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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta allowed the former director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to retire at his current rank rather than demoting him after the Pentagon’s inspector general criticized his management style.

Lieutenant General Patrick O’Reilly stepped down Nov. 19 as agency head and after 38 years of Army service, including four as a West Point cadet, at the three-star rank.

“Secretary Panetta has determined that LTG Patrick J. O’Reilly” served “satisfactorily in the grade of lieutenant general and should be retired at the grade,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Lieutenant Commander Nathan Christensen said today in an e- mailed statement.

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Update: 3 star general O’Reilly, accused of bullying, allowed to retire without demotion -- Washington Post/AP

My Comment: What's the point of having an Inspector General if his criticisms are ignored ... at least he got a reprimand in his file.

TEHRAN — Iran on Jan. 2 said it had shot down two U.S.-made RQ-11 reconnaissance drones in the past 15 months, adding to a ScanEagle drone and RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft it already claims to have captured.

“The army’s air defense shot down two... RQ-11 drones,” Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari told state television and Fars news agency, adding that the army was carrying out “research” on the downed unmanned aircraft. He said the first had been brought down in Shahrivar 1390 (August-September 2011) and the second in Aban 1391 (October-November 2012), but gave no details of their location.

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Iran Navy downs two RQ-11 drones in last 2 years: Iran cmdr. -- Press TV (Iran)
Iran claims it captured 2 small RQ-11 US drones in past missions -- Washington Post/AP
Iran claims shooting down two US-made RQ-11 drones -- The Australian/AFP
Iran says captures 2 US-made miniature surveillance drones -- Reuters

My Comment: The RQ-11 has an effective operational radius of approximately 10 km .... so the Raven's operators must have been very close to Iranian forces when these drones were shot down.

After America postponed its jump off the fiscal cliff in the small hours of Tuesday night, world stock markets soared. Anyone listening to the BBC yesterday with its headlines praising Barack Obama would think something quite profound had changed in the world’s greatest — if battered — economy. However, it has not.

Intractable problems — chief among them chronic over-spending and weak consumer demand — have still not been solved.

The tackling of those issues has merely been postponed until the end of next month, when America’s legally enforceable ‘debt ceiling’ will probably be reached.

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My Comment: Two other must read commentaries on America's debt crisis are the following ....

The Real Country-Killer in 2013 -- Jonathon Moseley, American Thinker
Brace For An Avalanche of Unfunded Debt -- Mort Zuckerman, US News and World Report

Update: At least someone else agrees with me.

The cold war is long over, but there are still over 7,000 nuclear warheads deployed globally. How is the world's nuclear arsenal distributed?

The news that North Korea has successfully launched a satellite heightened fears that the same know-how could be used to launch ballistic missiles. Which countries already have the capability to launch a nuclear missile, and how many warheads do they have?

Data on the number of nuclear weapons is notoriously difficult to find - not least because commitments on disarmament and dismantlement are linked to the number of weapons each state has claimed to have.

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My Comment: A lot of good data here.

The U.S. military has been in Afghanistan since shortly after September 11, 2001. That’s eleven years and it is longer than the time spent in Vietnam, though with less casualties. We invaded Iraq twice, once to drive Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait after he invaded in 1990 and then, in 2003 to depose him in the hope of bringing “democracy” to that nation. After the 2005 elections, Iraq was eager to see us leave, but many observers say it is as wracked with violence today as it was during our occupation.

The American way of war is not working and has not been working since the 1970s.
Armies are not intended to be “nation building” forces. Their job is to kill the enemy and break things until a threat to our national security is ended. We did that during World War II, fighting it in two theatres, Europe and Asia. We won because we inflicted an enormous amount of damage in both theatres of war in just four year’s time.

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My Comment: Nation building has always been (at least in my life time) a significant part of the culture and mindset of American society when it comes to helping countries in need. If there is a disaster in any part of the world .... the Americans are usually the first foreigners to arrive .... always filled with aid and assistance to a grateful people. But if the past decade has taught us anything it is that conducting war and nation building at the same time does not work .... and if anything may aggravate a bad situation into something even worse. We should have left Iraq after Saddam Hussein was captured .... we should have left Afghanistan after Osama bin Laden was killed .... but we choose to stay .... making me wonder if our present day conflicts are more about commerce (i.e. hiring contractors and supplying our soldiers and allies with the essentials) than being focused on our own national security. In short .... we need a major rethink on what are we doing in some of the trouble spots around the world .... and in view of our dire financial and debt situation .... we better do it fast.

Whatever happens with sequestration, Pentagon planners are now struggling to fit the services' myriad programs under a reduced budget topline. Advocates point to their particular project or personnel as vital to US warfighting capacity. Technologists point to new capabilities that will allow us to do more with equal or even fewer resources. Traditionalists encourage maintaining or even increasing manpower to achieve security objectives the old fashioned way, boots on the ground, airmen in the air, sailors at sea.

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My Comment: The strategy is being determined by the budget .... not the budget being determined by the strategy. This shift represents a seismic change in U.S. foreign/military/national defense thinking, and one that should make all of us very concerned .... especially since there has been zero debate on the pros and cons in following such a direction.

In the years since the Afghanistan invasion, the CIA, long a covert intelligence gathering body, entered a phase of growing militancy that has rendered headline after headline in U.S. mainstream media — and that's due in no small part to its relationship with military operators.

On December 26th, Greg Miller and Julie Tate of the Washington Post published an article about something called the "Global Response Staff" (GRS).

From their post:

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Previous Post: The CIA’s Global Response Staff Emerges From The Shadows

My Comment: As I had commented in my previous post on this subject .... this work is incredibly dangerous .... and vitally essential. 'Screw-ups' and disasters are going to occur .... it is the nature of the work and the environment that many of these men work in. Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan .... and God knows where else .... problems and threats are always going to be present when you work in these regions, and because of the nature of international terrorism and the reach of Al Qaeda ... going home is not an option .... someone has to go there and stay there to assist the intelligence and diplomatic officials who are there and who are trying their best to stop the next terror attack and/or threat.

In the weeks preceeding the release of the much lauded film Zero Dark Thirty--of which everyone by now knows is about one CIA agent's single-minded mission to find Osama bin Laden--something remarkable happened. The CIA, the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a coterie of human rights journalists, activists, and artists, seemed at least in print and in picture to compose a united front against the makers of the film. Their common aim was to impress on the public that the film propagated false information regarding the efficacy of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" (a euphemism for torture) in general, and specifically in coercing information from prisoners on the whereabouts of bin Laden.

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My Comment: This is a long but detailed post on how the U.S. government's narrative on torture has changed over the years .... but specifically in the past year. Why this change in narrative .... is it to impress a constituency on the left .... to feel good about oneself .... to validate another course of action (i.e. targeted drone strikes) .... your guess is as good as mine.

(Reuters) - After the Senate Intelligence Committee's chairwoman expressed outrage over scenes that imply "enhanced interrogations" of CIA detainees produced a breakthrough in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the panel has begun a review of contacts between the makers of the film "Zero Dark Thirty" and CIA officials.

In the latest controversy surrounding the film, Reuters has learned that the committee will examine records charting contacts between intelligence officials and the film's director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal.

Investigators will examine whether the spy agency gave the filmmakers "inappropriate" access to secret material, said a person familiar with the matter. They will also probe whether CIA personnel are responsible for the portrayal of harsh interrogation practices, and in particular the suggestion that they were effective, the person said.

The intelligence committee's Democrats contend that is factually incorrect.

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My Comment: I am not surprised by this witch hunt. The U.S. Senate Democrats know the power of Hollywood, and are disturbed that there is a scene of torture in a movie that undermines their carefully crafted public position that torture was not responsible for the the intel that helped the intelligence community to track down Osama Bin Laden. They want someone's scalp, as well as making sure that this does not happen again. My two predictions .... even though this is just a movie and not a documentary .... (1) a CIA official or two will be dragged out and forced to publicly repudiate the torture scene in the movie and state that the makers of the film obviously did not listen to them .... and (2) the movie's director (Kathryn Bigelow) and screenwriter (Mark Boal) are going to have trouble finding work in Hollywood in the future.

One final note as to why this "investigation" is disturbing .... the last U.S. senator that went after Hollywood in such a fashion .... and make no mistake about it but U.S. Senator Feinstein is going after the makers of this film and those in the CIA who helped them .... was this person.

“I am here in Kandahar on a short vacation,” says the young man, about 27, who we will call Mullah Kalam. His beard is trimmed neat; he is wearing a black leather jacket and a striped beige turban. Kalam has been a student for five years at a religious seminary across the border in Chaman, in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan. Two years into his studies, as U.S. President Barack Obama ordered a surge of 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, much of it focused in the south, Kalam’s family of 11 left their home in Panjwai district, about 40km from the city of Kandahar, to settle in Chaman.

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My Comment: Bottom line .... the IEDs that explode in Afghanistan .... a good portion of them have a Pakistani signature.

(Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday rejected The New York Times' bid to force the U.S. government to disclose more information about its targeted killing of people it believes have ties to terrorism, including American citizens.

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan said the Obama administration did not violate the law by refusing the Times' request for the legal justifications for targeted killings, a strategy the Times said was first contemplated by the Bush administration soon after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

McMahon appeared reluctant to rule as she did, noting in her decision that disclosure could help the public understand the "vast and seemingly ever-growing exercise in which we have been engaged for well over a decade, at great cost in lives, treasure, and (at least in the minds of some) personal liberty."

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Secrecy of Memo on Targeted Killing Upheld -- New York Times
Judge: US can keep secrets on targeted killings -- Wall Street Journal
Judge says US government doesn’t have to disclose documents on legality of targeted killings -- Washington Post/AP
New York Times loses drone lawsuit against Obama administration -- Global Post
White House wins fight to keep drone killings of Americans secret -- RT
N.Y. Times loses drone-strike suit against Obama administration -- Politico
Treason, Murder, and Dicta: Judge McMahon on Drone Strikes -- Lawfare
Alice in Wonderland’ Ruling Lets Feds Keep Mum on Targeted-Killing Legal Rationale -- Threat Level
The Administration Really Doesn't Want to Talk About the Drone That Killed an American Citizen -- Atlantic Wire

My Comment: I am not surprised by this ruling .... if the ruling was the other-way .... it would have opened a Pandora's box of negative publicity, possible legal actions, and strained foreign relations.

President Fernández uses letter to David Cameron in British press to say Britain should open sovereignty talks over islands.

Thirty years after Britain and Argentina went to war over the Falklands, Argentina's populist president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has returned to the fray with a blistering attack on British "colonialism" and a demand to hand back "Las Malvinas".

In a stinging letter to David Cameron, Fernández urges the UK to abide by a 1960 United Nations resolution urging member states to "end colonialism in all its forms and manifestations".

Read more ....


Argentina blasts Britain over islands and Antarctica -- Foreign Policy
David Cameron must return Falklands to Argentina, Cristina Kirchner demands -- the Telegraph
Argentine president accuses UK of 'colonialism' by holding on to the Falkland Islands during New Year outburst -- Daily Mail
Fernandez: Britain seized Falklands -- UPI
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's letter to David Cameron -- The Guardian

My Comment: It's now becoming a routine .... every 3 to 4 months she is always making the same speech.

Al-Jazeera announced Wednesday that it was acquiring Current TV, the network launched by former Vice President Al Gore.

"By acquiring Current TV, Al Jazeera will significantly expand our existing distribution footprint in the U.S., as well as increase our newsgathering and reporting efforts in America," Al-Jazeera Director General Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani said in a statement.

The new channel, Al-Jazeera America, will be based in New York. The Qatar-based Arabic-language network already operates an English-language arm, Al-Jazeera English. The New York Times reported that roughly 60 percent of the new network's programming will be produced in the U.S.; the rest will come from Al-Jazeera English.

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Al Jazeera Buys Al Gore’s Current TV in U.S. Expansion -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Al-Jazeera in talks to buy Current TV, gain stronger foothold in US television market -- Washington Post/AP
Al-Jazeera to Buy Current TV -- Wall Street Journal
Al Jazeera Acquires Current TV -- New York Times
Al Jazeera Completes Purchase of Current TV (Updated) -- Reuters

My Comment: They want to expand into the American market .... but will Americans want to watch their take of the news? Aside from Arab Americans, I have doubts that they will be able to penetrate the other demographics. I link to Al Jazeera stories in this blog all the time .... and while I know that their perspective is an Arab one .... I do try my best to balance things out by linking to other sources and opinions.

 

A threat in the hands of Bashar Assad, but perhaps an even bigger one if his regime falls.

After standing on the sidelines for 21 months while Syrian dictator Bashar Assad slaughtered tens of thousands of his own people, President Obama recently warned that Assad will cross a "red line" if he uses his chemical arsenal. "If you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons," he said, "there will be consequences, and you will be held accountable."

Western officials should be concerned about any attempt by Assad to use mustard gas or nerve agents against his brutalized people. But this attention on Syria's chemical weapons overshadows the stark fate of the Syrian people and exaggerates the importance of chemical weapons in 21st-century warfare.

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In the Middle East, the Arab spring has given way to a Christian winter -- Rupert Short, The Guardian

Did Hamas Win the Last War? -- Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary

Overheated rhetoric on Israeli settlements -- Washington Post editorial

For Egypt's satirists, Morsi's power is no joke -- Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

North Korea is not keen on reunification -- Gulf News

Little Hope for Change in Pyongyang -- John Lee, Wall Street Journal

The Unspeakable Truth About Rape in India -- Sonia Faleiro, New York Times

Why is Google's Eric Schmidt heading to North Korea? -- Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer, Foreign Policy

Americans never give up your guns -- Stanislav Mishin, Pravda

President Obama continues to drive America towards European-style decline -- Nile Gardiner, The Telegraph

Can America Be Fixed? The New Crisis of Democracy -- Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs

Fiscal cliff deal raises taxes and the deficit. The Republicans didn´t compromise: they surrendered -- Tim Stanley, The Telegraph

The Real Country-Killer in 2013 -- Jonathon Moseley, American Thinker

A global Apple crime wave? -- Joshua Keating, Foreign Policy

In 2013, the great global unraveling -- Mark Leonard, Reuters

BEIRUT — The United Nations’ human rights chief said Wednesday that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the bloody conflict in Syria, a figure that far exceeds even estimates given by opposition groups after nearly two years of fighting.

“The number of casualties is much higher than we expected and is truly shocking,” U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navanethem Pillay said, according to Reuters news service.

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Syria unrest has killed 60,000, says UN.

Islamists join Syrian rebels in military airfield attack. Syria: 'Deadly air strike hits Damascus petrol station'. Fighting in Aleppo shuts down city's airport as Syria's vicious civil war shows no sign of slowing in 2013.

Any end in sight? Syrian conflict enters third calendar year.

Syrian refugees strain resources in Jordan.

Iraq is officially fighting in a 'low-level war' a year after US withdrawal.

Israeli-Palestinian clashes erupt in West Bank.

Israeli border fence halts migrant flood from Egypt.

Hamas could oust Abbas from W.Bank: Netanyahu.

Turkey’s leader vies for role of strongman.

Red Hot ‘Israeli’ Peppers: Lebanese army combat supermarket veg.


The secret ways of Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Gunmen kidnap seven Pakistani soldiers.

Satellite images show North Korea maintaining ability to detonate nuke device.

Myanmar admits to airstrikes against rebels. Video shows Burma military 'targeting Kachin rebels'.

India police to charge 5 with murder in brutal gang-rape, test 6th suspect to confirm age. Lawyers refuse to defend Delhi gang-rapists.

In New Year’s speech, North Korean leader pushes for unity, peace.

South Korea dismisses Kim Jong Un’s call for reduced tensions.

North Korean adoptions approved in US.

Funerals held for Pakistan charity workers in Swabi.


Mursi's Brotherhood may pay price for Egypt currency fall.

Many remained displaced in Kenya in 2012.

Nigerian army says 14 die in gun battle with Boko Haram.

Egyptian opposition to run for Parliament on one list.

Central African Republic rebels halt advance, agree to peace talks. Foreign troops to bolster Central African Republic.

Ten crushed to death, 120 injured at Angola church event.

Ivory Coast mourns after new year stampede in Abidjan.

Crisis-Hit Sudan opens bigger dam in conflict state.

South Sudan's oil production hasn't trickled down to basic services.

Africa's energy consumption growing fastest in world.

Egypt cracks down on satirists and media.


Greek debt crisis 'far from over'.

UK assumes presidency of G8 group.

Italy's Monti fires opening salvo of second-term campaign.

Adoption ban law comes into force in Russia.

France counts 1,193 cars torched on New Year's Eve.

Pope's new year address deplores rampant capitalism.


Argentina blasts Britain over islands and Antarctica.

Bigger fights loom after "fiscal cliff" deal.

Congress OKs cliff deal, signaling future fights. President vows not to negotiate on debt ceiling.

Canada native hunger strike sparks Quebec blockade.

Venezuela opposition: government not providing enough information about ailing Hugo Chavez

Venezuela's Chavez 'conscious' says VP Nicolas Maduro. Chavez ‘immense strength’ prompts Maduro’s return home.

Thirteen Colombian Farc rebels 'killed in air strike'.

Sales of armored cars soars 10% in Mexico as drug wars escalate.

Haiti travel warning issued by US after kidnappings, killings.


NY Times loses bid to uncover details on drone strikes.

Al-Qaeda, Israel’s Trojan horse in Middle East: Iranian MP

Ethiopia says breaks up Islamist militant cell.

Al Qaeda rises in Yemen's chaos.


Google's executive chairman plans North Korea trip: AP.

Intel is reportedly going to destroy the cable model by offering people the ability to subscribe to individual channels.

Snapchat withstands Facebook challenge.

Analysis: "Fiscal cliff" deal called a dud on deficit front.

Fiscal cliff deal: World markets celebrate certainty.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for economic reform and expressed a wish to improve relations with South Korea, departing from the usual North Korea rhetoric.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un signaled his desire for improved relations with South Korea in a New Year’s Day address that South Korean officials see as an unsatisfying attempt to appear conciliatory.

A day after Kim Jong-un stressed the need for resolving North-South confrontation, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan responded Wednesday by calling for North Korea to make “wise and right decisions” by coordinating with “neighboring countries.”

Kim’s address was noteworthy for both the absence of the type of recriminations that characterize North Korean rhetoric and also because Kim Jong-un seized the occasion to speak publicly.

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S. Korea cagey on Kim's speech, analysts see reform push -- AFP
S. Korea Dismisses Kim Jong Un’s Call for Reduced Tensions -- Voice of America
South Korea press cynical of Kim Jong-un's speech -- BBC
Kim Jong-un breaks with tradition in flagging better ties -- The Australian
Kim Jong-un calls for end to confrontation with South Korea -- The Guardian
In first New Year speech, North Korea's Kim Jong Un calls for economic revamp -- CNN
North Korea is not keen on reunification -- Gulf News
Little Hope for Change in Pyongyang -- John Lee, Wall Street Journal

(Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic said they had halted their advance on the capital on Wednesday and agreed to start peace talks, averting a clash with regionally backed troops.

The Seleka rebels had pushed to within striking distance of Bangui after a three-week onslaught and threatened to oust President Francois Bozize, accusing him of reneging on a previous peace deal and cracking down on dissidents.

Their announcement on Wednesday gave the leader only a limited reprieve as the fighters told Reuters they might insist on his removal in the negotiations.

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Central African Republic rebels halt advance on Bangui -- BBC
CAR rebels halt advance on capital -- Al Jazeera
Central African Republic rebels agree to talks -- The Guardian
Central Africa rebels agree to talks -- The Australian
Central African rebels agree to talks -- Financial Times
Central Africa rebels agree to peace talks -- Kuwait Times
Central African Republic Says Rebels Agree to Peace Talks -- Bloomberg Businessweek
C. African Republic leader faces rebel threat -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Embattled Central African Republic president sacks defense minister, army chief -- Reuters
Regional Troops Warn C.A.R. Rebels to Stop Advance -- Voice of America
Regional forces on guard in CAR -- UPI
Bozize Supporters Build Roadblocks in CAR Capital -- Voice of America
UN renews call for dialogue to resolve crisis in Central African Republic -- UN News Centre
In pictures: Central African Republic strife -- Al Jazeera

Iranian officials tell citizens to vacate city located near nuke site

Iranian officials have instructed residents of Isfahan to leave the city, renewing concerns that a nearby nuclear site could be leaking radioactive material.

An edict issued Wednesday by Iranian authorities orders Isfahan’s one-and-a-half million people to leave the city “because pollution has now reached emergency levels,” the BBC reported.

However, outside observers suspect that the evacuation order may corroborate previous reports indicating that a uranium enrichment facility near Isfahan had been leaking radioactive material.

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My Comment: It appears that something is happening in the Iranian city of Isfahan. Why is this news important .... Isfahan is the place where Iran`s nuclear program conducts it`s nuclear enrichment process. It is also the place where there have been numerous reports and speculation in the past of sabotage and bomb attacks occurring at the facility. Rumors of nuclear leaks are also nothing new .... just last month Iranian officials were denying reports that there was a leak at the plant, allaying local fears that radiation was being released. Then again .... it could because of air pollution .... apparently a chronic problem in the region.

Until the Iranian government is more forthcoming on what is happening at Isfahan (which I doubt), we will have wait and hear what the locals are saying through social media and to their relatives outside of the country.

Update: Iran's key nuclear sites -- BBC

BARVIKHA, Russia: A few years back, before he settled in this bucolic town in a pine forest near Moscow, Askar Akayev, then the president of Kyrgyzstan, had a very stressful day.

Outside his presidential palace, an angry mob had gathered. An overturned car was on fire. Protesters had shinned over a wrought-iron fence and were breaking ground-floor windows and prying open doors.

Then came word from a security adviser: the time had come.

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My Comment: I prefer to see Assad in a war crimes courtroom, but if Assad should decide to flee to Russia .... he (and his wife) will have to get use to the cold Russian winter. But even though it is cold in winter .... Barvikha (just outside of Moscow and a place that I am familiar with) is a great place to live .... and a perfect place for a deposed leader to hide from those who are seeking revenge.

Many believed 2012 would be Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's last year in power, but at the outset of 2013 the conflict appears locked in a stalemate with alarming fatality rates.

The Syrian civil war entered its third calendar year with rebel forces displaying increased military prowess but still lacking adequate weapons and organization to gain a decisive edge over government forces.

At the outset of 2012, many observers predicted it would be President Bashar al-Assad's last year, but now in 2013 the conflict appears locked in a stalemate with alarming fatality rates.

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My Comment: The above CNN video is a sobering assessment on Syria`s future .... watch it all.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since Syria's uprising began in March 2011, the UN has said.

A study commissioned by UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay collated data from seven different sources, and concluded that there had been 59,648 deaths until November 2012.

Ms Pillay said the figure would now have risen above 60,000 and described the bloodshed as "truly shocking".

Syrian opposition groups had previously estimated 45,000 people killed.

The study was released hours after a petrol station near Damascus was hit in an air strike.

The missile attack apparently sparked a huge explosion in which up to 70 people died, according to activists, in one of the deadliest incidents of the uprising.

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Syria Live Blog -- Al Jazeera
Syria conflict: UN says 60,000 dead - Wednesday 2 January 2013 -- The Guardian
Dozens killed in Syrian blast as UN says 60,000 dead in conflict -- NBC
Violence intensifies in Syria with raging military showdown -- Xinhuanet
'Many killed' in Syria fuel station airstrike -- Al Jazeera
At least 30 killed as Syria warplanes bomb gas station near Damascus -- Haaretz/Reuters
Airstrike Near Damascus Kills, Injures Dozens -- Wall Street Journal
Syria: Deadly air strike 'hits Damascus petrol station' -- BBC
Dozens Killed in Syria Air Strike on Gas Station -- Voice of America
Islamists Join Syrian Rebels in Military Airfield Attack -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Syria Execution Video Shows Stabbing And Stoning Blamed On Assad Militia (GRAPHIC IMAGES) -- Huffington Post/Reuters
Syria: Government Pounds Damascus Suburbs -- New York Times
Syria ushers in New Year with more violence -- AFP
SLIDESHOW: Syria's rising displacement crisis -- IRIN
UN refugee agency says 84,000 fled Syria last month, bringing total to around half a million -- FOX News/AP
The last word on Syria is yet to be said -- Joseph A. Kechichian, Gulf News
The Menace of Syrian Chemical Weapons -- Jamie Fly, Wall Street Journal

BEIRUT, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Internet video posted by Syrian rebels appears to show fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad stabbing two men to death and stoning them with concrete blocks in a summary execution lasting several minutes.

Assad's forces and rebels have both been accused of atrocities in Syria's 21-month-old uprising-turned-civil war. The United Nations says the authorities and their allied militia have been more culpable.

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My Comment: YouTube is now the dumping ground for such videos. And while I do not expect Google to change it`s policies (in the short term) when it comes to posting these videos on YouTube, I do expect changes to occur as even more graphic videos in HD start to pop up.

The world already believed Syria’s civil war to be monstrous, with nearly 45,000 slain. But when the United Nations plunged into the disparate databases cataloguing the victims, it discovered there had been an awful oversight. The true death toll was more like 60,000 people, the data-mining operation revealed. And even that elevated total is likely to be low.

The brutal truth is that no one really knows how many Syrians have died in dictator Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown: warzone death estimates are notoriously imprecise. By its own admission, the death toll compiled by the human rights tech group Benetech, on behalf of the U.N., is inaccurate. But its assessment has the virtue of specificity, a factor that preempts some of the doubts raised about mortality estimates in other warzones. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, called the study “a work in progress, not a final product.”

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My Comment: No one really knows how many Syrians have been killed after 22 months of war .... but I do suspect that the numbers are now increasing exponentially .... everyone wants to end this war, and as a result there is now a frenzy of firefights and bombings occurring in much of the country. My prediction .... and using the Bosnian civil war as my template .... this civil war is going to drag on for another year or two and the casualty rate .... when it is all finished .... the death will be closer to 250,000 .... and that is if WMDs are not used.

GENEVA — More than 60,000 people have died in Syria’s 22-month-old civil war, the United Nations’ human rights chief, Navi Pillay, said on Wednesday, expressing dismay at the findings of an analysis that far exceeds previous estimates of casualties.

“The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking,” Ms. Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement that condemned the government of President Bashar al-Assad for the scale of the carnage and sharply admonished the United Nations Security Council for failing to act on a bloodletting “that shames us all.”

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Data suggests Syria death toll could be more than 60,000, says UN human rights office -- UN News Centre
U.N. lifts Syria death toll to "truly shocking" 60,000 -- Reuters
UN analysis suggests at least 60,000 people have died in Syria conflict -- FOX News/AP
Syrian death toll tops 60,000, U.N. says -- UPI
Syrian Death Toll Reaches 60,000, Says UN Rights Agency -- Bloomberg
60,000 killed in Syrian war, says UN -- The Guardian
Syria death toll jumps past 60,000, U.N. says -- CNN
Syrian Conflict Claims over 60,000 Lives - UN -- RIA Novosti
UN report: Death toll in Syria climbs to 60,000 -- Deutsche Welle
UN amends figures, says over 60,000 — not 45,000 — dead in Syrian civil war -- Times of Israel

The Burmese government has confirmed that it carried out air strikes this week against ethnic rebels in northern Kachin state, raising fresh concerns about the country's reform and fragile peace processes.

In an interview with VOA's Burmese Service on Wednesday, a government spokesperson acknowledged that "training jets" were used against Kachin rebels in response to attacks by the Kachin Independence Organization.

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Army admits aerial assault on Kachin rebels -- Democratic Voice of Burma
Video shows Burma military 'targeting Kachin rebels' -- BBC
Burmese army use airstrikes as conflict escalates -- ABC News (Australia)
Myanmar: Gov't aircraft in rebel-held area -- UPI
Myanmar air strikes reported on Kachin rebels -- Al Jazeera
Kachin War Strays to Chinese Soil -- The Irrawaddy
Myanmar: war skirting Chinese air space? -- Global Post
Burma ‘using Chinese airspace’ as fighting nears Kachin HQ -- Asian Correspondent
Myanmar government and rebels trade charges over upsurge in fighting in north -- Washington Post/AP

Communist Party of the Philippines cuts ceasefire with government short, raising concerns about future of peace talks.

Communist rebels in the Philippines have called off a truce with the government, almost two weeks ahead of schedule, raising concerns about the future of peace talks.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) blamed the government for their action on Wednesday, but a spokesman for President Benigno Aquino said the CPP just wanted an excuse to cut the ceasefire short.

A CPP statement said the truce, originally scheduled to run from December 20 to January 15, had ended at noon on Wednesday because it believed the government only wanted a truce to remain in place until then.

Read more ....


Communists scuttle truce with government -- Gulf News
Philippine communists call off truce -- AFP
Philippine Communist Rebels Call-Off Their Ceasefire -- Davo Today
CPP terminates ceasefire; gov’t slams ‘false claims’ -- Rappler
Gov’t troops to unilaterally honor ceasefire with leftist rebels: official -- NZWeek/Xinhuanet

Update: Philippine govt: Talks with leftist rebels "back on track" -- Global Times

* Countries carried out covert tests of a device designed to use underwater explosions to trigger massive tidal waves
* Testing saw almost 4,000 bombs detonated in waters around New Caledonia and Auckland during the Second World War
* Details of top secret Project Seal unearthed in military files in New Zealand's national archives by an author researching a new book

The U.S. and New Zealand collaborated on a top-secret plan to develop a 'tsunami bomb' capable of devastating coastal cities, it has emerged.

The countries carried out covert tests of the potential weapon of mass destruction - designed to use underwater explosions to trigger huge tidal waves - in waters around Auckland and the Pacific island of New Caledonia during the Second World War.

Details of the secretive operation, code-named Project Seal, were discovered in military files buried in New Zealand's national archives by author and film-maker Ray Waru.

Read more ....


'Tsunami bomb' tested off New Zealand coast -- The Telegraph
Tsunami bomb feasible, secret WWII test showed -- Sydney Morning Herald
NZ and US tested 'tsunami bomb' that could devastate small cities -- TNT Magazine
From UFOs to 'tsunami bomb': N.Z. archive secrets revealed -- France24/AFP

The Taliban has likened the planned withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan to America’s pullout from Vietnam, calling it a “declare victory and run” strategy.

The group following a statement on Wednesday said the ongoing transfer of security operations from U.S. troops to Afghan forces was merely a retreat similar to the American withdrawal from South Vietnam prior to the communist victory there in 1975.

Read more ....


ISAF Joint Command operational update, Jan 2 -- ISAF
Taliban likens US role in Afghanistan to Vietnam War -- FOX News/AP
With U.S. Set to Leave Afghanistan, Echoes of 1989 -- New York Times
Can Afghan troops hold off the Taliban after Nato withdraws? -- The Guardian
Front-row seat for Afghanistan's progress -- al.com
Soldiers in Afghanistan continue mission as 2013 arrives -- Army.mil
Pak eases restrictions on US military vehicles transiting to Afghanistan -- ANI
Afghan warlord brands Britain's Prince Harry as "jackal" -- Reuters
Afghan Warlord Hekmatyar Vows Fresh Attacks on NATO Troops -- Naharnet
No word on Ottawa man, pregnant wife missing in Afghanistan -- Ottawa Citizen
Afghan Refugees Shiver at Another Deadly Winter -- Naharnet
AFGHANISTAN: Bleak humanitarian outlook for 2013 -- IRIN
Afghanistan: A Russian diplomat's fears -- Al Jazeera

Congress approved a plan to end Washington’s long drama over the “fiscal cliff” late Tuesday after House Republicans surrendered to President Obama’s demand to let taxes rise on the nation’s richest households.

The House voted 257 to 167 to send the measure to Obama for his signature; the vote came less than 24 hours after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation.

Read more ....


Islamists join Syrian rebels in military airfield attack. Syria: 'Deadly air strike hits Damascus petrol station'. Fighting in Aleppo shuts down city's airport as Syria's vicious civil war shows no sign of slowing in 2013.

Any end in sight? Syrian conflict enters third calendar year.

Iraq is officially fighting in a 'low-level war' a year after US withdrawal.

Israeli-Palestinian clashes erupt in West Bank.

Israeli border fence halts migrant flood from Egypt.

Hamas could oust Abbas from W.Bank: Netanyahu.

Turkey’s leader vies for role of strongman.

Red Hot ‘Israeli’ Peppers: Lebanese army combat supermarket veg.


Satellite images show North Korea maintaining ability to detonate nuke device.

Video shows Burma military 'targeting Kachin rebels'.

India police to charge 5 with murder in brutal gang-rape, test 6th suspect to confirm age. Lawyers refuse to defend Delhi gang-rapists.

In New Year’s speech, North Korean leader pushes for unity, peace.

South Korea dismisses Kim Jong Un’s call for reduced tensions.

North Korean adoptions approved in US.

Funerals held for Pakistan charity workers in Swabi.


Nigerian army says 14 die in gun battle with Boko Haram.

Egyptian opposition to run for Parliament on one list.

Central African Republic rebels halt advance, agree to peace talks. Foreign troops to bolster Central African Republic.

Ten crushed to death, 120 injured at Angola church event.

Ivory Coast mourns after new year stampede in Abidjan.

Crisis-Hit Sudan opens bigger dam in conflict state.

South Sudan's oil production hasn't trickled down to basic services.

Africa's energy consumption growing fastest in world.

Egypt cracks down on satirists and media.


Greek debt crisis 'far from over'.

UK assumes presidency of G8 group.

Italy's Monti fires opening salvo of second-term campaign.

Adoption ban law comes into force in Russia.

France counts 1,193 cars torched on New Year's Eve.

Pope's new year address deplores rampant capitalism.


Congress OKs cliff deal, signaling future fights. President vows not to negotiate on debt ceiling.

Thirteen Colombian Farc rebels 'killed in air strike'.

Venezuela's Chavez 'conscious' says VP Nicolas Maduro. Chavez ‘immense strength’ prompts Maduro’s return home.

Sales of armored cars soars 10% in Mexico as drug wars escalate.

Haiti travel warning issued by US after kidnappings, killings.


Al-Qaeda, Israel’s Trojan horse in Middle East: Iranian MP

Ethiopia says breaks up Islamist militant cell.

Al Qaeda rises in Yemen's chaos.


Snapchat withstands Facebook challenge.

Analysis: "Fiscal cliff" deal called a dud on deficit front.

Fiscal cliff deal: World markets celebrate certainty.