Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Sidebar war stories:

Are terrorists actually kind of dumb?
   We tend to think of terrorists as savvy, spiritual killers, armed with lethal weapons, top-notch training, and unwavering piety. But in an essay for the Atlantic magazine, DANIEL BYMAN and CHRISTINE FAIR argue that most terrorists are pretty much idiots.
   "They blow each other up by mistake. They bungle even simple schemes," they write. "The Taliban employ the world's worst suicide bombers: one in two manages to kill only himself."
   Most terrorists aren't particularly well-trained (see: Glasgow bombers, Times Square bomber, underwear bomber), and they're not particularly pious (the U-S military has terabytes of Taliban porn, plus some Predator-filmed videos of Talibs "engaged in intimate relations with a donkey").
   That most terrorists are imbeciles doesn't just have comic value (augmented by the Atlantic's cartoon of a less-than-successful terrorist), it also has strategic value. Byman and Fair argue that terrorists recruit on the strength of their image as a group of pious, well-trained, and always-lethal individuals.
   "Current U.S. public diplomacy centers on selling America to the Muslim world," they say. "But we should also work to undermine some of the myths built up around our enemies by highlighting their incompetence, their moral failings, and their embarrassing antics."
   Editor's note: Hate to break it to ya, cupcake: It ain't just terrorists; most people are stupid. (Maiman)

Auto World /Gas Guzzlin' Update:

The blog Marketing: Green makes the case for making behavioral choices to reduce our reliance on petroleum, now that the oil disaster in the Gulf has our attention, and suggests starting small by eliminating the unnecessary use of optional products.
   Over half of a 42-gallon barrel of oil is used to produce things other than gasoline. According to Ranken Energy Corporation, 66-hundred products contain petroleum, from footballs to shampoo to plastic dry cleaning bags. According to the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute, 1.4 billion pieces of clothing are professionally cleaned in the U-S annually, adding up to about 700 million bags, or 131 million pounds of plastic.
   The San Francisco Department of the Environment says it takes 430,000 gallons of oil to produce 100 million plastic shopping bags. So extrapolating for plastic dry cleaning bags, eliminating the bags would free up about three million gallons of oil. (Kaye)

Nobody wants to see that, dep't:

It's rumored that someone is trying to sell several hot private bedroom photos of BETTY WHITE and her late husband ALAN LUDDEN that were found in Betty's former house.

It's slammer time:

The DUI du jour goes to CHRIS KLEIN of "American Pie" fame who was popped early yesterday morning on the 101 freeway in Los Angeles. Law enforcement insiders dished to TMZ.com that his blood alcohol level registered at almost three times the legal limit and if convicted there will be some mandatory time in the slammer --this is Chris' second drinking-and-driving offense in the last six years.
   His "wingman" for the wild night on the town was his pet dog --which a buddy came down to retrieve. (Lee)

The Hollywood rumor mill:

Columbia Pictures has given the green light to a "Ghost Rider" sequel and is in talks with NICOLAS CAGE to star again.
   Daily Variety magazine says EVA MENDES, who co-starred in the original "Ghost Rider," is not expected to return.

60-year-old Mom has triplets!:

An Indian woman in her 60s is a new mother three times over. Sixty-six-year-old BHATERI DEVI just gave birth to triplets, making her one of the oldest women in the world to bear children.
   According to London's Daily Mirror, Devi has been married 44 years and was never able to conceive. After In vitro fertilization (IVF), she became pregnant with triplets and delivered two boys and a girl on May 29th.
   The new mom was treated at the National Fertility and Test Tube Baby Center in northwestern India. That's the same place the world's oldest mom --70-year-old RAJO DEVI LOHAN-- was treated. She's now dying. Doctors say after giving birth 18 months ago, Lohan is now too frail to hold her baby and is suffering from complications related to her IVF procedure. (Page)