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Posted by Amy Miller on January 12, 2015 5 Comments
British lawmakers are shifting uncomfortably after receiving pushback over proposed anti-terrorism legislation that scholars say could fatally limit the fundamental rights of British citizens both at home and abroad. Via Bloomberg:
Provisions in the bill would allow the government to invalidate a British national’s passport while he or she is abroad and prevent their return to the U.K. without an agreement to comply with certain conditions. “This gives rise to a very real risk that the human rights of U.K. nationals will be violated as a result of the imposition of temporary exclusion orders,” Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights said in a 43-page report published today. “We are opposed in principle to any exclusion of U.K. nationals from the U.K., even on a temporary basis.” Home Secretary Theresa May introduced the bill in November, saying the terrorism threat in Britain is greater now than at any time since the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. Militants in Syria “are trying to direct terrorist attacks in the U.K.,” Andrew Parker, the head of the domestic intelligence agency known as MI5, said in a Jan. 8 speech.
The fact that this pushback is happening so soon after terror attacks ravaged the streets of Paris is not insignificant, especially in the UK. As early as late November of last year, UK Home Secretary Theresa May was pushing for new laws that would force schools, universities, and councils to join the fight against terrorism, and afford authorities much more investigative power and control over terrorism suspects. Parliament's joint human rights committee has expressed concerns over the lack of rights protections in the new legislation, saying that if enacted, it could severely limit academic freedom on campus:

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Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on January 12, 2015 23 Comments
Dr. Ben Carson has become a fan favorite among Tea Partiers. A well-spoken, educated, political-outsider with an inspiring story, Carson has created enough excitement to inspire a national effort to draft him into a 2016 Presidential bid. Being an untried outsider might prove advantageous in some respects... until it comes time to deal with the airing of the past grievances. Those experienced in political combat have well-trained, battle-ready teams to deal with any unflattering press that might surface. Last week, would-be 2016 presidential contender Dr. Ben Carson apologized for plagiarism. Buzzfeed unearthed attribution issues in Carson's book 2012 book, America the Beautiful. National Review reported:
America the Beautiful, which mixes history, politics, and autobiography, is the first book on which Carson collaborated with his wife, who is credited on the front cover. Candy Carson, the source says, “relied heavily on the editor” to ensure all of the sources were attributed correctly. Carson’s book agent, Sealy Yates, told the Daily Caller that the Carsons “delivered a completed manuscript to the publisher and they then relied on the editorial staff, which every author does.” The book was published by Zondervan, HarperCollins’s Christian division, which is currently featuring Carson’s latest book on its web page. BuzzFeed highlights sentences in the book lifted from a number of sources, including SocialismSucks.net. Zondervan did not immediately return a request for comment.
Following the Buzzfeed report, Carson apologized. According to CNN:
"I attempted to appropriately cite and acknowledge all sources in America the Beautiful, but inadvertently missed some. I apologize, and I am working with my editors to rectify the situation," Carson said in a statement his representative, Armstrong Williams, provided to CNN.

Posted by Amy Miller on January 12, 2015 11 Comments
Hackers claiming a connection with the Islamic State have taken control of two social media accounts owned by the U.S. Central Command. Via the Washington Free Beacon:
“ISIS is already here, we are in your PCs, in each military base. With Allah’s permission we are in CENTCOM now,” said one tweet sent from CENTCOM’s account. The apparent hack came as President Obama addressed the nation regarding cyber security. He is expected to propose two pieces of cyber security legislation and to address the effort in his upcoming State of the Union address. The hackers subsequently tweeted images of spreadsheets containing the home addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of dozens of current and former senior U.S. military officers. “AMERICAN SOLDIERS, WE ARE COMING WATCH YOUR BACK,” one tweet stated.
The hackers have also posted to PasteBin sensitive and personal information they claim they obtained by breaking in to mobile devices. A search of the Google cache reveals the tweets posted to CENTCOM's now-suspended Twitter account: Twitter Centcom Hack We know everything

Posted by Amy Miller on January 12, 2015 21 Comments
I remember when Halle Berry won her Best Actress Oscar back in 2002 for Monster's Ball; it was such a huge deal--she beat Judi Dench! It was the same year Denzel Washington won for Training Day, and everyone agreed that entertainment awards would never be the same because an actor and actress of color had both taken home a prestigious award. Apparently, Halle and Denzel didn't set a standard that year---they set a quota. From last night's Golden Globe awards: Is anyone else already exhausted? Twitter was:

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Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 12, 2015 22 Comments
It was bad enough that none of President Obama, Vice President Biden or Secretary of State Kerry attended Sunday's Solidarity March in Paris, attended by dozens of world leaders. It would have been the right thing for Obama to attend. There was enough security to protect obvious targets like the French President, the German Chancellor and the Israeli Prime Minister. There is no indication that security kept Obama away. But what about Biden, Kerry, or some other very senior official? France is a key U.S. ally. The attacks in Paris were carried out by followers of groups that also kill Americans. Having at least one senior official, even if not the President, in attendance would have been a no-brainer. But not with this President. The attacks in Paris did not fit a narrative the administration wants to address. The problem was not security, but that the Solidarity March was against not just terrorism, but radical Islam and its suppression of free speech and the press through ideological and physical intimidation. That apparently was too much for a President who considers that we are the source of the problem through past behavior. Eric Holder was in Paris for a security conference. There were rumors that he would represent the U.S. at the march. Surely that would have been an easy, though imperfect, solution. I watched the march online via live video stream while covering it for Legal Insurrection. I took numerous screen shots of the leaders lined up. I didn't see Holder anywhere. Paris National Unity Rally Netanyahu others News reports confirm Holder did not attend. Then I flipped channels on the TV to see who was covering the march, and found Holder being interviewed by Chuck Todd on Meet the Press.

Posted by Casey Breznick on January 12, 2015 19 Comments
Entering 2015, most economists expected that the Federal Reserve would finally begin raising short-term interest rates. Fewer than two weeks in to the year and that thesis is already beginning to crumble. For seven years, the Fed kept interest rates at rock-bottom levels and employed a massive money-printing program called Quantitative Easing in the hopes of boosting the money supply, expanding credit, and causing inflation to jump-start the economy (so the theory goes). Many experts have long waited for the Fed to "normalize" policy and raise rates, for reasons that include a desire to stop expanding the money supply, and wanting the Fed to have a cushion to lower them once again when another crisis occurs. While credit finally appears to be coming more available, neither the mild-mannered inflation the Fed wanted nor the rampant hyperinflation Fed detractors prophesied has materialized. In 2014 the CPI inflation rate was 1.3%, the lowest since 2008. However, most economists, including those at the Fed, like to see 2% inflation. [caption id="attachment_112614" align="aligncenter" width="542"]InflationRates Graph from www.usinflationcalculator.com.[/caption]

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2015 32 Comments
Almost since the beginning of this website in the fall of 2008 I have been sounding the alarm about, and documenting, the rise of anti-Semitism masquerading as anti-Zionism in Europe. It's been a toxic marriage of anti-Jewish Islamists and anti-Israeli leftists, resulting not just in fatalities, but in the inability to be publicly Jewish.  Walking while Jewish is not possible in most of Europe. It's worst where the marriage of Islamism and Leftism is most complete, in cities like Malmö, Sweden, but the Malmö Syndrome has spread almost everywhere in Europe. It's what allows a BBC anchor today to berate a French woman complaining about threats to Jews in France after the murders at the kosher supermarket, with a harangue about Israel. Remember the riots in Paris and elsewhere in Europe last summer in which gross anti-Semitism was on full display under the guise of anti-Zionism. Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic has a fascinating interview with French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls. When you read it, keep in mind that it too place before the recent killing at the Hyper Cacher kosher supermaket, French Prime Minister: If Jews Flee, the Republic Will Be a Failure:

Posted by Amy Miller on January 11, 2015 21 Comments
Loin des yeux, près du coeur. I plugged it in to Google, which promptly spit out, "out of sight, near the heart." Not the most elegant translation, but I got the point as I walked through the crowd that gathered in Washington, DC to march in solidarity with those attending the National Unity Rally in Paris. The French Embassy billed the event as a "silent march," saying that "[t]his march is open to all who would like to join together to honor the memory of the victims of the attacks and engage in solidarity in the fight for freedom of speech and freedom of opinion." There was very little pomp; the organizers seemed to be more concerned about making a statement than they were about making sure dignitaries had a chance to speak. Before the event began, the crowd mingled happily, taking pictures and talking about maintaining a free press; French flags and copies of Charlie Hebdo were passed around as the crowd spilled off the sidewalks and onto Pennsylvania Avenue. unnamed-14

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 11, 2015 165 Comments
Alright Team Insurrection, it's time for another reader poll. Philip Rucker and Robert Costa of the Washington Post are speculating about a political collision between Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney if they both run in 2016:
For Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney, a history of ambition fuels a possible 2016 collision Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney have much in common. Both were pragmatic as governors, mild-mannered as candidates and more comfortable balancing budgets at their desks than clinking glasses at a political dinner. The two Republican leaders’ personal rapport is cordial. But they are hardly chummy — and at moments their relationship has been strained, with each man’s intertwined political network carrying some grievances with the other’s. As Bush, 61, and Romney, 67, explore presidential campaigns in 2016, they are like boxers warming up for what could become a brutal bout, sizing each other up and mulling whether or when to step into the ring. Their early maneuvering reveals a level of competitiveness and snippiness that stems from a long history following similar career paths in business and politics prescribed by their dynastic families. “We’re seeing the first shots of the war between clan Romney and clan Bush,” said Alex Castellanos, a Republican strategist who has worked for both men. “Both bring to the battle incredibly powerful fan clubs as well as wounds they have to heal. How ugly could it get? You’re only competing to lead the free world.”
This is a fight for money as much as politics and the hunt for big donors is already on.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 11, 2015 4 Comments
In a truly groundbreaking speech made shortly before the terror attacks in Paris, Egypt’s General-turned-President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that Islam was, “…in need of a religious revolution.” In response to the tragic events, he condemned the the slaughter that left 12 dead on Wednesday and pledged Cairo's support to fight terrorism.
The Egyptian leader expressed his condolences to his French counterpart Francois Hollande, the families of the victims and the wounded, his office said in a statement. Sisi, in a telegram sent to Hollande, "expressed the Egyptian people and government's condemnation over the terrorist act that the French capital Paris witnessed today," the statement said. Offering his condolences to the victims' families and the wounded, Sisi said "terrorism is an international phenomenon that should be faced and terminated through joint international efforts".
Historically,  Egypt and France have always been important to each other.  For example, when Napoleon sent an expedition over to that country,it reopened  the area to trade with Europe and made it possible to uncover its rich history. Last November, Sisi was greeted with full military honors when he visited Paris.

Posted by New Neo on January 11, 2015 12 Comments
Here's what's planned on immigration by Republicans in the new Congress:
The House plans to vote next week on legislation that would defund President Obama's executive action on immigration. Republicans also plan to include language rolling back a 2012 order from the Obama administration that gave legal status to illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children. The two measures would be considered as part of a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security through September. An earlier government-funding measure approved last month only funded that agency through February... Mulvaney said Republicans debated in their closed-door meeting whether to focus solely on Obama's move to shield illegal immigrants from deportation, or whether to attack the president's policies on multiple fronts. Some more moderate, swing-district Republicans "wanted the rifle shot, ... maybe didn't want to muddy the waters," Mulvaney said. "But there were other voices in the room who said they wanted a chance to get at DACA, to get at the Morton memos" that relaxed some immigration laws in 2011.
Apparently the latter group won---for now. However, there's always the Senate:

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 11, 2015 8 Comments
Single payer activists disrupted the inauguration of Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin this weekend. Somewhere between November and now, we forgot to tell them that even though a Democrat won the election, they lost. Mike Donoghue of the Burlington Free Press:
Police ID 29 arrested at Statehouse protest The Vermont State Police have identified the 29 protesters arrested on suspicion of unlawful trespass for ignoring orders to leave the Statehouse following a sit-in Thursday in Montpelier. James Haslam, executive director of the Vermont Workers' Center and the organizer of the sit-in protest over single-payer health care on the day of Gov. Peter Shumlin's inauguration, was not among them. "I had some commitments in the morning to deliver two little kids to school. Family comes first," Haslam told the Burlington Free Press. Haslam, who kept his distance, said others were prepared to be arrested. For his part, Shumlin said he was disappointed some protesters tried to interrupt his inaugural address, but was bothered more that the demonstrators disrupted the final benediction by the Rev. Robert Potter of the Peacham Congregational Church. "I found it heartbreaking," he said.
The incident was caught on video, watch it below.

Posted by Amy Miller on January 11, 2015 16 Comments
FBI and Department of Justice investigators have finally concluded preliminary investigations and recommended that federal charges be brought against former CIA director David Petraeus. The investigation and charges stem from a 2012 scandal involving Petraeus and his biographer and lover Paula Broadwell. Petraeus was forced to resign from the CIA based on allegations that he had given Broadwell access to his CIA e-mail account, and other classified material. If it seems like this scandal has been dragging on forever, it's because it's been dragging on forever:

Posted by Amy Miller on January 10, 2015 15 Comments
The terrorists who attacked Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Casher Kosher supermarket this past week most likely believed that their actions would silence a satirical publication and its readers, and tear people of different religions apart. Instead, their brutal actions awoke a nation and in turn, the world:
More than 100,000 people gathered in cities around France as night fell to pay tribute to the 12 people gunned down in an attack against the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly on Wednesday. In Paris tens of thousands more gathered at Republique square, not far from where the attack took place, police said. Officials in cities such as Marseille, Toulouse and Lyon also reported thousands gathering in public spaces on the country's darkest day in decades. Demonstrators wore black stickers marked "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie), a slogan aimed at showing solidarity with the victims of the deadliest attack in France in decades. In a somber address to the nation, Hollande pledged to hunt down the killers and urged the country to come together after the tragedy. "Let us unite, and we will win," he said. "Vive la France!"
The terror attacks have inspired songs and artwork, and the "#JeSuisCharlie" hashtag has gone viral.
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