FBI thwarts terrorist bombing attempt at Portland holiday tree lighting, authorities say  —  The FBI thwarted an attempted terrorist bombing in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square before the city's annual tree-lighting Friday night, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Oregon.

The obligatory “Obama elbowed in the face during pick-up game” post; Update: Elbower identified  —  First he gets pounded in the midterms, then Kim Jong-il starts shelling South Korea, now he's getting flagrantly fouled while shooting hoops with friends and family.  What's next?

Qaeda the enemy - not TSA screeners  —  Tweet  —  The debate over security scanning and pat-downs has reached such a fever pitch, it seems that people are forgetting that the enemy isn't the Transportation Security Administration — it's al Qaeda.  —  I don't want my children …

Report: ‘Issues of Culture, Ethnicity and Identity’ Raised in U.K. Rape-Gang Case  —  A report on the sexual exploitation of British girls as young as 12 by a gang led by two 28-year-old Muslim men found that cultural issues were “a critical factor in making [the victims] easy targets for abusers.”

Winning the Class War  —  The class war that no one wants to talk about continues unabated.  —  Even as millions of out-of-work and otherwise struggling Americans are tightening their belts for the holidays, the nation's elite are lacing up their dancing shoes and partying like royalty as the millions and billions keep rolling in.

U.S. Government Seizes BitTorrent Search Engine Domain and More  —  Following on the heels of this week's domain seizure of a large hiphop file-sharing links forum, it's clear today that the U.S. Government has been very busy.  Without any need for COICA, ICE has just seized the domain …

It's time for Democrats to give in on voter ID bill  —  Let me say at the outset that I would be willing to bet a lot of money that voter fraud (however you might define that term) has not affected the outcome of an election in Harris County in 100 years.  I mean seriously …

Health Law Faces Threat of Undercut From Courts  —  WASHINGTON — As the Obama administration presses ahead with the health care law, officials are bracing for the possibility that a federal judge in Virginia will soon reject its central provision as unconstitutional and …

Brazil Military Says It Cornered Rio Drug Gangs  —  RIO DE JANEIRO — Police and Brazilian Army soldiers, struggling to take control of a second huge slum complex here, were fired on by drug gangs on Friday, but by nightfall they had managed to trap the traffickers inside, a military spokesman said.