Attorney General Eric Holder (DOJ press release here) has announced criminal charges against Iranian agents for plotting to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. The plot was "conceived" in Iran by the Quds force, part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps." A DEA informant was involved. Here's the Complaint. Via ABC News:

The case, called Operation Red Coalition, began in May when an Iranian-American from Corpus Christi, Texas, approached a US informant seeking the help of a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, according to counter-terrorism officials. The Iranian-American thought he was dealing with a member of a Mexican drug organisation, according to documents.

Iran calls it a propaganda campaign. The FBI press release is here. [More...]

The Washington Post has a new article on Occupy Wall Street and the protesters' goals. There were 50 arrests today at Occupy Boston.

TPM reports anti-War protesters stormed the Senate’s Hart Office Building. Many arrests.

Politico says Obama's jobs bill may not get 51 votes in the Senate.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Jury selection has begun in New York in the federal trial of Russian businessman Viktor Bout. Bout is charged with terrorism offenses for supplying arms to FARC, Colombian rebel fighters.

Bout was extradited from Thailand. His supporters maintain this website. The extradition request is here. From the Thai court extradition decision:[More...]

The Government delivered its opening statement in the terror trial of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the so-called "underwear bomber" charged with trying to blow up a NW Airlines plane en route to Detroit.

Reporters are tweeting live from the court. Check out the Guardian's Paul Harris @paulxharris, Robert Snell of the Detroit News @Detroitfedcourt and Steve Futterman of CBS @sfutterman.

AUSA Jonathan Tukel is presenting the opening. Standby counsel Anthony Chambers was going to give the opening for Mr. Abdulmutallab, but has decided to wait until after the Government rests its case.[More..]

Is anyone else feverishly trying to get their financial documents together for their accountant to meet the Oct. 17 tax filing deadline? I'm completely exhausted from the process. I delivered everything at 5pm but it looks like a tornado ravaged my home office. I'm off to begin cleaning up the mess.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Al Qaida Arabian Peninsula released a statement today confirming the killing of cleric Anwar al-Awlawi and two others. The media quotes a sentence or two, but you don't get the real flavor unless you read the whole thing. An English translation is here. A snippet:

“The Americans killed the scholar Shaykh Anwar al-Awlaqi and Samir Khan, but they did not prove any crime they committed and they never presented any proof against them from their laws of unjust freedom. So, where is the freedom, justice, human rights and respect of freedoms they boast of? Did America become so suffocated that it contradicted—and everyday it contradicts—these principles it claims it established its country on?”

“America has failed as it has not stuck to its principles, and the Shaykh—who lived his doctrine and died for its cause—won. And like that, everyday America kills humans unjustly and aggressively. Its history is black and long and has no limit, and it lies openly that it protects human rights, justice and freedom.”

[More...]

Busy day. Open Thread.

Series Creator Vince Gilligan explains last night's finale of Breaking Bad in a must-read article in the New York Times.

My predictions on the finale were wrong. It turns out: [More..]

Update: My review of tonight's finale is here. Almost all my predictions were wrong.

Only 10 minutes until the season finale of Breaking Bad. It's airing at the same time on the East Coast and in Central and Mountain Time zones. Only the west coast has to wait. So if you are on the west coast, don't read the comments here until after you have seen the show.

Will it live up to expectations with OMG moments that leave us on the edge of our seats and a final screen shot that renders us speechless? I'll recap when the show is over. [More...]

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight Committee, said today the committee will subpoena Eric Holder over the ATF's Fast and Furious program.

This is typical Republican grandstanding. If we're going to complain about Holder, let's discuss the targeting of medical marijuana businesses or the policy on targeted killings of U.S. citizens, not guns that ended up in Mexico.

The New York Times has an article with more details on the secret Office of Legal Counsel memo on targeted killings. Dated June, 2010, after Anwar al-Awlaki was put on the capture or kill list, ran some 50 pages, and was principally authored by Marty Lederman and David Barron. According to the Times,

The memo, however, was narrowly drawn to the specifics of Mr. Awlaki’s case and did not establish a broad new legal doctrine to permit the targeted killing of any Americans believed to pose a terrorist threat....The memorandum is said to declare that in the case of a citizen, it is legally required to capture the militant if feasible — raising a question: was capturing Mr. Awlaki in fact feasible?

Good read: Glenn Greenwald on Steve Jobs and America's drug policy, focusing on Steve Jobs' use of LSD and DOJ's ramped up war on Calfornia dispensaries.

October 10 is the 9th annual World Day Against the Death Penalty. There are 3,200 people on death row in the U.S.

There is no humane way to kill a human being, and this practice of killing to set an example that killing is wrong must end.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Update: Almost all my predictions below were wrong. My recap of the finale and thoughts on next season are here. But don't read until after you've watched the show.

I've read 100 predictions of tonight's season finale for Breaking Bad. The only thing everyone seems to agree on, including blogs, message boards and the MSM, is that nobody knows. [More...]

Atone!

But, Go Gators!

Update (TL): We've got snow!

Open Thread.

Yom Kippur begins at sundown. It is the holiest day of the Jewish year, a time of atonement and forgiveness. It's a time to make peace with other people and with G-d. Observant Jews fast for 24 hours. It's a time to wipe the moral slate clean for a new year. No work is allowed.

If you're feeling bad you aren't at a temple, here's a live online service, beginning at 6:15 pm PT. If you're at Occupy Wall St, there's a service there.

For everyone else, here's an open thread, all topics welcome. [More...]

Here is the press release issued by the Department of Justice (Eastern District of California) today on the new federal crackdown on medical marijuana businesses: (Received by e-mail, no link yet.)

SACRAMENTO, Calif.October 7, 2011 – The four California-based United States Attorneys today announced coordinated enforcement actions targeting the illegal operations of the commercial marijuana industry in California. The statewide enforcement effort is aimed at curtailing the large, for-profit marijuana industry that has developed since the passage of California's Proposition 215 in 1996. That industry has swelled to include numerous drug-trafficking enterprises that operate commercial grow operations, intricate distribution systems and hundreds of marijuana stores across the state — even though the federal Controlled Substances Act makes illegal the sale and distribution of marijuana.

[More...]