Yesterday I expressed my doubts about the Lebanese Army's claim to have captured "a wife" of ISIS leader al Baghdadi.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry now says the detained woman, who it confirms is Saja Abdul Hamid al-Dulaimi, is not and has never been a wife of al Baghdadi.

“The one detained by Lebanese authorities was Saja Abdul Hamid al-Dulaimi, sister of Omar Abdul Hamid al-Dulaimi who is detained by authorities and sentenced to death for his participation in ... explosions,” ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan told Reuters.

“The wives of the terrorist al-Baghdadi are Asmaa Fawzi Mohammed al-Dulaimi and Esraa Rajab Mahel al-Qaisi, and there is no wife in the name of Saja al-Dulaimi,” he said.

Our last open thread is full. Here's a new one, all topics welcome.

It's been a while since I checked on Kim Dotcom. There is some big news. At the request of the U.S., New Zealand prosecutors tried to revoke his bond. A three day hearing was held. Yesterday, the New Zealand court ruled he did not violate his bail conditions. A New Zealand Herald report is here.

Kim Dotcom's legal bills are in excess of $10 million. That situation has recently become very complicated and his New Zealand lawyers withdrew from his case. His U.S. lawyers have set up a website seeking additional lawyers.

We are looking for lawyers in New Zealand and the United States who are interested in joining the Megaupload and Kim Dotcom legal defense and who have a passion for internet public interest law.

[More...]

The media is reporting that the new Secretary of Defense will be Ashton Carter. Republicans apparently like the choice.

Carter will be Obama's 4th Secretary of Defense in six years.

[Video removed from You Tube] ...This is a news video from Lebanon( with English subtitles) on the detention of Saja al-Dulami, who may or may not be an ex-wife of ISIS leader al Baghdadi. There is still a lot of conflicting information as to whether she was ever married to al Baghdadi, and whether she was with her son or her daughter. Al-Dulami's family has ties to both ISIS and al Nusrah.

ISIS supporters on Twitter deny she is al Baghdadi's wife, and say that the Lebanese army knows this but released the information as part of a propaganda campaign. [More...]

Here's a new open thread, all topics welcome.

President Obama is holding a public forum on Ferguson protests.

Black Friday sales fizzled, will Cyber Monday be better?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Charles Lester of Brookings has a new paper on the Islamic State (ISIS) and a "Who's Who" chart of its leadership.

ISIS struck the al Waleed border crossing near Rutbah in the Anbar province of Iraq early today, killing 16 Iraqi border guards and capturing 4. They also seized weapons -- and the border trucks, which they drove into Syria. [More...]

Homeland Security has issued a threat notice urging current and former law enforcement, and military members to scrub their social media accounts of information that would identify them as such.

While the notice says no specific threats have been received, it says one is possible -- better safe than sorry.

The notice is here. [More...]

Ferguson officer Wilson has resigned from the police force and according to the Mayor, will not receive severance pay or other benefits.

Wilson, 28, won’t receive any further pay or benefits, and he and the city have severed their ties, Mayor James Knowles told reporters a day after Wilson tendered his resignation, which was effective immediately.

His lawyer said he resigned due to threats against the department. He doesn't have a new job lined up as yet:

“In terms of what it (the resignation) means, it means at this point he doesn’t have a paycheck,” Bruntrager said. “He has no income so he’ll have to make some decisions pretty quickly.”

I'll be back to blogging soon, just not quite yet. Our last open thread is full. Here's a new one, all topics welcome.