Asawin Suebsaeng

Asawin Suebsaeng

Interactive Writing Fellow

Asawin Suebsaeng is the interactive writing fellow at the Washington, DC bureau of Mother Jones. He has also written for The American Prospect, the Bangkok Post, and Shoecomics.com.

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A graduate of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Penn., Asawin came back to DC with hopes of putting his flimsy Creative Writing major, student newspaper tenure, and interest in human rights and political chicanery to some use. He started cutting his teeth at F&M's student-run weekly, The College Reporter, serving as editor in chief. He has interned at The American Prospect, been a reporter for the Bangkok Post, and scribbled for ShoeComics.com. His favorite movie is either Apocalypse Now or Pirahna 3D, depending on the day or mood.

Nelson, Georgia, Passes Meaningless Law Requiring All Households to Own Guns

—By

| Tue Apr. 2, 2013 8:16 AM PDT

Reuters published this story on April Fools' Day, but it does not appear to be a joke:

A small Georgia town on Monday passed a law requiring the head of each household to own a gun as a way to keep crime down.

The ordinance, approved unanimously by the City Council in Nelson, is symbolic, however, because there is no penalty for violating it, according to Councilman Duane Cronic, who introduced the measure last month.

It serves as an expression of support for gun rights and sends a message to would-be criminals, Cronic said.

The measure was passed amid the debate over gun laws in the United States following the December shooting rampage in which a gunman killed 26 people at a Connecticut elementary school.

The Nelson ordinance exempts convicted felons, residents with physical and mental disabilities and those who do not believe in owning firearms, Cronic said.

Crime in Nelson, which has only one police officer, consists mainly of petty theft, Cronic said.

The measure, dubbed the Family Protection Ordinance, was modeled on a law passed in nearby Kennesaw, Georgia in 1982; towns in Idaho and Utah have considered similar laws. For instance, the 140 residents of Byron, Maine rejected a mandatory gun law last month (the proposal was nixed even by the guy who proposed it, after he concluded he should have simply made it a recommendation).

Because Nelson's new law is symbolic and unenforceable, there is zero chance of a resident being punished for not buying a gun. It's like the law in Kentucky that makes it illegal to have ice cream cones in your back pocket. "I likened [Nelson's new law] to a security sign that people put up in their front yards," Cronic told the AP. "I really felt like this ordinance was a security sign for our city." 

The city council's agenda notes that the ordinance will also serve as "opposition of any future attempt by the federal government to confiscate personal firearms."

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"G.I. Joe: Retaliation": The Anti-Obama Conservative's Fantasy

—By

| Fri Mar. 29, 2013 2:26 PM PDT
G.I. Joe Retaliation Dwayne The Rock Johnson with big gun#YOLO. Paramount Pictures

G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Paramount Pictures
115 minutes

G.I. Joe: Retaliation—sequel to American Classic G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra—is escapist filmmaking for the paranoid wingnut.

Before I get to why, let me just state for the record that Retaliation is no Battleship—which is to say it is not a coruscating beacon of unimpeachably fantastic moviemaking. Yes, they are both Hasbro movies; but this one lacks a certain joy and self-aware humor—even though it was written by the same guys who wrote Zombieland and Spike TV's The Joe Schmo Show. The brightest part of the movie is the fact that rapper/producer RZA * plays a blind ninja dojo master named Blind Master. (Click here to see RZA as a ninja-dojo-master action figure.) The film also has Channing Tatum, The Rock, North Koreans, Adrianne Palicki fighting North Koreans, and 3D visual effects.

[Read more in the Mixed Media blog]

My Taxpayer-Subsidized Manicure at the Senate Salon

A trip to the underground barber shop where the world's greatest deliberative body gets its budget cuts.

—By

| Thu Mar. 28, 2013 12:14 PM PDT
 

Tucked away in the basement of the Russell Senate Office Building is a small, secretive corner of the upper chamber of Congress. No interviews with staff are permitted. Photography is not allowed inside and film crews are barred. Virtually all inquiries from journalists are shot down. As one employee furtively explains when I visit the facility, "We're not allowed to talk about anything that goes on here."

This is Senate Hair Care Services, the official barbershop and salon of the world's greatest deliberative body. To reach it, customers must navigate past the office of freshman Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a canteen, the air-conditioning division, and a cluttered message board advertising guitar lessons and martial-arts classes. The joint is lined with creaky wooden chairs and features a shoeshine station that looks like it fell out of the 1930s. The walls are decorated with photographs and head shots of current and former senators, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John Glenn, and John F. Kennedy. A basic trim goes for $20. The "Royal Treatment Facial and Shave" costs $30. A perm is $75.

Lately, the barbershop has taken heat for its cost to the American taxpayer—and a renewed push to privatize has begun. "It's time," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a longtime client of the salon, told the New York Times. "In fact, I was talking to some of my friends there the other day, and they said they recognized too that the time has come."

When I stop by on a Friday afternoon, a manicurist takes me into a corner and asks me what I'd like.

"Give me what John Kerry used to get! Or give me 'The Ted Cruz.' Or…how do you do Kelly Ayotte's nails?" She chuckles and gently reminds me that she can't discuss which famous cuticles she has or hasn't buffed and polished.

[Read the full article]

Front page image: Library of Congress
Calhoun: Fotosearch/Getty Images, Burnside: Library of Congress, Kennedy: Library of Congress, Thompson: AP Photo, Biden: Brian Synder/Reuters, Edwards: Mike Segar/Reuters, Sen. Strom Thurmond: Larry Downing/Reuters, Hutchison: US Congress, Paul: US Congress

Drone Strikes on Hackers?

If you're the bad guy from "Skyfall" during a war, then yes, NATO commanders could very well destroy you.

—By

| Thu Mar. 28, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
drones attacking computer hacker aurin/Shutterstock (drone); Malchev/Shutterstock (hacker)

If you're a hacker living in your mom's basement causing trouble for a world power, can NATO call in an air strike to put a stop to your cybermischief?

That was one question raised this month with the release of the Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare, a NATO-commissioned handbook that could be the first step toward codifying the rules under which NATO members will wage cyberwarfare in future conflicts. The project had the input of the International Committee of the Red Cross and US Cyber Command.

The Tallinn Manual is not NATO doctrine; it is the result of a three-year project funded by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and conducted by 20 legal experts working in a private capacity. The document could very well influence future rules of engagement for NATO and governments around the world. But for now, it's a scholarly endeavor; a follow-up three-year project, which digs even deeper into questions pertaining to cyberoperations and state responses, is in the works.

The manual addresses a whole host of potential wartime issues, but the part that got the most attention starts on page 104. Here's a screenshot:

Tallinn Manual civilian targets
ccdcoe.org

When details of the manual were first reported in the Guardian last week, the rule was widely interpreted as NATO declaring war on hackers and civilian hacktivists. But in terms of wartime precedent, there's nothing unique about NATO's "Rule 29"; civilians who directly participate in hostilities have long been deemed legitimate battlefield targets. So of course the same principle would apply to a hacker in an armed conflict, if the hacker's actions rose to the level of violence. "If someone is causing planes to crash [in a war] using a computer, it's not really all that different if they're using a computer rather than some other tool," Julian Sanchez, a Cato Institute research fellow specializing in technology and civil liberties issues, says. "So, sure; go after Alan Cumming," referring to the actor's character Boris Grishenko, a backstabbing and chauvinist computer programmer targeted by James Bond and the CIA in Goldeneye.

[Read the full article]

The Latest Conservative Outrage Is About Duck Penis

—By

| Tue Mar. 26, 2013 7:19 AM PDT

The $16 muffin ain't got nothing on duck penis.

On Monday afternoon, FoxNews.com posted this poll to its opinion section:

duck penis study poll fox news
The Yale animal behavior study, titled "Conflict, Social Behavior and Evolution," is headed by Dr. Richard Prum and Dr. Patricia Brennan. FoxNews.com

News of Duckpenisgate was broken to a shocked and outraged nation by CNSnews.com, a conservative news site run by the Media Research Center, an organization dedicated to raging against secularism and the mainstream media. From there, Fox Nation and Fox News radio host Todd Starnes picked up on the duck penis/federal waste exposé. The duck penis news easily found its way onto other conservative outlets such as Human Events and birther website WorldNetDaily.

If you think that less than $400,000 spent on a scientific study is a prime example of waste, it's worth noting that that's roughly 0.0000001 percent of what the federal budget is likely to be in 2013. Also, the study, funded by the National Science Foundation (a government agency responsible for assigning billions of dollars to research and education), is not actually a waste of tax dollars. Science writer Carl Zimmer explains:

Studying animals is also a way for us to look in the evolutionary mirror. We share a common ancestor with other animals, and the same kinds of evolutionary processes play out in both us and them. Now, you may wonder what ducks—with gigantic cork-screw-shaped penises and a gigantic cork-screw-shaped reproductive tracts—could possibly have to do with us. The manifestation of sex evolution may be different in different species. But the process is similar.

As in many other species, the evolution of ducks has been driven in part by something call[ed] sexual conflict...Other scientists first explored sexual conflict in many other species first—species including ducks. That's just how science works, no matter what culture warriors may claim.

(For related reality checks, click here, here, and here.)

There's really no reason whatsoever for any of the right wing's snarky outrage, no matter how ridiculous federally abetted duck-penis research may sound.

But hey, things could always be worse. It's not like we're all freaking out over how much it cost for the vice president to stay at a hotel in Europe, right?

Right?

 

UPDATE: My colleague Kate Sheppard reminds us why Republicans (particularly Todd Akin) should love duck penis.

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Fri Dec. 28, 2012 4:06 AM PST

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Fri Dec. 21, 2012 12:55 PM PST

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Thu Dec. 20, 2012 2:41 PM PST

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Tue Dec. 18, 2012 9:39 AM PST

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Mon Dec. 17, 2012 9:58 AM PST

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Sat Dec. 15, 2012 7:35 PM PST

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Tue Dec. 11, 2012 10:00 AM PST

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Fri Dec. 7, 2012 2:55 PM PST

Controversial Anti-Abortion, Pro-Creationism Evangelist Makes a John Lennon Movie
Fri Dec. 7, 2012 11:56 AM PST

More Trolling on White House Petitions Site: Death Star Edition
Tue Dec. 4, 2012 8:21 AM PST

"Killing Them Softly": A Hitman Movie—That's Actually About the Financial Crash
Fri Nov. 30, 2012 7:44 AM PST

Short Takes: "Inventing David Geffen"
Tue Nov. 27, 2012 4:08 AM PST

No, Andrew W.K. is Not the State Department's Cultural Ambassador to the Middle East
Mon Nov. 26, 2012 12:00 PM PST

Holiday Movies That Don't Suck
Thu Nov. 22, 2012 4:08 AM PST

Foreign Policy Experts React To The "Red Dawn" Remake
Tue Nov. 20, 2012 2:17 PM PST

"Super PAC" Makes It Into the Dictionary
Fri Nov. 16, 2012 4:24 PM PST

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Fri Nov. 16, 2012 12:22 PM PST

How the Israeli Army Used Social Media to Brag About an Assassination
Thu Nov. 15, 2012 4:03 AM PST

Watch: Obama Blasts GOP Attacks on UN Ambassador Susan Rice
Wed Nov. 14, 2012 2:51 PM PST

After Obama Win, Calls For Secession Pour In (Again)
Tue Nov. 13, 2012 11:07 AM PST

CIA Director David Petraeus Resigns
Fri Nov. 9, 2012 1:47 PM PST

A One-Sentence Review of "Skyfall," The New James Bond Movie
Fri Nov. 9, 2012 8:55 AM PST

"Movie & An Argument" Podcast: James Bond and Abraham Lincoln Edition
Fri Nov. 9, 2012 8:39 AM PST

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Fri Nov. 9, 2012 4:08 AM PST

The Pro-Obama Mosh-Pit Party in Front of the White House, Election Night 2012 [VIDEO]
Wed Nov. 7, 2012 12:09 PM PST

Leader of the Free World Barack Obama Weighs in on Korean Dance Sensation "Gangnam Style"
Tue Nov. 6, 2012 5:14 PM PST

A Tale of Two "Seinfeld" Bosses (...and Campaign Cash)
Mon Nov. 5, 2012 1:56 PM PST

"Movie & An Argument" Podcast: 'Flight,' Denzel, and New 'Star Wars' Movies From Disney (!?!?!)
Sun Nov. 4, 2012 3:58 PM PST

"Flight": Denzel Washington Drunkenly Flies a Plane Upside Down, And It's Glorious
Fri Nov. 2, 2012 3:40 PM PDT

7 Prognosticators With Good News for Nervous Obama Fans
Thu Nov. 1, 2012 3:03 AM PDT

Video of Small, Crying Child Truly Epitomizes the Mood of the 2012 Election
Wed Oct. 31, 2012 10:52 AM PDT

"Movie & An Argument" Podcast: 'Cloud Atlas' & 'Happy Endings'
Fri Oct. 26, 2012 2:36 PM PDT

Romney Still Wants to Indict Ahmadinejad for Violating Genocide Convention
Tue Oct. 23, 2012 10:32 AM PDT

That Time George McGovern Hosted "SNL"...
Mon Oct. 22, 2012 4:34 PM PDT

STUDY: Injecting Young Blood May Reverse Effects of Aging
Fri Oct. 19, 2012 11:18 AM PDT

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Fri Oct. 19, 2012 3:03 AM PDT

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Wed Oct. 17, 2012 5:22 PM PDT

POLL: Obama Leads Among Small Children Who Can't Vote
Wed Oct. 17, 2012 9:17 AM PDT

People Used To Feast Upon Small, Prehistoric Pandas, Scientist Says
Mon Oct. 15, 2012 9:51 AM PDT

Ben Affleck's "Argo," & Other Crazy-As-Hell CIA Plots That Would Make Good Movies
Fri Oct. 12, 2012 12:49 PM PDT

No, Darrell Issa Didn't Call For an Investigation Into the "Jobs Number Conspiracy"
Thu Oct. 11, 2012 1:03 PM PDT

Photo: Mitt Romney Breaking Ground at Public Broadcasting Station, 2005
Wed Oct. 10, 2012 3:28 PM PDT

ABC's "Nashville": A Shameless, Sexy Fall Drama, With Country Songs & Dirty Politics
Mon Oct. 8, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

"Movie & An Argument" Podcast: 'Pitch Perfect,' Liam Neeson & Mindy Kaling Edition
Fri Oct. 5, 2012 11:12 AM PDT

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Fri Oct. 5, 2012 7:17 AM PDT

"Pitch Perfect": An A Cappella Girl-Power Movie That Won't Make The Viewer Regret Life
Fri Oct. 5, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Donald Rumsfeld Inadvertently Disses Himself Yet Again
Tue Oct. 2, 2012 11:39 AM PDT

Study: Stupid Photos of Adorable Cats Boost Workplace Productivity
Mon Oct. 1, 2012 1:14 PM PDT

HBO's "Hemingway & Gellhorn": Love, Sex, Bombs, Booze, and Letdown

The new drama about the pair's tempestuous romance packs some punches, but pulls far too many.

Mon May. 28, 2012 7:39 AM PDT

"Hysteria": Very Feminist, Very Socialist, Mildly Funny

For those looking for a left-wing romantic comedy that dramatizes the invention of a lady's sex toy in Victorian-era London.

Fri May. 25, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

They Finally (!!) Made a Movie Based On Battleship...

...and it just so happens to be the most glowingly patriotic thing in theaters right now.

Fri May. 18, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

"The Dictator": A Qaddafi-Inspired Rom-Com Filled With Pubic-Hair Jokes

Sacha Baron Cohen's uneven comedy still confirms his status as a master satirist.

Wed May. 16, 2012 12:01 AM PDT

"Dark Shadows" May Imperil Tim Burton's AC/DC Status

The director's patented formula gets another workout, featuring Johnny Depp as a goofy-ass '70s vampire.

Fri May. 11, 2012 3:25 AM PDT

"The Avengers": A Cripplingly Powerful Nerdgasm

You might have some trouble walking and need a cigarette once the end credits roll.

Fri May. 4, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

"The Lucky One": We Fought Iraq for This?

Yet another Nicholas Sparks movie that exploits the Iraq war. Hasn't America been through enough?

Fri Apr. 20, 2012 1:32 PM PDT

A "Reunion" Worth Attending

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Fri Apr. 6, 2012 4:00 AM PDT

Twitter, the FBI, and You

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Thu Apr. 5, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

The Right's Obama Martial Law #Fail

No, President Obama is not coming to steal your house and take all the food out of your fridge.

Fri Mar. 30, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Go See "Wrath of the Titans"—Drunk

This movie scores a solid 3 out of 4 stars. If you're sozzled out of your skull.

Fri Mar. 30, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Hunger Games Film a Child-Slaughtering Time Waster

The much-hyped adaptation is a fatally dull exercise in contemporary dystopia.

Fri Mar. 23, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Romney or Robot: The Quiz

Silly humans, think you can tell the difference between the GOP front-runner and a cleverly programmed automaton?

Wed Mar. 21, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

21 Jump Street's Crowd-Pleasing Antics

Vulgarity and bad behavior, elevated to the level of pop art.

Fri Mar. 16, 2012 11:23 AM PDT

"Game Change": A Remake of Frankenstein, Featuring Sarah Palin

For political junkies, HBO's new drama will amount to little more than a deeply unsatisfying guilty pleasure.

Thu Mar. 8, 2012 4:00 AM PST

"The Lorax": Cue Fox News Freakout

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Fri Mar. 2, 2012 4:00 AM PST

"Wanderlust": Picture an #OWS Comedy Filled With Dick Jokes

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Fri Feb. 24, 2012 4:00 AM PST

Who Said It: Rick Santorum or Megadeth?

Can you tell the Santorum quotes from the satanic heavy-metal lyrics? Take this quiz and find out.

Wed Feb. 22, 2012 4:00 AM PST

"You Don't Know What You're Talking About"

The GOP presidential contenders duke it out in Arizona.

Tue Feb. 21, 2012 1:59 PM PST

Newt or Schrute: the Quiz

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Tue Feb. 7, 2012 4:00 AM PST

What's Happening in Syria Now (Updated)

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Thu Feb. 2, 2012 4:00 AM PST

Super-PAC Mania

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Tue Jan. 31, 2012 11:47 AM PST

Debate Wrap-Up: Newt vs. Mitt, Part 2

Our coverage of Thursday night's gloves-off presidential debate in Jacksonville.

Thu Jan. 26, 2012 5:55 PM PST

The Real Story Behind Obama's Latest Leak Crackdown

How a discovery in a Gitmo detainee's cell led to charges against ex-CIA officer John Kiriakou.

Mon Jan. 23, 2012 3:23 PM PST

GOP Wannabes Face Off in South Carolina Debate

With Huntsman pulling out, did Romney pull ahead of the left-behind pack?

Mon Jan. 16, 2012 7:11 PM PST

Countdown to the New Hampshire Primary

Live coverage from the scene of the first-in-the-nation Republican primary.

Mon Jan. 9, 2012 10:52 AM PST

"Can We Drop…the Pious Baloney?"

Newt bears fangs—and other highlights from Sunday's NBC/Facebook debate.

Sun Jan. 8, 2012 7:25 AM PST

"There Are No Classes in America"

And other lowlights from Saturday's GOP presidential debate.

Sat Jan. 7, 2012 6:03 PM PST

GOP Debate: Threats, Delusions, and Bad Ideas

Lowlights from the final debate before the Iowa caucuses.

Thu Dec. 15, 2011 11:21 PM PST

Right-Wingers Outraged by Muppet Plot!

Fox Business and friends see a conspiracy in the new Muppet movie, leading to an inquisition (of sorts) online.

Wed Dec. 7, 2011 4:00 AM PST

Gaze Into the Exploding Universe of Dark Money

We've charted the red giants and blue dwarfs spending millions to influence the 2012 election.

January/February 2012 Issue

Another GOP Debate? You Betcha!

Lies, racial profiling, immigration, and more lies at the Republicans' national security debate.

Wed Nov. 23, 2011 12:06 AM PST

Scenes from the GOP's "Commander in Chief" Debate

Michele Bachmann's CIA-ACLU whopper, and other CliffsNotes from Saturday's CBS News/National Journal foreign policy debate.

Sun Nov. 13, 2011 10:11 AM PST

CNBC Debate: "Oops," Perry Did It Again

Rick Perry draws a blank, and more lowlights from the latest GOP debate.

Wed Nov. 9, 2011 3:01 PM PST

GOP Debate: Why Romney Slammed Perry So Hard

And other curiosities from Tuesday night's contentious debate in Las Vegas.

Tue Oct. 18, 2011 9:30 PM PDT