Wednesday Miscellany! (#Syria, #Wiretapping, #Portlandia, and more!)

• Syrian rebels slaughter Shi'ites in Halta. Stuff like this is precisely why I think turning up the heat on this proxy war is a mistake.


• The White House has no plans to curtail their survailance program, despite outrage from Congress. Meanwhile, the White House is letting the media do the job of defaming Snowden and keeping their mouths shut, which is pretty much Obama's MO with any political opponent.


• Think the United States government wouldn't abuse all the data they're collecting? They did it before....


• navalny for Mayor? Yes!


• Portlandia has been renewed for two seasons. My mother will be happy because she loves the show. My friends will be happy because they have more acting opportunities. I'm happy because it means that one of SC's claims to fame - that her art was in the adult babysitter scene - is still relevant.

#Snowden: #USA #hacking #China

I was wondering why Snowden chose to bivouac in Hong Kong while he spills the beans on how the US Government is violating our 4th Amendment rights. Hong Kong, after all, is part of China, which has an extradition treaty with the US and no particular desire to piss off Washington.

Then, Snowden revealed that the US has been hacking China for some time; that, in fact, they're hacking everyone, all the time. This may file under the heading of "Captain Obvious to the rescue," but stating it publicly like ends up benefiting China at the expense of the US Government. Between, that, and Snowden's enormous popularity with Chinese Internet users, I'm guessing that China is now motivated to give Snowden some more room.

I will confess, there is a part of me that thinks this might have too much of a Fitzmas feel to it. Stay tuned.