Belgian police asked citizens and journalists not to discuss their ongoing terror operation today on social media. Belgians complied with thousands of them posting photos of cats instead.

The Belgian Interior Ministry's Crisis Centre was very grateful.

Did they get their man? No. The New York Times reports that according the prosecutor's press release, they made 16 arrests but their target got away. Other reports have sighted him driving towards Germany.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The attack in Mali at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, seems to be the work of an al-Qaida affiliated group -- most likely Ansar Dine. Its leader Iyad Ag Ghaly called for attacks on France this week. France has forces in Mali assisting the anti-terror fight. More on the leader here.

The attack was at an international hotel filled with foreigners. The gunmen spoke English but shouted "Allahu Akbar." Three people are dead as of now, but they may be gunmen not hostages. 80 have been freed. Mali special forces stormed in. U.S. Special Operations forces are reportedly assisting.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Time for a new open thread, all topics welcome.

My picks:

Iowa -10 over Minnesota; Oklahoma @ Baylor -3, Oregon -10 @ Stanford, Arkansas +8 @ LSU, Memphis +7 @ Houston, Kentucky +3 @ Vanderbilt, Kansas State +6 @ Texas Tech, Clemson @ Syracuse +30, Nebraska @ Rutgers +8.0 Miami Florida @ North Carolina -13 (5 units), Michigan @ Indiana +13, Alabama -8 (3 units) @ Mississippi State, Virginia @ Louisville -14, North Carolina State +9 @ Florida State, Tulane @ Army -3 Purdue +15 @ Northwestern, Maryland @ Michigan State -15, Texas +9 @ West Virginia, Ohio State -17 (3 units) @ Illinois, Florida @ South Carolina +8, Georgia @ Auburn Pick (3 units).

Go Gators!

To talk about the Paris terrorist attacks.

I'm glad the weekend is almost here, but I have a lot of work to do so it will be tonight before I stop in again.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Snow, wind and jail visits, that was my day.

Here's an open thread while I catch up on ISIS and the Russian plane crash news and El Chapo non-news. I missed last night's debate, but from what I heard on the car radio, I didn't miss much.

A special thanks to all our veterans. Even though I'm against war and big military spending, I appreciate their sacrifice and thank them for their protecting our country.

All topics welcome.

Open Thread.

Flooding the zone:

California @ Oregon -3, Arizona +20 @ USC, Navy @ Memphis -7, Iowa State @ Oklahoma -24 (4 units), UCLA @ Oregon State +18, Connecticut @ Tulane +7, South Carolina +18 @ Tennessee, Army +17 @ Air Force, Cincinnati @ Houston -9, Iowa -7 @ Indiana, Arizona State @ Washington State -2, TCU @ Oklahoma State +6, Arkansas +11 @ Mississippi, Wisconsin -10 @ Maryland, Florida State +11 (3 units) @ Clemson, Stanford @ Colorado +17, North Carolina State -3 @ Boston College, Syracuse +14 @ Louisville, Central Florida @ Tulsa -17, Illinois @ , Penn State Pick (3 units) @ Northwestern, Duke @ North Carolina -7 (4 units), Vanderbilt +22 @ Florida, Texas Tech +8 @ West Virginia, Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh +10 (3 units), Kentucky +16 @ Georgia, Florida Atlantic @ Western Kentucky -24, Charlotte @ Florida International -17.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

I'm mostly following ISIS and El Chapo in my spare time. On the plane crash:

Egypt and Russia say no one has shared information with them showing a bomb brought down the metrojet.

From Charlie Winter in the Guardian, urging caution, but nonetheless expounding on what it would mean if ISIS did down the plane. Shorter version: Move over al Qaida, you're no match for ISIS.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

It's Election day. Don't forget to vote.

Ahmed Chalabi, who urged the U.S. to invade Iraq, has died of a heart attack.

In other news, Rafael Amaya-Nunez, lead actor of Senor de los Cielos, apparently took his role too much to heart last week. He was admitted to the hospital for a drug overdose. Telemundo and his office did not deny the report. After several hours in intensive care, he was able to move around and recovered. He's now on a well-deserved vacation, according to Telemundo.

Season 4 has been filming for a few months, and is almost done. There will be a season 5 as well. I just wish they wouldn't kill off so many good characters. (My recap of Season 3 is here. I describe Season 1 here.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Russia now says the plane that crashed in Egypt broke apart high in the air. A bomb on board? ISIS still maintains it caused the plane to crash but it hasn't said how.

The plane was in good shape. Metrojet Deputy Director Alexander Smirnov, ruled out engine failure:

"An engine failure doesn't lead to catastrophe," he said on television. Smirnov described the A321 as a reliable aircraft that would not fall into a spin even if the pilots made a grave error because automatic systems correct crew mistakes.

Air France, Dubai-based Emirates and Qatar Airways have suspended flights in the area. Would they do that if they thought it likely the plane crashed because of a technical problem?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.