SOME PUNGENT THOUGHTS on the McDonald’s lawsuits.

GORDON LIDDY WOULD BE PLEASED:

Baltimore prosecutors today dropped attempted murder and first-degree assault charges against a man who shot four police detectives during a November drug raid, saying they believe Lewis S. Cauthorne acted in self-defense when he wounded the officers as they barged into his home.

Investigators concluded detectives did not announce that they were police just before smashing down Cauthorne’s door with a battering ram and rushing in to look for drugs, State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said at a news conference this morning in Clarence Mitchell Courthouse.

These no-knock raids are absurdly dangerous, and accomplish very little. They’re yet another symptom of the Drug War’s erosion of civil liberties.

CONTROLLING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION: This guy isn’t happy about it. I tend to agree. I don’t mind classifying particular bits of information (e.g., “This cable is crucial, and if you cut it the whole grid goes down.”) but classifying science seems more dangerous than me. We’re so much stronger than our enemies because of open scientific research; closing things down beyond the level of very specific threats is dangerous.

UPDATE: Justin Katz weighs in. I think there’s a certain amount of talking past each other on this subject, though. Hmm. Maybe I should make this a column . . . .

LONDON’S “LITTLE ALGIERS:”

While some arrived direct from Algeria, others found their way via France after a bombing campaign in Paris by Algerian extremists led to a crackdown by the French authorities.

Those who sought asylum in the UK were often given it on the basis they faced persecution back home.

In this corner of the capital, known as “Little Algiers”, these radical Algerians could fade into the crowd of their fellow countrymen and women and a wider community of immigrants, long-time residents and young professionals.

Here, life was much easier even than France, where Algerians frequently complain of police harassment. . . .

But it’s not all laughs. Scratch the surface of the community and there are some sinister characters and disturbing episodes.

The extremists who arrived here in the 90s hide a dark past back home, says Salah, referring to members of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA).

“Some of them have killed 10, 20, 50 people perhaps. They are still actively collecting money for the cause back in Algeria. I’ve seen them outside the mosque saying ‘Help your Mujahideen brothers back home in Algeria’.

“There’s a lot of sleeping helpers – sympathisers, who will offer food, clothing, support for the extremists.”

And those who wish to “disappear” from the authorities can easily pick up false identity papers and passports in the area, says Salah.

Sounds like this deserves more attention.

JIM BENNETT talks about empire.

WELL, SOMEBODY is defending Steve Case:

Steve Case is a genius: Why are the AOL stockholders angry at Case? They should give him a medal. The guy somehow managed to convinced those smart media poobahs at Time-Warner to give him their company for free. If he hadn’t done that, AOL stock would be nearly worthless. It’s too bad for the pension plans of lots of TW employees, sure, but it was a brilliant business move. If I were on the board, I’d want him doing the same for my company.

Who is this admiringly rapacious capitalist? Follow the link and find out. . . .

BLAME AMERICA FIRST:

A German far-right leader on trial for praising the 11 September attacks continued to lash out at the US in his first court appearance on Monday.

Horst Mahler, a leading ideologue of the extreme-right National Democratic Party, is accused of condoning an illegal act.

Nine days after the attacks in September 2001 he said in an interview on the ARD television network they were “cruel” but “justified” and said the perpetrators had his full sympathy.

In court in Hamburg he said Arabs had a right to retribution against the United States, which he described as “the bloodiest and most imperialist power the world has ever seen”.

In the words of Indiana Jones, “Nazis. I hate these guys.” But in all honesty, these statements don’t seem especially unusual — haven’t a lot of non-Nazi Europeans been saying basically the same thing?

SORRY FOR THE LIGHT POSTING TODAY: I’m very busy with beginning-of-the-semester stuff, committee meetings, etc. I”ll be posting more later, but it’ll be a few hours. In the meantime, ponder the possible significance of additional ricin arrests in Britain.

You might also contemplate Daniel Drezner’s suggestion that M.A.D.D. has jumped the shark to the point that it’s now being mocked on the comics pages. And leftyblog Section Two has now moved and become Thomas Paine. Adjust your bookmarks accordingly.

BESTIALITY AND INFIDELITY in 1950s Disney cartoons. Plus, Lileks’ sense of morality is offended.

TACITUS ASKS: “What benefit is it for a party to gain Washington but lose its soul?”

MICKEY KAUS finds support for Charles Pickering in a surprising place — The New York Times.

I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THIS EARLIER: Dave Winer is going to Harvard to be blogger-in-residence. Or something like that. Very cool.

ANDREW SULLIVAN writes that this cover from Der Spiegel illustrates that “German popular culture seems to be becoming more and more pathologically anti-American.”

I think that once we win in Iraq, we should take the position that we certainly weren’t shedding our blood to provide cheap oil for Germany. And act accordingly.