Salon.com > The Washington Post

Hack List No. 2: The Washington Post

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:25:00 +0000

This year, my annual list of the worst of political media highlights not just individuals, but the institutions that enable those individuals. The 2012 Hack List will be counting down the 10 media outlets that are hurting America over the next two days -- stay tuned! (Previous Hack List entries here, here and here.)

The Washington Post is the hometown paper of the city that everyone in America hates, usually for good reason. And the things Americans hate about that city and the people who work there are reflected in its pages.

The newspaper itself is an ever smaller and more starved-looking thing. The people running it used to actually compete with the New York Times, for readers and writers and national influence. Now they can't really decide if they even want to try.

US military plans to double spy network

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:28:00 +0000

The Pentagon's military intelligence unit plans to send hundreds more spies overseas, doubling the size of the U.S. military's spy network, reported The Washington Post's Greg Miller, who recently broke the story of the Obama administration expanding kill lists into a "disposition matrix."

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) aims to deploy as many as 1,600 “collectors” in positions around the world with a focus on Islamist militant groups in Africa, weapons transfers by North Korea and Iran, and military modernization in China, according to unnamed officials. Miller noted:

Don’t fall in love with your robot

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:35:00 +0000

THE ROBOT IS SMILING AT ME, his red rubbery lips curved in a cheery grin. I’m seated in front of a panel with 10 numbered buttons, and the robot, a three-foot-tall, legless automaton with an impish face, is telling me which buttons to push and which hand to push them with. Touch seven with your right hand; touch three with your left.

The idea is to go as fast as I can. When I make a mistake, he corrects me; when I speed up, he tells me how much better I’m doing. Despite the simplicity of our interactions, I’m starting to like the little guy. Maybe it’s his round silvery eyes and moon-shaped face; maybe it’s his soothing voice—not quite human, yet warm all the same. Even though I know he’s just a jumble of wires and circuitry, I want to do better on these tests, to please him.

Obama administration has expanded kill lists to a “matrix”

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:40:00 +0000

Forget about kill lists, the Obama administration has already moved on to developing a "disposition matrix" -- the next generation of targeted, extrajudicial assassination programs. A lengthy Washington Post report by Greg Miller Tuesday revealed that the developing terrorist database "is designed to go beyond existing kill lists, mapping plans for the 'disposition' of suspects beyond the reach of American drones."

The WaPo story, based on interviews with current and former national security officials, illustrates that kill lists -- once considered emergency measures post 9/11 -- have been crystallized as a permanent fixture of our national security apparatus. All the while the question of targeted assassination overseen by the president remains an untouched topic in this year's election campaign. WaPo's Greg Miller wrote:

Poll shows support for “Dream Act”

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:37:00 +0000

Leading up to the November vote, a recent Washington Post poll found that Maryland voters broadly support a variation of the “Dream Act,” that will allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. If the measure passes in November, it will become the first statewide vote for a version of the law.

According to the poll, the initiative has garnered widespread support from Maryland Democrats and independents, while Republicans oppose the law by about 2 to 1. 58 percent of Maryland independent voters and 75 percent of Maryland Democrats support the measure.