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.

Report: These 54 Foreign Governments Helped the CIA Torture, Detain, and Transport Suspects After 9/11

—By

| Tue Feb. 5, 2013 4:01 PM PST
interrogation prisoner machine gun soldier Alexander Smulskiy/Shutterstock

On Tuesday, the Open Society Justice Initiative released a 212-page report that details international assistance to US covert action related to controversial Bush-era anti-terror policy. The report (PDF), titled "Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition," identifies 136 people who were captured or transferred by the Central Intelligence Agency, and lists available information about the detainees—both the Islamist operatives and the completely innocent.

"Globalizing Torture" also provides an annotated list of the dozens of foreign governments that played roles in the CIA's secret program in the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. These governments provided crucial support in facilitating the CIA and Bush administration's war on Al Qaeda by, according to the report:

[H]osting CIA prisons on their territories; detaining, interrogating, torturing, and abusing individuals; assisting in the capture and transport of detainees; permitting the use of domestic airspace and airports for secret flights transporting detainees; providing intelligence leading to the secret detention and extraordinary rendition of individuals; and interrogating individuals who were secretly being held in the custody of other governments. Foreign governments also failed to protect detainees from secret detention and extraordinary rendition on their territories and to conduct effective investigations into agencies and officials who participated in these operations.

Here are the 54 listed, in alphabetical order:

  • Afghanistan
  • Albania
  • Algeria
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Belgium
  • Bosnia-Herzegovina
  • Canada
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • The Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Djibouti
  • Egypt
  • Ethiopia
  • Finland
  • Gambia
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hong Kong
  • Iceland
  • Indonesia
  • Iran
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Jordan
  • Kenya
  • Libya
  • Lithuania
  • Macedonia
  • Malawi
  • Malaysia
  • Mauritania
  • Morocco
  • Pakistan
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sweden
  • Syria
  • Thailand
  • Turkey
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • Uzbekistan
  • Yemen
  • Zimbabwe

Check out the full report here.

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Obama's "Skeetgate," Explained

—By

| Tue Feb. 5, 2013 9:44 AM PST
barack obama oval office shadows phoneAn official White House photo of the moment Obama decided to hatch a plan to fool the world with a story about habitual skeet shooting. Photo by Pete Souza/The White House

For the past week, you've probably heard a lot about President Obama and skeet shooting. Basically, what began as one offhanded remark in an interview with The New Republic has transmogrified into a billow of conspiracy theories, parody, and upsetting political discussion. Here is your guide to Skeetgate 2013:

Wait, what?

Good question.

This all started when Obama told The New Republic in an exclusive interview published online on Sunday, January 27 that he has "a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations," and that:

[U]p at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time.

(In the wake of the Newtown school shooting, the president has been pushing initiatives and legislation aimed at reducing gun violence in America.)

This statement—a bold claim that Barack Obama has looked at, and has even touched, a firearm at any point in his liberal-left lifetime—kicked off a wave of strained credulity on the part of the American right.

What did the backlash look like?

At a press briefing on the day after TNR ran the story, White House press secretary Jay Carney responded to a question regarding why there aren't any publicly available photos of Obama skeet shooting at Camp David. (Carney addressed related skepticism yet again when he spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One exactly one week after.)

Unsurprisingly, Matt Drudge went ahead and did his thing:

matt drudge report obama skeet shooting
Via @BrettLoGiurato

[Read more in the MoJo blog]

"Warm Bodies": A Zombie Comedy With Lots of Romance and No Politics

—By

| Fri Feb. 1, 2013 1:11 PM PST
warm bodies teresa palmer nicholas hoult

Warm Bodies
Summit Entertainment
97 minutes

It's refreshing to see a zombie movie that isn't political in nature. Too often it seems as if every zombie (or zombie-ish) movie is a critique of consumer culture, or the War in Iraq, or widespread racism, or the federal government, or something else important.

Warm Bodies—based on this 2011 novel by Isaac Marion—is a zombie movie packed with synth-pop and classic rock that focuses on a forbidden love between a walking-dead male called "R" and a girl named Julie. (Get it???) The film takes place in a post-zombie-apocalypse America in which the humans hunker down in their fortress and the undead prowl the deserted cityscapes. "R" is a good-natured zombie who, as we learn through his voiceover narration, is always morally "conflicted" about his need to feed on human flesh and brains. After he meets Julie (during a bloodbath in an abandoned building during which "R" devours Julie's current boyfriend), they soon start a romance that sets off a chain reaction that alters the fate of the post-apocalyptic world forever.

[Read more in the Mixed Media blog]

"30 Rock": A Political History

—By

| Thu Jan. 31, 2013 4:48 PM PST
tina fey liz lemon 30 rock star wars princess leiaLiz Lemon.

Thursday night, 30 Rock takes its curtain call.

After six years on the air, Tina Fey's beloved NBC comedy is ending its run with an hourlong series finale. The series, which is set behind the scenes at an Saturday Night Live-like sketch comedy show, earned a devoted fanbase with its cultural satire and rapid-fire wit. 30 Rock premiered on NBC in 2006, just as the network was launching Aaron Sorkin's highly anticipated drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip—another series revolving around a fictional sketch comedy program. Strangely enough, it was Sorkin's hugely political Studio 60 that tanked, while Fey's goofier series became the award-winning critical hit. (As a sidenote, it's worth remembering that when Tina Fey first pitched the show, her original idea was basically the same premise behind Sorkin's latest series, The Newsroom.)

[Read more in the Mixed Media blog]

No, the University of Chicago Isn't Tearing Down Reagan's Childhood Home to Make Way for an Obama Parking Lot

—By

| Thu Jan. 31, 2013 10:59 AM PST
ronald reagan toasting barack obama beer

There's a new rumor going around that the University of Chicago wants to pave what's left of Reagan's paradise and put up a socialist parking lot.

On Wednesday, the UK tabloid the Daily Mail published a story claiming that the university had plans to demolish Ronald Reagan's childhood home in Chicago (832 E. 57th St.), to make room for a parking lot for a potential Barack Obama Presidential Library. It goes without saying that this would be flipping one gigantic bird to the American right.

It was at this apartment building that Reagan survived a severe bout of pneumonia. It's also where the future president was living when his older brother was run over by a horse-drawn beer wagon (the incident wasn't fatal, but left a long scar on his leg). In 2004, the University of Chicago bought the land encompassing the apartment building where the 40th President of the United States lived between the age of 3 and 4. Residents were ordered out in 2010. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks denied the structure "landmark status," which gave the university the greenlight to take a bulldoze to the vacant six-flat building to make way for planned campus expansion.

"Some have said that the liberal Chicago establishment does not want a reminder that Reagan, a conservative icon, once lived in the city," the thinly sourced Daily Mail report reads.

[Read more in the MoJo blog]

Does Obama Have a Plan To Capture an Asteroid?
Fri Apr. 5, 2013 1:16 PM PDT

A Thorough & Comprehensive Review of "Jurassic Park 3D"
Fri Apr. 5, 2013 9:36 AM PDT

One More Reason to Miss Roger Ebert: His Love of Trash
Thu Apr. 4, 2013 4:15 PM PDT

The Taliban Are Inadvertently Really Good at Endangered Falcon Conservation
Wed Apr. 3, 2013 2:21 PM PDT

The War On Drugs Is Still Not Working
Tue Apr. 2, 2013 12:17 PM PDT

Nelson, Georgia, Passes Meaningless Law Requiring All Households to Own Guns
Tue Apr. 2, 2013 8:16 AM PDT

"G.I. Joe: Retaliation": The Anti-Obama Conservative's Fantasy
Fri Mar. 29, 2013 2:26 PM PDT

The Latest Conservative Outrage Is About Duck Penis
Tue Mar. 26, 2013 7:19 AM PDT

The US Has Officially Transferred Controversial Bagram Prison to the Afghan Government
Mon Mar. 25, 2013 12:01 PM PDT

Your Guide To Al Pacino Screaming, From "Dog Day Afternoon" to David Mamet's New HBO Film "Phil Spector"
Sat Mar. 23, 2013 3:59 PM PDT

The Moral, Economic, Political, and Literary Philosophy of "Spring Breakers"
Fri Mar. 22, 2013 11:42 AM PDT

Meet the Agent Who Protected Presidents, the Popemobile, and the Factual Accuracy of "Olympus Has Fallen"
Fri Mar. 22, 2013 5:16 AM PDT

McCain's Lesson From Iraq: Surge Hard, But Don't Lie America Into War So Much
Tue Mar. 19, 2013 4:09 PM PDT

The Pentagon Is Spending $1 Billion to Protect America From North Korea's Nonexistent Long-Range Nuclear Missiles
Tue Mar. 19, 2013 11:30 AM PDT

Harrison Ford Heads To Congress To Talk About Planes, Yet Again
Tue Mar. 19, 2013 7:01 AM PDT

"Stoker": An Exquisitely Twisted Family Drama
Fri Mar. 15, 2013 3:05 AM PDT

Report: The CIA Increasing Operations in Iraq
Tue Mar. 12, 2013 2:30 PM PDT

Mother of "Dancing with the Stars" Alum Bristol Palin to Write Book About Christmas
Tue Mar. 12, 2013 7:27 AM PDT

What Would Jesus Do? Probably Keep Buying Ads During SNL
Fri Mar. 8, 2013 2:57 PM PST

Study: Trolls on Twitter Do Not Necessarily Represent America, Are Partisan Cynics
Tue Mar. 5, 2013 10:34 AM PST

Yes, Potential Senate Candidate Ashley Judd Has Gotten Naked on Screen. So Have These Political Figures.
Mon Mar. 4, 2013 1:47 PM PST

"Movie & An Argument" Podcast: Dennis Rodman, North Korea, and The Oscars
Fri Mar. 1, 2013 2:48 PM PST

This Dumb Buddy Movie Also Abets Torture, Human Rights Abuses
Fri Mar. 1, 2013 12:16 PM PST

C. Everett Koop, the Only US Surgeon General Frank Zappa Sang About, Dead at 96
Tue Feb. 26, 2013 7:52 AM PST

8 Offbeat Facts About These Academy Awards
Sun Feb. 24, 2013 2:17 PM PST

"The Rock" Made a Movie About Mandatory Minimum Sentencing?!
Fri Feb. 22, 2013 10:19 PM PST

In "The Gatekeepers," Israeli Security Chiefs Say What US Leaders Can't
Fri Feb. 22, 2013 4:06 AM PST

#LiberalTips2AvoidRape: The Most Horrible Hashtag of the Week Thus Far, Explained
Tue Feb. 19, 2013 2:08 PM PST

Expert: Movie Based on a Bill O'Reilly Book Is More Accurate Than Spielberg's "Lincoln"
Sat Feb. 16, 2013 1:19 PM PST

For Valentine's Day Weekend 2013: Witches, Zombies, Nicholas Sparks, and "Die Hard"
Fri Feb. 15, 2013 3:42 PM PST

In the Context of "1,000 Years" of Warfare, Drones Are "More Humane"
Mon Feb. 11, 2013 12:59 PM PST

"Movie & An Argument" Podcast: Musicals, Soviets, and Kevin Spacey
Fri Feb. 8, 2013 3:25 PM PST

Report: These 54 Foreign Governments Helped the CIA Torture, Detain, and Transport Suspects After 9/11
Tue Feb. 5, 2013 4:01 PM PST

Obama's "Skeetgate," Explained
Tue Feb. 5, 2013 9:44 AM PST

"Warm Bodies": A Zombie Comedy With Lots of Romance and No Politics
Fri Feb. 1, 2013 1:11 PM PST

"30 Rock": A Political History
Thu Jan. 31, 2013 4:48 PM PST

No, the University of Chicago Isn't Tearing Down Reagan's Childhood Home to Make Way for an Obama Parking Lot
Thu Jan. 31, 2013 10:59 AM PST

"The Americans": Lovable Soviet Spies Who Smack-Talk Reagan and Do Kung-Fu Are Finally on Cable TV
Wed Jan. 30, 2013 12:20 PM PST

A Fascinating Look at the Life of Ed Koch
Tue Jan. 29, 2013 4:11 AM PST

"Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" in 3D: Diabetes, Witches, Kung-Fu Witches, and Sex With Witches
Fri Jan. 25, 2013 12:54 PM PST

GOP Rep. Paul Broun Says Obama Upholds the Soviet Constitution, Doesn't Specify Which One
Wed Jan. 23, 2013 1:54 PM PST

Poll: Record High Support For Legal Abortion in the US
Tue Jan. 22, 2013 10:39 AM PST

WATCH: Beyoncé Sings The National Anthem at President Obama's Second Inauguration
Mon Jan. 21, 2013 12:54 PM PST

A One-Sentence Review of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "The Last Stand"
Fri Jan. 18, 2013 6:07 PM PST

Are the Congressional Chaplains Attending an Anti-Obama Prayer Breakfast?
Thu Jan. 17, 2013 2:52 PM PST

Military Suicides in 2012 Hit Yet Another Record High
Tue Jan. 15, 2013 10:15 AM PST

Fox News Is Having an Ongoing Freakout Over Jack Lew's Signature
Mon Jan. 14, 2013 3:39 PM PST

How Season 2 of "Girls" Resembles Season 6 of "Californication"
Fri Jan. 11, 2013 7:17 PM PST

In Theaters This Weekend, a Civil Libertarian's Nightmare
Fri Jan. 11, 2013 4:06 AM PST

World Leaders Flocked To Twitter in 2012
Wed Jan. 2, 2013 3:44 PM PST

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.

Thu Mar. 28, 2013 12:14 PM PDT

Drone Strikes on Hackers?

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

Thu Mar. 28, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

Drones: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Always Afraid to Ask

Which other nations have them? Did they exist during the Civil War? What do they have to do with tacos and rhinos?

Tue Mar. 5, 2013 4:00 AM PST

7 Gun Groups That Make the NRA Look Reasonable

Just in time for the first-ever Gun Appreciation Day.

Sat Jan. 19, 2013 4:06 AM PST

"My God, What Have We Done?": White House Staffers React to Online Petitions

It's not all laughs for the White House staffers who deal with petitions demanding Obama build a Death Star or create a Joe Biden reality TV show, but they don't mind.

Fri Jan. 18, 2013 4:01 AM PST

North Korea Follows Only One American on Twitter—This Guy

How Jimmy Dushku, 25-year-old globetrotting investor and Coldplay superfan, became Pyongyang's only true Twitter friend—and the backlash that followed.

Wed Jan. 9, 2013 4:06 AM PST

Mayan Apocalypse: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were REALLY Afraid to Ask

Here's the ultimate explainer on the possibly imminent end of the world. Best hurry up and read it.

Mon Dec. 17, 2012 4:13 AM PST

What Happened in the Newtown School Shooting

There's no explaining such a horrific act, but here's important background information.

Fri Dec. 14, 2012 1:52 PM PST

The Most Fantastic and Glorious Movies of 2012—and the Worst of the Worst

A trailer-trash opera, a Great Recession movie, bootleggers, Channing Tatum, and an HBO doc top my irrefutable list of "bests."

Fri Dec. 14, 2012 4:13 AM PST

How NASA Used Social Media to Tell America the World Is Not Ending in 2012

The government agency is waging a media war to tell concerned Americans that popular 2012 doomsday theories won't be panning out.

Wed Dec. 5, 2012 4:03 AM PST

7 Ways Women and Girls Are Stereotyped, Sexualized, and Underrepresented on Screen

New report highlights staggering gender disparities in film and TV—even children's shows.

Fri Nov. 30, 2012 3:24 PM PST

The Latest Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory: Obama's Third Term

Our Kenyan-born, secret Muslim president has apparently cooked up a sneaky plot to subvert the 22nd Amendment.

Thu Nov. 29, 2012 4:08 AM PST

Meet the Stars of "2012: The Movie"

Jon Hamm as Mitt Romney. Steven Seagal as Joe Biden. Casting the inevitable TV movie based on the 2012 election.

Sat Nov. 10, 2012 4:03 AM PST

Chart: Almost Every Obama Conspiracy Theory Ever

Here are some of the most paranoid and bizarro Obama conspiracy theories out there.

Fri Nov. 2, 2012 3:08 AM PDT

15 Wild Celebrity Campaign Donations From the 2012 Election

Quentin Tarantino, Lisa Simpson, A-Rod, the members of No Doubt, and Don Johnson have all thrown a good deal of cash into the 2012 races.

Fri Oct. 26, 2012 12:27 PM PDT

Movie & An Argument: Chick Flicks & Dick Flicks Edition
Thu Sep. 27, 2012 6:46 PM PDT

A Movie & An Argument: Revolution Politics, New Sitcoms & Boardwalk Empire
Thu Sep. 20, 2012 6:56 PM PDT

A Movie & an Argument: Clint Eastwood, The GOP, and Shia LaBeouf
Fri Aug. 31, 2012 5:29 PM PDT

Will a Hurricane Ruin the GOP's Big Bash in Tampa?

Isaac may spare the RNC convention only to hit New Orleans.

Fri Aug. 24, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

A Movie & an Argument: Tony Scott Memorial Edition

Listen to Swin and Alyssa discuss Tony Scott, Phyllis Diller, <i>For a Good Time Call...,</i> and <i>Hit and Run</i>.

Thu Aug. 23, 2012 7:08 PM PDT

A Movie & an Argument: Boss, 2 Days in New York, The Expendables 2, and Copper 8/17

Listen to Swin and Alyssa discuss Boss, 2 Days in New York, The Expendables 2, and Copper

Fri Aug. 17, 2012 6:34 PM PDT

250 Years of Campaigns, Cash, and Corruption

From George Washington to Citizens United, a timeline of America's history of political money games.

Thu Aug. 9, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

"Shit Rep. Allen West Says": The Epic Video Anthology

"Take your pro-Hamas butt and get the hell out of my country!" and more greatest hits.

Mon Aug. 6, 2012 3:02 AM PDT

What We Know About the Sikh Temple Shooting in Wisconsin So Far

Seven people are reported dead, including a gunman steeped in neo-Nazi views.

Sun Aug. 5, 2012 11:58 AM PDT

Quiz: Play Two Truths and a Lie With Romney's VP Contenders

You're at a slumber party with everyone on Mitt's shortlist when suddenly…

Fri Jul. 27, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

A Movie & an Argument: The Dark Knight Rises: 7/20

Listen to Swin and Alyssa dissect the final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Fri Jul. 20, 2012 12:54 PM PDT

What You Need To Know About the Batman Theater Shooting [UPDATES]

At least 12 people were killed in a shooting at a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado. Here's the latest news.

Fri Jul. 20, 2012 7:30 AM PDT

"The Dark Knight Rises": Not The Best Movie Ever Made, Sadly

Even so, it is a rapturously exciting epic, packed with tense action and powerful acting.

Fri Jul. 20, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

The Amazing Spider-#FAIL

Despite a stellar cast, the Spider-Man reboot stumbles on glaring familiarity and a dearth of kinetic energy.

Tue Jul. 3, 2012 8:13 AM PDT

Would Mannequin Jesus Support Obamacare?

Single-payer belly dancers, a bare-assed protester, and the Obama Chia Pet all came out for the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision day.

Thu Jun. 28, 2012 8:57 AM PDT

Watch: "Game of Thrones" Attack Ads

What would it look like if super-PACs and dark-money groups existed in the world of the HBO hit series?

Wed Jun. 20, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

What's Romney's Stance on Immigration?

It depends. This choose-your-own-adventure game will help you figure it out.

Tue Jun. 19, 2012 6:40 AM PDT

"Rock of Ages": Distilling 1980s Musical Godlessness Into One Big, Glitzy Mess

Numerous pop hits from the Reagan era get crammed into a bloated jukebox musical film...that is sporadically enjoyable, for what it's worth.

Fri Jun. 15, 2012 9:46 AM PDT

"Snow White and the Huntsman": Bella Swan & Thor Do Battle With Æon Flux

For a movie full of wily, axe-wielding dwarves, it's pretty freaking bland.

Fri Jun. 1, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

California Senate Primary: Welcome to Crazytown

Fourteen Republicans want a chance to run against Sen. Dianne Feinstein in November. None of them is above 2 percent in the latest primary poll.

Wed May. 30, 2012 3:00 AM PDT