Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:07 ||
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#1
Merry Christmas Fred, and all the other principals and galley slaves and devotees and lurkers of Rantburg. An oasis of quirky insight and understanding in a world of clueless A+ students .....
#2
Merry Christmas to Fred & Gloria, all the Mods, all the RBers (passed and present), and your loved ones and friends. Good will to men of good will, to the rest, you're on your own.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/25/2008 0:41 Comments ||
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#4
"People can't concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts suitable to the twenty-fifth of December."
~ Ogden Nash
Merry Christmas to all who make Rantburg one of the most edutaining sites on the internet.
#13
The room in the D-S & T-P doesn't look too different from the one where I started my business life sitting in a room full of these:
"
Nostalgia is that now I mostly remember the good times and wish you an equally Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Apologies to Mods if I did the image incorrectly.
#17
That would be Dr. Steve standing in the back row there, making sure we all enter our links properly. Or else!
That would be Seafarious in the second row, fourth back, with the roller blades on her feet ...
Merry Christmas, Sea!
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/25/2008 9:32 Comments ||
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#18
#11 Seafarious wins the thread! :-D
Merry Christmas to all.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/25/2008 10:53 Comments ||
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All joking aside, some of the earliest equipment I worked on was much like those shown here. I cut my computer teeth on punch cards, sorters, and "programmable" printing devices. Someone once told me I had a job for life, because I knew how to use and "program" a card punch machine. I'm still here, and the only keypunch machines anywhere are in museums.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/25/2008 10:54 Comments ||
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#20
I liked to leave a loop on the card punch programming card so the next user got a surprise...
Hey it left an open machine nobody wanted to use...
Punched cards were fun - especially if you were too lazy to enter in a sequence number in column 72-80 and dropped the deck. I still remember walking around with boxes of punched cards - it was the source code for the Disk Operating System for the Interdata 70 minicomputer. Also carried around a smaller deck which contains the punched card binaries for the OS - we used to boot from the card reader!
Merry Christmas to all - and yes especially to those who are in dark and dangerous places protecting us from those who would cause us harm.
#23
All you dadgummed, young whippersnappers go ahead and laugh at these old pictures of old computers. But I remember working on computers that looked a lot like these pictures. What? Does that make me old?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/25/2008 14:09 Comments ||
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#24
Abu, if you want to feel really old, visit the Smithsonian, where they have some of the computers I worked on (and thought were really modern!). Seeing an advanced computer in a museum humbles you.
#25
I went through High School and half of College with a Slide Rule. Weenies!!
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/25/2008 17:39 Comments ||
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#26
Merry Christmas to all!
I learned on a 029 Keypunch (yippee - parenthesis and "plus" signs) and 059 Verifier. Did both 128 and 80-column. You could get someone fired if you 're-shuffled' their 'deck' (unless they never found out who did it - heh).
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/25/2008 18:49 Comments ||
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#27
And of course the best punched cards were the ones without typing along the top. And don't forget 'coding forms'....
Lets start a 'keypunch chad' thread while we're at it :)
#28
#5 is actually the Manuevering room setup of most US nuclear subs. I sat at the middle panel for a goodly portion of my younger days pushing subs through the water. I missed a a few Xmas's at sea, so a Merry Christmas to all, safe at home with their family and to all who still patrol the deep dark waters, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen!
#29
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
Fred & the Mods, thank you all for all you do.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/25/2008 20:33 Comments ||
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#30
CrazyFool: I didn't use sequence numbers; I penned a big X across the top of the deck. I restored a dropped deck or two using that visual reference.
Posted by: James ||
12/25/2008 21:24 Comments ||
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#31
Holy Hollerith Cards, Batman! Brings back memories, and nightmares, too. LOL!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/25/2008 21:40 Comments ||
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#32
Ah yes - the days of wired boards and external sorts.
James - I used a 'V' on the tops of my decks. Better than an 'X' 'cause there is only one correct way to restack it.
The German navy says it has foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack an Egyptian cargo vessel off Somalia.
Six Somali pirates were captured by sailors of the frigate Karlsruhe in the Gulf of Aden. However, the pirates were immediately hanged released on the orders of the German government, officials told the BBC.
The Karlsruhe sent a helicopter to protect the Egyptian cargo ship Wadi al-Arab from the pirates, who shot and injured a member of its crew as they tried to board the vessel.
A German navy spokesperson based in Djibouti told the BBC's Greg Morsbach the Somali attackers were disarmed by German sailors and their weapons confiscated. "We had forces on board the frigate, and they used fast small boats, and together with the helicopter we were able to surround the pirates and disarm them," he said.
He said the decision not to detain or arrest them was taken by the German government in Berlin.
A spokesman for the EU's mission off Somalia, Cdr Achim Winkler, told the BBC's Europe Today programme that Germany would only bring pirates to justice where German interests were hurt. This would be the case if a German ship was attacked or German citizens were killed or injured, he said.
The injured crewman is being treated on the Karlsruhe.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/25/2008 13:58 ||
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#5
Not being able or willing to keep prisoners is no excuse. Pirates should simply be killed.
What suprises me is the folks that believe in world government don't react stronger to those that try to work outside that system to screw with it (Terrorists and pirates).
#6
"I fail to see how releasing pirates is in German interests"
If they captured all the pirates then there would be no more to foil and the German navy wouldn't have anything to do. As long as pirates are captured, Germany can be the hero and releasing the pirates ensures they can continue to be heros for as long as both sides wish to play the game.
(SomaliNet) As Alshabaab militia starts controlling more ground, hardcore criminals like murderers, rapists and illegal drug traffickers are heading for the only safe heaven left, Mogadishu. Alshabaab shocked the world when they announced their expansionist intentions and said we are going to follow the Ethiopian troops into Ethiopia. However, what the word hasn't seen or ignored to mention is what they are doing in their newly claimed land.
The group now controls whole southern Somalia except Baidao and parts of Mogadishu. Security and peace returned every town they captured instantly. These masked men whose long-term agenda is anyone's guess have at least won the hearts and minds of many victims of Somalia's prolonged civil war. Just yesterday they whipped and deported two young men for raping a girl in Kismayo, Somalia's third largest city. Both men received hundred lashes and were driven out of the city by force. They were told not to return for a year of face harsh punishment. A mother in Kismayo told SomaliNet she was first skeptical about these men but now, they have her full support. She said "What matters to us is peace and lack of fear and that's they brought to us." It is not only Kismayo, criminals are on the run in every corner of southern Somalia, even wealthy pirates are in retreat in central Somalia.
For the first time in Somalia, Alshabaab told people who possess property looted during the civil war, including farms and other real estate to return to their owners and ask for forgiveness. They said if illegal occupiers fail to do what's right or the rightful owners do not accept their apology, they will pay full rent for all the years they occupied or used the property illegally.
While the criminals are on the run in areas affected by Alshabaab's bold and swift judgment, Mogadishu is seeing sharp increase in violent crimes. Many wanted men are said to be hiding in the capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:01 ||
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#1
I think Al Shabaab is in for a big surprise if they try to move into Ethiopia. Heck, the US even has a mutual defense treaty with Ethiopia, so we would have a free hand in issuing some whup=aays. It seems most mooselimbs have huge egos and tiny brains.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/25/2008 10:58 Comments ||
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"have huge egos and tiny brains"
That goes with their tiny you-know-whats, OP.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/25/2008 11:32 Comments ||
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Ah... Ethiopia had a mutual defense pact with France, in 1977. The one with the US was abrogated earlier that year, after they signed on with the Soviet Union for more/bigger arms.
France won't step in except through the UN, not sure the pact is still in place. If you haven't looked at Ethiopia since 1977 you may want to look again. Not saying they look worse than a Somali mafia, but shit, they don't look good.
Political turmoil is deepening in Somalia as President Abdullahi Yusuf decides to step down and is to announce his resignation on Saturday. "The president has already written his resignation letter and he is expected to announce it on the coming Saturday," Hussein Mohamed Mohamud, a presidential spokesman, told Reuters, declining to give a reason for the decision.
The African Union has hailed the decision as a positive move for the peace process in the Horn of Africa nation. Yusuf has been accused by donor countries and regional governments of being an obstacle to UN-hosted peace talks. "The move is a dignified move on the part of the president. If his decision is to resign, I would congratulate him," said Nicolas Bwakira, the African Union Commission's Special Representative for Somalia.
The announcement made by Yusuf's spokesman on Wednesday, came shortly after the resignation of Prime Minister Mohamed Mohamoud Guled. Yusuf sacked former Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein earlier this month and appointed Guled instead. The appointment had been promptly rejected by Parliament and the international community who backed Hussein. Saying he did not want to be an obstacle to peace in Somalia, Guled resigned eight days after the appointment.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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Lahore, Dec 25: In a move which could heighten tension between New Delhi and Islamabad, Pakistan has purportedly moved its tenth brigade to Lahore and ordered its third Armed Brigade to march towards Jhelum.
Islamabad has also reportedly put its 10th and 11th divisions on high alert. Unconfirmed reports have said militants have also been stationed alongwith the Army at the said locations. Also Pakistan's Army has reportedly stationed its troops in the Rajouri and Poonch sectors of J&K.
Pakistan's troop build up along the Indian border has also given credence to the current war hysteria between the two nuclear powered states.
The move comes a day after Pakistan deployed its Army in place of the regular Pak Rangers along its border with India.
Confirming the news, Additional Director general of BSF, Barmer, UK Bansal said, "There is a lot of activity along at the Pakistan side of India-Pakistan border near Barmer in Rajasthan and Pakistan Rangers have been replaced by the Pakistan Army."
The ADG also added that BSF is on full alert and is capable of handling any eventuality.
Just like the last four times ...
The deployment is an indication of the level of apprehension on the Pakistani side on an Indian attack. It should be noted that the last time Pakistan Rangers were replaced by Army during the Kargil war.
The State government of Rajasthan has ordered the residents of border villages to be prepared for relocation. According to sources, the order came after a meeting of state Director General of Police and Home Secretary with official of the Central government. This move came just a day after Pakistan Army Chief General Asfaq Kiyani warned India of a befitting reply in the wake of an Indo-Pak war.
The troops build up by Pakistan could also be seen as a tactic to send a message to the US administration that any tension along its eastern border could jeopardize Pentagon's anti-Taliban operations in the western sector of the country.
Also, this is among various steps by Islamabad to tick India of its war preparedness in the wake of a war. Diplomatic relations have gone into a tailspin between the two countries in the aftermath of a deadly terror attack on India's financial capital Mumbai, believed to have been perpetrated by Pakistan based terrorists.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had on Wednesday vowed to defend the country 'until the last breath', and said no compromise would be made with the nation's sovereignty.
Meanwhile, after reports of a possible Indian attack on Pakistan, the Pakistan Air Force continued its state of high alert and started aerial surveillance of the Chashma power plant and other sensitive sites. There were reports of the fighter jets continuing aerial surveillance over the Chashma nuclear power plant and other sensitive sites.
Pakistan had put its airbases on high alert amidst fears of Indian 'surgical strikes' in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/25/2008 10:06 ||
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#2
Perhaps the US should send Pakistan a message that it will no longer tolerate terrorist training camps in Pakistan. I think a twelve-ship ARCLIGHT strike down through the center of Islamabad/Rawalpindi would be a message Pakistan couldn't possibly ignore. Merry Christmas, jack$$$es.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/25/2008 12:06 Comments ||
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Drink up, everyone! ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/25/2008 14:02 Comments ||
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Hope the Canadians kept good records of the Pakistani nationals which left the US immediately post 9-11, and have shared the analysis with the US and European, and now Indian, agencies.
Hope our database collection and analysis efforts in Iraq are fully transferable to other areas and populations, and we've taken the time to assure the quality of data input.
#6
Pakistan will make a lovely trio of third world nations once the nukes have been removed. I imagine that two of the three third world nations might even see something resembling peace and 'gasp' limited prosperity once they are free of the Pathans.
After wreaking havoc in Mumbai, major towns of West Bengal, including Kolkata, are next on the hit list of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence.
Top sources in the Union Home Ministry confirmed that a group of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al- Islami (HuJI) terrorists has made repeated attempts to enter India recently from Bangladesh through the chicken neck corridor. There is a possibility that some HuJI terrorists have already crossed over with arms and ammunition and are heading to team up with Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Indian insurgent group, to carry out lethal terror strikes in West Bengal during end-December and early January, sources said.
Another intelligence report on Wednesday stated that ULFA militants in Bangladesh are likely to enter through the Karimganj district of Assam, a temporary departure from their established routes of transit in Meghalaya. Both the states have been alerted by the Centre. The alerts come close on the heels of the arrest in Jammu of three Pakistanis, one of them allegedly an army regular. The trio had come from Dhaka and apparently lived in Kolkata before proceeding to Jammu and Kashmir.
Working in cahoots with Bangladeshs espionage agency Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the ISI, with its sinister plan of bleeding India through thousand wounds, has made contacts with several Indian insurgent groups. The recently carried out blasts in Assam that killed 89 were part of this design where the handlers in Bangladesh had roped in ULFA and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
The KLO, which came into existence in 1995 with the help of ULFA, is active in six districts of West Bengal - South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Malda and Darjeeling - and four districts of lower Assam - Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara.
Intelligence agencies claim that both ISI and DGFI have made KLO an active partner with HuJI and are constantly helping it to upgrade its strike power by supplying arms, ammunitions and explosives. KLO chief Jeevan Singh is sheltered in Bangladesh, and is a protégé of the ULFA, a senior official said. He hangs around in northern Bangladesh, close to his home constituency. Singh, along with Ranjan Daimary of the NDFB and Paresh Baruah of ULFA are said to be paying off the debt of protection from the HuJI-ISI nexus through "disturbing" eastern India. Keeping them there cannot be a charitable deed, they would have to pay a price, said a senior official.
At least eleven Taliban were killed and several others injured when security forces attacked their hideouts in Shakardara area of Swat district on Wednesday. A Swat Media Centre spokesman said security forces, backed by gunship helicopters and artillery, had targeted the Taliban locations at Shakardara in Matta tehsil and killed 11 Taliban. The security forces consolidated their positions in Sangota, he added. At least 22 Taliban and two soldiers have been killed during the last two days of the operation at Shakardara.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:05 ||
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Security forces, the political administration of Mohmand Agency and Haleemzai tribes have demolished the houses of two key Taliban commanders in the agency, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Taliban fired mortar shells at the house of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid's chief of the NWFP chapter Ameer Muqam in Swat. Although the house was damaged in the attack, there were no casualties. Muqam told the channel that the federal and provincial governments had 'failed' in restoring peace. According to the channel, suspected US drones were also seen flying low over various parts of North and South Wazirtistan and Bannu.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:05 ||
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Unidentified gunmen on Wednesday kidnapped a leader of religious organisation Tanzim Ahle Sunnah Wal Jamaat, officials said. Armed men kidnapped Khanzada Khan, son of Ziarat Gul, from Pump House Road when he was on his way to Karkhano market, officials said. Sources said Khanzada was a supporter of federal minister Noorul Haq Qadri.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:05 ||
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Pakistan's security forces have arrested an Indian national allegedly involved in a blast which occurred in Lahore on Wednesday.
During initial investigation, the Indian national identified as Sutish Anand Sharma, disclosed that his other three associates were also in Pakistan, a Press TV correspondent reported. Police have also recovered fake national identity cards from his custody. The blast in a heavily guarded neighborhood of the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday left one woman killed and four others injured.
Tensions have been running high between the two South Asian nuclear-armed neighbors, India and Pakistan in recent weeks. India blames Pakistan for a series of attacks in Mumbai which left hundreds of people killed or injured. Pakistan, however, denies any involvement in the attack. Pakistan's national assembly has recently passed a resolution urging India to stop accusing Islamabad over the Mumbai attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:05 ||
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(AKI) - A car bomb exploded Wednesday in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore killing a woman and wounding four others, police said. The blast occurred amid simmering tension between India and Pakistan and reports that their security forces were on high alert after the deadly terrorist attacks in the Indian financial capital, Mumbai, last month.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani on Wednesday quickly moved to defuse political tension and strongly condemned the blast in Lahore.
Lahore is home to the headquarters of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, an Islamist organisation blamed for the Mumbai attacks, but there is no indication that it was linked to Wednesday's attack.
Under international pressure, Pakistani security forces have sealed Jamaat's offices and placed its leaders under house arrest.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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Taliban in Swat district have imposed a ban on female education and have warned teachers of 'severe consequences' if any girl is seen heading for school after a 15-day deadline ends, local residents said on Wednesday. The announcement was made by a spokesman of radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah - who has waged an armed struggle to impose Taliban rule in the district - on a pirated FM radio frequency. "All the private and government schools have been given 15 days to close down the female education facilities. They have also banned women from visiting markets," Muhammad Osman, a school teacher, said. "Taliban have established a parallel government in 90 percent of the district's area and they execute everyone who opposes them," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Why don't the people begin executing Taliban? Educating women is the best investment a country can make in education because it is the women that teach the children when they are very young, even before they go to school.
It only takes a ball or round rock, a dark night, and a light source to teach a 5 year old about the phases of the moon in a way they can understand. Kids are always asking "why" and it is the women who spend the most time with them at that stage of their life. Education of women is key to developing a population that can understand the technical aspects of an industrial society such as basic mechanics.
Guwahati, Dec. 24: The chief of India's Western Air Command told reporters here on Wednesday that 5,000 terrorist-based targets in Pakistan had been identified for possible strikes in the event of war.
Air Marshal P.K. Barbora, AOC-in-C of Western Air Command, saying the terrorists may have fled from existing camps to safer hideouts, made it clear that war was the last option. "Any developed nation doesn't go to war instantly... The matter should be solved first through diplomacy, and then with an appeal to the international community. If all this fails, war is the last resort," Air Marshal Barbora said, adding: "We are ready for any challenge."
Posted by: john frum ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Aren't there more than 5000 villages in Pakistan?
With the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) flying sorties over two important cities in the wake of heightened sub-continental tensions after the Mumbai carnage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been carrying out precision bombing practice runs to prepare itself for any eventuality, sources said on Wednesday.
With the option of carrying out precision bombings of terrorist camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir doing the rounds, IAF sources said that its fighter jets have been carrying out practice sorties at firing ranges in the Rajasthan sector and elsewhere.
"Precision bombings are being carried out at various air-to-ground ranges like Pokhran, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Gwalior and Halwara," an IAF source said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe Obama's comment about going to war with Pakistan isn't so stupid after all. Pakistan seems to be the center of terrorist activity worldwide, most of the terrorist training camps, and the infamous ISI, trying to stick a finger in India's eye any way they can. Eliminating Pakistan may eliminate much of the assinine stupidity we seem to be facing all around the world. I'm certain Britain would gladly rid itself of both their Pakistani and Bangladeshi populations.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/25/2008 12:13 Comments ||
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Actually, I think the Brits would just allow twice as many to immigrate... :(
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
12/25/2008 13:34 Comments ||
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Knowing George "Islam is a religion of Peace" Bush I think he will too... Nothing against Bush its just that I don't think he's ruthless enough for the times.
Amidst repeated denials of war speculations by Pakistan heavy deployment of forces was reported on the other side of international border of Rajasthan on Wednesday.
The Pakistan army that was carrying out an exercise has not withdrawn even after its completion and are posted along with the rangers.
The Additional Director General of Border Security Force (BSF), U.K. Bansal, pointed out that heavy Pakistan army movement has been observed in Sir Creek area.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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Three children have been killed and four people sustained wounds as a bomb ripped through Fallujah city in Iraq's western Anbar province.
An unnamed security source told Voices of Iraq that the casualties were inflicted after an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in front of a house belonging to Sheikh Ahmed Rashed -- a leader in Falluja's Albo Issa tribe.
The source added that a cordon of police surrounded the area following the blast and the wounded were taken to nearby hospitals to receive treatment.
The security forces have meanwhile launched a thorough investigation into the attack as the motive behind it remains unknown.
Fallujah, in Anbar province, was once the hotbed of insurgent assaults against US forces in the months after the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
American troops nearly flattened the city in 2004 in one of the biggest onslaughts launched by US forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:01 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Police forces detonated a car bomb parked near a church in Talkeef district on Christmas Eve. "At 09:00 p.m. today, police forces set off a car bomb that was intended to target al-Mashriq Church...," the head of Talkeef's council, Darman Sulayman, told Aswat al-Iraq. Preparations were underway inside the church for Christmas Mass, scheduled to be held tomorrow morning. No casualties or damage were reported, Sulayman added. Talkeef district is 15 km north of Mosul.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:01 ||
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#1
By the head-line, that would be taqiya for 'Bombs stored near church'.
Aswat al-Iraq: Four Iraqi servicemen on Wednesday were wounded in an explosive charge attack that targeted their patrol vehicle in eastern Mosul city. “On Wednesday evening, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in al-Intisar neighborhood, eastern Mosul, wounding four patrolmen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq. “Two of them were critically wounded,” the source noted.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:01 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Seven civilians, including two children, on Wednesday were wounded in a suicide bombing that ripped through a village near Mosul city, a local source said. "A truck bomb, driven by a suicide bomber, detonated in front of the house of Sheikh Younis Mohammed al-Rammah, a notable in al-Qayara district, in al-Aghr village (60 km south of Mosul)," the head of Ninewa's southern al-Qayara district, Saleh Hassan, told Aswat al-Iraq. "Seven civilians, including two children, were slightly wounded in the explosion...," Hassan noted, adding that damage was reported to three houses in the area, including the Sheikh's house.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:01 ||
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Israel said it would keep Gaza border crossings closed on Wednesday after mortars and rockets were fired from Gaza into South Israel on Tuesday night. The previous day it had said it would re-open them to allow a limited amount of food, medicines and fuel from Egypt into the impoverished territory.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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An Israel Air Force strike killed a Hamas gunman in the southern Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets and mortars into southern Israel on Wednesday, dampening prospects for a renewed cease fire.
The six-month cease fire between Israel and Hamas expired last week.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government said it had shown restraint until now but vowed to act if the salvoes continued. Aides to Olmert, who met his security cabinet, would not reveal what options were under discussion.
Before nightfall on Wednesday, militants had fired more than 30 rockets and 30 mortar shells at Israel. While most struck unpopulated areas, two struck homes, causing damage but no injuries.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said Wednesday's air strike hit a group of militants who had just fired mortars at Israel.
Palestinian medical workers said one Hamas militant was killed in the strike and two other Palestinians were wounded, including a cameraman from Hamas' television station. They added that the Hamas man had belonged to the organization's military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam, and that he was killed east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah.
The latest violence erupted on Tuesday night when Israeli soldiers killed three Hamas gunmen. The army said the men were preparing to plant explosives along the border.
Meanwhile Wednesday, Hamas' military wing warned that "thousands of additional Israelis will soon be within the range of our rockets if Israel continues with its aggression."
"The residents of the south will stay in the bomb shelters for a long time," the Hamas statement continued, adding that "threats of an [Israeli] military offensive don't scare us because we are more prepared than ever.
The Magen David Adom rescue service declared its highest level of alert by late morning, as some 40 rockets and mortar shells were launched at Israel between 9 A.M. and 1 P.M.
One of the rockets exploded next to a children's playground in the southern town of Netivot and a mortar shell scored a direct hit on a house in Kibbutz Sha'ar Hanegev, causing extensive damage. A house in the community of Sdot Negev was also severely damaged after it absorbed a direct rocket hit.
Two more rockets, including a Grad-type missile, exploded in a public area in the northern Negev city of Ashkelon.
The Home Front Command warned all Gaza-area residents to keep children indoors as the barrage continues and the Sderot municipality told all of its residents not leave their homes until the situation has stabilized.
The security cabinet held an urgent session on Wednesday morning to discuss how Israel should respond to the fire, calling in Defense Minister Ehud Barak for consultations.
The defense establishment, meanwhile, ordered border crossings to Gaza to remain closed on Wednesday in response to the attacks.
On Tuesday, Israel had said it would to open the border to allow food and medicine to enter the Gaza Strip, after days in which the crossings were closed due to the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza.
The shipment of humanitarian aid was to include five trucks from Egypt, which requested that Israel open the Kerem Shalom crossing to let the convoy pass, and 30 from the West Bank containing goods supplied by international organizations.
The rocket and mortar barrage came after a senior Hamas official said in an interview published Tuesday that the Islamist group would be willing to renew its cease-fire with Israel without adding any new conditions.
The barrage was apparently launched in response to the Israel Defense Forces' killing of three armed Palestinians on Tuesday, who were seen laying bombs along the Israel-Gaza border on Tuesday.
Six rockets struck the Negev on Tuesday and four more hit the day before, despite Hamas' declaration on Monday that militant factions had agreed to a 24-hour truce.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI/Jakarta Post) - Security will be strengthened throughout Indonesia throughout the Christmas holiday season amid concerns about violent attacks that may be motivated by religion.
About 3,000 police officers will be deployed for Christmas and New Year's Day in West Java along the province's north coast highway and police will step up security at churches, as well as entertainment venues and public facilities.
"We will deploy intelligence and bomb disposal units," said Cirebon Police chief Sr. Comr. Nasser Amir.
The move follows a massive terrorism exercise in Indonesia on Sunday. Security forces stormed airports, luxury hotels, and the Jakarta Stock Exchange building in the anti-terrorism drill in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
About 7000 police, soldiers and emergency-response workers took part in the exercise in six major cities, including the capital, Jakarta, and on the popular resort island of Bali.
Indonesia has been hard hit by a string of deadly suicide bomb attacks since the September 11 attacks in the US.
The Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah was blamed for killed more than 200 people in the Bali Bomb attacks - Indonesia's worst terror attack - in October 2002.
Jemaah Islamiyah is also suspected of carrying out the 2003 JW Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta, the Australian embassy bombing in 2004, and the 2005 Bali terrorist bombing.
In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, the provincial and nine regency police forces will deploy at least 1,500 personnel to safeguard Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Police held a troop inspection to mark the launch of a security operation, code-named Lilin Rinjani Tambora (Rintam), at the West Nusa Tenggara Police field Tuesday, led by provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Surya Iskandar.
Several commands were set up in areas at high risk of crime 10 days before the holidays.
In Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, the provincial police will deploy around 1,400 personnel to safeguard Christmas and New Year celebrations.
"We will also heighten security at tourist sites, shopping areas, sea and airports and critical national assets," East Kalimantan Police chief Insp. Gen. Andi Masmiyat told The Jakarta Post in Balikpapan.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - Sri Lankan security forces killed at least 20 Tamil Tiger separatists defending the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi in the island's north, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. Government troops captured the village of Sinna Paranthan, northwest of Kilinochchi, from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the ministry said.
The ministry said troops were consolidating their defences in the area after months of intense conflict.
The Tigers on Monday claimed that they had killed more than 100 soldiers but the government declined to confirm the casualties.
Meanwhile, international aid agencies are demanding to be allowed back into the rebel-held north where fighting has displaced thousands.
The United Nations and the global organisation, Human Rights Watch haved called for improved access to provide humanitarian relief and personnel in the northern Vanni region.
In a letter to the government, Walter Kalin, the UN Secretary-General's Representative for the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), acknowledged Sri Lanka's continuing efforts to enable humanitarian convoys to reach the estimated 200,000-300,000 displaced people in the region.
On Tuesday the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expressed its shock and concern after one of its staff members was killed in a shooting incident in Jaffna. He was the father of two and had been working with the ICRC since 1999.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:00 ||
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BBEIRUT, Lebanon -- Lebanese army officers say troops have discovered seven rockets set up with timers that were on the verge of firing near the border with Israel. Two senior officers say troops are dismantling the Katyusha rockets, discovered Thursday near the border town of Naqoura.
They say the rockets' timers were activated, and one of the officers says the rockets were to have fired overnight. They would not say if the rockets were directed toward Israel.
Perhaps they were aimed at Iran?
The militant group Hezbollah has a large rocket arsenal, but has rarely used them against Israel since their 2006 war. Last year, a previously unknown militant Islamic group fired two rockets into Israel.
#1
Lets see ... the last time Israel went into Gaza, Hezbollah started firing rockets across the border. When that didn't ease the pressure on Gaza, the took two Israeli soldiers.
Seems like a pretty consistent strategy to me. Hamas heats things up in Gaza, Israel responds, Hezbollah acts to take the pressure off by firing into Israel from Lebanon.
#5
I sometimes think of myself as an intelligent man, perhaps because others say I am, but then I get over it.
I cannot, cannot understand these continued weak gestures to 'destroy Israel(Kuwait/Lebanon/Kurds)' by all of their surrounding neighbors.
"We have two rockets, let's send them over and be heros!", "This will show them, let's build a tunnel! We'll be heros!" "That woman looked at me, let's burn her face with acid! We'll be heros!" "We're in the hate girls club! Let's make them wear sacks!"
It's like they're reinacting the playground fantasies of 8 year olds. No wonder they don't do autopsies. The physical causes of brain death dimentia and stunted frontal lobe growth are self-evident.
#6
I sometimes think of myself as an intelligent man, perhaps because others say I am, but then I get over it.
I cannot, cannot understand these continued weak gestures to 'destroy Israel(Kuwait/Lebanon/Kurds)' by all of their surrounding neighbors.
"We have two rockets, let's send them over and be heros!", "This will show them, let's build a tunnel! We'll be heros!" "That woman looked at me, let's burn her face with acid! We'll be heros!" "We're in the hate girls club! Let's make them wear sacks!"
It's like they're reinacting the playground fantasies of 8 year olds. No wonder they don't do autopsies. The physical causes of brain death dimentia and stunted frontal lobe growth are self-evident.
All the baking is done. The tree is up and it's decorated. The train garden is up and running. The house is clean. Santa Claus has been and gone.
Gloria and I had dinner on Christmas Eve with Faye and Kenny, my inlaws, their son Ken, Jr., and his wife Nikki, and her father Nick and Nick's significant other, Jane. Faye made her traditional Christmas lasagna, and I ate with my traditional Christmas gusto, to vow when it was over that I'd never eat again -- that I'd consumed enough to last me for the rest of my life.
Today will be my 61st Christmas day. I can remember lots of them, if not most of them, though the Christmases of my youth are somehow the most vivid.
Tomorrow we'll visit the kids and we'll play with the grandkids: Daniel and Aiden and Lily, Sporky if the visitation schedule's right, and maybe even Molly if her Mom's not in her usual snit.
We'll see our son David and his wife Erica in their new house and I'll try not to stare too intently at Erica's belly, from whence little Sophia will join us in a couple weeks.
Some time this week I'll try and visit my sister in Pennsylvania, where I'll eat too much ravioli. We'll talk about people we knew when we were young, many of whom I haven't thought about in years, some of whom I've totally forgotten. My wife, who shared none of that, will be bored to tears but she'll try to make polite conversation.
I have a lovely family, a family with its share of simultaneous affection, contention and strife, a family with its own triumphs and failures and some few tragedies. We're not interchangable with any other family, but at the same time we're not all that different.
That similarity is what forms our common bond. It expresses itself most of the time as a mere awareness of our neighbors, but at this special time of year our commonalty ripens into active good will, and the good will manifests itself as something akin to, probably a distinct form of, love for our fellow man (and woman, naturally).
I wish each of you a Merry Christmas, and I hope that for each of us this season will be satisfying and fulfilling, bringing joy and contentment. I hope this Christmas is one that we'll remember fondly for many years to come.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2008 00:17 ||
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#1
Reading your affecting essay will be one of the things that I'll remember fondly from this Christmas.
Gloria is more than welcome to come shopping with me if the ravioli and reminiscing get too tedious. She can even bring up to two grandkiddies, the exception being Aiden (I've heard the stories).
Thanks for reminding us that we all still have our bricks-and-mortar lives to live, with real friends, real relatives waiting to annoy, appall, and astound us.
I was thinking the other day about the Peoples' Republic of China, where the logical extrapolation of the One Child policy is a "nation" of individuals with no sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, or cousins. How is a cohesive society even remotely possible under those circumstances?
Society, and verily, even Civilization itself requires constant work, constant vigilance, and constant nourishment. I hope the whole Rantburg community makes the time to connect/reconnect with the people important to them, and strengthen the bonds that bind us together as a People and as a Nation.
Merry Christmas and wishing you a super New Year,
Emily
And PS - I know I've not been around much lately and I miss you all, but my work life has taken an interesting turn and so has my personal life. Lets just say I've been working on strengthening some of those those meatspace bonds. :)
#6
This mod just returned for a wonderful x-mas evening of food, drink, and friendship. As an American (non-practicing) Jew, I'd like to wish all my Christian friends a very Merry Christmas!
#8
Leaving now to do a quick but fun early morning duck hunt, followed by a great day with family - venison breakfast sausage and eggs and oatmeal at home, then to other family's house where there will be oysters, shrimp and other tasties as appetizers, followed by delectable tenderloin of beef, and the best food group, pies.
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and God bless.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
12/25/2008 5:40 Comments ||
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#13
Family. We all have one. And whether its yours and mine can be forgotten in that, since like laughter and hope and being human they belong to us all. Just to really see another human face is all it takes.
The details vary, but the hearts do not.
I have a long very white beard and I have several custom made red suits carefully assembled and crafted over time ( there is nothing cheesey about how I look ). I cant do the whole world, but I did eleven families last night in a big circle across several counties partly in the rain. I started at sundown and finished about ten at night which was bedtime for the the last two families of children,I read some bedtime stories and gave out a lot of gifts, to adults and children. My signal ( and last photo op) was to ask, "Can Santa have a glass of milk ?" And the grandparents or parents could take a picture of the children pouring me a glass in front of the fridge...and then I was gone.
People see what they want to see, but this man they can see with their eyes and (for a time) they believe.And for that boy of ten who thinks to embarrass Santa and break the illusion with a question which he has...I tell him," When you were this high ( a hand on my knee ) you believed, but when you were this high ( a hand on his head)you doubted, now when you are this high (a hand on my own old head) you BECOME. Someone has to step forward, boy, someone has to serve for all the others...do you UNDERSTAND?"
And most boys have the light go on in their eyes and mind and they do understand.The Father is hidden in every man, even in ten year old boys and waiting to come forward
And the littler brothers and sisters ( who have no hesitant doubts) fly into your arms sometimes..and that's a different understanding. The parents see their friend, the man they know..or think they know.
#17
22 Santa Clauses brought Notre Dame its first bowl victory in something like 9 tries, proving, despite all the crappy news this is the most special Christmas in many, many years.
Merry Christmas, ya'll from Oklahoma,and Happy Hannukah to our Jewish friends and allies.
#19
I am home alone for two weeks and I am touched by the affection and generosity of my friends and neighbors in our building here- yet more evidence of
the warm hearts and sweet natures of the American people, at least the New York variety.
Merry Christmas to all at the 'Burg, still the best place on the Web.
My Gawd, another year past. How the time flies ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/25/2008 9:29 Comments ||
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#21
Merry Christmas, All. We woke up to clear, albeit somewhat cold, skies he at the Deacon Blues Pork Palace, Potables Parlour, and Home for Wayward Animals and Women. It's nice to see the sun. Youngest Daughter and Future Son-inLaw will be here around noon and Oldest and her herd will be here a bit later. Grandkids is fun.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/25/2008 9:35 Comments ||
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#22
Merry Christmas from Texas, y'all. I've been working a lot in meatspace, too - marketing the Adelsverein Trilogy, and plotting all sorts of local signing events. Taking a break from it today though - opening presents, eating brunch of egg-nog french toast and sausages glazed with spicy apricot mustard sauce... and mimosas... oh where was I?
Merry Christmas, and a happy new year to all of Rantburg and to all Rantburgundians!
#26
Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah, my fellow Rantburgundians!
Peace be upon you all, at least for this day.
Then back to the real world. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/25/2008 10:47 Comments ||
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#27
Just got word yesterday that a high school classmate and very good friend of mine is now cancer-free, after a year-long bout with the disease. This is, indeed, a very Merry Christmas!
It's still very early on Christmas Morning for us sluggards here in Colorado. The tree is decorated, the packages piled underneath, and a little 3-year-old is just waiting to tear into them. The other three of our children will be here in an hour or so, and things will get lively. Until then, here's wishing all Rantburgers, whether moderators, regulars, or lurkers, a very Merry Christmas, joyous Hannakuh, or your holiday of preference.
Mike, Jean, & Timothy Weatherford
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/25/2008 10:47 Comments ||
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#28
Merry Christmas to you Fred, your personal family, and your wider Rantburg family. Pray that we all survive 2009 with the challenging economy and most especially the newly abundant gifts of global warming.
#31
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and felicitous winter festival and feast to all those not fitting in the first two categories!
Posted by: Jonathan ||
12/25/2008 12:21 Comments ||
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#32
Hej, OP, as a moderately regular lurker, I guess all my boxes are ticked. To you and yours, and all R'burgers everywhere, a Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year.
#35
To my Democrat friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of other, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
To my Republican friends:
MERRY CHRISTMAS, GOD BLESS , AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
12/25/2008 13:22 Comments ||
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#36
Merry Christmas from California!
Angleton9 - I felt that, thanks. As for the rest of us, hold on tight and take your pleasures where you can. The new year may be bumpy, but stick to your loved ones and all will be well.
Probably won't read much Rantburg today but will go outside, do something physical, then go to Christmas dinner with the in-laws. Reading all of these greetings is heartwarming. But I have this malicious desire to print out greeting #35 and read it to the in-laws.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/25/2008 14:03 Comments ||
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#38
Another year passes and my Christmas was a great reminder of how we should take time to be with family and friends more often.
Cheers from down under,
Classer
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/25/2008 16:23 Comments ||
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#41
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a wonderful Diwala to one and all here on the 'burg, most of all to our gracious host, Fred and the tireless work of the mods.
Jack and Mary Ann Bross
Posted by: Jack Bross ||
12/25/2008 18:12 Comments ||
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#42
Merry Christmas to all here at the Burg, especially Fred and all the mods, Old Patriot, Alaska Paul, JFM, and all the rest. I lurk but I learn from all of you. Merry Christmas and God Bless all of you!
#43
Thank you, Fred, for your great site, and a very Merry Christmas to all Rantburgers across the world, and some in several worlds, like .5mt, LOL!
We enjoyed a quiet Christmas Eve dinner with family, and some migrant King Crab legs that happened to wander by. A toast to all those who serve, and especially those in foreign climes, with danger, while we celebrate this day in safety.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/25/2008 21:37 Comments ||
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#44
A merry christmas to all!
However, this year, I was strangely moved by the core narrative of Chanukah.
#45
Angleton9, your day was well spent and your missive very touching. Thank you for both. May all your Christmases be merry and may your message go forth to many more.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
" 
(SomaliNet) As Alshabaab militia starts controlling more ground, hardcore criminals like murderers, rapists and illegal drug traffickers are heading for the only safe heaven left, Mogadishu. Alshabaab shocked the world when they announced their expansionist intentions and said we are going to follow the Ethiopian troops into Ethiopia. However, what the word hasn't seen or ignored to mention is what they are doing in their newly claimed land. 
After wreaking havoc in Mumbai, major towns of West Bengal, including Kolkata, are next on the hit list of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence.
At least eleven Taliban were killed and several others injured when security forces attacked their hideouts in Shakardara area of Swat district on Wednesday. A Swat Media Centre spokesman said security forces, backed by gunship helicopters and artillery, had targeted the Taliban locations at Shakardara in Matta tehsil and killed 11 Taliban. The security forces consolidated their positions in Sangota, he added. At least 22 Taliban and two soldiers have been killed during the last two days of the operation at Shakardara.
Security forces, the political administration of Mohmand Agency and Haleemzai tribes have demolished the houses of two key Taliban commanders in the agency, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Taliban fired mortar shells at the house of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid's chief of the NWFP chapter Ameer Muqam in Swat. Although the house was damaged in the attack, there were no casualties. Muqam told the channel that the federal and provincial governments had 'failed' in restoring peace. According to the channel, suspected US drones were also seen flying low over various parts of North and South Wazirtistan and Bannu.
Unidentified gunmen on Wednesday kidnapped a leader of religious organisation Tanzim Ahle Sunnah Wal Jamaat, officials said. Armed men kidnapped Khanzada Khan, son of Ziarat Gul, from Pump House Road when he was on his way to Karkhano market, officials said. Sources said Khanzada was a supporter of federal minister Noorul Haq Qadri.
Pakistan's security forces have arrested an Indian national allegedly involved in a blast which occurred in Lahore on Wednesday. 
(AKI) - A car bomb exploded Wednesday in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore killing a woman and wounding four others, police said. The blast occurred amid simmering tension between India and Pakistan and reports that their security forces were on high alert after the deadly terrorist attacks in the Indian financial capital, Mumbai, last month. 
Taliban in Swat district have imposed a ban on female education and have warned teachers of 'severe consequences' if any girl is seen heading for school after a 15-day deadline ends, local residents said on Wednesday. The announcement was made by a spokesman of radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah - who has waged an armed struggle to impose Taliban rule in the district - on a pirated FM radio frequency. "All the private and government schools have been given 15 days to close down the female education facilities. They have also banned women from visiting markets," Muhammad Osman, a school teacher, said. "Taliban have established a parallel government in 90 percent of the district's area and they execute everyone who opposes them," he added.
Guwahati, Dec. 24: The chief of India's Western Air Command told reporters here on Wednesday that 5,000 terrorist-based targets in Pakistan had been identified for possible strikes in the event of war.
With the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) flying sorties over two important cities in the wake of heightened sub-continental tensions after the Mumbai carnage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been carrying out precision bombing practice runs to prepare itself for any eventuality, sources said on Wednesday.
Amidst repeated denials of war speculations by Pakistan heavy deployment of forces was reported on the other side of international border of Rajasthan on Wednesday.
Three children have been killed and four people sustained wounds as a bomb ripped through Fallujah city in Iraq's western Anbar province. 
Aswat al-Iraq: Police forces detonated a car bomb parked near a church in Talkeef district on Christmas Eve. "At 09:00 p.m. today, police forces set off a car bomb that was intended to target al-Mashriq Church...," the head of Talkeef's council, Darman Sulayman, told Aswat al-Iraq. Preparations were underway inside the church for Christmas Mass, scheduled to be held tomorrow morning. No casualties or damage were reported, Sulayman added. Talkeef district is 15 km north of Mosul.
Aswat al-Iraq: Seven civilians, including two children, on Wednesday were wounded in a suicide bombing that ripped through a village near Mosul city, a local source said. "A truck bomb, driven by a suicide bomber, detonated in front of the house of Sheikh Younis Mohammed al-Rammah, a notable in al-Qayara district, in al-Aghr village (60 km south of Mosul)," the head of Ninewa's southern al-Qayara district, Saleh Hassan, told Aswat al-Iraq. "Seven civilians, including two children, were slightly wounded in the explosion...," Hassan noted, adding that damage was reported to three houses in the area, including the Sheikh's house.
Israel said it would keep Gaza border crossings closed on Wednesday after mortars and rockets were fired from Gaza into South Israel on Tuesday night. The previous day it had said it would re-open them to allow a limited amount of food, medicines and fuel from Egypt into the impoverished territory.
An Israel Air Force strike killed a Hamas gunman in the southern Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets and mortars into southern Israel on Wednesday, dampening prospects for a renewed cease fire. 
(AKI) - Sri Lankan security forces killed at least 20 Tamil Tiger separatists defending the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi in the island's north, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. Government troops captured the village of Sinna Paranthan, northwest of Kilinochchi, from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the ministry said.
All the baking is done. The tree is up and it's decorated. The train garden is up and running. The house is clean. Santa Claus has been and gone.
