Diplomacy, it seems, consists chiefly of provoking international incidents.

A Qatari diplomat who sparked a bomb security scare after sneaking a smoke in an airplane's bathroom will likely be sent home or transferred to another country, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Officials from various agencies were involved in internal discussions as well as talks with Qatar's embassy about how to deal with Mohammed Al-Madadi.

A senior State Department official told CBS News correspondent Charles Wolfson the department understands that Al-Madadi, "will be withdrawn" from his position.

I'd say I was stunned by this guy's arrogance, but I'm really not. There is certainly a sense of entitlement among these cats. The rule against smoking applies to everyone, and yet this guy seemed to take it as a personal offense that it was being applied to him too. So offended was he he cracked wise about being a terrorist, because there again I guess he felt unjustly singled out.

Posted by: Ace at 10:31 AM | Comments (220)
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Please, please, please tell me there will be an 800 number I can call to vote them off the national stage.

Insiders tell me that during the interview, Idol host Ryan Seacrest asked President Obama to name his favorite member of the Rolling Stones. The President responded thusly:

OBAMA: You know, uh, I thought that, uh, you know, the truth is that a lot of the Beatles I liked, too, uh, but I did not become a Rolling Stones fan until I moved to Chicago. Because I, uh, you know, I was growing up, uh, in Hawaii, and so I ended up actually being a Beach Boys fan. But when I moved to Chicago, uh, I was living close to what was then the House of Bluesiness (sic).

Seacrest: Right.

OBAMA: And went to a couple concerts and just fell in love. And the nice thing about the Rolling Stones it's real blue-collar music.

My sources tell me this clip is unlikely to be aired.

Y'all will have to let me know, though. The thought of seeing Michelle's angry eyebrows in high definition is just more than I can take.

Plus, I don't even know which channel American Idol is on. I'll bet Gabe does, though. I should ask.

Posted by: Jack M. at 10:24 AM | Comments (146)
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Massachusetts is a handy current example of a government-mandated health insurance system.

As a response to a rise in health insurance rates, The Commonwealth demonstrates the appreciation and understanding of free markets that government is famous for.

From Tom M's email to me:

Massachusetts has a "Health Connector Authority", which is designed to help businesses find health insurance. This year, because they don't like rate increases by Insurance Companies, they have dropped the companies they will recommend to - one company. The other insurance companies don't much like this, of course, but Massachusetts says "Tough".

Wheeeeeeeeee! I love this ride! Bring in the lawyers!

Until yesterday when most health insurers filed suit against the state, the authority offered access to scores of policies from as many as six different insurers.

The current lack of choices highlights the growing tensions between the state, which is seeking to curb rising health-care costs, and the insurers, which claim their premiums reflect the rising cost of health care.

Last week, the state rejected hundreds of proposed insurance rate increases, saying the premiums were excessive and unreasonable. Yesterday, the insurers fired back with a lawsuit accusing the state of acting illegally when it ordered insurers to charge last yearÂ’s rates.

Read to the end of the article (not long) for the precious quote from one Brian Rosman.

Thanks to Tom M.

Posted by: LauraW at 07:57 AM | Comments (400)
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Unexpected? Really?

More Americans unexpectedly filed claims for jobless benefits last week, a jump that may in part reflect difficulty in seasonally adjusting the data ahead of the Easter holiday.

Initial jobless applications increased by 18,000 to 460,000 in the week ended April 3, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The week leading up to Easter and the two weeks that follow are traditionally a “volatile time” for claims, a Labor Department analyst said, making it difficult to discern the underlying trend in applications.

The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, increased to 450,250 last week, from 448,000.

Maybe it's unfair to criticize the media for reporting in every story that bad economic news was "unexpected", since apparently they keep digging up economists who really are saying that they didn't expect this news.

But it's getting a little old. The Wall Street Journal, AP, and ABC News also use the "unexpected" formulation.

Henceforth: Be it known that so long as President Obama is pushing his anti-prosperity policies and failing to act to correct the situation, bad economic news is not "unexpected." At all.

Also, economists are wrong. A lot.

Thanks to TheQuietMan.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:35 AM | Comments (297)
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The Qatari diplomat cum smart-mouthed fool will not be charged with a crime:

The Qatari diplomat who caused a midair security scare won't face charges after claiming he was trying to light his shoes on fire when it appears he was simply smoking in the bathroom.

Federal officials said Mohammed al Modadi was on official business when he boarded United Airlines Flight 663 from Washington to Denver, giving him diplomatic immunity. A law firm spokesman told The Associated Press that al Modadi has been released and was headed back to Washington.

I got to get me one of those fancy-pants diplomatic passports...

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:25 AM | Comments (112)
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Good morning. This space is for comments on the stories in the Top Headline sidebar and for other news stories. The link to these comments is stickied at the top of the headline sidebar.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:00 AM | Comments (75)
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UPDATE: Well, that was fun. Thanks for listening. How neat is it that long-time moron eddiebear called in?

If you missed it tonight and want to hear the podcast tomorrow, it will be up at Larry's website.

ORIGINAL POST:Direct Link to Show is here.

I'll be on Larry O'Connor's Stage Right Show at 9pm PACIFIC discussing the evolution of the DIA shoebomber misunderstanding.

Incidentally, Marc Ambinder is claiming that ABC was first with the alert on the alleged shoe bombing. He caught a screen grab at 22:07 Eastern.

I had the story at 9:40pm (21:40) Eastern.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 07:46 PM | Comments (101)
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ABOVE THE POST UPDATE (11:00): According to CNN, another diplomat is saying that this is a misunderstanding. The story is that the man was smoking in the lavatory and when challenged by an air marshal, he mouthed off sarcastically "I was trying to light my shoe on fire."

So they nabbed him and scrambled the jets.

Original Post:

This is breaking right now. A man on a flight from DC to Denver was tackled by air marshals as he attempted to light his shoes on fire.

More info to come...

More (9:42): I'm told the plane has just landed. All passengers are uninjured and the man is in custody.

Later (9:47): I'm a bit ahead of the news. Trying to get more info from DIA.

Another attempted shoebomber from within the United States raises questions about the usefulness of the TSA's "take those shoes off" policy.

Later (9:56) Talked to media contact at DIA. They're calling it a "security disturbance". The plane was from Reagan to DIA. It was met upon arrival by the TSA, FBI, and airport PD. It will have no impact on airport operations. There are no flight holds at present.

Later (9:59): He's got a diplomatic passport and is claiming diplomatic immunity.

The passport is from Qatar.

Later (10:07): NBC just picked up the story, but they have no details. I'm on hold with FBI.

Stay with us here at the HQ...

Later (10:13): The guy's name is Mohammed al Modadi. He's a vice-consul at the Qatari embassy.

Later (10:14): Alright, ABC News has the story, including more details on the guy.

Jebus, they scrambled fighter jets to escort the plane.

Later (10:25): It was United Flight 663.

Later (10:40): Alright I do have some more details. There were two air marshals on the flight. Together they stopped Al Modadi.

Thank God for the air marshals. Without them we would probably be covering a very different story right now.

Later (10:44): MSNBC is reporting that no explosives were found. The MSNBC folks are suggesting that this is some kind of misunderstanding...

Al Modadi was in the lavatory for a long time, raised suspicions of marshals. When he came out, they smelled smoke.

Update (11:10): FBI says there are no explosives in his shoes. Misunderstanding looks more likely.

Update (11:12): The word we're all looking for is persona non grata.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:40 PM | Comments (595)
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Good evening and happy Hump Day all.

The Galactic Empire State of Mind
A clever remix of Jay-z's Empire State of Mind and Star Wars. And truthfully I really don't have any clue who Jay-z is. Some rapper-type I guess. I just like the Leia slave girl and the dancing ewoks.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:32 PM | Comments (879)
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It didn't just start when Charles Johnson went to Brussels and lost his mind on some tainted hash.

Please congratulate me on how brave I am for putting up this post and "upding" it, or, seriously, I may ban you.

Posted by: Ace at 04:04 PM | Comments (418)
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