News – Shiites Settle In

Middle East

Iraq’s Shiite faction has unveiled candidates for their 22 group election coalition, dubbed the United Iraqi Alliance. Major Sunni and Kurdish parties haven’t started their campaigns yet.

Four US elite special operations task force troops have been disciplined over abuse of Iraqi prisoners, including unauthorized use of Taser electric-shock weapons, according to the Pentagon. All four have been shifted to different duties and two were removed from the special operations task force altogether. No real details have been given either.

Remember Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, who disappeared and was believed captured in Iraq? He’s recently been charged with desertion, loss of government property and theft of a 9mm military pistol.

British General Sir Michael Walker has accused the media of making it easier for insurgents to attack Black Watch soldiers in Iraq. He’s quoted as saying: “I think that the contribution towards the initial attacks against the Black Watch was certainly enhanced by, if you like, a media picture that was being laid across a number of channels in all sorts of places. Clearly there was … as a result of that, there could well have been a response by those who wished us ill to go and meet us with something like a bomb… And I’m certain, too, that the media coverage would have made it easier for anybody who wanted to conduct those attacks to do so.”

Sharon gets a boost with Lukid’s backing in teaming up with the opposition Labor party.

A campaign has been launched to demand the readmittance of four Palestinian students who were departed from their West Bank university to the Gaza Strip. Walid Muhanna, Bashar Abu Salim, Mohammad Matar and Bashar Abu Shahala were moved, as said in a statement by the IDF, because they were citizens of Gaza Strip and did not possess the required permit to be in Judea and Samaria. If Israel wanted to show it’s goodness, it would(in my opinion, mind you) respond to this campaign by seeking to clear those four students with the proper documentation to allow them to finish their education.

Africa

Trouble in Darfur continues while the rebels and government of Sudan remain divided on peace.

Eastern Europe

The EU invites Kofi Annan as a special guest to a summit, as a show of support for him despite current fire coming at him. Unexpectedly, the US has broken it’s silence to back Annan as well.

Western Europe

Explainer muses five ways that the Ukrainian election might have been rigged.

Asia

Japan has a revamped defense policy that eases restrictions on arms exports and carefully steps away from it’s purely defensive posture for the first time since WW2.

North America

Investigative journalist Jim Taricani, convicted of criminal contempt for not saying who leaked a surveillance videotape in an FBI corruption investigation, has been sentenced to six months of house arrest.

Jim Nicholson, the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican,, has been picked by Bush as secretary of veterans affairs.

Bush has said no increase in payroll taxes to fix social security. That’s nice, but what I want to know is how it -will- be done.

Bush says the concerns of US solders over equipment are being addressed and that he didn’t blame the soldier for bringing up the question. Further revelations show that an embedded reporter, Lee Pitts, suggested the question to the soldier. This discovered when he bragged about it in a letter to his colleagues.

A test of the infamous US missile defense system has been scrubbed due to bad weather. So I guess the system isn’t all weather? I suppose we should hope any missile attacks don’t come during a rainstorm. 😉

DaimlerChrysler AG’s Dodge has been asked to recall some of its Dodge Durango SUVs and Dodge Dakota pickup trucks due to concerns over safety. As many as 600,000 vehicles could be recalled.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Department to step in and investigate whether two separate fires at U.S. mosques this week were hate crimes.

The ACLU has filed suit for five Iraq war protesters arrested during a campaign stop by President Bush when they simulated the infamous human pyramid at Abu Ghraib prison, wearing only thongs. They allege that the Pennsylvania police and federal agents violated the free speech rights of the men on charges of disorderly conduct.

Cell phones that can detect radiation could help police find raw materials for dirty bombs while they go about their daily business. Not a bad idea at all.

For reasons inexplicable, Ann Coulter and Carlson Tucker turn their ire on Canada. And when it comes to these two, such ire is predictably ignorant and venomous.

Slate’s Fray battles over MoveOn.org’s status as liberal ‘feel-good’ group.

General

The DS has developers galore and possibilities abundant. As well as robust sales in the US and Japan, beating expectations. The wireless capability is one feature that could be robustly exploited, including handheld gaming on the net.

The geek among us aren’t just wooed by tech toys, a good book has it’s appeal as well. Personally, I love a good fantasy novel.

Research reveals that smoking is bad for your brain, smokers do significantly worse in five separate cognitive tests. Current or former smokers were found to perform less well in the tests even after factors such as childhood IQ, education, occupation and alcohol consumption were taken into account.

There is a Phantom of the Opera movie inbound for Dec 22nd(if memory serves). Having found much delight in the musical play, seen twice by two different groups, I’ve been eager to see how this one plays out. Some are not so positive on it.

ActionAid highlights the issue of sexual assaults, verbal abuse and intimidation of girl students by male teachers and pupils becoming a serious barrier to girls’ education in poorer countries around the world.

Are there such a thing as fashionable and functional winter boots?

Today’s Papers has precident for Bush’s ‘privatization’ of social security(Argentina did something similar, shortly before the country’s economy collapsed – note, that doesn’t necessarily mean the privatization is what cause collapse), Scott Wilson with troops patrolling through Mosul(“..elections have barely registered in the frightened day-to-day life of most people” there. No voter education offices have opened in the city. And Iraqi security forces are “in shambles.”), details on armored vehicles in Iraq and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Emulating their favorite players, high school basketball players jump into stands and start throwing punches

Yankees fan faked injury, rode around in wheelchair for four weeks, lost his girlfriend just so he could watch Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS

Drunken Danish hecklers boo J. Lo off the stage during a performance

Property dispute turns weird when one of the parties threatens the other’s daughter with “rapist dogs”

Drunken asshat attacks a Nativity scene by throwing two magi, two sheep, and Joesph into traffic

Shoplifter gives police false name, hands over Burger King Kids Club Card as identification. He didn’t have it his way, either

Mark Fiore: Steroids Sing-Along

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop Adam Levine of Maroon 5 looking a lot like Chris Burke

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop something that might be on really thin ice these days. Difficulty: No political entries — way too obvious

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this game of Pirate Checkers