Syria Live Coverage: Starving in Aleppo

Queuing for bread in Aleppo, 8 December 2012

See also Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A "Yes" for the Constitution --- But How Big?
Saturday's Syria Live Coverage: "The Land Where Assad Killed Santa Claus"

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2125 GMT: The opposition Local Coordination Committees are reporting 94 people killed in the regime strike on the bakery queue in Halfaya.

The Committees claim 191 people have been slain across the country, with 43 deaths in Damascus and its suburbs.

2045 GMT: Blogger Razan Ghazzawi writes after the Halfaya mass killing:

Look into Halfaya martyrs’ eyes and dare to tell me you’re worried about “Islamists” in Syria. Dare to tell me, you piece of shit, that you’re worried about “FSA [Free Syrian Army] human rights violations,” worried about “civil war,” about Qatar and KSA, and that’s why you won’t support people’s revolution.

So you’re worried. I see. That explains a lot. Of course.

Newsflash: the minute you have forsaken the people of Syria, the Syrian people have also forsaken you and what you worry about, habibi: you and your civilization doesn’t exist in our time and space. It’s over, you and I aren’t fellow human beings anymore.

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A "Yes" for the Constitution --- But How Big?

See also Syria Live Coverage: Starving in Aleppo
Saturday's Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Netanyahu Dismisses Criticism of Settlements

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2100 GMT: Egypt. Scores of journalists have held a silent protest at the headquarters of the Journalists Syndicate to protest the Government's censorship policies and the killing of a colleague at protests near the Presidential Palace earlier this month.

The journalists, from independent newspapers such as Al-Wafd, Al-Dostour and Al-Fagr, wore masks and wielded pens and cameras to protest Government attacks on freedom of journalism and expression. They raised banners such as “No to handcuffing the media and journalism", “No to a constitution that suppresses the freedoms of media and journalism", “No to attacking newspapers’ headquarters,” and “Down with the Shura Council", referring to the legislature's control of the selection of the heads of State-owned newspapers.

The participants also mourned Al-Fagr photojournalist Al-Husseini Abu Deif, killed on 5 December amid clashes between supporters and opponents of President Morsi.

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Iran Flashback: The Supreme Leader Joins Facebook...in August 2009

Supreme Leader on Facebook, August 2009Ayatollah Ali Khamenei apparently has signed up for his own page, complete with appropriately artistic photograph. Don't know if he has poked anyone yet or posted a status update, such as "Wishing Mahmoud Would Get His Cabinet in Order", but he does have 20 friends.

11 August 2009, 1735 GMT: Mir Hossein Mousavi is not yet a friend of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Are you?

1810 GMT: Ayatollah Khamenei reportedly displeased that he shares his Facebook page with ads for "Prostate Treatment" and "Betfair Arcade".

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Iran Feature: The Death of Ahmadinejad's Subsidy Cuts Programme (Amuzegar)

Under the current circumstances, the Subsidies Targeting scheme --- in its January 2010 form --- is to all intents and purposes dead. Given the current official inflation rate of nearly 25% (caused mainly by excess domestic liquidity as well as international sanctions), the banking system’s latest record of non-performing loans and the growing current budget deficit, no prudent legislature would dare allow further drastic increases in the price of basic consumer staples.

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The Latest from Iran (22 December): "We Are Not Isolated. You Are Isolated"

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- Sanctions, Awards for Political Prisoners, and the Supreme Leader on Facebook
The Latest from Iran (21 December): Is the Regime Celebrating Its Longest Night?

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2140 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. An EA correspondent summarises the President's performance on national TV tonight:

Subsidy cuts have been successful...Inflation is a structural matter, has existed for past 40 to 50 years....Bank debts were increased and fixed without the Government's assent....Problems are because of domestic abuse (Revolutionary Guards, Parliament, Supreme Leader's gang, clerics --- everyone except me).

2032 GMT: Ahmadinejad Irony Watch. The President declared in his TV interview tonight, "The will of people should be respected in elections --- it will have international ramifications."

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Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Netanyahu Dismisses Criticism of Settlements

See also Kuwait Analysis: Has the Emir Halted the Protests?
Syria Live Coverage: "The Land Where Assad Killed Santa Claus"
Friday's Iraq (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Security Forces Raid Minister of Finance's Home and Offices

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1945 GMT: Israel-Palestine. Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to disband the Authority, handing full control of the West Bank back to Israel, if West Jersualem does not halt its expansion of settlements: "We will not be guards of Israel's security and will never be a tool at Israel's hand to implement its plans on the Palestinian territories."

Abbas told his Fatah Party's Advisory Council that Israel's construction in the E-1 zone on Palestinian territory is "a red line and we will never allow it to happen", as it aims to "sabotage the peace process".

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Syria Live Coverage: "The Land Where Assad Killed Santa Claus"

Protest in Hama on Friday

See also Syria Analysis: Why Assad's Use of SCUD Missiles is Really Important Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Netanyahu Dismisses Criticism of Settlements
Friday's Syria Live Coverage: Russia Gives Up on Assad

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1950 GMT: Al Jazeera English reports on the declaration of a no-fly zone over Aleppo by the Islamist insurgent group Jabhat al-Nusra:

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US Feature: General Petraeus and the Kagans --- How "Private Analysts" Become "De Facto Military Advisors"

Kimberly Kagan backs increased US military forces in Afghanistan, June 2010: "We can reverse the Taliban's momentum"

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Petraeus allowed his biographer-turned-paramour, Paula Broadwell, to read sensitive documents and accompany him on trips. But the entree granted the Kagans, whose think-tank work has been embraced by Republican politicians, went even further. The four-star general made the Kagans de facto senior advisers, a status that afforded them numerous private meetings in his office, priority travel across the war zone and the ability to read highly secretive transcripts of intercepted Taliban communications, according to current and former senior U.S. military and civilian officials who served in the headquarters at the time.

The Kagans used those privileges to advocate substantive changes in the U.S. war plan, including a harder-edged approach than some U.S. officers advocated in combating the Haqqani network, a Taliban faction in eastern Afghanistan, the officials said.

The pro-bono relationship, which is now being scrutinized by military lawyers, yielded valuable benefits for the general and the couple.

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Kuwait Analysis: Has the Emir Halted the Protests? (Herb)

With his decree the Emir stole the momentum away from the parliamentary opposition. The opposition, fearing that the new rules would dilute the influence of political groups (and larger tribes) boycotted the December 1 parliamentary elections. Kuwait now has a solidly pro-government National Assembly for the first time in years. This is probably, however, a temporary victory for the government. To understand why, it helps to look not only at what the emir did, but also what he did not do.

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US Audio Feature: John Kerry as Secretary of State --- Scott Lucas with Voice of Russia

I spoke with Voice of Russia last night about the nomination of Senator John Kerry as Secretary of State to replace Hillary Clinton. 

The line was that Kerry is a doubly "safe pair of hands". Internationally, his pragmatic approach has worked well in encounters with foreign leaders. Domestically, he will not encounter the resistance from Congress which doomed the nomination of Susan Rice this month and embarrassed the Obama Administration.

And Clinton's legacy for US foreign policy? Well, I responded, that depends if you think the Obama years have had a clear and coherent policy.

The four-minute interview is posted on Voice of Russia's website.