Watching the Shadows

Conspiracy vultures descend on Fort Hood shootings

The conspiro-sphere is abuzz with the revelation that the presumed gunman in the Fort Hood shootings worshipped at the same Virginia mosque as two 9-11 hijackers—and other anomalies.

North America

More (specious) terror busts in the news

Specious terrorism busts in which a close reading of news accounts reveals that the supposed plot actually originated with police or FBI infiltrators continue to be alarmingly common.

Planet Watch

Biofuels: not so groovy after all

The scientific community finally acknowledges that “biofuels” fuel deforestation—and thereby result in a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Iran

Israel planning New Year attack on Iran?

Citing leaks from the French government, the Parisian magazine Le Canard Enchainé asserts that Israel is planning to carry out military attacks on Iran after December.

Greater Middle East

Yemen: Sufis make New York Times —again

The New York Times reports from Yemen’s Hadramawt, where a Sufi school is attempting to reclaim the area’s reputation from the media moniker of “ancestral homeland” of Osama bin Laden.