saturday reads

White House and Justice Department officials, along with senior members of Congress, advised the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 against a plan to destroy hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the interrogations of two operatives of Al Qaeda, government officials said Friday.

The chief of the agency’s clandestine service nevertheless ordered their destruction in November 2005, taking the step without notifying even the C.I.A.’s own top lawyer, John A. Rizzo, who was angry at the decision, the officials said.

Kevin Drum: What the tapes Would Have Shown
Glenn Greenwald: "Missing" evidence is familiar Bush pattern
Scott Horton: Obstruction of Justice at the CIA


List of 'Willing' U.S. Allies Shrinks Steadily in Iraq


Kucinich’s (non)Battle with the Press


House Democratic leaders could complete work as soon as Monday on a half-trillion-dollar spending package that will include billions of dollars for the war effort in Iraq without the timelines for the withdrawal of combat forces that President Bush has refused to accept, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said yesterday.


Paul Krugman: Darth Vader blogging


Sean Penn - Piano Wire Puppeteers: The Constitution, Media, & Dennis Kucinich

Paco De Lucia shreds