The Whole Delivery

There wasn't much news in today's Wikileak leak of the CIA Red Cell document . And that was the main point, as Marcy Wheeler indicates . Besides the obvious fact that the US has its own exported terrorists operating throughout the world for definite terror organizations from Al Qaeda to even an Irish outfit looking to take back Northern Ireland from Britain (go figure), the Wikileaks leak basically showed nothing except, well, everything. How the US intelligence community over-classifies items is essential to seeing how they want to virtually keep everything they do or think secret nowadays, even the non-scattering juicy stuff. But in this ever growing online world, they sure do look silly trying to do so.

Rule of law, you know, can work if we use it : The man at the center of the Times Square bomb plot pleaded guilty this afternoon to terror and weapons charges. It comes after his arraignment was pushed back several hours. During the proceeding, Shahzad admitted to leaving an explosives-packed Nissan Pathfinder that failed to ignite in front of a Broadway theater at 41st Street and Seventh Avenue on May 1st. No one was injured in the incident. But, but, but, but, but, this will embolden the terrorists!

It really doesn't at all : Aliou Niasse, a street vendor selling framed photographs of New York, said that he was the first to spot the car containing the bomb, which pulled up right in front of his cart on the corner of 45th street and Broadway next to the Marriott hotel. “I didn’t see the car pull up or notice the driver because I was busy with customers. But when I looked up I saw that smoke appeared to be coming from the car. This would have been around 6.30pm. “I thought I should call 911, but my English is not very good and I had no credit left on my phone, so I walked over to Lance, who has the T-shirt stall next to mine, and told him. He said we shouldn’t call 911. Immediately he alerted a police officer near by,” said Mr Niasse, who is originally from Senegal and who has been a vendor in Times Square for about eight years. Well, that do you know, a Muslim helping spot the vehicle in Times Square. Who would have thought that it was possible? But I bet that Joe L...

He gives us a highlight each and every day : "Don't give this guy his Miranda rights until we find out what it's all about. That would be a serious mistake at least until we find out as much information as we have." -- Sen. John McCain, in an interview on Fox Business Network, about Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen arrested for the attempted bombing in New York City. Someone has recognized how insane and pestilent McShame's latest sad comments are : Eaton, a political independent who says he’s voted for both Republicans and Democrats, ripped McCain and King’s comments as “wholly inappropriate,” adding that not Mirandizing the suspect risks making it tougher to win a prosecution of him in court. “I don’t understand how a Senator or a Congressman can challenge the Mirandizing procedure,” Eaton, who is also a senior adviser at the Dem-leaning National Security Network, told me. “The laws are clear. Rep. King and Senator McCain have advocated a po...

Photo from Getty Images His name is Shahzad Faisal, and here is the description he fit : US authorities are seeking a US man of Pakistani descent whom they suspect bought the vehicle used in Saturday's attempted car bombing in New York City's Times Square. Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, the Associated Press news agency said the man, who recently travelled to Pakistan, was a Connecticut resident who apparently paid cash for the four-wheel-drive vehicle rigged with a crude propane-and-petrol bomb. The registered owner of the vehicle had told police on Monday that he had sold it three weeks ago without any paperwork to a man in his late 20s or early 30s. The information on Monday comes as the hunt for the person or people behind the botched bombing widens. If you needed a reminder, this is what the ride was : The man is believed to be the person who recently bought the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder that was found loaded with gasoline, propane tanks, fireworks, and fer...

Well, two terrorists events are front and center at the moment. First, the Pakistan Taliban are taking responsibility for last night's failed car bomb attack here in New York City last night. Meanwhile, the Associated Press has reported than the Pittsburgh Marathon going on today had to be detoured thanks in part to an explosive device found hear the end of the course. More on these developments later in this thread ladies and gentlemen. Updated : Comissioner Kelly here in New York has said that there are no Taliban links towards the car bomb plot. It's never surprising for terrorists groups toclaim that they were the ones responsible for plots when they know they had nothing to do with it. Nevertheless, the search for the ones behind the attempt to cause harm here in NYC yesterday still is yet to be determined.

Photo from New York Times' Ruth 41 is still greater than 59 in Washington D.C.

Here's the info : Federal air marshals subdued a man who authorities say attempted to "light his shoes on fire" on a United flight from Washington Reagan to Denver Wednesday night, federal law enforcement officials told ABC News. Authorities say an explosive team is on the way to the airport, and that while the presence of explosives has not yet been confirmed, they believe it was an attempted "shoe bomb." The suspect was identified by authorities as a diplomat in the Qatar embassy in Washington, Mohammed al Modadi. The FBI said the man had full diplomat immunity as the 3rd secretary and vice-consul. Authorities said two jet fighters were scrambled from Buckley Air Force Base to accompany United flight 663, a Boeing 757, as it flew the final 40 miles to Denver where it landed safely. Authorities said the man, identified as from Qatar, was restrained by the air marshals who were on the flight. The United jet was reportedly being directed to a remote lo...

One of America's best journalists who still doesn't get the recognition that he deserves basically held back no punches in highlighting how the Obama Administration has somehow left the Department of Justice in a state of politicization. In an article written today at the Huffington Post, the industrious Dan Froomkin reminded us of the departure of the man tipped to make the closing of Guantanamo Bay be a smooth process. And further reminded us about how his replacement is not the steadfast voice required to steer the Administration to the right direction it advocated for during the campaign. Greg Craig, as Obama's top lawyer, was the point man on a number of hot-button issues, the fieriest being how to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Craig argued for holding fast to the principles that Obama outlined before he became president, regardless of the immediate political consequences -- an idealistic approach that, in a White House filled with increasingly pusillanimous p...

  Enough is enough. When I saw this tweet from Alan Colmes last night on a thought from Alan Grayson passed to him , it was one of only two resolutions I could see for this ugly situation to end appropriately: With how this shameful story has evolved , the only other thing that should be acceptible from Eric Cantor is to show penitence for his not shocking but, still, very shocking and disturbing actions. Nothing else. It's already deplorable enough that the Sad Obnoxious Party won't take (or are alarmingly slow) any responsibility for their tea partiers dropping coffins, throwing bricks, or leaving chilling phone calls in Democratic officers. But what Cantor (and Jean Schimdt, more on her in a second) did by trying to join his party in the "victim circle", and burden America with another false equivalency nonsense for the media to play with is too much to take. It is highly dangerous what Cantor and his press office are continuing to do by now changing...

Though he didn't get a brick through at his office, this is still so very chilling : Law enforcement officials say a package with white powder was sent to Congressman Weiner's Queens office today. A preliminary review shows the letter in part complained about the historic health care legislation passed by Congress this week, according to the source. NYPD and FBI spokesman are only confirming that they are responding to the scene. The package sent to Weiner's office may be the latest in a series of threats directed against Democratic Congress members who voted to overhaul the U.S. health care system. I think it's becoming quite time when President Obama may need to address this situation.

And Scarier. Plus, just to make sure you definitely know, they are doing it : According to Politco.com, the coffin was left on Carnahan’s lawn after a prayer service held by the local Tea Party organization .

And not in a good way : Nothing but terrorists. Nothing but .

Photo from the AFP The arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar 10 days which broke last night thanks to the New York Times has strengthened the already strong handling of terrorism under the Obama Administration, to the dismay of ridiculous partisan critics. But the outstanding national security journalist that is Spencer Ackerman focuses on a crucial point that can't be hammered home enough. And it, for my mind, is more pertinent than even this arrest . 5. Will the Obama administration allow Baradar to be tortured? As I wrote on my personal blog, it’s crucial that the U.S. and the Pakistanis show that a high-level Taliban commander be treated respectfully if it hopes to induce more surrenders and impact the Taliban’s calculus on continuing to fight. Interrogations of Baradar are, reportedly, a joint Pakistani and U.S. venture . But the Pakistanis torture. Will the Obama administration, in its first big overseas capture, successfully convince the Pakistanis to treat Baradar hum...

With their aspersions and hypocrisy about the Bush Administration trying terrorists in civilian courts exposed, the next talking point being developed by the nutty fringe is one that requires to be put to bed as soon as possible. Because it will be regurgitated on and on by the idiot comedian channel. After Gingrich further sullied his already diminished self last night (Jon Stewart, why the hell do you continue having him on to lie right in your face?) by labeling Brit Richard Reid "an American", the new talking point to try and deny our nation at upholding to our Constitution was presented by another delusional nutcase. Monica Crowley somehow thought it was a great way to combat the continued momentum of why Mirandizing rights is the right and only way to go by uttering that military tribunals practiced by this country somehow have been born in recent times. Thankfully, Crooks and Liars' David Neiwert was on Crowley's usual insanity , and provides an importa...

Mitch McConnell and Kit Bond today did something that you would have never thought a Republican would even dare think of doing. Make fun and slander the Federal Bureau of Investigation. First, it was the Missouri senator showing how reckless he could be whenever he opens his mouth by announcing that he thought the information of Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab's cooperation being made known public was dangerous and that it somehow went against what FBI Director Bob Mueller promised him in regards to " keeping his cooperation quiet ." Bond said the "release of this sensitive information has no doubt been helpful" to Abdulmutallab's "terrorist cohorts around the world." Bond's absurd desire to publicly make an example of the FBI was not dismissed at all by Gibbs when Tapper asked him about it: Gibbs said "no briefing is done here or anywhere in this administration where classified information is used in a place where it shouldn't be....

Attorney General Eric holder, tired of the idiots that represent the idiot party right now, wrote a letter to their hapless Senate leader in response to their complaining about us trying to uphold to the values of our laws and Constitution. In a letter filled with a straight formal request to stop embarrassing the country, the most stringing point from Holder to McConnell was this: As to whether or not Abdulmutallab should have been allowed access to counsel, Holder offers a doozy: Some have argued that had Abdulmutallab been declared an enemy combatant, the government could have held him indefinitely without providing him access to an attorney. But the government's legal authority to do so is far from clear. In fact, when the Bush administration attempted to deny Jose Padilla access to an attorney, a federal judge in New York rejected that position, ruling that Padilla must be allowed to meet with his lawyer. Notably, the judge in that case was Michael Mukasey, my predecesso...

Rendell made his claim to annoyance fame throughout the Democratic primary of 2008 by being a shill voice for then Senator Clinton. He just couldn't follow the right talking points of the time. But it showed how much of a fraud on the national stage that Rendell is. He is the same individual that said if Joe Sestak decided to run against Arlen Specter for Senator that he would get killed and marginalized , displaying himself as a "status quo" Democrat. And today, as the KSM in NYC event looks to not be happening, Rendell's off message ways continue by saying that Gitmo with a military tribunal would be the ideal setting ! "Let him plead guilty before a military tribunal in Gitmo," Rendell said on Fred Thompson's radio show today, citing New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's worries about security around the trial. "I just don’t think you're going to find a juridiction that’s going to feel any differently than Mayor Bloomberg and the City...

From the Urban Politico blog , I was pointed to Andrew Sullivan's vehemently calling for Janet Napolitano to resign as the head of Homeland Security for her very awkward " The system worked " quote on Sunday. Yes, it is still makes me cringe, and the vague about what "system" she was referring to presented the main problem with her statement. There was just no clarity to what she exactly meant for some. And for those like Sullivan, it clearly represented an "irresponsibility" that "cannot be tolerated." But I take Steve Benen's perspective and feel that Sullivan way overreacted to her on those words and looked like a fool at the end of it all : Napolitano's reference to the system, in context, was clearly in reference to the federal response to the attempted terrorism: "Within literally an hour to 90 minutes of the incident occurring, all 128 flights in the air had been notified to take some special measures in light of what had...

It seems almost a daily given that Greg Sargent writes a post at his Plumline blog that you find so unbelievably ridiculous that it has to be made up. (Un) Luckily though, in this political reality that we live in, the ridiculous is virtually a main part of the current events of our times. At a health care town hall thrown by little known Republican House member Wally Herger in Redding, California this past weekend (Friday to be exact), read this if you may . As a staunch advocate of no public option (what a surprise indeed), Rep. Herger was certainly receiving accolades from the heavily partisan crowd of skeptical government viewpoints in the town hall. So extreme were these people that the town hall included this fascinating moment that the local paper includes (once again, through via Sargent's post). Herger said the federal government does have a limited role to play in health care noting, “We do lots of things that are not in the Constitution.” “There are things we can do wit...