BlackFive

Heading to the studio to talk Warrior Legacy Foundation and Habeas for detainees with G. Gordon Liddy at 1030.

This featured three people from the FBI:  Scott O'Neal, deputy assistant director, Cyber Division; George Krest, supervisory special agent, Cyber Division; and, one person who's data I will have to add later.  As before, the majority of this is being put below the fold and will be built in part or whole from  the tweets.

As a note to those who messaged me yesterday:  Yes, the did know who I was; yes, they did let me in; and, yes (most importantly), they did let me out again. 

I think I can say that in my opinion the more lawyers you get involved in something the less likely it will be a good thing. Now we have their intrusion into the capture, trial and detention of terrorists and it looks like the only ones who will benefit are the terrorists.

I attended a seminar on counter-terrorism hosted by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation today. It had NRO's Andy McCarthy, who prosecuted the Blind Sheik for the first WTC bombing and David Rivkin as well as  ACLU and Human Rights First lawyers.

While I believe the decision by the administration to continue military commissions to try the suspects at Gitmo is a good one, that is far from the only problem we face in looking at our policies regarding terrorists. What happens now that a federal court has ruled that all detainees at Bagram Airbase have habeas corpus rights? Not just those transferred there from abroad, but even those picked up on the battlefield there. In the cases where habeas proceedings have been held on enemy detainees 25 of 30 were released because there was not evidence that fits the requirements of federal court to hold them.

We are well on the way back to the pre 9/11 law enforcement approach to terrorism and that is a mistake we should not make again. They are at war with us and unless we reciprocate, they will win in ways they never should. That will cost American lives.

Our second session of the day features:
Brock Meeks, director of communications, Center for Democracy & Technology
Jay Stanley, publi educaiton director, ACLU Technology and Liberty Program
As before, the majority of this is being put below the fold and will be built in part or whole from the tweets.

Today's first presentation at the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism seminar on Digital Life:  Policy and Privacy Online is on information warfare/cyberwarfare.  The speaker, Winn Schwartau, was very entertaining and informative, and got into some areas a few of us here have been monitoring.  As before, the majority of this is being put below the fold and will be built in part or whole from the tweets.

UPDATE:  Our speaker is pushing for new civil rights legislation to make the internet safe for women and others.  Please read below and share your thoughts on this here, or on Twitter with the hashtag #kcdig so your opinions can be heard. 

Our after dinner speaker, Danielle Citron, looked at the problem with anonymous mobs on the internet.  As before, the majority of this is being put below the fold and will be built in part or whole from the tweets.

Noah Shactman takes a look at the recent (and long running) war exercises we conduct with the South Koreans, although I think he mischaracterizes them. They are not a mock attack on the North, but a response to an invasion. They do take on a larger sense of urgency when the enemy being trained for detonates a successful nuclear device. I spent a goodly portion of my time focused on and working in South Korea, and actually served in a Captain's slot as an Area Specialist Officer focused on the peninsula for a year.

The big fear, prior to Nork nukes, was the vast size of their military. Their ability to throw huge numbers of men and machines at the border and the artillery pieces that can hit Seoul create a scenario where they could overwhelm the South and us. We don't have enough troops in country to be much more than a trip wire and all plans count on sending half a million or so US reinforcements to hold the line. There is a legitimate point to make about whether we could get anywhere near that many troops there given current ops.

North Korea has a long history of creating crises then cashing in on them to keep their non-functional state afloat. This is a classic example of that exacerbated by succession concerns for an increasingly creaky Kim Jong-Il. The fact that they are considered the main potential nuclear proliferation supplier and that they have worked with the Iranians in the past makes this more dangerous than the usual shakedown. In the past the threats to invade the South were fairly hollow due to the dilapidated state of their military gear, and a serious lack of ammo and gas to make it happen. That has only gotten worse and their ability to invade in any meaningful fashion is seriously questionable.

Their ability to sell nuke technology to the Iranians or someone else is a lot more frightening now. It forces a change of strategy to blocking the export of this and points out the absolute failure of every diplomatic effort. They are angling for a pay out in food, oil and money, and have moved up from bribery to outright blackmail. Paying them has done no good before and although the population will suffer, they should not be rewarded. This is the only club we have and we must force them to stop their outrageous actions. This could get uglier before it gets better.

This afternoon's speaker is the provocative and interesting Mark Bauerlein, who's book on how digital is making our kids the dumbest generation is generating some comment.  As before, the majority of this is being put below the fold and will be built in part or whole from the tweets. 

Our morning was spent at the offices of BreakAway Ltd. learning about the concept of serious gaming.  This is the application of gaming technology and development to real world problems, from combat to medical training.  As before, the majority of this is being put below the fold and will be built in part or whole from the tweets. 

Warrior Legacy Foundation's Executive Director was on Pundit Review radio to discuss the group's launch and as always he delivers the information and the entertainment.