Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

While we were out: Pussy Riot, AK-47s, L’il Kim, down with Amos, and more

Kalashnikov died. Two members of Pussy Riot were freed from prison by Putin, who had sent them there for singing in church, uninvited, a song praying to God for the removal of Putin from office. Sticking to their guns, they denounced the move as a PR stunt. In other dictatorial news, L’il Kim announced that ...

Flickr
Flickr
Flickr

Kalashnikov died. Two members of Pussy Riot were freed from prison by Putin, who had sent them there for singing in church, uninvited, a song praying to God for the removal of Putin from office. Sticking to their guns, they denounced the move as a PR stunt. In other dictatorial news, L'il Kim announced that having his uncle whacked was "a correct decision." In other family news, a guy running for the U.S. Senate in Maine said his conviction on domestic assault charges a decade ago sensitized him to family issues. Maybe he should become our ambassador to North Korea? A newspaper near Quantico ran a column that basically called for Marine Commandant James Amos to step down or, if he doesn't, to be fired. Some of the donkey meat treats that Wal-Mart sells in China turned out to contain some fox. An Iraq war veteran named Sean Azzariti was the first person to buy marijuana legally in Colorado, at 8 am on January 1. For Christmas, a soldier at Ft. Bragg built a gingerbread version of Osama bin Laden's compound. No information about whether he is friends with Sean Azzariti.

  • Two members of Pussy Riot were freed from prison by Putin, who had sent them there for singing in church, uninvited, a song praying to God for the removal of Putin from office. Sticking to their guns, they denounced the move as a PR stunt.
  • In other dictatorial news, L’il Kim announced that having his uncle whacked was "a correct decision."
  • In other family news, a guy running for the U.S. Senate in Maine said his conviction on domestic assault charges a decade ago sensitized him to family issues. Maybe he should become our ambassador to North Korea?
  • A newspaper near Quantico ran a column that basically called for Marine Commandant James Amos to step down or, if he doesn’t, to be fired.
  • Some of the donkey meat treats that Wal-Mart sells in China turned out to contain some fox.
  • An Iraq war veteran named Sean Azzariti was the first person to buy marijuana legally in Colorado, at 8 am on January 1.
Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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