The Guardian's Gift to Terrorists

And Glenn Greenwald's gift to terrorists, the f-king traitor.

At London's Daily Mail, "'The Guardian has handed a gift to terrorists', warns MI5 chief: Left-wing paper's Edward Snowden leaks caused 'greatest damage to western security in history' say Whitehall insiders":

A massive cache of stolen top-secret documents published in The Guardian has handed a ‘gift’ to terrorists, the head of MI5 warned last night.

In a blistering attack, Andrew Parker said the publication of confidential files leaked by US fugitive Edward Snowden had caused huge ‘harm’ to the capability of Britain’s intelligence services. Security officials say the exposé amounts to a ‘guide book’, advising terrorists on the best way to avoid detection when plotting an atrocity.

In Whitehall, it is considered to have caused the greatest damage to the Western security apparatus in history. In his first public speech since taking the job earlier this year, Mr Parker said the leaks handed the ‘advantage’ to terrorists and were a ‘gift they need to evade us and strike at will’.

He said there were several thousand Islamist extremists living in the UK who ‘see the British people as a legitimate target’.

The security services were working round the clock to stop the fanatics, but MI5 was now ‘tackling threats on more fronts than ever before’....

Mr Parker said: ‘What we know about the terrorists, and the detail of the capabilities we use against them, together represent our margin of advantage. That margin gives us the prospect of being able to detect their plots and stop them.

‘But that margin is under attack. Reporting from GCHQ is vital to the safety of this country and its citizens.

‘GCHQ intelligence has played a vital role in stopping many of the terrorist plots that MI5 and the police have tackled in the past decade.

‘It causes enormous damage to make public the reach and limits of GCHQ techniques. Such information hands the advantage to the terrorists.

'It is the gift they need to evade us and strike at will. Unfashionable as it might seem, that is why we must keep secrets secret, and why not doing so causes such harm.’

Obama Denies Death and Burial Benefits to Families of 4 Dead Soldiers

Clearly Obama relishes extracting pain from everyday citizens.

Absolutely outrageous.

At the New York Times:

You have to shake your head at the Obama death benefit snit. Beyond the gross immorality of it, it's just plain stupid. #caring

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) October 9, 2013

Pentagon military and civilian personnel have largely escaped furloughs through legislation signed by President Obama and on orders from the defense secretary. But the death benefits — at least for the families of military personnel killed since Oct. 1, when the government shut down — are not covered by either move.

Last week, Congress quickly passed the Pay Our Military Act to ensure that active-duty soldiers and civilian support staff members were paid for their work. Over the weekend, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon concluded that most of its 400,000 civilian employees were covered by the bill.

Some House Republicans have suggested, without citing specific language in the bill, that it also covered death benefits. “The intent of Congress was to permit D.O.D. to honor all payment and allowances to service members,” Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California, said in a letter to Mr. Hagel.

“The department’s decision to not make these payments is a matter of choice,” he added. “And until a correction is made to the law, it is up to you to make the appropriate judgment based on a more correct interpretation.”

The House Appropriations Committee is moving to get a bill to the floor to reinstate the benefits as early as Wednesday.

“Frankly, I think it’s disgraceful that they’re withholding these benefits,” Speaker John A. Boehner said in a brief news conference Tuesday afternoon. “But again tomorrow, the House is going to act specifically on this and I hope the president will sign it.”

#ObamaCare on #SNL

I don't watch SNL that much, for obvious reasons. But I thought they did a pretty good job mocking the Abominable Care Act last weekend, and picked up by CNN yesterday:



More at WSJ, "Software, Design Defects Cripple Health-Care Website: Government Acknowledges It Needs to Fix Design and Software Problems."

Janis Joplin, Sensational

From Kayla Yandoli, at BuzzFeed, "17 Sensational Live Performances By Janis Joplin."

Elizabeth Smart Shares Kidnapping Story '100 Percent' in New Book

At LAT, "Elizabeth Smart tells her story in new memoir."



Also at London's Daily Mail, "'He used me to act out his sick Adam and Eve fantasies': Elizabeth Smart reveals her full horror of being her captor's sex toy and slave in bombshell memoir."

'Clock is Ticking' — China Warns U.S. Over Budget Showdown

And like it's going to do any good.

At the Independent UK, "Get your fiscal house in order: China warns US as superpower expresses concern for $1.3tn of investments":

China, the biggest foreign creditor of the United States, has waded into the American budget crisis, warning Congress that it must resolve the political impasse over the debt ceiling without further delay.

The Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Zhu Guangyao, told America’s deadlocked politicians on Monday that “the clock is ticking” and called on them to approve an extension of the national borrowing limit before the federal government is projected to run out of cash on 17 October.

“We ask that the United States earnestly takes steps to resolve in a timely way the political issues around the debt ceiling and prevent a US debt default to ensure the safety of Chinese investments in the United States,” Mr Zhu told reporters in Beijing. “This is the United States’ responsibility,” he added.

The American government entered its seventh day of shutdown on Monday, following the failure of Congress to approve the national budget a week ago. And there was little sign of progress on the still more crucial issue of the fast-approaching “debt ceiling” deadline.

Continue reading.

Johnny Carson's Second Wife Kept Secret Apartment with 'Shrine' to NFL Legend Frank Gifford

He broke into her apartment to get proof of her adultery and was devastated at what he found. He broke down in tears, according to his attorney in a new memoir.

See London's Daily Mail, "Johnny Carson confirmed his second wife's affair after he broke into her secret Manhattan apartment to discover a 'shrine' to NFL legend Frank Gifford says his one-time attorney and confidant":

The one-time lawyer and closest confidant of legendary 'Tonight Show' host Johnny Carson has revealed the moment the notoriously mercurial star broke down in tears when he discovered his wife was allegedly cheating on him.

Having been roped into breaking and entering the secret Manhattan apartment of Joanne Copeland, Carson's second wife, attorney Henry Bushkin and the entertainer discovered a virtual shrine of photographs to pro-footballer Frank Gifford - confirming Carson's greatest fears.

As Carson began to weep, Bushkin, who was aged only 27 during the clandestine 1970 raid recalls that the multi-millionaire television host's raincoat had fallen open to reveal a .38 revolver in a holster on his hip...

RTWT.

Daniel Mitchell on the Debt Ceiling

He's a good man.



Also at the New York Times, "Senate Leaders Mull Raising Debt Ceiling in Challenge to House."

Texas Teacher Cristy Nicole Deweese Outed as Playboy 'Coed of the Month'

Well, it was awhile back. No worries, right?

Actually not.

At London's Daily Mail, "Parents' outrage after high school Spanish teacher, 21, revealed as Playboy model."

Government Shutdown Gives Skateboarders New Life in Washington

This reminds me of the infamous "Skateboarding is not a crime" stickers back in the 1980s, when cities passed all kinds of laws prohibiting skating in public.

At WSJ:

Skateboarders score in shutdown; With D.C. plazas empty, the banned sport is suddenly on http://t.co/HAJ73E0KHb
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 7, 2013

Mika Brzezinski: Ted Cruz Doesn't Love This Country

At Legal Insurrection, "Mika Brzezinski No. 1 on list of MSM losing it over gov’t scale-back."

And at Free Beacon, "Mika: Ted Cruz, Like-Minded Republicans Don’t Love America."

Senator Ted Cruz on 'The Kelly File'

At Fox News, "Megyn Kelly Asks Ted Cruz: What's It Like to Be the Most Hated Man in America?"

#PresidentStompyFoot

A total riot.

At Twitchy, "#PresidentStompyFoot: Obama’s shutdown snit fits inspire another ‘nails it’ hashtag."

Ah! A very accurate hashtag describing the shallow, narcissistic, petty, petulant child @BarackObama #PresidentStompyFoot

— prophet of doom (@QuisUtDeus7) October 5, 2013

A Tale of Two Mannings: 0-5 and 5-0

At USA Today, "Giants say Eli Manning is trying too hard to save team's season":

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Eli Manning has long been a fourth-quarter fortress of calm and clutch playmaking.

But not Sunday, not during a season that kept crumbling with Manning's three interceptions on consecutive drives against the type of pressure the two-time Super Bowl MVP has typically ignored in big games.

The quarterback nicknamed "Easy" has been pressing too hard to lift his wounded team, coach Tom Coughlin conceded after a crushing, 36-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that buried the Giants' season.

For a while Sunday, Manning was the reason the Giants showed signs of life. He threw a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to receiver Rueben Randle. The second putting the Giants up 21-19 late in the quarter.

But then Manning and his team came unraveled. With the Giants winning two Super Bowl championships among the past six, neither players nor fans are used to failure on this scale: The Giants are 0-5 for the first time in a non-strike season since 1979.

Manning became the first quarterback since Daunte Culpepper in 2005 to throw 12 picks in first five games.

Also, "Tom Coughlin: Blame me, not Eli Manning, for 0-5 start."

And here's the other Manning. Boy, what a game, "Peyton, Broncos outduel Cowboys thanks to Romo INT."

Obama Loves Him Some Terrorist Rendition

Well, it's not "extraordinary rendition," but it's still rendition, and Uncle Barry campaigned against it.

But he's embraced it now, the hypocritical asshole.

At WaPo, "Al-Qaeda suspect’s capture represents rare ‘rendition’ by U.S. military":

The capture of an alleged al-Qaeda operative outside his home by Special Operations forces in Tripoli on Saturday and his secret removal from Libya was a rare instance of U.S. military involvement in “rendition,” the practice of grabbing terrorism suspects to face trial without an extradition proceeding and long the province of the CIA or the FBI.

U.S. officials hailed the capture of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, who was wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, as an intelligence coup that will disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda to strengthen its franchise in North Africa.

Keep reading.

And at WSJ, "Americans at War in Africa":

Al-Libi ought to be an intelligence gold mine if the Obama Administration is willing to extract it. U.S. officials are saying he is likely to be tried eventually in U.S. criminal court. But for now he is probably on a U.S. Navy vessel, where he can be interrogated safe from American civilian due process.

Al-Libi ought to be brought to Guantanamo as an illegal enemy combatant and tried by military commission. But it apparently offends the Obama Administration's political sensibilities less to keep captured killers on board a ship for weeks instead. That's also how the Administration dealt with Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali member of al Qaeda who was captured in April 2011 and kept incommunicado at sea for some two months. Secret prison, anyone?

The benefit of capturing such men, as opposed to firing a missile from a drone, is to gain intelligence to stop future attacks. The Obama Administration has captured very few al Qaeda operatives and as a result we know less than we should about the ways that al Qaeda is decentralizing and expanding in Africa. Let's hope it doesn't offer al-Libi a Miranda warning.

The benefit of capturing such men, as opposed to firing a missile from a drone, is to gain intelligence to stop future attacks. The Obama Administration has captured very few al Qaeda operatives and as a result we know less than we should about the ways that al Qaeda is decentralizing and expanding in Africa. Let's hope it doesn't offer al-Libi a Miranda warning.

Yeah, well, let's hope not. We've still got idiot Eric Holder pulling a lot of strings in the Oval Office, the goddamned traitor.

Sen. Tom Coburn: U.S. Won't Default on Debt Ceiling Impasse

At Memeorandum, "Tom Coburn: No default if ceiling stays."



Also at WaPo, "Rand Paul: It’s ‘irresponsible’ of Obama to talk about default."

Shutdown Stalemate Week Two

At WSJ, "Boehner Ties Deal to Talks on Debt: Speaker Won't Propose End to Standoff Unless Democrats Agree to Broader Deficit Negotiations":

WASHINGTON—The government shutdown enters its second week with the two parties still bitterly divided and Republicans increasingly tying the fight to a fast-approaching deadline to avoid a default on U.S. debt.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said Sunday he wouldn't bring up bills to fully reopen the government or increase the country's borrowing limit unless Democrats agree to broader talks aimed at trimming the deficit. The speaker insisted he couldn't muster enough votes to pass either one without the concessions.

"The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit, and the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us," Mr. Boehner told ABC in his first interview since the shutdown began. "I'm not going to raise the debt limit without a serious conversation about dealing with problems that are driving the debt up."

The fight to this point has centered on Republican demands to delay or dismantle parts of the 2010 health-care law in exchange for funding the government. Now, by pairing the standoffs over funding the government and raising the debt ceiling, the speaker is trying to force President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to agree to GOP priorities on deficits and federal spending in return for movement on both. The two Democrats have repeatedly rejected GOP attempts to use the mid-October deadline to increase the debt limit as a bargaining chip.

White House officials responded to Mr. Boehner's comments in a series of Twitter messages. Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said Republicans "don't have to give up anything. Just pay nation's bills on time, no strings attached." Mr. Reid challenged Mr. Boehner's view that he lacks the votes to pass a government-funding bill without Republican priorities.

"I think he does," Mr. Reid said via Twitter. "Let the House vote, and we'll find out."

Mr. Boehner faces two challenges from inside his party. Centrist Republicans, eager to fully reopen the government and avoid a default, have already reached across the aisle to explore possible solutions, while conservatives are threatening to turn their back on the speaker if a broader deficit-reduction deal doesn't include changes or delays to the new health-care law.

The tough talk from Mr. Boehner is as much about preserving his leverage with Democrats as it is about keeping Republicans unified. A group of House Republicans—members say there are 15 or more—have expressed frustration with the shutdown and urged party leaders to put the episode behind them. But the bloc has bypassed opportunities to vote against Mr. Boehner, raising questions about whether it would break with party leaders.

Continue reading.

Astonishing Visual Record of the Ku Klux Klan

Bizarre.

At London's Daily Mail, "Under the hood: Astonishing glimpse into secretive rituals and mundane home life of Ku Klux Klan members in the 21st Century."

Annie Lennox Slams 'Overtly Sexualized' Women's Pop 'Pornography'

From Annie Lennox, on Facebook:

I have to say that I'm disturbed and dismayed by the recent spate of overtly sexualised performances and videos. You know the ones I'm talking about. It seems obvious that certain record companies are peddling highly styled pornography with musical accompaniment. As if the tidal wave of sexualised imagery wasn't already bombarding impressionable young girls enough..I believe in freedom of speech and expression, but the market forces don't give a toss about the notion of boundaries. As long as there's booty to make money out of, it will be bought and sold. It's depressing to see how these performers are so eager to push this new level of low.Their assumption seems to be that misogyny- utilised and displayed through oneself is totally fine, as long as you are the one creating it. As if it's all justified by how many millions of dollars and U tube hits you get from behaving like pimp and prostitute at the same time. It's a glorified and monetized form of self harm.

She's especially talking about Miley Cyrus and Rihanna, apparently.

More at London's Daily Mail, "Annie Lennox takes aim at Miley Cyrus and Rihanna as she launches attack over 'pornographic' music videos."

As I was saying earlier, I watched Miley on SNL last night and thought it wasn't too bad. However, I've never watched the "Wrecking Ball" video until just now, which is pretty much all gratuitous nudity.

Meh. I'd much prefer to see Katy Perry nude on a wrecking ball like that, lol.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

Cartoon Credit: Nate Beeler.