now considering?

I have a cousin who is a MP who did a tour last year that was an training exercise. He has known for months he is being redeployed next August for yet to be specified duties.

Yeah, considering. Without long delayed trial balloons, most of Washington's political/PR staffs would be out of jobs.

[alan]

To clarify because I got sloppy with terminology. He was sent to train Afghan MP's, not to engage in training exercises in a live war zone for gosh sakes, as my wording would indicate.

[Pro Libertate]

Prior complaint? Prior war paint?

[alan]

Hey PL,

Did you see the Franco story I wrote up in the previous post that you requested?

[Pro Libertate]

I did not. You must link, for it my curse that I forget prior threads.

[Pro Libertate]

It is my curse.

[Pro Libertate]

Anyway, I found the story. I like it.

[alan]

Thanks.

Sorry I couldn't get back earlier than now.

[Pro Libertate]

Google is all-powerful.

[Pro Libertate]

Bribes? I know nothing about the facts here, but I will note that doing business in most countries involves one form or another of bribe. Try doing business in Mexico without paying the mordita. There are U.S. laws against that, but there's also a lot of winking and elbow-nudging about the issue, even here.

[John Tagliaferro]

That's what I was thinking when I read that one too. Isn't there some sort of legal rule for this, if the foreigner demands a bribe?

[Deet]

The Haji refer to it as "Baksheesh", or at least they did a few years ago.

[Pro Libertate]

I hasten to add that I've never encountered this directly, but I've certainly heard about it being a problem for companies with large international operations.

[kinnath]

It is illegal for a US company to pay a bribe to a foreign entity. However, it is legal to subcontract with foreign companies to manage relationships with regulators, inspectors, and such in foreign lands.

[Pro Libertate]

My understanding is that in practice, a large company will bribe the government, which will handle the bribing and/or coercion for the company.

[monolith]

I have been told that you pay a local company a consulting fee or whatever and then they do the bribing.

[John A. Roark]

'reclassify marijuana,' presumably as a medically sound substance. Let's reclassify psychics as unimpeachable expert witnesses, too? same thinking?

[Warren]

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's office demands prior approval of any student newspaper articles covering his speech at a New York high school.

W! T! F!

American Medical Association urges the federal government to reclassify marijuana, allowing clinical trials on medical cannabis.

Wake me when it happens.

Obama now considering "hybrid" option of troops and military trainers for Afghanistan.
Trainers eh? Sounds like a plan, but maybe he should call them something else. Something more official sounding, like "advisers". Yeah that's the ticket.

[troy]

American Medical Association urges the federal government to reclassify marijuana, allowing clinical trials on medical cannabis.

Whoa. Way to stick your neck out there guys t tell the pigs that you guys should be practicing medicine and not them.

[Pro Libertate]

Obama is not particularly literate when it comes to technology. When he said "hybrid" he meant cyborg. And by cyborg, he meant "Unnatural Human-Machine Death Unit."

[John A. Roark]

You sure he didn't mean 'Jean-Claude VanDamme?'

[Balls of Iron]

I love a happy ending!

Charges: Teen killed by man he was trying to rob:

A 17-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed in south Minneapolis last weekend was killed by a man he was attempting to rob, according to charges filed Tuesday.

http://www.startribune.com/loc.....ec8O7EyUsl

[JW]

Ya know, for a 17 year old, I would have settled for a serious and painful injury that made him re-examine his life so far, concluding that it was wasteful and empty. It's time for a change.

[Balls of Iron]

Maybe, but if one plans to beat up and rob one's fellow human beings, one should consider the potential hazards.

Seriously, what kind of shit sucking pigs say to each other, "Let's go find someone to beat up and rob?"

Had he not been stabbed to death, he might have easily killed someone in the future.

[Isaac Bartram]

From the article it seems possible that the kid would have lived if he and his friend had sought immediate medical attention instead of chasing after the guy.

[The Gobbler]

That's how I read it too.

[John A. Roark]

Where are our 'knife control' laws? The out-of-control self-defense insanity must be stopped to make life on the street safe for our muggers. Where's your heart, man?!

[BakedPenguin]

The Brits have 'em.

[John A. Roark]

yes, that's true, and they also still have royalty, which tells you something about the Limeys.

[alan]

They also think it is quaint and charming to call a huge fucking ocean a pond. Of course they would. There ancestors didn't cross that motherfucker to get away from them like ours did.

[Pro Libertate]

There's something wrong with the world when they'll take my troops' swords away when I land in the Hebrides to take back the throne of Scotland that is rightfully mine.

[ev]

The last time I was in London they had these huge, almost dumpster-sized bins. They were for depositing knives---this was their attempt to stamp out knife violence.

They were filled with burger wrappers and coffee cups.

It was pretty retarded. Although the "No-stabby" visual (stick figure with a knife with the red Ghostbuster-no symbol) was pretty rad.

[John Tagliaferro]

That IS a happy ending.

[P Brooks]

"Bribe? Bah! This shit don't happen by magic."

[P Brooks]

We need military advisor -donkey hybrids. They can carry their own equipment in the mountains, and when the retire, they can get jobs in Tijuana.

[Not Enough Lignin]

Reclassifying MJ -- does anyone here know if reclassifying it as schedule 3 would automatically alter the penalties for use, possession, sale? Does all that go by schedule alone, or are there specific MJ laws that would have to change?

[Isaac Bartram]

all it would change is how the FedGov handles MJ.

It wouldn't change any of the laws in all fifty states that provide varying levels of prohibition. Admittedly some are better than others but untill all states have legal sale and distribution networks we'll still have all the same patholgies from the drug war we do now.

i'm not such a purist that i would have a problem with that sale and distribution be handled by something like the various state monoply liquor outlets that exist but naturally i would prefer to see a much more free-market oriented outcome.

Incremental improvement is better than none at all, IMO.

[?]

A 17-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed in south Minneapolis last weekend was killed by a man he was attempting to rob

I've never understood this.

Women carry more valuables than men do, and they're pussies. You run up on a dude, he might kill you, and there's a decent chance he'll try. Play the damn odds.

I guess the criminals who do that just don't make the news.

And I'd score one for Darwin, but the guy was 17, so he probably has five kids.

[BakedPenguin]

NEL - probably not. The penalties for marijuana in a lot of states are probably already lower than for some class III drugs, such as ketamine, illegally acquired barbituates, or GHB. However, I'm too damn lazy to look up a few examples.

[J sub D]

The new scenario combines reinforcements for fighting Taliban insurgents with trainers aimed at rapidly increasing the size and capabilities of Afghan troops to take on more operations themselves. It wouldn't aim to eliminate the Taliban, but weaken it until Afghan forces can secure major population centers themselves.

Can we call this program Afghanistanization? Please?

[P Brooks]

Hearts and Minds?

Yes we can!

[John A. Roark]

I hope some kid sneaks into the pulication room late one night and runs off a thousand or so pirate pamphlets with pictures showing what Kennedy did with his pet llama in the night--Gawd, they don't even do things like that in Arkansas (well, maybe on the Clinton library lawn, but nowhere else)!

[Nick]

Justice Kennedy is a hypocritical imbecile. That is all.

[Pro Libertate]

Kennedys and national government don't mix.