I'm gonna need a bigger trash can

That is all.

In Damascus, Tense Anticipation of Strongest Push Yet by Rebels

By Anne Barnard
New York Times
December 02, 2012

BEIRUT, Lebanon - While a tense calm prevailed Saturday in downtown Damascus, the rumbling explosions in the distance, the screech of warplanes overhead and the proliferating security checkpoints in the streets gave the impression that rebels were making their strongest push toward the Syrian capital since the government repelled an offensive there in July, residents and a Western ambassador said.

Syrian rebels and government forces clashed along the Damascus airport road and throughout the capital's eastern and southern suburbs on Saturday for a third day, and there were reports that President Bashar al-Assad was readying his most loyal and effective divisions to defend the city, the heart of his power.

Military analysts warned that it was impossible to know whether a decisive battle for Damascus was beginning, especially after the government apparently blocked access to the Internet for 53 hours, limiting the flow of information to the outside world. But they said that a government fight to defend its core in the capital could be the fiercest and most destructive phase yet of the 20-month conflict.

"We're waiting for the big battle to begin," said Emile Hokayem, an analyst based in Bahrain for the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/world/middleeast/in-damascus-tense-anticipation-of-strongest-push-yet-by-rebels.html

Why was Captain Obvious' post hidden?

Just wondering.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1240173886

Choose one Republican Party over the other

Am I right or am I wrong?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021896005

Damascus fighting cuts off Internet, airport

Source: Reuters

By Oliver Holmes

BEIRUT - Syrian rebels battled forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad just outside Damascus on Thursday, forcing the closure of the main airport road, and the Dubai-based Emirates airline suspended flights to the Syrian capital.

Residents also reported Internet connections in the capital were down and mobile and land telephone lines working only sporadically in what appeared to be the worst disruption to communications in Syria since an uprising began 20 months ago.

The past two weeks have seen rebels overrunning army bases across Syria, exposing Assad's loss of control in northern and eastern regions despite the devastating air power that he has used to bombard opposition strongholds.

Rebels and activists said the fighting along the road to Damascus airport, southeast of the capital, was heavier in that area than at any other time in the conflict.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/29/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE8AJ1FK20121129

Brad Staats, Failed Tennessee GOP House Candidate, Arrested For Allegedly Assaulting Wife

Tennessee Republican Brad Staats, a losing congressional candidate earlier this month, was arrested early Sunday morning on a domestic assault charge after police responded to a call from his wife claiming that he slapped her.

According to a report in the Nashville City Paper on the police affidavit, Staats denied his wife Bethany's account of the incident, but said that "he pushed his wife ... down onto a bed then left the location.”

The affidavit,also notes, however, that "Ms. Staats did have a red mark on her left cheek consistent with her statement." The Tennessean got a hold of Staats on Monday, who told the outlet that the situation was “not what it appears to be.”

Staats ran in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District on a "family matters" platform that stressed traditional values and Second Amendment rights. He drew national attention in October after posting a photo of his handgun to his Facebook page, alongside a message "welcoming" President Barack Obama to Tennessee. He denied that it was meant as a threat.

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/brad-staats-arrested-tennessee_n_2200419.html

No Person Got Shot, Stabbed, Slashed, or Murdered in NYC Monday

BY Esther Zuckerman
The Atlantic Wire
Nov 28, 2012

It may be a small — or, rather, nonexistent — number, but it's a heartening statistic: there were no shootings, stabbings, slashings, or murders in New York City between around 10:30 p.m. Sunday night and 11:20 a.m. Tuesday morning, the NYPD said, according to NY1. Police can't remember the last time that happened.

We should point out that Monday wasn't entirely free from gunshots. Per the New York Daily News, a teen accidentally shot himself in the thigh Monday.

The murder rate has been so low this year that the 2012 murder count for New York will likely end up hovering around 400. Last year 515 people were deemed homicide victims, according to the NYPD, and that number included 27 people who either weren't assaulted in that year or whose deaths weren't deemed homicides until that year.

That said, it's not all good news for crime in the city. In October Graham Rayman of the Village Voice wrote that "for the first time in 20 years, New York City might record an overall rise in crime." Rayman explained that while the homicide rate drops "other crime indicators shows the opposite." Looking at the week between November 12 through 18, total crime was up by 3.31 percent in the city compared to 2011.

More: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/11/no-person-got-shot-stabbed-slashed-or-murdered-nyc-monday/59396/

So long, HH threads

Syrian rebels 'shoot down army helicopter'

Source: Al Jazeera

Syrian rebels have said they downed an army helicopter with a ground-to-air missile for the first time as it was bombarding a besieged base in the country's northwest.

The downing came at the strategic Sheikh Suleiman base, 25km west of Aleppo, the last garrison in government hands between Syria's second city and the Turkish border.

It is reportedly the first time that the rebels have shot down a helicopter with a surface-to-air missile.

Footage posted by activists on YouTube showed rebel fighters shouting: "We hit it, God is greatest," as a helicopter plunged to the ground in a ball of flames.

Read more: http://aje.me/YnH92v

Apple Fires Maps Manager After Controversy Surrounding App

Source: eWEEK

By Jeffrey Burt

Apple reportedly is continuing to clean house after the debacle surrounding its disappointing Maps app in iOS 6.

Richard Williamson, who managed the team that developed the application, was fired by Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, according to a Nov. 27 report in Bloomberg. According to "people familiar with the move," Williamson's dismissal is part of a larger effort by Cue to address the problems that arose following the very public failure of the Apple Maps app, which debuted in September. Apple officials hoped that it would replace Google's Maps app on Apple devices, but the Apple software was found to be faulty and it was quickly criticized by reviewers and users alike.

The push back from the public was so bad that Apple issued a written apology signed by CEO Tim Cook.

The problems with the mapping app led to the eventual dismissal of Scott Forstall, a top software executive at Apple and, according to some people, a protege of Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs. According to reports in October, Forstall refused to sign onto Apple's apology, reportedly arguing that Apple could fix the issue without issuing an apology, as the company had done in the past when it had released iPhones with antenna problems.

Read more: http://www.eweek.com/mobile/apple-fires-maps-manager-after-controversy-surrounding-app/