NSA
The Overview
The federal government files charges against Snowden. "Federal prosecutors have filed a criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked a trove of documents about top-secret surveillance programs ... Snowden was charged with theft, 'unauthorized communication of national defense information' and 'willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person,' according to the complaint. The last two charges were brought under the 1917 Espionage Act." Peter Finn and Sari Horwitz at the Washington Post.
The parameters of NSA surveillance. "The National Security Agency may keep the e-mails and telephone calls of citizens and legal residents if the communications contain 'significant foreign intelligence' or evidence of a crime, according to classified documents that lay out procedures for targeting foreigners and for guarding Americans’ privacy. Newly disclosed documents describe a series of steps the world’s largest spy agency is supposed to take to keep Americans from being caught in its massive surveillance net. They suggest that the NSA has latitude to keep and use citizens’ communications under certain conditions." Ellen Nakashima, Barton Gellman, and Greg Miller at the Washington Post.
And they can hold on to communications for years. "A pair of newly-leaked documents ... include provisions that let the electronic spy agency hang onto some communications of Americans for several years - and in the meantime, allow the NSA to share information about U.S. citizens and legal residents to the CIA and the FBI. And if the government suspects that an American might commit a crime or spy for a foreign power some day, those records can be kept, too." Shane Harris and John Reed at Killer Apps.
If you think that the NSA revelations will make authoritarian regimes more authoritarian, I've got a sea colony to sell you. "The claim that authoritarian regimes will be more repressive than they would have been absent revelations of the NSA’s eavesdropping rests on the assumption that autocrats design their domestic surveillance programs around the American example and in response to the U.S. government’s jawboning. Anyone who’s spent much time studying authoritarian regimes knows that’s simply not true." Jay Ulfelder at Dart Throwing Chimp.
Contractors
The problems of privatization: The Snowden/Booz Allen Hamilton case study. "The intelligence brouhaha and Snowden fiasco -- how could this guy have been hired, given his high-level classification, paid $122,000 a year, and gain access to areas expressly off-limits for someone at his level? -- should make us focus on the bigger issue, and bigger problem, here. We have vastly over-privatized, and in the process lost control over swaths of important policy areas while allowing unaccountable and even outlaw behavior to expand. And we have created areas where crony capitalism can meet crony government to create crony corruption that cheats all taxpayers." Norm Ornstein at the Atlantic.
The US has no uniform guidelines for security clearance checks. We should fix that. "The federal government lacks clear guidelines for determining when to require security clearance for civilian workers, according to a watchdog report released Thursday at a Senate hearing ... National Intelligence Director James Clapper 'had not provided agencies clearly defined policy and procedures to consistently determine whether a civilian position required a security clearance.' ... GAO official Brenda Farrell said the government has never developed uniform screening guidelines, despite decades of providing clearances." Josh Hicks at the Federal Eye.
The US is investigating the firm that vetted Snowden. "The Falls Church-based government contracting firm that performed a background investigation into Edward Snowden before he disclosed details of a secret federal surveillance program is under criminal investigation by the Office of Personnel Management, according to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). McCaskill said Thursday at a Senate hearing that the investigation into USIS, whose original name was US Investigations Services, is based on the 'systemic failure to adequately conduct investigations under its contract' with the federal government." Thomas Heath at the Washington Post.
Edward Snowden
Destination - Ecuador. "Mere hours after he landed in Moscow after a long flight from Hong Kong, it was revealed that Edward Snowden had asked the nation of Ecuador for asylum: ... The request was confirmed by Ecuador’s foreign minister on Twitter." Doug Mataconis at Outside the Beltway.
Five rules for making it as an asylum seeker. Brendan Koerner at Foreign Policy.
Libertarians
Libertarians, the NSA, and the 'Founders.' "In the contemporary debate about civil liberties and government surveillance, absolutist civil libertarians ... claim that 'the Founders' viewed the Bill of Rights as essential to American liberty. But paranoid rhetoric about our allegedly tyrannical government is closer to the ... Anti-Federalists ... The real Founders thought little of lists of abstract rights, putting their faith instead in checks and balances and accountability through elections ... We should be debating what kind of system of ... oversight of executive intelligence activity can best balance ... liberty with ... security — and we should leave anti-government paranoia to today’s Anti-Federalists." Michael Lind at Salon.
Politics
Abortion
The dueling frameworks of war. "There isn’t an issue that more clearly defines the partisan disconnect in this country than abortion and abortion rights ... The two sides don’t even agree on the framework of the abortion debate. While most Democrats believe Republicans are engaged in a war on women, most Republicans believe Democrats are engaged in a war on children. Democrats are fixated on the health and well-being of the woman, while Republicans focus on the health and well-being of the unborn child." Nathan Gonzalez at Rothenberg Political Report.
Colorado
Rights unit finds bias against transgender student. "A Colorado school district discriminated against a transgender first grader when it refused to let her use the girl’s bathroom, the state’s civil rights division has determined, a decision gay and transgender advocates say will have an indelible impact on how such cases are handled in the future. In a sharply worded ruling, the division concluded that the Fountain-Fort Carson School District needlessly created a situation in which the student, Coy Mathis, would be subject to harassment when it barred her from the girls’ bathroom even though she clearly identified as female." Dan Frosch at the New York Times.
Congress
The new Congressional reality. "House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy ... is up against a modern political reality that makes the job more difficult for him than for anyone who has had it before ... McCarthy can’t guarantee success ... because party power is not what it used to be on Capitol Hill ... Promises of special projects in the home district ... no longer exist as an enticement. Pledges of fundraising ... draw little interest in the age of super PACs ... Personal pleas for fealty to party leaders fall on deaf ears among a new generation of conservatives who often prefer to be more closely allied with external movement leaders than with House Speaker John A. Boehner." Paul Kane at the Washington Post.
And you thought Congressional hearings weren't humorous. "An Arabic-English interpreter confused the al Qaeda magazine Inspire with the gentlemen's magazine Esquire during a pretrial hearing in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunal on Friday." Jane Sutton at Reuters.
Democrats
The Senate Democrats are the new face of liberalism. "An infusion of new Democratic blood is happening ... in the Senate. And while Republicans loudly proclaim President Obama to be the most liberal president of their lifetimes ... The younger generation of Democratic senators may prove the real source of the party's long-term liberalization ... The influx of newer, younger members comes at a moment of stark ideological contrast among generations. Younger Americans are much more likely to back gay rights and environmental protection than older Americans, while the rapid growth of Hispanics means younger Americans are more likely to favor sweeping immigration reforms." Reid Wilson at the National Journal.
Congress is becoming greener. And that's important. "The Democratic caucus in the Senate is steadily getting greener ... which may prove an important counterweight to the climate denialism that continues to persist among Republicans ... With Obama set to mount a new push for climate change ... the emphasis on climate change ... among many of these new Senators ... could prove extremely consequential ... given that GOP hostility to climate science is all but certain ... Obama is going to have to resort ... to executive action to move forward ... Having more voices raised on behalf of the urgency of acting could help blunt the inevitable conservative attacks on the supposed 'tyranny' of such actions." Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.
DOD
The dark side of military recruiting. "Legislators and advocates believe that Michelle’s story reveals a problem that’s remained on the sidelines: the need to prevent sexual misconduct and assault ... against ... young recruits before they even ship out for basic training ... Military recruits are especially vulnerable given their youth and the relative autonomy that recruiters enjoy. Under federal law, recruiters must be allowed into most public schools. Any schools that receive federal funding under ... No Child Left Behind ... have to give military recruiters the same access to students that colleges and universities receive." Suzy Khimm at MSNBC.
DOE
Well, doesn't this seem problematic? "Four contractors managing the Energy Department’s national laboratories charged the agency $450,000 for consulting fees paid to a former Republican congresswoman from New Mexico, but the contractors could not document her work, according to a report by the department’s inspector general ... Inspector General Gregory H. Friedman said that the justification for the billing did 'not meet even minimum standards' for federal payments and that there was an 'absence of detailed evidence of the actual services provided' by Wilson." Steven Mufson at the Washington Post.
The Economy
The biggest threat to the economy is Congressional complacency. "With each month of steady employment growth ... the feeling of lassitude around ... the American economy takes hold ... The feeling of dread that used to bubble up in the moments before each month’s jobs report has largely dissipated ... That’s good news, certainly. But still, the thing that has replaced our collective dread may be even more dangerous in the long run — and that’s complacency. The slowness of our economic recovery should remain our biggest national worry ... But here’s the really incredible part: despite these worrisome facts, Congress has been doing nothing, absolutely nothing, to address the problem." Steven Rattner at the New York Times.
Fannie and Freddie have almost finished paying back the Treasury. "In February 2012, the caretakers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were absolutely sure that the federal government would never recoup the $188 billion it spent to take them over ... But then, the housing market came roaring back, and Fannie Mae was able to reverse a write-down of a pile of tax assets, sending money pouring into the Treasury. Now, Hamilton Place Strategies predicts that the agencies will be all paid up by the end of next year, before starting to generate surpluses." Lydia DePillis at Wonkblog.
A critique of Greg Mankiw and the one percent doctrine. Paul Krugman at the New York Times.
Elections
Cuomo 2016? "Less than 2½ years into his first term at the helm of the nation’s third most populous state, Cuomo already ranks among the most accomplished governors in the nation ... He strikes a commanding appearance, enjoys an extensive fundraising network, and possesses natural political instincts on par with any current officeholder. But there is reason to be skeptical of a Cuomo presidential bid in 2016 ... It is difficult to envision the charisma-challenged negotiator inspiring anything approaching the enthusiasm that elevated Barack Obama to the party’s nomination in 2008. Nor is he regarded as a 'true believer' who acts on conviction, political consequences be damned." Scott Conroy at Real Clear Politics.
FAA
Restrictions on in-flight electronics may be reduced. "Airline passengers irritated at having to turn off their devices could soon see some reprieve, with regulators set to allow wider use of gadgets in flight. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to relax the ban on using some types of personal-electronic devices at low altitudes, allowing passengers leeway during taxiing and even takeoffs and landings ... For fliers, the new rules would likely mean an end to familiar admonitions to turn off and stow all electronic devices. Cellphone calls are expected to remain off limits, however." Andy Pasztor at the Wall Street Journal.
Farm Bill
Amateur hour in the House, all over again. "A broad five-year farm bill went down to a surprise defeat in the House ... when Republican conservatives revolted ... arguing that it would cost too much, while Democrats defected, saying it would not spend enough on their priorities. The 234 to 195 vote was the latest rebuke to House GOP leaders, who have struggled to ... pass major legislation ... Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi ... called it 'amateur hour.' ... The vote served as the latest demonstration that, on almost every key issue, House Democrats wield unusual clout in the normally authoritarian chamber because Republicans consistently face opposition from several dozen in their own ranks." Paul Kane at the Washington Post.
No matter what the GOP says, the failure of the bill was their fault. "The House GOP leadership continues to blame Democrats for not supplying enough votes to offset conservative defections (yes, that really is the argument). But ... Nancy Pelosi flatly warned that the bill’s deep cuts to food stamps would make it a nonstarter among Dems, and not only that, Republicans responded to this by adding more stringent work requirements for food stamps to the bill." Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.
And the bill was just bad. "The House today approved a stunning, extreme amendment to the farm bill ... that would allow states to require most adults who receive or apply for SNAP — including parents with children ... and many people with disabilities — to work or participate in a work or training program for at least 20 hours a week or else have their entire family’s SNAP benefits cut off. The amendment provides no jobs and no funds for work or training programs, and it does not require states to make any work opportunities available. People who want to work and are looking for a job but haven’t found one could be cut off. And the amendment gives states a ... financial incentive to do this." Robert Greenstein at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
This food stamp business is part of a disturbing sequence of events. "It's just amazing to me the way they keep finding new ways to kick poor people. One, deregulate everything so that banks can start placing bets agaist their own securities. Two, destroy the economy, so that millions more people lose their jobs and have to go on food stamps in the first place. Three, decide that poor people have to pay the penalty for all this financial hanky-panky, and cut the federal programs they depend on to the bone. Four, cut food stamps even more, and make the recipients work more." Michael Tomasky at the Daily Beast.
Fiscal Fights
Harry Reid and the NIH vs. the sequester. "Over the past few weeks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has privately and publicly pushed his fellow lawmakers to replace cuts to basic scientific research, one of the most insidious impacts of sequestration. Reid's efforts have yet to produce any legislative breakthroughs on the Hill. But aides and associates of the majority leader say he is committed to finding a way to replace the $1.7 billion in cuts facing the National Institutes of Health or at least soften the blow." Sam Stein at the Huffington Post.
Florida
Miami is going underwater. Literally. "The unavoidable truth is that sea levels are rising and Miami is on its way to becoming an American Atlantis. It may be another century before the city is completely underwater ... but life in the vibrant metropolis ... will begin to dissolve much quicker, most likely within a few decades. The rising waters will destroy Miami slowly, by seeping into wiring, roads, building foundations and drinking-water supplies – and quickly, by increasing the destructive power of hurricanes. "Miami, as we know it today, is doomed," says Harold Wanless, the chairman of the department of geological sciences at the University of Miami." Jeff Goodell at Rolling Stone.
Foreign Policy
I don't often say this, but the left is wrong on Syria. "The left’s opposition to American intervention is Syria is not tactical or prudential ... The left’s opposition is based on principle ... It says that the United States should not engage in interventions at all. The most common reference point is ... Bush’s invasion of Iraq ... By identifying Obama’s impulse in Syria with ... Iraq, the left rules out any possibility of a benign intervention for humanitarian or for worthy geopolitical ends ... In Syria, there is a civil war going on, and there is a reasonable moral case for backing the rebels ... It’s not genocide, but a patria-cide—and belongs on the list of crimes against humanity that other nations should not tolerate." John Judis at the New Republic.
GOP
Boehner is a decent speaker in unfortunate circumstances. "Boehner is actually doing his job well. It’s just that it’s an impossible job right now. The basic structure for why it’s impossible is well known. Boehner’s Republicans have a relatively slim majority; on any particular vote, it’s likely that either a group of moderates or a group of radical conservatives will want to dissent; and in a polarized House it’s unlikely that Democrats will furnish many votes without substantive concessions – and cutting deals with Democrats is almost impossible when Republican activists consider any compromise a betrayal." Jonathan Bernstein at Salon.
Conservatives keep putting Boehner between a rock and a hard place. "Boehner’s House Republicans dealt him the latest in a series of humiliations. Sixty-two Republicans defied him and voted against the farm bill, defeating a major piece of legislation Boehner had made a test of his leadership by pushing for it publicly and voting for it personally ... The pattern was the same: ... A group of conservative purists remained upset that the legislation didn’t go far enough ... In all instances, Boehner faces a choice: his job or his legacy. He can enact landmark compromises but lose his job in a conservative coup. Or he can keep his job but get nothing much done." Dana Milbank at the Washington Post.
The GOP war on data. "The House Budget Committee voted to force the Congressional Budget Office to produce deceptive budget data ... The true purpose of the legislation is to institutionalize the Laffer curve into tax analysis. The Laffer curve says that some tax cuts may pay for themselves by expanding the tax base more than taxes are cut ... This is part of a long-term effort to eliminate data collection or pervert it so that policy is biased toward Republican priorities ... It’s almost as if Republicans ... distrust any fact that conflicts with what they want to believe ... These efforts to deny, abolish and distort basic data for partisan purposes is insidious and reprehensible." Bruce Bartlett at the Fiscal Times.
Health
GOP, I get that you're clearly not policy pros. But at least try to not make things worse. "Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's plan to expand Medicaid ... under President Barack Obama's health care reform law ran into a roadblock it may not be able to surmount ... The Michigan State Senate's Republican leadership declined to allow a vote on a plan to add about 450,000 state residents to Medicaid ... Republican legislators in Maine and New Hampshire also have blocked Medicaid expansion efforts since Wednesday ... It appears that only about half of the states will adopt the Medicaid expansion, meaning millions of low-income people will be denied health benefits." Jeffrey Young at the Huffington Post.
Say goodbye to the old restrictions on emergency contraception. "The Obama administration restrictions on the availability for the best-known emergency contraceptive pill are no more. After years of political delays, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved over-the-counter sale of Plan B One-Step emergency contraception to women and girls without age or point-of-sale restrictions ... Going forward, the restrictions have been eliminated -- those seeking to purchase the emergency contraception can do so regardless of age, with no ID or prescription, right off the drugstore shelf." Steve Benen at Maddowblog.
The contractor in charge of answering questions about Obamacare braces for the storm.
"Within days, the company that handles a daily average of more than 60,000 calls about Medicare will be deluged by new inquiries about health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The six Medicare call centers run by Vangent ... will answer questions about the health-care law from the 34 states that opted out of running their ... health insurance marketplaces or decided to operate them jointly with the federal government. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that Vangent’s call centers will receive 42 million calls about the federal marketplaces this year." Susan Jaffe at the Washington Post.
The causes of bad health outcomes. "Other developed nations achieve better health outcomes than the U.S. does despite spending less money on care ... Throughout the developed world, improvements ... are almost completely attributable to diet; exercise; smoking, alcohol and drug usage; education; employment and income; family structure; environment; and community safety ... Other developed countries achieve better health results ... because they spend less on care. In doing so, they free up resources ... for ... education, day care, recreation ... roads and bridges. In the U.S., our bloated health economy deprives other social needs of the resources required to genuinely improve and extend lives." David Goldhall at Bloomberg.
Immigration
How the US population would change thanks to immigration reform. "The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Senate bill would boost the U.S. population by about 10.4 million over the next decade and then add 5.8 million more people in the decade after that. But that’s all 'compared to current law.' So what’s current law? The Census Bureau already expected net international migration to increase by roughly 20 million in the next two decades.* The 16.2 million extra people ... are on top of that. So, if the Senate bill passed, the United States would be adding somewhere around 36 million new immigrants over the next two decades — a figure comparable to the population of Canada." Brad Plumer at Wonkblog.
Pelosi warns Boehner against a repeat of the farm bill debacle. "In the wake of the collapse of the farm bill in the House, Nancy Pelosi is putting Speaker John Boehner on notice: If you try the same shenanigans on immigration, expect the very same outcome. In an interview today, Pelosi said she hoped Boehner and Republicans had learned 'lessons' from the farm bill debacle about the consequences of moving legislation too far to the right, and warned that doing so on immigration reform would alienate Dems just as Republican amendments to the farm bill did." Greg Sargent at the Plum Line.
IRS
Seriously, how has this scandal not gone away yet? "From the moment that reports first emerged ... key Republicans in Congress and many conservative commentators leapt to the conclusion that this 'targeting' ... must have been a Nixonian political 'hit' by the Obama White House ... It has never been clear why a President ... would focus his attention on tiny groups ... (while ignoring the biggest conservative 501(c)(4)s, like Karl Rove’s Crossroads group)—or would use the IRS to do so only by delaying those groups’ 501(c)(4) applications, rather than doing something more directly damaging. And ... there is absolutely no evidence that any such political retaliation was at work here." Neil Buchanan at Verdict.
Try again, Sen. McConnell. "Mitch McConnell delivered a speech today at the American Enterprise Institute to officially signal that the IRS scandal has entered its post-fact phase ... Before Republicans were going to prove that Obama’s administration was involved. All of the evidence suggests it wasn’t. So now McConnell is framing the question as Obama trying to prove he wasn’t involved. Which, of course, he can’t. For that matter, McConnell can’t prove that he didn’t mastermind the IRS. You can’t prove a negative." Jonathan Chait at New York Magazine.
LGBT Rights
The one institution that still technically bans gay sex: The US military. "There’s one U.S. government institution that still criminalizes consensual gay sex: the military. Two years into the relatively uneventful implementation of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, it may seem strange that gay and lesbian service members are still technically barred from having sex. Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice however, is technically still in effect. Article 125 makes it a criminal offense to 'engage in unnatural carnal copulation' with 'another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal.'" Adam Serwer at MSNBC.
Maine
Michigan
The Michigan GOP appear to have shut down Republican Governor Snyder's agenda. "Gov. Rick Snyder started the year with an ambitious agenda to expand access to Medicaid ... for the working poor and raise $1.2 billion in new taxes for road repairs — and is now in danger of getting neither ... Snyder accused the senators of not doing their jobs and going on vacation, making it the first major public clash between the ... politician and Republican lawmakers after two-and-half-years of legislative accomplishments ... Political analysts said the riff raises questions about whether Snyder can complete ... Medicaid expansion and increased road funding — before facing re-election next year." Chad Livengood at Detroit News.
Prisons
GOP backs off of the 'tough on crime' platform. "Republicans, helped pave the way for dramatic revamping of Georgia's criminal code. New rules ... are steering nonviolent offenders away from prison, emphasizing rehabilitation over jail time, and lessening the penalties for many drug and property crimes. Georgia is the latest example of a Republican-led state drive to replace tough-on-crime dictums of the 1990s with a more forgiving and nuanced set of laws. Leading the charge in states such as Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina and South Dakota are GOP lawmakers—and in most cases Republican governors—who once favored stiff prison terms aimed at driving down crime." Neil King Jr. at the Wall Street Journal.
SCOTUSwatch
Helping big business. "The majority's opinion creates a Catch-22. Antitrust law makes it illegal to use monopoly power to exploit customers—but corporations can use their monopoly power to compel customers to waive their right to bring an antitrust challenge ... Based on this ruling ... employers could require employees to ... waive their ability to bring class actions, making ... the Civil Rights Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act ... impossible to enforce in any case where the damages are exceeded by the cost of individual litigation." ... Kagan's brilliant dissent ... reminds us that decisions that ... protect the powerful against the ... weak are not inevitable." Scott Lemieux at the American Prospect.
Virginia
The McDonnell probe keeps turning up new problems for the governor. "Federal authorities are asking Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s associates about previously undisclosed gifts given by a campaign donor to McDonnell’s wife that total tens of thousands of dollars and include money and expensive designer clothing, according to people familiar with the inquiry. The questions are part of broad federal and state investigations into gifts to the governor and his family and whether McDonnell (R) took official action on behalf of anyone who gave gifts, people with knowledge of the investigation have said." Rosalind Heldermann and Jerry Markon at the Washington Post.
International
Africa
Al Qaeda allied group attacks UN compound in Somalia. "Al Qaeda’s allies in Somalia rammed a truck full of explosives into a major United Nations base in Mogadishu today, then fought their way into the compound in what became a 90 minute gun battle. More than 15 people were killed, Somali government officials said, including nine Islamist fighters, three UN guards and at least three civilians. It was the most significant attack on the international humanitarian effort that has been trying to help rebuild Somalia, since the twin 2008 bombings." Mike Pflanz at the Christian Science Monitor.
Failure to resolve the Kismayo crisis could lead to an Al Shabaab revival. "Somalia has been calm ... Piracy activity has dramatically dwindled ... The al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab ... is now in retreat ... Despite this modicum of progresses, there remain many unresolved issues ... One of the most troubling is the brewing debate over the status of Kismayo, Somalia’s third capital city ... Kismayo is at the center of a debate over whom has the legitimacy to establish a federal state ... The failure to resolve the crisis ... will ... provide an opportunity for al-Shabaab to regroup ... The militants can exploit that division to regain lost territory without a ... local administration to establish control." Abdihakim Ainte at Medium.
Asia
Indiana Jones would be jealous. "Archaeologists have uncovered a lost mediaeval city in the jungles of Cambodia, which predates Angkor Wat by 350 years ... Mahendraparvata was the seat of the civilization that founded the illustrious Hindu-Buddhist Khmer Empire that stood at the center of Southeast Asian life for around 600 years (802-1431 AD), before mysteriously fading from history and leaving its magnificent monuments to ponder ... Until now, the mediaeval city had remained buried by thick jungle brush in the Phnom Kulen mountains." Jonathan DeHart at the Diplomat.
Europe
Spain arrests eight people with links to Al Qaeda. "Spanish police say they have arrested eight people suspected of recruiting jihadist militants for al-Qaida-linked groups in Syria ... A ministry statement said the group was suspected of sending dozens of potential fighters ... to Syria, some of whom had carried out suicide attacks. It says others had been sent to training camps. The ministry said the group gathered recruits and provided them with the money and the means to travel abroad under the orders of al-Qaida." Associated Press.
Greece's coalition government suffered another blow. "Greece's fragile coalition government was left bruised but standing Friday after a junior party decided to pull its two ministers from the cabinet following a falling-out over the unpopular closure of state broadcaster ERT ... Democratic Left pulled out of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' year-old coalition, withdrawing two cabinet ministers and promising only qualified support in parliament - a move that leaves the government with a slim majority." Nicholas Paphitis and Derek Gatopoulos at the Associated Press.
Putin's recent crackdown in Russia is bad. But things have been much worse in the past. "The idea that the Kremlin’s current crackdown on the opposition is 'the worst since the fall of communism' has now become conventional wisdom ... Putin’s crackdown actually pales in comparison to the massive violence unleashed by Boris Yeltsin ... during the 1993 constitutional crisis ... Using the OMON to rough-up protesters is bad. Using the courts to throw a few punk-rockers in jail is bad. Stealing taxpayer money is bad. Using machine guns, tanks, and heavy artillery to blow up your political opponents, and an unknown number of innocent civilians, is *a lot* worse." Mark Adomanis at Forbes.
Middle East
Morsi is having some problems with the Egyptian public. "Across Egypt, angry crowds have barred President Mohamed Morsi’s appointees from their offices, millions have signed petitions calling for his ouster and work crews have fortified the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood that propelled him to power to prevent attacks the police have failed to stop. As the one-year anniversary of Mr. Morsi’s inauguration as Egypt’s first freely elected president approaches, he faces widespread discontent from a swath of society and stinging grass-roots campaigns that have undermined his ability to wield power and address the country’s most pressing problems." Ben Hubbard and Mary El Shiekh at the New York Times.
Syrian rebels are receiving new weapons, thanks to the US. "Syrian rebels said Friday that newly arrived shipments of heavy weaponry could swing the momentum on the battlefield in their favor, after a shift in U.S. policy opened the door for others to send them arms ... The U.S. decision appears to have prompted other nations to increase their assistance, with new deliveries including highly prized antitank and antiaircraft weaponry ... Shipments had come from countries in the Friends of Syria Group, a coalition of 11 Western and Arab nations that back the opposition." Loveday Morris at the Washington Post.
Rouhani doesn't guarantee a solution to the Iranian nuclear program. "The election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s next president has rightfully elicited the first real optimism in years about the possibility of diplomatic progress in curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions ... The campaign and its outcome have bestowed upon Rouhani some measure of mandate, both from the political establishment and from a population that desperately wants a reprieve from sanctions, to advance constructive solutions on Iran’s nuclear program ... However ... Iran has no intention of simply capitulating to international demands for a suspension of its uranium enrichment activities." Suzanne Maloney at Brookings.
More Syrian-related violence in Lebanon. "At least six Lebanese soldiers were killed Sunday in a fierce clash with followers of a radical Sunni Muslim cleric in the southern city of Sidon as Lebanon’s security continues to deteriorate due to sectarian tensions over Hezbollah’s involvement in neighboring Syria’s civil war." Mitchell Prothero at McClatchy.
Polisci
On human rights treaties and human rights violations. "One of the weirder findings of the recent political science literature is that states which sign up to human rights treaties are more likely, not less, to commit human rights abuses ... This can probably be accounted for by selection effects. In other words, the finding reflects the fact that some states are more likely to sign up to human rights treaties than others, not the consequences of the treaty for subsequent state behavior ... The results suggest that human rights treaties do not cause states to commit more human rights violations; instead, states that commit more human rights violations are more likely to join human rights treaties." Henry Farrell at the Monkey Cage.
Turns out voters don't care how women in politics look. "We find that women don’t pay a higher price than men for coverage of their appearance. Unflattering coverage does hurt, but it lowers voters’ assessments of both men and women equally. Like other emerging political science research, we show that voters don’t hold women and men to different standards on the campaign trail." Danny Hayes and Jennifer Lawless at Wonkblog.
Miscellaneous
There could be hundreds of Nazis still living in the United States. "Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center — named after the world's foremost Nazi hunter — was hardly surprised. When we asked him how many Nazi war criminals may be living in the United States, Hier told Daily Intelligencer, 'It could be hundreds.' 'Normally I would have said thousands,' he added, 'but they’re in their eighties and nineties, and many of them may have died ... It it is fair to say that there could be many.'" Dan Amira at New York Magazine.
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