| Hard News
Syria deserters kill at least 27 troops: "activists": Syrian army deserters killed at least 27 soldiers and members of the security forces during clashes in the southern province of Daraa on Thursday, a "rights group" said.
Assad's sect members come under attack in Syria : A Syrian Alawite centrist political figure said on Tuesday that four of his relatives were shot or kidnapped in sectarian violence threatening to undermine a nine-month pro-democracy uprising.
http://bit.ly/t81qqs
Syrian opposition groups announce alliance in Istanbul: The formerly secretive council, the former diplomat added, is now seeking to coordinate future actions with other opposition groups, and will be operating "under the political umbrella of the Syrian National Council."
http://bit.ly/sTRykq
Engineering Consent For Attack On Syria:
Syria abuse ordered from the top: A report by Human Rights Watch, based on testimony from 60 army defectors, said 74 commanders and officials had "ordered, authorized, or condoned widespread killings, torture, and unlawful arrests".
http://www.channel4.com/news/syria-abuse-ordered-from-the-top
UN's Ban Increasingly Shows Hawkish Side: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon seems to be finding his own hawkish groove, cheering the war in Libya while pushing for escalation elsewhere.
http://bit.ly/tzgLYB
France welcomes Russia move on Syria at UN: The French envoy to the United Nations on Thursday welcomed a resolution proposed by Russia on the Syrian crisis, saying it was "an extraordinary event."
http://bit.ly/vKzbpS
In case you missed it:
Orwell Rolls in His Grave: Video - "Could a media system, controlled by a few global corporations with the ability to overwhelm all competing voices, be able to turn lies into truth?..."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13062.htm
NATO Soldier Killed in Insurgent Attack in Afghanistan: "An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) service member died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan, yesterday," the NATO-led ISAF said in a press release here.
http://english.cri.cn/6966/2011/12/15/2982s671700.htm
Pay up! Pakistan puts price on US cooperation: Pakistan's decision to impose tax on US and NATO supplies going to Afghanistan through its territory is only a part of a broader package that Pakistan is discussing at the moment, Chris Woods of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism told RT.
http://rt.com/news/pakistan-transit-tax-nato-921/
Iran Warns Afghanistan to Stop U.S. Drone Flights:
Any further flights would be regarded as a hostile act, the Iranian foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in an interview with Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency. His warning threatened to drag Afghanistan directly into the conflict for the first time.
http://nyti.ms/uCWm8p
U.S. House asks for punitive measures against Iran, Pakistan: The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday evening passed a massive defense bill, asking for sanctions on Iran's central bank and freezing some aid to Pakistan.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2011-12/15/c_131308103.htm
An Act Of War:
US Senate sanctions Iran's Central Bank: The Senate voted 100-0 on Thursday for an amendment proposed by the Democrat Senator Robert Menendez and a Republican, Senator Mark Kirk, which would allow the US President Barack Obama to sanction foreign banks engaged in a "significant financial transaction with the Central Bank of Iran," Reuters reported.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/215889.html
Israel forms special ops command; experts eye Iran: - Israel said on Thursday it was unifying its special forces under one command, a move experts say could help Israel strike countries like Iran, whose nuclear program the Jewish state deems a threat to its existence.
http://yhoo.it/sEesXx
US exit from Iraq: 'this is not a withdrawal, this is an act on a stage': The prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, and the president, Jalal Talabani, did not turn up to the ceremony, with uniformed US soldiers belatedly moved into seats carrying the two Iraqi leaders' names.
http://bit.ly/rWBDZQ
Junkyard Gives Up Secret Accounts of Massacre in Iraq: One by one, the Marines sat down, swore to tell the truth and began to give secret interviews discussing one of the most horrific episodes of America's time in Iraq: the 2005 massacre by Marines of Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29994.htm
Iraq war ends with a $4 trillion IOU: Veterans' health care costs to rise sharply over the next 40 years
http://bit.ly/tBLc9T
Dictators rely on D.C. front men: Professors and lobbyists tout Central Asia's autocrats in Washington
http://bit.ly/rPwKHV
France's Jacques Chirac convicted of corruption: As French president, Jacques Chirac was called all sorts of names, not the least for his vociferous opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Now, he has a moniker that will stick: convicted criminal.
http://usat.ly/tBskZb
Ban online terror material, says new study: SOCIAL networking sites like Facebook and YouTube are being used by terrorist groups to groom vulnerable people, and Australia and its international partners should be limiting extremist propaganda on the internet, a new study says.
http://bit.ly/vewtGp
US: Refusal to Veto Detainee Bill A Historic Tragedy for Rights: US President Barack Obama's apparent decision to not veto a defense spending bill that codifies indefinite detention without trial into US law and expands the military's role in holding terrorism suspects does enormous damage to the rule of law both in the US and abroad, Human Rights Watch said today
http://bit.ly/udrOtx
Congress Authorizes Offensive Military Action in Cyberspace:
"Congress affirms that the Department of Defense has the capability, and upon direction by the President may conduct offensive operations in cyberspace to defend our Nation, allies and interests," said the FY 2012 defense authorization act that was adopted in conference this week
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2011/12/offensive_cyber.html
In advance of NATO/G-8, Chicago to increase fines for resisting arrest: :
Protesters who descend on Chicago for the NATO and G-8 summits would face extraordinary security measures - including dramatically higher fines for resisting arrest, more surveillance cameras and parks and beaches closed until 6 a.m. - under a plan proposed Wednesday by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
http://bit.ly/ubWhiD
'Dream' Space Telescope for Military Could Spy Anywhere on Earth: If the U.S. military wants live video of a missile launcher vehicle halfway around the world, it must rely upon spy planes or drones in danger of being shot down. Tomorrow, the Pentagon wants space telescopes hovering in geosynchronous orbit that could take real-time images or live video of any spot on Earth.
http://bit.ly/sWaL4a
Caught on camera: Police officer tases schoolgirl, 14, seconds after she puts her hands up: A surveillance video showing a police officer tasering a 14-year-old girl in the groin has been released as part of a lawsuit she has filed against the officer and the city.
http://bit.ly/tSaELj
In Unprecedented Move, Canada Withdraws from Kyoto Protocol: Barely 24 hours after it signed a new global climate change agreement in Durban, South Africa, Canada became on Monday the first country to formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding treaty to reduce emissions causing climate change.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106223
"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley | 
