“keep in mind Obama tried to turn Fort Leavenworth into Gitmo North.”

Leavenworth IS now Gitmo North, a lifetime terrorist confinement center, and Manning the first US citizen in the war on terror locked up forever, on US soil, without trial, just like those terrorists we hold permanently captive in Cuba.

So long as the current leadership of the Pentagon wants it this way, so long as this “war” continues, he’ll never get a trial, and never again see the outside. This is long term, no-trial confinement, just like the terrorists get.

We who protest this need to get used to the idea that this is meant to be forever, lifetime confinement of Manning, without trial, by the Pentagon, and the general public over time will forget about him. Because there will be more. All of us who protest this militarization of the US are headed for threats of similar military confinement. Get used to it, this is what the USA is today.

But who? Ms Clinton won’t oppose Obama, Retiring Senators Dodd or Bayh? Senators Boxer, Schumer, Feingold? Those three are running for re-election to their Senate seats. (I’d vote for Russ). There is no one of enough stature, it seems at this point.

You can easily buy your own Predator; look online at any RC Airplane hobby website – for example, here is one complete with cameras:
http://www.bananahobby.com/1048.html
You can buy a wide variety of scale model jets and military aircraft, some with quite amazing performance capabilities (130+ mph electric!) Israel etc doesn’t need to buy them from the US Military contractors. Hobbyists are building them. Here’s a whole page full:
http://www.bananahobby.com/electric-rc-airplanes-electric-fighter-rc-jets.html
I would suspect a wide variety of people have purchased these for a wide variety of purposes, not all family-friendly entertainment.

Kludge – and Kluge

You can look up all these funny technical terms at the Hackers Jargon File:

(The Hackers Jargon File is a hilarious read, btw. It’s been around since the earliest days of news groups.)

Bamford’s book The Puzzle Palace: Inside the National Security Agency details years of cooperation with Britain in gathering signals and communications from one another. Both countries have laws stating the gov’t will not collect communications from their own public. So the US allows Britain to operate receiver stations nearby central communications and microwave centers all over the US. The US in the same way has receivers next to Britain’s com hubs. Each country then shares with the other the communications which it cannot itself legally gather. Bamford’s book gives all the details, the locations the laws being flaunted, and everything.

As you know recently there was that US-UK flareup about secret communications, and the US cut off the UK from certain types of communications (and the UK must have done the return favor). Seems clear the answer for the US has been to offer a similar deal to the Israelis, to gather the US communications that it is illegal for the US to gather themselves, and then share it with US.

Good topic for Bamford’s next book.

I wonder why these rural white men are becoming so radicalized? I don’t think holding congressional hearings would help us find out; but maybe.

They must prevent his access to tools of asymmetric warfare – a rope to hang himself. The prisoner’s death by suicide would be a win for him and a loss for his captors, by their accounting. Remember how the camp commander classified the behavior of the Muslims who committed suicide in Gitmo – as a winning tactic of war, rather than of despair.

All the citizens of one belligerent are enemies of the government and the citizens of the other.

Pacifists in opposing belligerents are enemies of one another?

In democracies, no minority of either belligerant might oppose a war?

No neutrals, even?

Even the uninformed, the insane, and infants and children, are enemies, and all without knowing it.

So being an enemy, and having enemies, is involuntary. No individual, informed consent is required at all.

One wouldn’t think this could stand conceptually, but who am I to say these days.

…making the white paper, rather than Congressionally-passed statute, the law of the land.

Usually the Legislative branch jealously guards it’s lawmaking prerogative. So it makes sense for us to figure out why it would defer on this subject, and let the Executive branch make law.

Some guesses:
1. Legislative branch fears political fallout of making law in this area.
2. Legislative branch prefers to have contradictory and unclear law in this area.
3. Legislative branch believes this area is presidential prerogative.
4. Legislative branch sees no votes either way on the topic (no public outcry for a solution).
5. Legislative branch already tried to make law in this area, and depends on the Executive to decide independently whether and how to enforce the laws already made (and will accept whatever interpretation the Executive chooses).
6. Legislative branch likes what is happening in this particular case, and lawmaking principles be damned.

Sometimes you explain in great detail, with knowlege, cleverness and wit, what is going on. Other times you clearly indicate something is not right, but you seem to think we all understand exactly what is raising your ire.

Help me (us) to understand why the Legislative branch would “delegate” the lawmaking power on this topic. Thanks.

Maybe members of Murdoch’s worldwide reporting staff provide info to intelligence agencies, or maybe some intelligence agencies have embeds in the reporting staff. Some reporters could be on the payroll of other government agencies. The news organization could have stories which governments have requested be held back, or requested be spun a certain way. There could be political bombshells too, like requests and payments for candidates’ support in the Murdoch media during elections, foreign or domestic.

Surely someone tracks RM wherever he goes, from event to event, and some intersection of RM’s itinerary with the diplomatic corps of countries he visits, galas he attends, dinners and parties where he speaks to ambassadors, etc. Tracking of what he’s up to, as a mover and shaker of worldwide importance. Maybe intelligence on whom he sees and where, from terrorists to lovers.