No Agenda Episode 413: "Kill List" (2012-05-31)

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Transcript

John C. Dvorak:
I'm gonna go bite face.
Jingle:
Adam Curry. John C. Dvorak.
Adam Curry:
It's Thursday, May thirty first [31st], two thousand twelve [2012]. Time for your Gitmo Nation Media Assassination. Episode four one three [413].
Jingle:
This is No Agenda.
Adam Curry:
Enjoying my luscious bath salts here at Camp Mofo in the capital of the Drone Star State, Austin, Tay-hoss. In the morning, everybody, I'm Adam Curry.
John C. Dvorak:
And from northern Silicon Valley, where it's garbage day..oh wait, I said that last week and the week before..I'm John C. Dvorak.
Jingle:
It's Crackpot and Buzzkill. In the morning!
Adam Curry:
Ah, your ingenuity and creativity never ceases to amaze me.
John C. Dvorak:
Yeah, I know. I'm really good.
Adam Curry:
Indeed you are.
John C. Dvorak:
So, top news.
Adam Curry:
Top news. Zombies. Bath salts.
John C. Dvorak:
There is zombies, bath salts and the more important item..
Adam Curry:
Birther.
John C. Dvorak:
I actually want to talk about this later because I think we should go into it in depth.
Adam Curry:
About what?
John C. Dvorak:
Mark Zuckerberg, stiffing the staff for his lunch in Italy.
Adam Curry:
[chuckles] Really?
John C. Dvorak:
This is a big scandal in Italy, apparently.
Adam Curry:
Wait a minute. So, he didn't go..what you are saying is..
John C. Dvorak:
He went to lunch with his wife and then he didn't tip.
Adam Curry:
[laughs] If you want to talk about it, because of course, I made the prediction..
John C. Dvorak:
I do. We'll talk about it a little later. I have downloaded all the different tipping sites about what you're suppose to do. And I think it needs a little discussion because I think a lot of people..I know when I'm floatin' around, I always have to look it up. Because every country has got their own things to do.
Adam Curry:
I have one standard.
John C. Dvorak:
Five [5] bucks.
Adam Curry:
[chuckles] That's right. At the Four [4] Seasons. No, it's fifteen [15] percent, unless I really liked it, then it's twenty [20] percent. That's what I always do. Standard. And wherever I am anywhere in the world.
John C. Dvorak:
Yeah, and there are some places that would be an insult. And that's fine, you don't care.
Adam Curry:
Where would that be an insult?
John C. Dvorak:
In the insulted countries.
Adam Curry:
Where would that be an insult?
John C. Dvorak:
There are places where..we'll talk about it later. I've got the tipping facts here.
Adam Curry:
[sighs] Then what are we talking about now? We're not talking about tipping, we're not talking about Zuck.. What do you want to talk about now?
John C. Dvorak:
Okay. We can talk about tipping.
Adam Curry:
No. I'm not that interested. Fifteen [15] percent.
John C. Dvorak:
I am. Let me just read this, though, just to give Zuckerberg a break. According to Rick Steves, who you see commonly on the PBS nation's whatever it is. He is selling books. "In Italy, if you really like the place, the food and the service, if the waiter is very friendly..for example in the U.S. the waiter has a small salary..but, just because he will have to get a lot of tips, tipping is necessary. In Italy: NO!
Adam Curry:
You don't tip?
John C. Dvorak:
"The salary is good and the tip is something exceptional."
Adam Curry:
All right.
John C. Dvorak:
But, the guy's a multi-billionaire. You'd think he'd drop a hundred [100]..
Adam Curry:
I am banning stories about Zuckerberg on this program.
John C. Dvorak:
[chuckles]
Adam Curry:
I am. I'm just banning it. It's done.
John C. Dvorak:
I'll just refer to him as Zuck.
Adam Curry:
[deep sigh]
SFX:
buzzer
Adam Curry:
I don't think so. Well, a couple of interesting things this week that I've been tracking. I would have to say, the most astounding news article I read was the one and only New York Times..obviously compromised..the paper of record with, I thought, was quite a detailed explanation or overview of President Obama's love for drones and his secret kill list and the baseball cards and his involvement even with deciding on the fate of a seventeen [17] year old girl. Whether she should be droned or not. And for the New York Times to publish this, I thought was exceptional.
John C. Dvorak:
Really. That's interesting you would say that. When did we first discuss this issue?
Adam Curry:
We've been discussing it for years.
John C. Dvorak:
So, you're now pleased because years later the New York Times..I'm telling you what's interesting about this article, is how the left has reacted to it.
Adam Curry:
Well of course. I have a little clip from CNN if you want to hear..
John C. Dvorak:
Give me that and I'll throw my clip at you.
Adam Curry:
Okay. This is Wolf Blitzer and..you know we're in the summer months, so we have all the fill-ins, which is pretty funny because they all suck. But, this is Wolf Blitzer Situation Room and he talks to some nondescript correspondent over there at the Pentagon in their green screen studio.
Clip:
[male correspondent] What you see is from a New York Times article sort of really laid all this out in the greatest detail yet. Is that the President is involved almost at a tactical level. And the change in technology has allowed this President to make decisions that no previous President would be able to do. So what you have is a wide variety of counter terrorism officials, national security officials, weighing in. Looking at the biographies of suspected terrorists to decide who is going to be next on the kill list. And then, finally, the President himself can weigh in and make an exact decision. Because of technology, because of these drone strikes, it's the President himself who can make these sort of tactical decisions. I spoke with an analyst, Peter Singer, who said there are actually two kill lists. One being run by the military, one by the CIA. And the danger in that is that you can manipulate the list.
Clip:
In other words, if you have a target that, maybe, doesn't meet the criteria from the military list, you can sort of put that name on the CIA list and what that can do in some cases where you have this overlap is it opens up the process to, perhaps, manipulation. Because you've got some of the same people involved in these meetings, Wolf.
John C. Dvorak:
How does that make any sense?
Adam Curry:
What?
John C. Dvorak:
How does it make any sense what he just said? You got the military says "Kill XYZ", the CIA says "Kill XYZ" and because the guy's on both lists that opens up manipulation? Sounds like the guy's on the A-list. What is he talking about?
Adam Curry:
[chuckles] He's in front of the velvet rope. I think what he's saying is, if a name doesn't fit according to the military's condition to be on the kill list, then you can always go over and talk to the CIA. So, it's not really manipulation, it's just..
John C. Dvorak:
Get the guy on the list.
Adam Curry:
You're on the list no matter what.
Clip:
With different agendas based on these lists.
Clip (Wolf Blitzer):
And at least for now, correct me if I'm wrong, the legal opinions..
Adam Curry:
This is nice.
Clip (Wolf Blitzer):
The White House legal opinion, the Justice Department legal opinion, the DOD legal opinion authorizing these targeted killings with drones and other means if necessary, those legal opinions remain classified secret, right?
Adam Curry:
So, that's an interesting question. Listen to the guy's response. He answers the question and goes straight into something else. Because, of course, he doesn't actually know how to talk about it.
Clip:
Those remain classified and neither the White House nor the Pentagon has really given a full accounting of how they measure civilian casualties.
Adam Curry:
Then he goes into something else. Now, before you get to your..
John C. Dvorak:
Jeez. Talk about changing the subject.
Adam Curry:
Yeah. What I found interesting in context with this, is Ulsterman published another White House Insider report and his focus in this report, which may or may not be coincidental with the New York Times report of this. I'll just read some of it verbatim, "Barrack Obama takes personal pleasure in using those drones. Now, why is that?" This is the Insider speaking. "Because that kind of obsession, that ain't normal. He's a lazy slob of a President. But, that damn drone program has his full attention. He loves the shit out of those god damn drones. He spends hours watching television or flying around giving another speech, but he don't miss one of those kill meetings. So, ask yourself why? And I'll tell you, that once you figure it out then you see the big picture. You see what's going on here. You see the payoff. You see how odd things he said in the past and how they make a hell of a lot more sense now. You see what a second Obama term really means for us. You see why the military is getting more and more nervous about his guy. You see why it's got somebody like the old man"..that's the Wall Street Insider.."so upset and so damn afraid. Obama loves them drones. He's made it a personal priority above all else. Why? Well, I got the goods
Adam Curry:
"I told you what the re-election plan is. How they're gonna use race, division, chaos. That's the re-election plan and the drones fit into this scheme."
John C. Dvorak:
And he says how?
Adam Curry:
Well, that's going to be in the next followup report.
John C. Dvorak:
Ohhh, a tease.
Adam Curry:
It's a tease. But, what do you think about that? And I'm taking this White House Insider as valid.
John C. Dvorak:
First of all, I think the guy's got..he definitely has some good contacts in the
John C. Dvorak:
I think he has some good contacts in the vicinity. But, when people do these sorts of teases that means they really haven't got any evidence, they're just working on it.
Adam Curry:
Well...ok. Maybe. Maybe.
John C. Dvorak:
C'mon, you know, it's just like the Six O'clock News? I don't like it. Umm. There's a couple of things that happened. Rumsfeld came out and condemned him for doing this, which I thought was weird.
Adam Curry:
Oh, I missed that.
John C. Dvorak:
Yeah, Rumsfeld came out and said that. "This is not a President's job to micro manage this sort of thing." I also believe that this is putting him in position of becoming a war criminal.
Adam Curry:
Well, 'ya think?
John C. Dvorak:
If he isn't already. So I'm watching Democracty now, and they don't know what to do with these left wing guys.
Adam Curry:
They must have been freaking out about this.
John C. Dvorak:
They're hand wringing. "How are we..how can I vote for him? I don't want Romney and I won't vote for a third [3rd] party because I don't know why?"