CIA Veteran on Today's Intelligence and Mideast Policy

CIA vet Michael Scheuer: "I think Iraq is finished. We’ll just find a way to get out. I frankly don’t think we ever intended to win there." And: "As a professional intelligence officer, the last people you want to report to are generals and diplomats. And if General Hayden comes to the CIA, we’ll have Mr. Negroponte [a career diplomat] as head of the community, and a general as the head of the CIA." [via MetaFilter.com]

Little Known Spy Agency Watching Americans From Space

A little-known spy agency that analyzes imagery taken from the skies has been spending significantly more time watching U.S. soil.
In an era when other intelligence agencies try to hide those operations, the director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency [NGA], retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper, is proud of that domestic mission.
...Geospatial intelligence is the science of combining imagery, such as satellite pictures, to physically depict features or activities happening anywhere on the planet. A part of the Defense Department, the NGA usually operates unnoticed to provide information on nuclear sites, terror camps, troop movements or natural disasters.

The Great Flydini

Old, brilliant Steve Martin bit from the Tonight Show. [from MetaFilter.com]

TDS: Phone Logs and Fox Pundits

Jon Stewart and his team of very talented writers had a field day with the NSA warrantless wiretapping and the latest news from this USA Today article: "NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls."
Stewart: Well now it turns out that there was one specific type of domestic call the government was keeping tabs on. All of them....
The round up of FOX News pundits defending this new development was hysterical. Neil Cavuto wins the top prize as the biggest suck up when he says:
Cavuto: Yes, it is not great to necessary hear they're collecting our phone records, but it's a heck of a lot better than collecting our remains...
Stewart: Wow, the entire network of anchors has been hired to be the press secretary...
The Daily Show website hosts a ton of past video clips. Always check it out if you're looking for segments that you've missed.

Darfur reality: More killings, more rapes

Despite a cease-fire, the horrible situation in Darfur persists. Based on Google Trends data, it appears that, as of January, people are becoming interested in Darfur again (or at least they're researching it more), which may be a catalyst for politicians to act. Or maybe not... [from MetaFilter.com]

Christian Nationalism

Christian Nationalism is just one name for that ideological and aggressive species of Christianity just may be more organized, ambitious, and successful than you imagined. The dream transcends the elimination of abortion, the teaching of intelligent design, and the preservation of marriage within American politics, but instead reaches out to restore America to an imagined Christian state. Or more? "World conquest. That's what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish." Or maybe just 29% of it. But some resistance from within Christianity is starting to appear. [from MetaFilter.com]