So, there was an election in Iraq today. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became a 9/11 truther. And Al Qaeda's spokesman, Azzam the American, may have been captured! Here's all the stuff you missed while ogling the red carpet.

  • So, I don't know if you've heard, but there's this place called Iraq, and it had a parliamentary election today. As many as 100 bombs rocked Baghdad—killing at least 38—voter turnout was higher than expected, including many Sunnis, who mostly boycotted the 2005 election. [NYT]
  • Pleased with the turnout for Iraq's election, Obama said we can "continue with the responsible removal of the United States forces" as scheduled. [Reuters]
  • Al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn—"Azzam the American," for he was born on our fair soil—was captured! Unless, of course, he wasn't. A Pakistani official told CNN they'd nabbed the guy, but an American official said they had "no evidence" it was true. So Azzam is either roaming free, or they are torturing him so ruthlessly nobody is allowed to know. [CNN]
  • Iranian president and Holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Just another celebrity 9/11 truther. He, Jesse Ventura, and Rosie O'Donnell can start a club. [CNN]
  • Chilean officials have nearly halved the initial death toll from its quake, from 802 to 452, as missing persons have been found in remote areas. Nonetheless, flags were lowered for a three-day period of mourning. Polls show most Chileans are unhappy with their government's response. As planes, ships, and troops zoomed to the rescue, at least one American aid worker mused, "Could FEMA have done that?" Yeah, maybe not. [AFP] [AP]
  • 100 people were killed in central Nigeria following a coordinated machete attack on several villages. The killings are apparently thought to be part of ongoing unrest between Christians and Muslims. [BBC]
  • Speaking of intractable dictators. North Korea announced it will abandon disarmament, which brings them one small step closer to overt aggression. (Disarmament talks were "at an impasse.") NK does this every year when South Korea and the U.S. play their war games, which are necessary precisely because the North won't shut up and sit down. Chicken, egg, chicken, egg, chicken, nuclear warhead.