It's a jail day for me, which means an open thread for you. All topics welcome, but please watch your tone and avoid name-calling and insults to other commenters as well as posting comments intended soley to bait others whose views you disagree with. Our last thread had several such comments, it's cleaned now and a few people are in time out.

Here is the new interview with Hillary Clinton in the Atlantic on Syria, ISIS, Israel and Gaza, Libya and Obama's foreign policy.

Also, the New York Times has a new profile on ISIS leader al Baghdadi today, U.S. Actions in Iraq Fueled Rise of a Rebel. It claims Hillary has accused Obama of aiding the rise of ISIS by both withdrawing troops from Iraq and not intervening in Syria: [More...]

Update: President Masum has named Haider al Abadi as the next Prime Minister. Maliki remains defiant, calling the nomination illegal. John Kerry says:

Kerry said Maliki’s actions could lead the U.S. to withhold further military assistance just days after American jets and drones began launching air strikes against Islamic State positions in northern Iraq.

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Baghdad is erupting. Prime Minister Maliki has brought out the Shi'a milita and security forces and locked down the Green Zone, closed the airports, and ordered a curfew. It's kind of like a coup against the new President, Fuad Masum, who Maliki says violated the Constitution by extending the time to choose a Prime Minister until Saturday. Tanks are patrolling the streets.[More...]

Where's ISIS today? While the U.S. is focused on Erbil, ISIS as usual has been a step ahead. For an ongoing chronology of today's military action, check out Memlik Pasha, Mark and Charles Lister (Brookings.) For translations of ISIS releases, check out AbuUmarAlAnsari and ISISNews3. For official ISIS releases from the 13 or so various provinces, click on the "follow" link for any one of them -- they only follow each other. They post links to their text and photo releases on justpaste.it. [More...]

President Richard Nixon, the most unpopular president until George W. Bush, resigned from office 40 years ago today.

My favorite Richard Nixon article: Hunter Thompson's June 16, 1994 eulogy published in Rolling Stone, "He Was a Crook."

It was Richard Nixon who gave us the War on Drugs. Here's his speech on June 17, 1971. He also gave us the DEA, by executive order on July 1, 1973. [More...]

I've been so busy following ISIS I forgot to put up a new open thread. I know there are other things going on the world, so here's a place to discuss them. All topics welcome.

Reuters is among those reporting that ISIS has brought in engineers to repair the Mosul Dam. It looks like ISIS intends to supply Mosul with water, not open the floodgates, as many have feared.

An engineer at Mosul dam told Reuters that Islamic State fighters had brought in engineers to repair an emergency power line to the city, Iraq's biggest in the north, that had been cut off four days ago, causing power outages and water shortages. "They are gathering people to work at the dam," he said.

ISIS' Ninwa News has released a video of its takeover of the dam. There's no violence in it and you can watch it here or download it here. It says the Peshmerga fled, leaving behind their uniforms, with the TV still running, and provides screenshots. [More....]

The Colorado Department of Revenue has released the June, 2014 figures for marijuana sales and tax revenue. The Denver Post reports retail recreational marijuana sales were $24.7 million, the highest since January when sales began. June's figures were 19% higher than May, possibly due to the opening of additional retail stores.

Legal marijuana (both medical and recreational, taxes, licenses and fees) generated $29.8 million in taxes from January to June. [More...]

There is still no official response by ISIS to the U.S. Airstrikes. But, via Reuters:

A fighter told Reuters by telephone the U.S. air strikes would have "no impact on us".

"The planes attack positions they think are strategic, but this is not how we operate. We are trained for guerrilla street war," he said. "God is with us and our promise is heaven. When we are promised heaven, do you think death will stop us?"

Do ISIS fighters (as opposed to supporters) really talk to the media by phone? Who knows, but I do think the response is in line with what ISIS will say when it does respond.

Related: Matthew Barber, a scholar at the University of Chicago, has been in Sinjar and Shariya (another Yazidi town near Dohuk) with the Yazidis and the Kurds all week. He has a very informative, interesting first person account of events. [More...]

President Obama gave a lengthy interview to Tom Friedman at the New York Times. On ISIS and their goal of a Caliphate state:

We do have a strategic interest in pushing back ISIL. We’re not going to let them create some caliphate through Syria and Iraq, but we can only do that if we know that we’ve got partners on the ground who are capable of filling the void. So if we’re going to reach out to Sunni tribes, if we’re going to reach out to local governors and leaders, they’ve got to have some sense that they’re fighting for something.” Otherwise, Obama said, “We can run [ISIL] off for a certain period of time, but as soon as our planes are gone, they’re coming right back in.”

He's not saying we're going to bring troops into Iraq to stop them. It's really a continuation of his answer to a previous question about why the the U.S. didn't go after ISIS when they first started their hyped up tour of destruction: [More...]

Closing arguments have ended in the Oscar Pistorius trial. The judge will issue her ruling on September 11.

You can listen to the arguments on Soundcloud here.

The defense said it comes down the 20 seconds where he was standing at the entrance to the bathroom. He was standing there without legs, facing the door. He hears the sounds and fires the shot - was that reasonable? If the judge finds that was reasonable, she must acquit him.

The U.S. launched airstrikes against ISIS today outside Irbil (Erbil.) Here's a bigger version of the map above from the Washington Post.

Obama is holding firm for now that no ground troops will return to Iraq.

“I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq.” [More...]