We give a high level overview of the midterm elections in the US & the blood bath the Democrats just suffered. Then after discussing some of the news headlines of the week, we dig further into ISIS oil funding & the steady drumbeat of Lone Wolf fear porn that keeps getting louder.

Plus we go after the media’s coverage of the elections, discuss Obama’s short term challenges & much more!

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— Show Notes —

News

Disciplined nuclear officers tops 16

The Air Force has fired or disciplined at least 16 nuclear missile commanders or senior officers for misconduct and other failings over the past year and a half, reflecting turmoil in arguably the military’s most sensitive mission.

Another who quit of his own accord lamented upon leaving, “We let the American people down on my watch.”

The latest to be dismissed this week: a colonel accused of “cruelty and maltreatment” of a subordinate and a missile squadron commander found to have illegally discriminated against women under his command. In addition to those actions Monday, another senior officer was administratively disciplined but not removed from command.

This string of leadership lapses has beset a force that remains central to American defense strategy but in some respects has been neglected. The force of 450 Minuteman 3 nuclear missiles is primed to unleash nuclear devastation on a moment’s notice.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected soon to announce the results of an independent review of problems in the nuclear force.

Snowden documents reveal British climate espionage – Copenhagen climate summit targeted | Information

Against the backdrop of UN delegates gathering at the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting this week in Copenhagen, Dagbladet Information today documents systematic intelligence operations against international climate negotiations by the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Among others, the intelligence service targeted the most recent major UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the COP15, held in December 2009.

NSA Chief Bet Money on AT&T as It Spied on You – The Daily Beast

The former head of the world’s biggest spy agency didn’t just oversee the collection of billions of AT&T records. He also tried to make money off its customers.

US ends ban on ‘domestic propaganda’ — RT USA

The Smith-Mundt Act has ensured for decades that government-made media intended for foreign audiences doesn’t end up on radio networks broadcast within the US. An amendment tagged onto the National Defense Authorization Act removed that prohibition this year

The longstanding federal law made it illegal for the US Department of State to share domestically the internally-authored news stories sent to American-operated
outlets broadcasting around the globe. All of that changed effective July 2, when the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was given permission to let US households tune-in to hear the
type of programming that has previously only been allowed in outside nations.

ISIS / ISIL

COLD WAR

• Saudi Arabia’s Oil Politics on Syria

But business concerns may not be the main driver of this Saudi oil policy. Instead, the Saudis may be flexing their muscular dominance of the world’s oil markets to advance geopolitical interests, from helping the energy-dependent military government of Egypt — a Saudi ally — to undermining the adversarial regimes in Syria and Iran as well as Russia, which has emerged as a key ally for those two embattled governments.

While falling oil prices certainly do hurt Saudi Arabia, the Saudis with their vast financial reserves are well-positioned to withstand the economic pain. That is less the case with Russia and Iran, both heavily invested in the defense of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime. In other words, the Saudis may see the precipitous drop in oil prices as a weapon in the broader regional Shiite-Sunni proxy war, with Saudi Arabia leading the Sunni side versus Shiite-ruled Iran.

The depressed oil prices also dovetail with the Obama administration’s geopolitical interests by putting the squeeze on Russia and Iran as the West seeks to consolidate its control over Ukraine and tries to force Iran to capitulate in talks over its nuclear program.

But the Saudi geopolitical calculation to sustain record production above 9.5 million barrels per day is probably most directed at Syria where the Saudis have financed the Sunni-led campaign to overthrow Assad, who largely represents Alawite, Shiite, Christian and other minorities. By toppling Assad and replacing him with a Sunni-dominated government, Saudi Arabia would deal a severe blow to Iran and the region’s Shiites.

Thus, Saudi Arabia is willing to resist pressure from its partners in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in order to advance what the Saudis see as their broader regional interests. For Riyadh, the self-inflicted economic pain is acceptable as long as it contributes to the broader imperative of inflicting pain on Assad and his backers.

High Note

Where America landed on marijuana

Voters legalize recreational pot in Oregon

Oregon becomes the third U.S. state to legalize recreational pot. With two-thirds of precincts reporting, legal pot lead the race by eight percentage points, 54 to 46.

Polls showed Measure 91 was extremely close heading into Election Day.

Opinions on the measure varied by age. The measure had support from 56 percent of voters under age 35, but only 30 percent support from voters older than 65, polls showed.

“It’s always an uphill battle to win a marijuana legalization initiative in a year like this, when young people are so much less likely to vote, which makes today’s victory all the sweeter,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “The pace of reform is accelerating, other states are sure to follow, and even Congress is poised to wake from its slumber.”

Under the measure, Oregonians 21 and older will be able to possess and smoke marijuana starting July 1 of 2015.

New highs: Marijuana now legal in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, DC | The Verge

Voters in Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use Tuesday, following in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington, which legalized the drug in 2012. A ballot measure to legalize marijuana for medical purposes failed in Florida, the Associated Press reports, where voters failed to meet the 60 percent threshold needed to pass a constitutional amendment.