• Breaking news on the Prince Andrew beat! Wikileaked missives analyzed today have him praising bribery, directly meddling in a corruption investigation, and being the recipient of the sort of praise that cannot be offered without caveats such as "He is a twat." [The Guardian]
• Vladimir "Dobby" Putin is upset. One cable, attributed to U.S. Defense chief Robert Gates, reported Russian democracy has 'disappeared,' to be replaced by an oligarchy centered on the state security apparatus. Putin warned him to stay out of Russian affairs, suggested that the country may develop new nuclear weapons should the U.S. fail to cut a new security deal with it, and pointed out that unlike at least one U.S. president, he did in fact get the most votes. [NYT]
• Barbed wire fences in Pakistan are inordinately expensive, at least when you are paying for them. Did you know it cost $70m to maintain radars to help fend off the Taliban Air Force? The nonexistence of this martial institution is apparently not an impediment to those cutting the checks. So confusing!
• Not to be outdone by Sarah Palin calling for Julian Assange's assassination, Mike Huckabee says he wants presumed leaker Bradley Manning dead.
• China is indeed 'ready to abandon' North Korea, says the Guardian.
