Video shows dog leading Alaska trooper to fire

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Following is a press release from the Alaska State Troopers recounting a remarkable tale of hero dog.

Go read the whole thing. Damn, dogs really can surprise you sometimes.

Terror Suspect's Father Reported Him to the US Embassy 6 Months Ago

By GottaLaff

(Photo: Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, who reported his son to the US Embassy)

What next, we find out Umar appeared on Larry King's show in 2002 and announced his intentions?

However, one day after the foiled terrorist attack, the man's father has come forth to reveal that he reported his son's fanatical religious views to the US Embassy six months ago.

The young man in question - Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab - is the son of Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a former Nigerian minister and bank chairman. Half a year ago, he became suspicious of his son's religious beliefs and reported his activites to the US Embassy and Nigerian security services.

On Saturday, Mutallab left his home in Katsina, Nigeria to speak with security agencies. He indicated that his son left London, where he was an engineering student, to travel. He said he did not know where he intended to go. He said that he believed he might have gone to Yemen, "but we are investigating to determine that."

The Associated Press is reporting the same thing.

One source, someone who is close to the father, said that Daddy raised his eyebrows a few inches when he found out Umar was allowed to come to the U.S. after his tip-off to the embassy.

After Umar enrolled at University College in London, he left, going to Egypt and then Dubai. After relocating, he told his family he no longer wanted to have contact with them.

I apologize for interrupting CNN's Speculation Marathon. I'm sure this news will fuel at least another 24 hours of Q and A with unbiased authorities Fran Townsend and Pete King.

UPDATE, via a tweet from Chuck Todd:

He was added to the MAIN database of 550,000 people in Nov. 2009 (following father's warning).

Questions we're all asking: just how do names get treated when added to the terrorist database? How quickly are they investigated?

H/t: physiologyprof

VIDEO: Passenger who helped subdue airline suspect speaks

By GottaLaff

Via Daily Beast:

When Jasper Schuringa, a Dutch director, saw that Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab had set himself on fire aboard Friday's Delta-NWA flight, he jumped the alleged suspect, helping to detain him. CNN

I smell a movie offer...

Publishers: Obama is "Hope we can bet on"

By GottaLaff

First it's Chicago profiting off of our president-elect, now it's publishers. The man is generating his own Obamanomic upturn:

The publishing industry is betting on Barack Obama like no president in decades. Since Election Day alone, more than half a dozen book deals have been signed to exploit Obamania. [...] Two dozen books in the works range from the serious to the silly.[...]

With few exceptions, the books share a tone of celebration and optimism, and a view of Obama as hero. To borrow from the president-elect, perhaps some hope-mongering is afoot. In contrast, President George W. Bush, who reportedly is having difficulty finding a publisher for a book he hopes to write, has been savaged in many recent tomes.

Tsk, tsk. What goes around, eh Georgie?

“The American reading public appreciates great stories. They like heroes, and they like villains,” said Gail Ross, a top political literary agent. As for Obama, “at least for now, he's a hero. Bush books worked when he became a villain.”

Snidely Bush. George Whiplash? And, of course, Barack Do-Right.

If these are hard economic times, they are especially difficult in the literary world. [...] But publishers are gambling that the interest in all things Obama will boost sales now and have literary staying power, because many of the new titles will not hit bookstores for a year or more.

“Every time an editor picks a book, they are making a bet,” Ross said. In a nod to Obama’s campaign theme, she added: “Instead of hope we can believe in, it's hope we can bet on.”

It's nice to bet on a sure thing once in awhile.