Hillary Clinton's mother, Dorothy Rodham, has died at age 92. The Clinton family has released this statement:

"A warm, generous and strong woman; an intellectual; a woman who told a great joke and always got the joke; an extraordinary friend and, most of all, a loving wife, mother and grandmother."

I had a few conversations with her in Iowa during the 2007 caucus -- usually in the elevator. (It seemed like everyone was staying at the same hotel -- the mainstream media, the Clintons, bloggers, etc.) I remember how absolutely freezing it was and how it never bothered her. She was always smiling and ready to venture out. Mrs. Rodham was an active part of Hillary's campaign during the primaries. In Iowa, she was part of Hillary's "bring a buddy" program.

R.I.P. Mrs. Rodham and our condolences to the Clinton family.

The prosecution and defense gave their closing arguments Monday in the trial of Russian businessman Viktor Bout, accused of agreeing with pretend FARC members to sell weapons to be used against the U.S. in Colombia. The elaborate DEA sting began in Curacao, continued in Denmark, Russia, Romania and Moscow, and culminated in Thailand. The heart of the defense argument:

Mr. Dayan’s core argument was that Mr. Bout had humored the supposed FARC representatives’ interest in weapons, and even encouraged it, in an attempt to sell two cargo planes that he intended to persuade the men were necessary for the delivery of the weapons. Mr. Dayan emphasized that Mr. Bout never actually believed the men were members of FARC and said his client was “acting out” throughout their dealings; a weapons deal, Mr. Dayan said, was never agreed upon, nor did Mr. Bout ever plan on delivering any military equipment.

Mr. Dayan said that by the time of his arrest, Mr. Bout had made the transition from a legal arms-dealing trade to other business opportunities, like real estate, and the defense lawyer seemed to blame the fiasco on Mr. Smulian, Mr. Bout’s former associate. While Mr. Bout fought extradition in Thai courts after his arrest, Mr. Smulian voluntarily traveled to the United States and has cooperated with prosecutors for three and a half years.

[ More...]

Who dressed up? Who went trick or treating? Who turned off the lights and pretended not to be home?

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Thanks Occupy:

Two-thirds of likely voters say the American middle class is shrinking, and 55 percent believe income inequality has become a big problem for the country, according to this week’s The Hill Poll.

It may not resonate in DC YET, but it is resonating.

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in two cases in which the defendants' lawyers were ineffective at the plea bargaining stage, resulting in the clients turning down plea bargains and getting much more severe sentences after losing at trial.

There is no constitutional right to a plea bargain, but there is a constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel.

Considering that 97% of all federal convictions result from plea bargains rather than trial, the significance of the Supreme Court ruling will be big. [More...]

Got caught by the weather yesterday. Traveling today, though on a delayed basis. Still busy too.

Open Thread.

The Denver Post has excellent photos here of Saturday's unpleasant encounter between the Occupy Denver protesters and the police, during which 20 people were arrested. Police say they were attacked and reacted, the protesters say police over-reacted and attacked them. Westword has more and additional photos.

There was a peaceful march by 2,000 protesters earlier in the day. It moved to the state capitol where tensions began to rise:

A group of the marchers advanced toward the building and some tried to make their way up the steps. About eight officers scuffled with a group of protesters and police confirmed that they used Mace and fired pepper balls — hollow projectiles filled with the chemical irritant — to break up the crowd. Protesters told the paper at the time that they believed police used rubber bullets.

[More...]

They have no guns, just the web. Are they any match for the Zetas? The Zetas have until November 5 to decide whether to release a kidnapped Anonymous member or face the consequences: Anonymous will publish the identities and personal information of all the associates, police officers, politicians, businesses and others who support the Zetas, which it says will lead to the Government forfeiting their property.

It seems that an Anonymous supporter in Mexico was kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel, and well, this isn’t sitting too well with the larger Anonymous group as a whole. In fact Anonymous has let it be known that if they Zetas Cartel doesn’t release their compatriot the hackavist group will start publishing the names, address, and other personal information of all the Zetas Cartel members as well as politicians, cops, and military members who are bought and paid for by the cartel.

[More...]

The Taliban carried out a suicide bombing attack on coalition forces in Kabul today, killing 13 Americans.

The Taliban said the bomber, Abdul Rahman, was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV containing 1,540 pounds (700 kilograms) of explosives and targeting foreigners providing training for Afghan police.

...It was the deadliest single attack against the U.S.-led coalition across the country since the Taliban shot down a NATO helicopter on Aug. 6 in an eastern Afghan province, killing 30 U.S. troops, most elite Navy SEALs, and eight Afghans.

According to a U.N. report last month, "violence against civilians had risen to its highest levels of the decade-long war."

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

125 years ago today the Statue of Liberty opened with that message. Starting today, via Earthcam, you can watch live feeds from the statue with stunning views.

The Statue of Liberty should not be treated as an artifact of the past. But the reality is: We build walls and fences to keep people out and when that doesn't work, we jail them. We deny social benefits to the undocumented, even when they've worked and paid taxes. We conduct raids at businesses and separate families. [More...]

It's the finale of Project Runway. The guest judge is L'Wren Scott (who is also the long-time girlfriend of Mick Jagger.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The defense in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray called its final witness today, propfol expert Dr. Paul White, who challenges the findings of the state's expert, Dr. Steven Shafer, as to the cause of Michael Jackson's death.

White is not finished testifying, but today he expressed perplexity at the findings by prosecution experts that propofol caused Jackson's death. The defense also called an addiction specialist today who had examined Dermatologist Arnie Klein's treatment records of Jackson. He testified Jackson was dependent on, and possibly withdrawing from from Demerol when he died. (Apparently, Jackson was getting the Demerol to help with pain from Botox and Restalyne.)He said one of the symptoms of Demerol withdrawal is insomnia. Jackson was getting shots of Demerol, and the last one was three days before he died. Murray was not aware Jackson was receiving Demerol. Klein has not been charged with wrong doing. [More..]