Got a lot to get to today, so here are some links to interesting reading.

Please check out this Sibel Edmonds blog. There is so much going on in her case. She’s a CT foiler’s wet dream: a high ranking intelligence official who is spilling the beans. Everyone should keep in mind what she is talking about, because it touches on so much of what is happening in our government today.

It just gets more and more absurd in the Padilla case. Now the government is claiming they “lost” interrogation tapes. What are they hiding? He was torutured interrogated over 80 times. More here.  Read more 

Ha! This makes the story about clearing out the White House and sending Bush out to play with the dog whenever he shows up so much more interesting:

Putin ahead of G8 hits backs at West on democracy

By Oliver Bullough

MOSCOW, July 12 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin, seeking to pre-empt rebukes over democracy from fellow members of the Group of Eight, said on Wednesday the West’s criticism of Russia was a mix of Cold War thinking and neo-colonialism.

In interviews with French, Canadian and U.S. TV channels — transcripts of which were published on his Web site on Wednesday — Putin denied allegations Russia was back-tracking on democracy, and said it would develop at its own pace.

And in what looked like a sign of the bitterness he feels about criticism of his rule — most recently from U.S. President Dick Cheney — he joked about a hunting accident when Cheney accidentally shot his lawyer and gave him a heart attack.  Read more 

I’ve never been able to closely follow Russian politics, lacking the languages and proper appreciation of their history as I do. But one thing I’m fairly sure of: Russia today is a perfect model for the study of when the Thugs are In Charge:

Slander Could Be Deemed Extremist

By Oksana Yablokova and Anatoly Medetsky
Staff Writers
The State Duma will soon vote on a bill that would allow courts to shut down parties and news organizations for slandering government officials or threatening possible mass protests, deputies said Thursday.

The Duma’s leadership decided Thursday to send the bill — which includes amendments to expand the list of punishable crimes under the anti-extremism law — to the president and the Cabinet for a review, Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said.  Read more