Bradley Manning is a fucking patriot

Make sure and look at the New York Times or Guardian today.

rape by deception + race card

So the reason I initially took notice of this is because of the disturbing issues of race this incident stirs up. A Married Arab man has sex with a Jewish woman who believes he is Jewish. She finds out that he is Arab and accuses him of rape by deception for which a precedent exists in Israel. After two years of house arrest with his wife and children(awkward) he is sentenced to 18 months in prison.

I can probably guess what any readers we may have left think about the racial aspect but am very curious to hear anyone's thoughts on the concept of rape by deception. Shouldn't such a law be a little more nuanced? Are Israeli courts treating sex as a commodity to be exchanged by allowing fraud charges to be brought against someone who misrepresents themselves or promises monetary rewards in exchange for sex? Maybe this is an acceptable counterbalance in a region of the world with such a poor record on women's rights.

I know I disagree with the conviction of Sabbar Kashur, but beyond that I'm not sure. I think it's obvious such a law would have no chance of being adopted in the states, but can't decide if that's a good thing. Help me out people.

breaking economic news!

DOH!

understatement of the week

"Definitely we made mistakes and in retrospect anything would have been better – including letting the boats reach Gaza," -Alon Liel (former Israeli ambassador to Turkey)

CNN repeated a claim made by Michael Dixon (head of the pro-Israel advocacy group Stand With Us) that the Free Gaza Flotilla refused to carry a letter to POW Gilad Shalit from his father. Free Gaza vehemently denies this claim on their website. Shalit has been incarcerated in Gaza for 3 years, ever since the escalation at the onset of Israel's 2006 war with Hezbollah that displaced a million Lebanese and 350,000-500,000 Israeli's although the latter mostly had homes to return to and killed 1,191 Lebanese civilians compared to 44 Israeli civilians. Four UN officials were killed by an Israeli bunker buster despite persistent pleas via radio for mercy. Kofi Annan famously described the attack as "apparently deliberate".

privileged belligerents

The U.N. is on the verge of politely suggesting that the C.I.A cease their campaign of drone attacks in Pakistan. The suggestion has been made that although the bombings don't fit the U.N.'s definition of war crimes, the drone pilots themselves may be subject to prosecution in Pakistan if they ever stop playing Call Of Duty long enough to visit Pakistan. Oh wait! Not even then.

"Those who think we strike at terrorists over the objections of the Pakistani government are mistaken. This is a common fight against those who menace both our countries. That fact alone renders absurd the notion that U.S. officials might be tried in a Pakistani court for counterterrorism operations."

-Unnamed U.S. Official

Oh Unnamed U.S. Official, you've provided me and your journalist contacts with so many great quotes over the years. Your so much cooler than Confidential Informant! Thanks for once again pointing out the truth at the heart of another non-story, despite your embarrassingly over-reaching definition of terrorists.

happy anniversary

It's been a month since deepwater horizon exploded killing eleven workers and spewing a constant flow of life-crippling crude into the gulf of Mexico. Despite government and corporate rhetoric, the hemorrhage continues and has reached the Loop Current which could take it to the gulf stream, Florida, and points beyond. Attempts to salvage the oil have been portrayed as attempts to stop the oil from flowing as officials scramble to manage public perception instead of environmental and economic impact.