Texas Governor Rick Perry may be completely irrelevant, but he still has money and thus we should care about his opinion on the disturbing video released last week showing U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of recently killed combatants. "These kids made a mistake, there's not any doubt about it," he said. "[They] shouldn't have done it, it's bad—but to call it a criminal act, I think is over the top," Perry said on CNN today. "Obviously 18, 19-year-old kids make stupid mistakes all too often and that's what's occurred here." more ›

By now you've probably seen the video of U.S. Marines urinating on dead bodies in Afghanistan. (In case you missed it, we embedded it below.) It's unclear whether the corpses were Taliban or "collateral damage," but Defense Department spokesman Capt. John Kirby says, "Whoever it is, and whatever the circumstances — which we know is under investigation — it is egregious, disgusting behavior." Yeah, this kind of thing isn't exactly ideal for winning hearts and minds, but on the plus side, it's making John McCain feel bad. more ›

The last U.S. soldiers left Iraq ten days ago, as the nine-year, $800 billion-dollar war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives ended quietly. Days later, the country's fragile government threatened to collapse and bombs allegedly detonated by an al-Qaeda affiliated organization killed at least 65 people in Baghdad. Considering the elusiveness of "victory" in the war, the country's enduring turmoil, and the current war in Afghanistan, should there be a parade for the veterans of the Iraq War? more ›

4,500 Americans perished in almost nine years of war, on top of the $800 billion in taxpayer money spent. But the number of Iraqis that were killed is more than 100,000, which is a conservative estimate. “We are glad to see the last U.S. soldier leaving the country today," Said Hassan, a 25-year-old Baghdad shop owner said. "But the most important thing now is the future of Iraq. The Americans have left behind them a country that is falling apart and an Iraqi army and security forces that have a long way ahead to be able to defend the nation and the people.” more ›

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son and former heir-apparent of murdered Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, was captured at a checkpoint in the desert near the town of Obari at around 1:30 a.m. He was later transported to the western mountain town on Zintan. According to Reuters, Gadhafi was afraid he'd be killed like his father. "At the beginning he was very scared. He thought we would kill him," one of his captors said. Asked by a reporter if he was physically okay, Gadhafi answered, "Yes." According to the Times, news of his capture caused massive celebrations in Tripoli. more ›

A loose coalition of left-leaning groups like Adbusters and Anonymous are beginning their "occupation" of Wall Street today at noon. Their goal is to "see 20,000 people flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades, and occupy Wall Street for a few months." According to the protest's website, a "leaked bulletin from the New York Police Department reveals that they expect at least 5,000" to show up today, and ask participants to being "warm clothing" along with other provisions due to the recent cold snap. Mayor Bloomberg told his eponymous news organization, "People have a right to protest, and if they want to protest, we’ll be happy to make sure they have locations to do it. As long as they do it where other people’s rights are respected, this is the place where people can speak their minds." more ›

After leading New York State Police on a harrowing car chase, a 20-year-old soldier who escaped military custody in central New York remains at large, and authorities say he should be considered armed and dangerous. more ›

As more details become available on yesterday's helicopter crash in the Wardak Province of Afghanistan that killed 30 Americans and 8 Afghans, authorities have determined that the aircraft was shot down by insurgents aligned with the Taliban, most-likely with a rocket-propelled grenade. The Times points out, "they could have hardly found a more valuable target," as 22 of the dead were members of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6, the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden in May. However, authorities say that none of the SEALs who were on the bin Laden raid were killed in yesterday's incident, which was the deadliest in the decade-long war in Afghanistan. more ›

Sunday political talk shows exist for pointless posturing and taunting (you know, how Senators spend 27% of their time?). So maybe White House strategist and 2008 grassroots guru David Plouffe was just doing his job on This Week by saying "there's zero chance that Donald Trump would ever be hired by the American people" to be president, and that Trump pushing the whole birther issue is "sideshow behavior." Our hero gallantly responded on Fox and Friends today by pointing out that Barry's people are "talking only about Trump…I'm their worst nightmare…they know it and I know it." Take that, reasonable assumption-maker David Plouffe! more ›

As the Libyan rebels continue to give ground to Moammer Gadhafi's loyalist forces, a Queens local fears for the lives of his nine brothers, two sisters, and numerous cousins who have all been cut off from their telephones and the Internet, the Daily News reports. more ›

One of the crew members was recovered by Libyan rebels. ABC News reports, "The aircraft, based out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, was flying out of Aviano Air Base in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn at the time of the incident." The NY Times calls this the "first known setback" to the operation and, "After three days of strikes authorized by the United Nations Security Council, however, disputes within the allied coalition over the future of the mission seemed unresolved, while China added its voice to demands by opponents of the intervention for an immediate cease-fire." more ›

First they took Manhattan, then they crossed into the Bronx, and now the skunks have made their way into Queens. Residents say that skunk sightings have become more and more common in recent months. "I do not want to go through this ever again. I am absolutely scared to death," said victim Anne Burke, whose dog Jesse was sprayed by the beast with one stripe. more ›

A hero dog named Rufus—who saved 50 GIs from a suicide bomber in Afghanistan—was honored right here in New York last night. Five hundred guests were on hand at the Animal Medical Center charity event at the American Museum of Natural History, according to the NY Post, and Rufus was toasted by them all. The Centennial Top Dog Gala honors service dogs that go beyond the call of duty. For Rufus, he attacked a Taliban suicide bomber, causing him to detonate a bomb early. He now lives with his handler Sgt. Chris Duke in Atlanta and hopefully he's microchipped. more ›

U.S. and South Korean ships have begun joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea, as tensions between North Korea and South Korean—and the rest of the region rise. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said that the exercises were "no more than an attempt to find a pretext for aggression and ignite a war at any cost" and added they "are putting the Korean Peninsula at a state of ultra-emergency." This comes after the Tuesday incident where North Korea fired artillery at South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island. more ›

Apparently the city's bedbug problem has gotten to be just too much for Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, especially with their recent presence in the city's public schools. He told the Daily News, "I'm calling for a full on war against bedbugs starting in the public school system. We should deal with bedbugs the way we deal with crime spikes, and we need to do it before it gets out of control." Out of control? Where were you all summer, Stringer? more ›

One quaint block of Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights has become the latest bitterly contested front in the city's bike lane wars. For years now, parishioners at First Presbyterian Church have been given illegal parking placards by the church, which they place inside their cars when parking in the bike lane during services. Local police have always looked the other way, but back in December, Heights resident Peter Kaufman finally snapped, and posted an epic video of the weekly bike lane block on his blog, Ink Lake. We've always believed that an indignant blog post is all it takes to effect change, but in this case it seems nothing happened! more ›

CNN reports that Al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn (aka Azzam the American) released a video to apologize for innocent victims killed in Afghanistan and other nearby regions: "We express our condolences to the families of the Muslim men, women and children killed in these criminal acts... We also express the same in regard to the unintended Muslim victims of the mujahedeen's operations against the crusaders and their allies and puppets, and to the countless faceless and nameless Muslim victims of the murderous crusades." With the upcoming American troop surge, CNN says Al Qaeda "appeared to be trying to improve the group's image." more ›

Today, President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize from the Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway. The committee's decision had set off controversy, because Obama hasn't even completed a year in his presidency—something that he acknowledged in October, calling the prize "as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century." In his remarks today, Obama struck a similar tone, "I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations - that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice." more ›

A Staten Island gang war that has claimed the lives of four men so far this month has gotten so intense that members of the Bloods are apparently skipping town to stay safe. According to the Daily News, the internal squabble between Bloods members from New Brighton and those from Port Richmond and Mariners Harbor turned deadly on Nov. 7, when an argument over a girl lead to the shooting of Jermaine "Big Den" Dickerson in an Arlington housing development. more ›

Confirming the worst fears of many hipster analysts, long-simmering tensions between rival cardboard tube factions erupted into full-scale war on Sunday, with many women and children caught in the crossfire. Photojournalist Katie Sokoler risked grave injury to bring us these shocking photographs from the front lines; she reports that the casualties were innumerable, and only one young girl (photo 2) emerged triumphant from the cardboard carnage, smiting her foes with pitiless cruelty: "The guys were scared of her, she had no shame in aiming for the crotch." Sokoler also reports that the remaining survivors "helped to clean up and recycle the cardboard after the event." more ›

Kathryn Bigelow's directorial visions have spanned genres, from the freewheeling surfing bank robbers of Point Break to heady science fiction voyeurism in Strange Days, from the police thriller Blue Steel to submarine intrigue in K-19: The Widowmaker. We spoke with the former painter this week about her new movie, the Venice Film Festival Grand Prize-winning The Hurt Locker, which is set in a land that Americans seem increasingly inclined to look away from: Iraq. more ›

Neighbors aggrieved about guests chatting on the Cooper Square Hotel outdoor patio have employed increasingly gross tactics to undermine the cachet of downtown's latest fancy hotel. When co-owner Matt Moss previously promised that tenement clotheslines were exactly "the kind of thing people want to see," while paying upwards of $300 a night at the hotel, the neighbors called his bluff by hanging increasingly soiled unmentionables in full view of the patio and rooms. Last week the underwear on display was exceptionally foul, and now Vanishing New York reports that neighbors have further escalated the situation by hanging a "Douche Bag" from the fire escape. We're not really sure what a douche bag actually looks like (besides this), and we're sure as hell not about to do a Google image search on that, so it's unclear whether the item in question is literally the infamous feminine hygiene product. (And let's just keep it unclear, k thx.) What's next, colostomy bags and roadkill? Stay tuned to the Cooper Square Douchebags blog! more ›

A Mister Softee truck driver in Queens didn't find anything funny about a rival Good Humor man encroaching on his turf, so he decided to make him an offer he couldn't refuse. According to the Post, on Tuesday afternoon in Elmhurst, George Peralta, 27, pulled his Mister Softee truck in front of 50-year-old Good Humor man Ernesto Valverde, while accomplice Andy Arevalo parked his ice cream truck behind Valverde, blocking him in. With the help of a third man, they allegedly took Valverde's keys and told him to "stay off [our] route, we know where you live, we know where you parked the truck." more ›