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The White House has ruled out
President Barack Obama
offering “formal condolences”
to Pakistan over the killing of its
24 soldiers in a Nato strike, as
suggested by his top diplomat in
Islamabad in a desperate bid to
salvage deteriorating ties, a
media report said today.“The
White House has decided that
President Obama will not offer
formal condolences- at least for
now- to Pakistan for the deaths
of two dozen soldiers in Nato
airstrikes last week, overruling
State Department officials who
argued for such a show of
remorse to help salvage
America's relationship with
Pakistan,” 'The New York Times'
said, reflecting the mood
prevailing in the administration
on Pakistan right now.The
request for this came on
Monday, two days after the
Nato attack, from US envoy to
Pakistan Mr Cameron Munter,
who said that a formal video
message from President Obama
was needed to help prevent the
rapidly deteriorating relations
between the two countries
from cratering, administration
officials were quoted as saying
by the daily.“The Ambassador in
a video conference from
Islamabad, said that anger in
Pakistan had reached a fever
pitch, and that the USA needed
to move to defuse it as quickly
as possible,” the officials
said.The suggestion from the
top American diplomat in
Pakistan was opposed by the
Pentagon, which argued that
such a move would be
demoralising for their forces
and noted that the statement of
Secretary of State Mrs Hillary
Clinton in this regard was
enough. “Some administration
aides also worried that if Mr
Obama were to overrule the
military and apologise to
Pakistan, such a step could
become fodder for his
Republican opponents in the
presidential campaign,” several
officials, who declined to be
named because they were not
authorised to speak publicly,
told the daily.The White House
has said that Mr Obama will not
comment on it till the
investigations are over, the
paper reported.On Tuesday, the
US Central Command (CENTCOM)
ordered an investigation into
the incident in which officials of
both the Afghan and Pakistan
governments have been invited
to participate.

Azra Bashir spoke by phone to
her son Usman, holed up in a
freezing border outpost on the
dangerous Afghanistan-Pakistan
border, only hours before NATO
airstrikes killed him and 23 other
Pakistani soldiers. The 23 year-
old captain told his mother not
to worry about him, and
reminded her to watch her
health.As Pakistan and the
United States argue about the
sequence of events that led to
the attacks, Bashir is struggling
with the pain of losing a child.
Her anger, and that of other
relatives mourning loved ones
killed by a nominal ally, helps
explain the uncompromising
stance Islamabad has struck
toward Washington since the
incident."I want to tell our
soldiers that they should avenge
the killing of Usman and other
soldiers like him," Bashir said in
an interview in her home in
Punjab province. As she spoke,
she kissed a framed photo of
her son, who also left behind a
wife and 2-month-old
daughter.Bashir's call for
revenge has been echoed in
daily protests held in Pakistan's
major cities, many of them
organized by Islamist and right-
wing parties who have long said
that America and NATO — not
the Taliban — are the prime
enemies of Pakistan.The border
incident has greatly
strengthened that narrative,
reducing the political space for
those who argue that
cooperation with Washington is
in the country's interest. The
army, which has received
billions of dollars in U.S. aid since
2001 in exchange for its
cooperation, however limited,
against militants, has fueled the
hard line by accusing NATO of a
"deliberate act of
aggression."The 24 deaths by
apparent American friendly fire
come on top of the 3,000
Pakistani security force
members who have been killed
over the last 10 years fighting
insurgents, mainly in the
northwest close to the Afghan
border.Many in the country,
including leading politicians, say
the war has been foisted upon
them by America. They say the
violence would end if Islamabad
severed its ties with
Washington."How long will we
sacrifice our youths, our soldiers
for others?" said Capt. Usman
Bashir's father, Bashir Ahmed.
"This is not our war. This is their
war."American and NATO
officials have expressed
sympathy over the deaths,
saying the incident was a
mistake and is being
investigated. The border area is
infested with militants, whom
NATO has long complained
receive safe haven on the
Pakistan side to launch attacks
in Afghanistan."What kind of
mistake is this that kills innocent
poor people?" asked Asfandyar
Khan, who lost his 22-year-old
son in the attacks. "We don't
want your investigation and
inquires. I want justice. I want
real action against those
responsible."He fought back
tears as he spoke, sitting feet
away from the freshly dug
grave holding his son, Najibullah
Khan.The grave in the family's
village of Kabuli Kili in
northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
was covered in wreaths of
flowers donated by military
officials. A green and white
Pakistani flag flew from a
bamboo pole nearby."You are
calling us friends," Khan said of
the United States. "Is this the
way you people treat friends? If
this is friendship, we have had
enough, and don't want such
friendship."Pakistan has
retaliated for the incident by
closing its Afghan border
crossings to NATO supplies, by
demanding the U.S. vacate an air
base used by American drones
attacking militants along the
frontier, and by boycotting an
international conference in
Germany aimed at stabilizing
Afghanistan.Washington is keen
to repair damage done to the
relationship. It wants to get the
supplies moving again, and also
sees Islamabad's links with
Afghan insurgent leaders on its
soil as a key asset in negotiating
a peace deal in Afghanistan
which will allow the U.S. to
withdraw its combat troops by
the scheduled 2014
deadline.Pakistan relies heavily
on American aid, and it too
wants to avoid a rupture in
ties.The U.S. and Pakistan have
long had a troubled relationship,
thanks to Pakistan's reluctance
to target Afghan Taliban
fighters and their allies using
Pakistani territory to attack
American troops in Afghanistan.
Islamabad is believed to see
those insurgents as useful
proxies in Afghanistan, once the
U.S. withdraws.The NATO attack
was the latest in a series of
crises to beset the relationship
this year.In January, an
American CIA contractor shot
two Pakistani men who he said
tried to rob him, sparking
outrage. The May 2 unilateral
raid that killed Osama bin Laden
was also portrayed as a gross
violation of Pakistan's
sovereignty, largely drowning
out questions over how the al-
Qaida chief was living
undetected in an army town for
five years.Most experts believe
the two countries will patch
things up this time, and that the
border closure will be
temporary, chiefly because
Washington and Islamabad still
need each other. But the
Pakistani reaction since the
strikes has betrayed the lack of
trust at the heart of the
relationship, and bodes ill for
meaningful Western
cooperation with Pakistan over
ending the Afghan war."The
time has come for 180 million
Pakistanis to choose between a
life of respect or ignominy," said
Shahbaz Sharif, the head of the
ruling party in Punjab after
visiting Bashir's family this
week. "American foreign aid is
drenched in the blood of
martyrs and we will have to
give it up and get back up on
our own feet," he was quoted
by local media reports as saying.

Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 5
wickets after slipping a bit
chasing the 92 runs target given
to it by host BD which was all
out for 91 runs in 30.3
overs.The first of the three ODI
match series played out at Sher-
e-Bengal Stadium at Mirpur has
given added boost to Pakistan
which won the only T20 a few
days ago.Pakistan managed to
score the winning 93 runs in
25.4 overs after losing first four
wickets in quick succession by
44 runs- Imran Farhat (12 runs
in 23 balls) at 36; Muhammed
Hafeez (22 runs including 5
fours in 38 balls) at 42; Younis
Khan (2 runs in 8 ball) at 42 and
Sarfraz Ahmed (2 runs in 3 balls)
again at 44 runs. Umar Akmal,
the last Pakistani wicket to fall,
was bowled by Shakib Al Hasan
at 7 runs of 13 balls.Shahid
Afridi was not out at 24 runs
including 4 fours of 23 balls
while Misbah ul Haq's unbeaten
16 runs of 46 included one four
and i six.Shahid Afridi who took
5 wickets for 13 runs in 6.3
overs was declared the man of
the match. Earlier Bangladesh
was all out at paltry 91 in their
first one day international
match against Pakistan at Mirpur
stadium. All rounder Nasir
Hossain was the top scorer with
21 runs as Afridi grabbed
another five wickets haul for
Pakistan.Nothing went right for
Bangladesh after Mushfiqur
Rahim chose to bat. There was
little doubt that Hafeez would
take the first new ball, especially
with a left-hand batsman on
strike, and he had success
immediately. Tamim Iqbal,
having recovered from his knee
injury, moved too far across his
stumps and was trapped on the
back foot by a delivery that
darted into him from round the
wicket. Hafeez's wicket maiden
set the tone for the next
hour.Umar Gul had first use of
the other new ball, and though
there was little assistance from
the pitch for him, the
Bangladesh batsmen couldn't
get the ball off the square. They
had scored only 2 after 5.2
overs when Naeem Islam hit one
past Gul to the straight
boundary. He edged the next
ball to slip.Against spin,
Bangladesh were simply
stagnant. Hafeez tormented
Shahriar Nafees, who would
score only 2 off his first 23
deliveries. He found the left-
hand batsman's outside edge
three times - two fell short of
Younis Khan at first slip, and one
flew wide.Misbah made a double
bowling change, bringing on the
legspinner Afridi and the
offspinner Malik. It was Malik
who struck first, getting
Mushfiqur to edge an attempted
cut to the wicketkeeper Sarfaz
Ahmed. It was the extra bounce
that was the Bangladesh
captain's undoing. Afridi then
struck twice. In his second over,
the 13th of the innings, Afridi
used the extra bounce to have
Nafees caught at point while
trying to cut off the back foot.
Two balls later he bowled a
legbreak that spun sharply and
took the outside edge of
Mahmudullah's forward defence.
Bangladesh were 31 for 5 at a
point.Shakib Al Hasan and Nasir
Hossain began to repair the
substantial damage but they
had miles to go to get the job
done. They didn't. Their
partnership was worth 36 when
Hossain attempted to pull a
delivery from Cheema that
wasn't that short. He was
unbalanced as he made contact
and the top edge swirled
towards square leg, where
Sarfraz held it.After that
performance, Afridi says there's
still room for improvement in
his bowling. "The atmosphere is
great and we are enjoying our
cricket, last 3-4 years I'm
focusing on my bowling, am the
leading wicket-taker in last few
years for Pakistan. Am enjoying
myself."

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (CNN Pakistan News English) -
A bomb exploded near the
office of a regional government
official in the often restive
northwestern Pakistani city of
Peshawar early on Thursday,
police officials said, but there
were no immediate reports of
casualties.
A wall of the district
coordination officer's building
collapsed after the blast, which
was heard throughout
Peshawar, the last major city on
the route to Afghanistan.
Peshawar is also not far from
Mohmand, the district where a
strike by NATO-led forces at the
weekend killed 24 Pakistani
soldiers and plunged often
uneasy relations between
Washington and Islamabad to
new lows.
Taliban militants have often
launched suicide attacks in and
around Peshawar in their
campaign to topple the
Pakistani government for its
support of the U.S.-led war
against militancy.
The army has launched a series
of offensives against the
Pakistani Taliban but have failed
to subdue the group, which is
close to al Qaeda and is blamed
for many of the suicide
bombings across Pakistan, an
unstable, nuclear-armed U.S. ally.
Pakistani Taliban officials have
said the group is holding
exploratory peace talks with
the Islamabad government.
Since the weekend strike in
Mohmand, Pakistan has
announced it will boycott an
international conference on the
future of Afghanistan in
Germany next week, depriving
the talks of a central player in
efforts to bring peace to
Afghanistan.
Pakistan has labelled that attack
as a deliberate act of
aggression, although that has
been categorically denied by
senior U.S. military officials.

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI:
The prime minister has
simmered down, but not
enough to confirm Pakistan’s
attendance at the Bonn
conference.
Hints of flexibility came after
much insistence from German
Chancellor Angela Merkel for
Pakistan to reconsider
boycotting the meeting on the
Afghan endgame.
However, the only assurance
that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza
Gilani gave Merkel was that
Pakistan’s ambassador to
Germany could attend the
conference, but only if the
parliamentary committee on
national security approves.
He turned down Merkel’s request
that Foreign Minister Hina
Rabbani Khar attend the
conference, while Khar herself
told a Senate foreign relations
committee that Pakistan’s
decision was final.
In a special meeting in Lahore on
Tuesday, the cabinet had agreed
to boycott the conference on
the Afghan endgame in protest
of Nato’s attack in Mohmand
Agency that killed 24 troops in
the deadliest assault in a decade.
The calls from the international
community to attend the
conference were led by
Washington. US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan
should reconsider its decision,
but stopped short of
apologising for the deaths of
the 24 soldiers.
“Nothing will be gained by
turning our backs on mutually
beneficial cooperation. Frankly it
is regrettable that Pakistan has
decided not to attend the
conference,” Clinton told a news
conference in South Korea.
Clinton voiced regret over
Pakistan’s decision, pledging an
investigation “as swiftly and
thoroughly as possible” into the
“tragic incident” and hoping it
would find a “follow-up way”
to take part in talks on
Afghanistan’s future. “What is
most important I think is that
we learn lessons from this
tragedy because we have to
continue to work together,” she
said.
Afghanistan has also asked
Pakistan to reconsider its
decision. Speaking to journalists
in Karachi about his
conversation with Afghan
President Hamid Karzai, Gilani
said, “I replied that the territory
of Afghanistan was being used
against Pakistan and he said it
was done by Nato and I told him
to talk to the US about it.”
“I told him that we have to
protect our country and work
for its security and defence. If
we go to Bonn for you, then
who will guarantee our
security? We cannot just go like
this,” he added.
Meanwhile, news from Kabul
indicated that Pakistan had
resumed some cooperation with
US-led forces in Afghanistan.
Nato said Islamabad
communicated with the alliance
to prevent an exchange of
artillery fire late on Tuesday
from turning into another
international incident. German
Brig Gen Carsten Jacobson, a
Nato spokesman in Kabul,
expressed hope that Pakistan’s
cooperation in resolving the
incident in eastern
Afghanistan’s Paktia province
signaled the two sides could
recover from the recent
tragedy.
Meanwhile, Gilani said the
government has asked the US to
evacuate the Shamsi airbase by
Dec 11.
Speaking to journalists after
inaugurating the UAE expo 2011
ceremony, Gilani said: “We have
given the Nato forces a deadline
and asked them to stop drone
attacks because we cannot play
a significant role in a war which
damages our sovereignty. We
need a guarantee that such
attacks will not happen again,
otherwise we cannot
cooperate.”
In Lahore, Information Minister
Firdous Ashiq Awan put the
blame on the Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz for leasing the
base to the US and said the
Shamsi Airbase was leased in
1998 when the PML-N’
government was in power.

US top military officer on
Wednesday strongly rejected
accusations from Pakistan that
NATO deliberately killed 24
Pakistani soldiers last weekend.
General Martin Dempsey,
chairman of the US military’s
Joint Chiefs of Staff, told
CNN Pakistan News that he was trying to
discuss the incident with
Pakistan behind closed doors.
“Candidly we don’t want to try
to resolve this issue through the
media. No offense,” he said in an
interview as he flew back to
Washington after a trip to
London.
“The one thing I will say publicly
and categorically is that this was
not a deliberate attack.”
Dempsey declined to discuss
details of the US military’s
review into the incident, but
questioned Nadeem’s logic.
“What in the world would we
gain by attacking a Pakistan
border post?” Dempsey asked.
Dempsey said the military was
pouring over its own data from
the incident.
“We’re in the process of
reviewing radio traffic, gun
tapes, all of the things that an
investigation has to consider
before I can really make any
statement about the duration,”
Dempsey said.
“But I can say, categorically, it
was not a deliberate attack.”
Pakistan’s Director General of
Military Operations in a press
briefing said that NATO
helicopters attacked the post in
two sweeps. Firs a brief 10-15
minute attack, the second
lasting over an hour. During this
time, NATO was told that their
target was a Pakistan military
outpost. However, the
helicopters continued to press
their attack.

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon
on Wednesday rejected the
'notion' as incorrect that
the Nato attack that killed
24 Pakistan soldiers was
intentional, Geo News
reported.
Pentagon Press Secretary
George Little told reporters:
"It is important to let the
investigation unfold, but
the notion that this was an
intentional attack on
Pakistani military is
incorrect."
He refuted the reports that
the attack on Pakistani post
by NATO forces over the
weekend was "intentional",
and conceded that US-Pak
relationship was going
through a very difficult
phase.
"Whatever happened over
the weekend on the border
with Afghanistan and
Pakistan is a tragedy. We
express regret for it and as
well as condolences for the
loss of life. In no way shape
of form should this be
construed as an intentional
attack on Pakistan by the
United States. That is simply
incorrect," Little said.
He was responding to
statements from Pakistan
which alleged that the US
forces intentionally
attacked the Pakistani post
on the Af-Pak border that
resulted in the death of
some 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Pakistan is furious over the
incident and in retaliation
has blocked the NATO
supply route to
Afghanistan, boycotted the
upcoming Bonn conference
and asked US to vacate the
secretive Shamsi air base,
which is used by the CIA
for drone attacks.
US Central Command
(CENTCOM) is leading the
investigation into the
incident and has been
asked to submit its report
by December 23.
Little, however, refused to
either confirm or deny
news reports of US
vacating the Shamsi air
base as demanded by
Pakistan.

Pheww, that was a pretty crazy Thanksgiving weekend! Have we all fully recovered?


With the holidays upon us, Joan Threat says its A-OK to blare the Christmas Music 24/7. "One of my fave xmas albums of all time is "Kenny and Dolly: Once Upon a Christmas"This album has been in my holiday rotation since a week before Thanksgiving, and you better believe its going to be on steady rotation thru the month of December! Best song on the album: "Hard Candy Christmas"...Luv that Dolly Parton!"



Stevie Kick's current obsession is Donald Glover. "I'm not obsessed with him the conventional, he's so hot sense - i'm more just interested in everything he's doing right now. He's hilarious on Community, just put his first lp called "Camp" and his recent stand-up special on Comedy Central had me laughing so hard I was crying.I really just want to be his friend. He does look pretty cute in those glasses though!"




Messdemeanor has decided to fully embrace 90's nostalgia. "I'm catching up on some pop culture I didn't appreciate as much the first time around.  I didn't watch the X Files regularly back then but now that it's streaming online I'll be falling asleep to it every night.  I just started last night and already had crazy dreams!"



This week Kill E. Kaposki is obsessed with the song "Nicest Thing" by Kate Nash. "I can't stop listening to it--I actually played it on repeat for an entire afternoon (at least 4 hours straight). It's a very tender and moving song, just listen and you'll understand."


Snowflake is currently obsessed with juicing. "I never knew how easy it was to get fresh juice! When i think of all the veggies I get in one glass, i can't help but have a little extra spring in my step! My usual combo: kale, cucumber, beets, apple."

Indian police say they have
arrested six men affiliated with
a local extremist group in
connection with a series of fatal
bombings.The New Delhi police
said in a statement Wednesday
that those arrested included a
Pakistani citizen. The men were
found with rifles, explosives
detonators and fake Indian
currency notes.Police accused
the men of belonging to the
shadowy domestic terror group
known as the Indian
Mujahideen. The statement said
the six were part of a cell
responsible for the Feb. 13, 2010
blast that killed 17 people at a
popular cafe in the southern city
of Pune.The cell was also blamed
for a a bombing at a Bangalore
cricket stadium and the
shooting and bombing attack
outside a famous New Delhi
mosque that injured two
foreigners.

WASHINGTON (CNN PAKISTAN NEWS) -
Communications regulators
released a staff report
criticizing AT&T Inc's $39 billion
plan to purchase T-Mobile USA,
even though they agreed on
Tuesday to let the companies
withdraw their request for
approval.
AT&T and T-Mobile USA owner
Deutsche Telekom AG said last
week they wanted to
withdraw their application with
the Federal Communications
Commission to focus on
defending the transaction from
an antitrust lawsuit brought by
the U.S. Justice Department.
The FCC released on Tuesday an
FCC staff report that found the
touted benefits of the
transaction do not outweigh
the competitive disadvantages.
FCC officials cited staff findings
that the deal would
significantly diminish
competition and lead to
massive job losses.
The staff report also concluded
the merger would not result in
significantly more build-out of
next generation 4G wireless
service than would occur
absent the transaction.
AT&T called the FCC's decision to
release the report "troubling."
"It is simply a staff draft that
raises questions of fact that
were to be addressed in an
administrative hearing, a
hearing which will not now
take place," said Jim Cicconi,
AT&T's senior executive vice
president of external and
legislative affairs.
He added the report had not
been made available to AT&T
prior to the public release.
"We have had no opportunity
to address or rebut its claims,
which makes its release all the
more improper," he said.
AT&T has argued the deal will
accelerate its expansion of
high-speed wireless service to
nearly all Americans and create
jobs.
An antitrust expert with
telecommunications experience
expected the report would be
troubling for AT&T during its
court battle.
Public interest groups had
urged the FCC to release the
report, saying it likely came to
conclusions AT&T would rather
have kept quiet.
The FCC said the companies
were free to come back to the
commission with a new
application.
FCC Chairman Julius
Genachowski said the agency's
review has been focused on
"fostering a competitive market
that drives innovation,
promotes investment,
encourages job creation and
protects consumers.
"These goals will remain the
focus if any future merger
application is filed," he added.
The Justice Department went to
court in August to oppose
AT&T's takeover of T-Mobile on
antitrust grounds. A trial in that
case is due to begin on
February 13.

SAN FRANCISCO - Accusing
Facebook of engaging in "unfair
and deceptive" practices, the
federal government on Tuesday
announced a broad settlement
that requires the company to
respect the privacy wishes of its
users and subjects it to regular
privacy audits for the next 20
years.
The order, announced by the
Federal Trade Commission in
Washington, stems largely from
changes that Facebook made to
the way it handled its users'
information in December 2009.
The commission contended that
Facebook, without warning its
users or seeking consent, made
public information that users
had deemed to be private on
their Facebook pages.
The order also said that
Facebook, which has more than
800 million users worldwide, in
some cases had allowed
advertisers to glean personally
identifiable information when a
Facebook user clicked on an
advertisement on his or her
Facebook page. The company
has long maintained that it does
not share personal data with
advertisers.
And the order said that
Facebook had shared user
information with outside
application developers, contrary
to representations made to its
users. And even after a Facebook
user deleted an account,
according to the F.T.C., the
company still allowed access to
photos and videos.
All told, the commission listed
eight complaints. It levied no
fines and did not accuse
Facebook of intentionally
breaking the law. However, if
Facebook violated the terms of
the settlement in the future, it
would be liable to pay a penalty
of $16,000 a day for each count,
the F.T.C. said.
Mark Zuckerberg, the chief
executive of Facebook, conceded
in a lengthy blog post that the
company had made "a bunch of
mistakes," but said it had already
fixed several of the issues cited
by the commission.
"Facebook has always been
committed to being transparent
about the information you have
stored with us - and we have led
the Internet in building tools to
give people the ability to see and
control what they share," he
wrote. By way of example, Mr.
Zuckerberg pointed to more
explicit privacy controls that the
company introduced over the
summer.
Facebook has long wanted its
users to post content - links,
opinions, pictures and other data
- on their Facebook pages with
minimal effort, or "friction," as
company executives call it. The
settlement with the F.T.C. will
undoubtedly require it to
introduce more such friction.
The order requires Facebook to
obtain its users' "affirmative
express consent" before it can
override their own privacy
settings. For example, if a user
designated certain content to be
visible only to "friends,"
Facebook could allow that
content to be shared more
broadly only after obtaining the
user's permission.
On Tuesday evening there
seemed to be some
disagreement about what the
agreement entailed. A Facebook
spokesman said in response to a
question that it did not require
the company to obtain "opt in"
data-sharing permission for new
products.
But David Vladeck, director of
the bureau of consumer
protection at the F.T.C., said
Facebook would have to inform
its users about how personal
data would be shared even with
new products and services that
it introduces over the next two
decades. "The order is designed
to protect people's privacy,
anticipating that Facebook is
likely to change products and
services it offers," he said.
Ever since its public release in
2004, Facebook has drawn an
ever-larger number of members,
even as its sometimes
aggressive approach to changes
around privacy have angered
some of its users.
"We've all known that Facebook
repeatedly cuts corners when it
comes to its privacy promises,"
Eric Goldman, a law professor at
Santa Clara University, wrote in
an e-mail after the
announcement. "Like most
Internet companies, they
thought they could get away
with it. They didn't."
Facebook is also obliged to
undergo an independent privacy
audit every two years for the
next 20 years, according to the
terms of the settlement.
Marc Rotenberg, executive
director of the Electronic Privacy
Information Center, which is
part of a coalition of consumer
groups that filed a complaint
with the F.T.C., commended the
order but said settlements with
individual companies fall short
of what is needed: a federal law
to protect consumer privacy.
"We hope they will establish a
high bar for privacy protection,"
Mr. Rotenberg said. "But we do
not have in the United States a
comprehensive privacy
framework. There is always a
risk other companies will come
along and create new problems."
Several privacy bills are pending
in Congress, and Internet
companies have stepped up
their lobbying efforts. The F.T.C.,
meanwhile, has ratcheted up its
scrutiny of Internet companies.
This year alone, it has reached
settlement orders with some of
the giants of Silicon Valley,
including Google.
The order comes amid growing
speculation about Facebook's
preparations for an initial public
offering, which could be valued
at more than $100 billion. The
settlement with the F.T.C.,
analysts say, could potentially
ease investors' concerns about
government regulation by
holding the company to a clear
set of privacy prescriptions.
"When you have an I.P.O. you
don't want investors to be
skeptical or jittery," said Ryan
Calo, who leads privacy research
at the Center for Internet and
Society at Stanford Law School.
"In order for you to be as
valuable as possible, you want to
make sure the seas are calm. This
calms the seas."

DHAKA: Pakistan
defeated Bangladesh
by 50 runs in the
one-off Twenty20
international at the Sher-e-
Bangla stadium in Dhaka on
Tuesday CNN PAKISTAN NEWS reported‏ ‏.
Pakistan, restricted to 135-7
after electing to take first
strike, hit back to keep
Bangladesh down to 85-9 on a
slow wicket.
The rivals begin a three-match
one-day series from Thursday,
followed by two Tests.
Brief scores: Pakistan 135-7 in
20 overs; Bangladesh 85-9 in
20 overs.

LAHORE: The central
body of Pakistan’s
cable operators has announced
to block all foreign news
channels in protest against the
lethal NATO raid which
martyred 24 Pakistani soldiers
in Momand Agency on
Saturday.
Addressing a news conference
here, president Cable Operators
Association of Pakistan (COAP),
Khalid Mehmood Arain said all
foreign news channels would
be blocked from tomorrow
(Wednesday) in first phase of
their protest against NATO
aggression.
He appealed Pakistan Electronic
Media Regulatory Authority
(PEMRA) to cancel landing
rights of all foreign new
channels being aired in
Pakistan in reaction to foreign
troops’ strike on country’s soil.
“This is our strong message to
all those countries conspiring
against Pakistan… Their anti
Pakistan channels would not be
allowed to broadcast here until
they stop the propaganda
against our country,” Arain
warned.
“Character-assassination of our
country, military and security
agencies would not be
tolerated,” he affirmed.

Russia has turned on a new
incoming missile early warning
system in its westernmost
region in response to US plans
for a missile shield in
Europe.President Dmitry
Medvedev ordered the system
to be activated on a visit to the
radar unit in Kaliningrad, a Baltic
region bordering EU
countries.The unit is equipped
with the new Voronezh-DM
radar system.Medvedev has
warned Russian missiles could
be deployed on the EU's borders
if the shield is
installed.Washington wants an
anti-missile shield ready by
2020, arguing that it is
necessary to provide protection
from the potential missile threat
posed by countries like
Iran.Under President George W
Bush, the US had initially
intended to locate major parts
of the shield in Poland and the
Czech Republic, but Russia
objected vigorously.When
Barack Obama took office in the
White House, he scaled back the
original ambitions."Nato's missile
defence system [is] designed to
defend against threats from
outside Europe - not designed to
alter balance of deterrence,"
Nato chief Anders Fogh
Rasmussen said in a recent
tweet.In a statement carried by
Russian news agencies, Mr
Medvedev said: "I expect that
this step will be seen by our
partners as the first signal of
the readiness of our country to
make an adequate response to
the threats which the missile
shield poses for our strategic
nuclear forces."Quoted by
Interfax, he said: "If our signal is
ignored... we will deploy other
means of defence including the
adoption of tough counter-
measures and the deployment
of a strike group."Medvedev has
spoken of deploying Iskander
missiles - modern versions of
the mobile Scud surface-to-
surface missile - in
Kaliningrad.On Tuesday, he said
Russia was ready to listen to
new anti-missile defence
proposals from "Western
partners" but assurances were
not enough."Verbal statements,
unfortunately, do not guarantee
the defence of our interests,"
the Russian president said."If
other steps are taken then,
naturally, we are ready to listen
to them but, in any case, verbal
statements are not enough."The
radar system activated on
Medvedev's orders was installed
this year at Pionerskoye,
Kaliningrad, and is meant to
replace older systems in Ukraine
and Belarus, according to
Russian news website
lenta.ru.With an operating range
of 6,000km (3,730 miles), the
Voronezh DM can cover "all of
Europe and the Atlantic",
according to the Russian
military.It is designed to detect
space and aerodynamic targets,
including ballistic and cruise
missiles.Iran's nuclear
programme and its development
of long-range missiles have
alarmed Western states, despite
Tehran's assurances it is not
seeking weapons of mass
destruction.

Russia has turned on a new
incoming missile early warning
system in its westernmost
region in response to US plans
for a missile shield in
Europe.President Dmitry
Medvedev ordered the system
to be activated on a visit to the
radar unit in Kaliningrad, a Baltic
region bordering EU
countries.The unit is equipped
with the new Voronezh-DM
radar system.Medvedev has
warned Russian missiles could
be deployed on the EU's borders
if the shield is
installed.Washington wants an
anti-missile shield ready by
2020, arguing that it is
necessary to provide protection
from the potential missile threat
posed by countries like
Iran.Under President George W
Bush, the US had initially
intended to locate major parts
of the shield in Poland and the
Czech Republic, but Russia
objected vigorously.When
Barack Obama took office in the
White House, he scaled back the
original ambitions."Nato's missile
defence system [is] designed to
defend against threats from
outside Europe - not designed to
alter balance of deterrence,"
Nato chief Anders Fogh
Rasmussen said in a recent
tweet.In a statement carried by
Russian news agencies, Mr
Medvedev said: "I expect that
this step will be seen by our
partners as the first signal of
the readiness of our country to
make an adequate response to
the threats which the missile
shield poses for our strategic
nuclear forces."Quoted by
Interfax, he said: "If our signal is
ignored... we will deploy other
means of defence including the
adoption of tough counter-
measures and the deployment
of a strike group."Medvedev has
spoken of deploying Iskander
missiles - modern versions of
the mobile Scud surface-to-
surface missile - in
Kaliningrad.On Tuesday, he said
Russia was ready to listen to
new anti-missile defence
proposals from "Western
partners" but assurances were
not enough."Verbal statements,
unfortunately, do not guarantee
the defence of our interests,"
the Russian president said."If
other steps are taken then,
naturally, we are ready to listen
to them but, in any case, verbal
statements are not enough."The
radar system activated on
Medvedev's orders was installed
this year at Pionerskoye,
Kaliningrad, and is meant to
replace older systems in Ukraine
and Belarus, according to
Russian news website
lenta.ru.With an operating range
of 6,000km (3,730 miles), the
Voronezh DM can cover "all of
Europe and the Atlantic",
according to the Russian
military.It is designed to detect
space and aerodynamic targets,
including ballistic and cruise
missiles.Iran's nuclear
programme and its development
of long-range missiles have
alarmed Western states, despite
Tehran's assurances it is not
seeking weapons of mass
destruction.

Iranian protesters stormed two
British Embassy compounds in
Tehran Tuesday, smashing
windows, hurling petrol bombs
and burning the British flag
during a rally to protest against
sanctions imposed by Britain,
live Iranian television
showed.The attacks followed
the rapid approval by Iran's
Guardian Council of a
parliamentary bill compelling the
government to expel the British
ambassador in retaliation for
the sanctions, and warnings
from a lawmaker that angry
Iranians could storm the British
embassy as they did to the U.S.
mission in 1979.Several dozen
protesters broke away from a
crowd of a few hundred
protesters outside the main
embassy compound in
downtown Tehran, scaled the
embassy gates and went inside.
Iranian security forces appeared
to do little to stop them.The
semi-official Mehr news agency
said protesters pulled down the
British flag, burned it, and put
up the Iranian flag.Inside, the
demonstrators threw stones
and petrol bombs. One waved a
framed picture of Queen
Elizabeth, state TV showed.The
British Foreign Office said it was
outraged by the incursion into
embassy.It was not clear if
British diplomats had been
caught up in the action, or had
been harmed. Embassy staff fled
protesters "by the back door,"
the Mehr news agency
said.Demonstrators waved flags
symbolizing martyrdom and
held up portraits of Iran's
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.A separate group of
protesters broke into a second
British embassy compound in
the north of the city, the IRNA
state news agency said, and
seized "classified
documents."Riot police later
moved in and mounted the
embassy gates, helping
protesters climb back on the
street outside, television
pictures showed, and began to
slowly clear demonstrators.The
incident followed Britain's
imposition of new sanctions on
the Islamic state last week over
its nuclear program.London
banned all British financial
institutions from doing business
with their Iranian counterparts,
including the Central Bank of
Iran, as part of a new wave of
sanctions by Western
countries.In London, Foreign
Secretary William Hague said
Britain expected other countries
to follow its lead in imposing
financial sanctions on Iran and
will take "robust" action if
Tehran reduces their diplomatic
relations.Hague was speaking in
a parliamentary debate as news
broke of the incident in Tehran
but he made no comment on it.

RAWALPINDI: International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
and North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) carried out
the cross-border attack on
purpose and there are no
expectations of any results
coming from the inquiry.
The statements were made at a
media briefing by Chief of
General Staff Lieutenant General
Waheed Arshad and Director
General (DG) Military Operations
General Ashfaq on Tuesday.
They said that currently the
rethinking of military relations
with the United States was
underway and the final decision
would be taken by Prime
Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
They said the inquiries into the
June 2008, September 2010 and
July 2011 incidents had no
results either.
There are four Pakistan and ISAF
Afghanistan joint coordination
centres, and the attack took
place despite procedures being
in place, they said.
They said there had been no
violation by Pakistan on the
Mohmand Agency border. NATO
and ISAF were aware of the
border check posts in the area
and had fired on them from
12:05am to 2:15am.
The Pakistani officer at the
Tactical Operation Centre in
Afghanistan had been
misinformed, they said, adding
that an American sergeant had
told him that a Pakistan check
post had fired on Special Forces
in the border area and had
changed his statement after
seven minutes saying the fire
had come from a different
check post.
They said Volcano was the first
check post that was attacked
and communication had been
cut off right after. Soldiers at
the Boulder check post fired 26
air bursts but did not go after
the helicopters as the situation
could have gotten bad.
Company Commander, Major
Mujahid was killed when he was
going to Boulder check post,
they said.

20 overs Pakistan 135 for 7
(Hafeez 25, Kapali 2-12) v
Bangladesh
It was a tough initiation for
Pakistan on their tour as
Bangladesh played to their
strength - spin - to restrict the
tourists to 135 at the Shere
Bangla Stadium. Pakistan started
brightly after winning the toss,
but the going got tough once
the slower bowlers - five in all -
began operating at either end
on a typically dark Dhaka pitch.
The captain Mushfiqur Rahim
didn't waste any time getting
his spinners on, bringing in
Abdur Razzak as early as the
second over. Razzak began by
floating one down the leg side,
which went for five wides. It
was hardly a sign of things to
come as he and the rest applied
the brakes on the scoring and
chipped away at the wickets to
keep the packed weekday
crowd delighted.
Imran Farhat smacked two
consecutive fours off Shakib Al
Hasan before the bowler hit
back, slipping in a quicker
delivery to induce a feather
edge to the keeper. The in-form
Hafeez went on the attack and
while he was around, Pakistan
were motoring along at eight an
over.
The ninth over was significant
for Bangladesh as Shakib
managed to keep the aggressive
Hafeez quiet for five balls.
Determined to break the
shackles, Hafeez attempted a
slog and lost his wicket.
Bangladesh didn't look back
after that wicket-maiden.
Umar Akmal appeared
comfortable against the quicker
bowlers, hitting Rubel Hossain
for consecutive fours, but he
perished trying to charge Alok
Kapali. It was another blow for
Pakistan, just when another
partnership was developing,
with Misbah-ul-Haq. Kapali
sensed Umar's instinct and
cleverly dropped the ball short.
Asad Shafiq and Shahid Afridi
both perished in similar fashion,
getting caught in the deep. The
captain Misbah tried restoring
some order but he kept running
out of partners.
Despite Pakistan being restricted
to a below-par total, the chase
promises to be absorbing given
that the Pakistan spinners were
in top form against Sri Lanka in
the UAE.

LONDON: U.S.-
Pakistani relations are
at one of their worst
points in memory
after the NATO strike that killed
24 Pakistani troops, but can
recover, Washington's top
military officer said on
Monday.
General Martin Dempsey said
Pakistani anger was justified
given the loss of life. But he
declined to offer an apology,
saying during a trip to London
that he did not know enough
yet about the weekend
incident and that there was a
U.S. military investigation.
"They have reason to be
furious that they have 24
soldiers that are dead, and that
the ordinance that killed them
was the ordinance of a
partner," Dempsey, chairman of
the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs
of Staff, told Britain's ITV
News.
"I would certainly like to enlist
their patience in helping us
figure out what happened."
Pakistan's military said the
strike was unprovoked but a
Western official and an Afghan
security official who both
requested anonymity have
said NATO troops were
responding to fire from the
Pakistani side of the Afghan
border.
The killings have upended U.S.
attempts to ease a crisis in
relations with Islamabad,
which worsened after the
secret U.S. raid into Pakistan to
kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden in May. The incident also
threatened to undermine U.S.
efforts to stabilize the region
as Washington tries to wind
down the war in Afghanistan.
Asked about U.S.-Pakistani
relations, Dempsey said: "It
certainly does look like it's on
about as rocky a road as it has
been in my memory. And my
memory with Pakistan goes
back some 20 years or so."
Questioned whether the
situation was irretrievable, he
said: "No. I don't think so."
Dempsey branded the
relationship with Pakistan
"troubled" when he addressed
a forum in London.
Pakistan shut NATO supply
routes into Afghanistan in
retaliation for the killings.
Dempsey said the United States
could cope with the cut-off by
channeling supplies through
alternative routes.
"But I'd like to believe that we
could, over time, with
Pakistan's approval, restore
those lines of communication,"
he said.
Pakistan has also said it had
ordered the United States to
vacate a drone base in the
country.
Dempsey, who declined to
acknowledge the use of drones
at the base, said the move
would be a "serious act in
terms of our relationship."
"They want us to close the
base in Shamsi, the purpose of
which I leave to your
imagination. There are other
options for stationing aircraft
and other resources around
the region," Dempsey said.
Asked whether it was a serious
blow, he said: "It's a serious
blow in the sense that the
Pakistani government felt that
they needed to deny us the
use of a base that we've been
using for many years.
"And so it's serious in that
regard. It's not debilitating
militarily."
Dempsey said ties at senior
levels between the two
nations' militaries were still
strong at the "person-to-
person" level.
He said he had known
Pakistan's army chief General
Ashfaq Kayani since the two
studied together at the U.S.
Army Command and General
Staff College at Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas in the
late 1980s.
Dempsey refrained from
repeating some of the
accusations about Pakistani
intelligence ties to anti-U.S.
militants that were cited by his
predecessor, Admiral Mike
Mullen. Mullen, before stepping
down in September, called the
Haqqani network a "veritable
arm" of Pakistan's ISI
intelligence service.
"Whether they are acting at
the behest or at the direction
of the ISI -- I'm not prepared to
say that," he said.

KARACHI: Buoyed up
by their series-
winning triumphs in
all three formats of
the game against Sri Lanka in
the UAE, Pakistan will be eyeing
a comprehensive win against
Bangladesh in Dhaka on
Tuesday when they open a
month-long tour with a one-
off Twenty20 International.
Pakistan landed in Dhaka just a
day after beating better-
ranked Sri Lanka in the three-
match series (1-0) and five-
match One-day International
series (4-1) before winning
their one-off Twenty20 game
in Abu Dhabi last Friday.
Compared to Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh are likely to be
easier opponents but the
Pakistanis are wary of the
threat their lower-ranked hosts
can pose at time to visiting
teams. Misbah-ul-Haq, the
Pakistan captain, has warned
his players against taking
Bangladesh for granted. "It
would be a big folly on our
part to think we can walk over
Bangladesh. We are playing a
full series in Bangladesh after a
long time and I have told the
players to treat the series as a
top ones because there will be
lot of pressure on us," said the
seasoned batsman ahead of
the series-opening Twenty20
encounter. However, the fact is
that Pakistan will begin the
match as overwhelming
favorites. They have a hundred
percent record against
Bangladesh having won all the
four Twenty20 Internationals
played between the two
teams. While Pakistan, who
won the World Twenty20 title
in England in 2009 are one of
the top teams in the fastest
format of the game,
Bangladesh have never beaten
a top-flight team other than
West Indies in this T20 cricket.
The good news for
Bangladeshi supporters is that
the home team thrashed West
Indies in a similar tour-opening
Twenty20 game recently.
"West Indies were favorites
against us as we don't usually
play Twenty20s. At the end of
the day, we bowled well and
despite a hiccup in batting we
finished as winners," said
Mushfiqur Rahim, the
Bangladesh captain. Rahim
warned Pakistan that his team
will go all out for a win against
them in the series. "I think
Bangladesh cricket has crossed
that barrier where we aim for
a respectable loss against a big
team," Mushfiqur said. "That
mentality is not there within
this group of players. We play
to win every game against
whichever team. "They're the
favorites no doubt but if we
play our best cricket, it won't
be easy to beat us in any of
the formats,” he stressed.
Pakistan (likely): Mohammad
Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Asad
Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain),
Umar Akmal (wk), Shoaib Malik,
Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir,
Aizaz Cheema, Umar Gul, and
Saeed Ajmal. Bangladesh
(likely): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul
Kayes, Alok Kapali, Shakib Al
Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim
(captain & wk), Mahmudullah,
Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam,
Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain,
and Shafiul Islam.

WASHINGTON: The US
military on Monday
named an Air Force
general to lead an
investigation into allied air
strikes that left 24 Pakistani
soldiers dead and provoked
outrage in Islamabad. Pakistan
has reacted with fury and cut
off crucial supply routes to
NATO-led forces in Afghanistan
after Saturday's incident near a
checkpoint in the eastern
Afghan province of Kunar. The
chief of US Central Command
appointed Brigadier General
Stephen Clark, from Air Force
Special Operations Command in
Florida, as the investigating
officer for the probe that will
also include a NATO
representative, officials said.
The governments of
Afghanistan and Pakistan "will
be invited to participate,"
Central Command said in a
statement. Central Command,
which oversees US forces in
the Middle East and
Afghanistan, wanted to
"include these government
representatives to the
maximum extent possible to
determine what happened and
preclude it from happening
again." The NATO-led
International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) sent an
initial assessment team over
the weekend to the border to
look into the incident. Pakistan
has charged the air strikes
were unprovoked, while
Afghan and Western officials
reportedly say Pakistani forces
opened fire first. Before
Saturday's attack, US military
officers had been working to
shore up cooperation with
Pakistani forces along the
Afghan border. Communication
between units on the border
virtually broke down in the
aftermath of a US raid in May
that killed Al-Qaeda chief
Osama bin Laden at his
Pakistani compound.

LAHORE: Dacoits have
robbed gold and
other articles worth millions of
rupees from the house of
Pervaiz Rathore, a paternal
uncle of former CCPO Lahore,
CNN PAKISTAN NEWS reports on Monday.
According to police, the dacoity
took place in a house located
in Faisal Town Block ‘A’ while
the family of Mr. Rathore was
away to visit relatives.
In the meantime, unidentified
burglars barged into the house
and looted gold jewelry and
other stuff worth millions of
rupees including Saving
Certificates worth
Rs.50,00,000, Rs.3,00,000 in
cash and other precious items
and made off.
Having collected the evidences,
police have commenced
investigations.

UNITED NATIONS:
Pakistan has written
to the UN and its
Security Council,
formalize its protests to the US
(and NATO in Brussels), and the
request at the US vacate the
Shamsi Airbase in 15 days.
Foreign press has obtained the
letter, and is putting it online,
here.
In the wake of the American /
NATO attack killing 24 Pakistani
soldiers, throughout Monday
foreign press put questions UN
Secretariat and Security Council
sources.
After Secretary General Ban Ki-
moon's deputy spokesman told
the press the UN had "no line"
or comment on the attack, a
Security Council Permanent
Representative told press to
"ask Ambassador Haroon" of
Pakistan, "he is back in town."
Later this same Permanent
Representative told press that
Haroon had submitted a formal
letter to Ban and the Council
about the attack. The Security
Council president for
November, Portuguese
Ambassador Cabral, told press
"The letter has just been
received."
Another Deputy Permanent
Representative confirmed to
press that he had seen it.
Following this, the press asked
US Ambassador Susan Rice, but
she said she hadn't seen it. Yet!
Moments later, the press
obtained the letter.. It recounts
protests with the US (and
NATO in Brussels), and the
request at the US vacate the
Shamsi Airbase in 15 days.

WASHINGTON:
President Barack
Obama sees the
deaths of 24
Pakistani soldiers in a NATO
raid as a tragedy, the White
House said Monday, while
stressing that US-Pakistani ties
were vital to both sides.
White House spokesman Jay
Carney said Obama believed
Saturday's attack, which threw
strained relations into fresh
turmoil, was "a tragedy,"
adding that "we mourn those
brave Pakistani service
members that lost their lives."
"We take this matter very
seriously," said Carney, adding
that two separate probes --
one by NATO's International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
in Afghanistan, the other by US
Central Command -- would
examine what took place.
"As for our relationship with
Pakistan, it continues to be an
important cooperative
relationship that is also very
complicated," Carney said.
"It is very much in America's
national security interest to
maintain a cooperative
relationship with Pakistan
because we have shared
interests in the fight against
terrorism."
Pakistan earlier vowed no
more "business as usual" with
the United States, but stopped
short of threatening to break
the troubled alliance altogether.
NATO and the United States are
trying to limit fallout from the
attack, but Islamabad has shut
vital supply routes to the
140,000 foreign troops serving
in Afghanistan.
US State Department deputy
spokesman Mark Toner said
"we're concerned about the
impact of this incident on our
relations with Pakistan," which
he said had yielded results in
fighting Islamist militancy.
He also said "this is a
relationship that has
weathered significant
setbacks.... I don't think anyone
can deny that.
"But it's one that's also,
through every challenge and
through every setback, has
moved forward because it's so
vitally important to both our
countries."
Toner also said the United
States understood that
Islamabad was "reconsidering"
whether to attend the
international conference in
Bonn.
He urged Islamabad to attend,
saying it was "very much in
the interests of Pakistan."
Pakistan called the NATO strike
"unprovoked," worsening US-
Pakistani relations that have
been in crisis since US special
forces killed Al-Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden on Pakistani
soil in May with no prior
warning.
The Wall Street Journal,
following a similar report by
Britain's Guardian newspaper,
cited three Afghan officials
and one Western official as
saying Saturday's air raid was
called in to shield allied forces
targeting Taliban fighters.
NATO and Afghan forces "were
fired on from a Pakistani army
base," the unnamed Western
official told the Journal. "It was
a defensive action."
An Afghan official said the
Kabul government believes the
fire came from the Pakistani
military base -- and not from
insurgents. Afghan-Pakistani
relations suffer from routine
mutual recriminations.

BEIJING: Chinese
broadcasters will be
banned from airing
commercial breaks
during television dramas from
January 1 or face being
suspended, the country's top
media regulatory body said on
Monday. The ban follows a
State Administration of Radio
Film and Television directive in
October warning the nation's
main 34 satellite broadcasters
they would be barred from
showing "excessive
entertainment" and must air at
least two hours of news
nightly, the official Xinhua
news agency reported. "Radio
and television are the
mouthpiece of the party and
the people," SARFT said on its
website on Monday.
"Broadcasters that still air
commercials during TV series
will be ordered to suspend
commercial operations."
Broadcasters "must cancel
television commercials during
TV series as an important
measure to construct a cultural
service system," SARFT said.
Chinese TV is dominated by
historical drama series about
China's fight against outside
aggressors and its triumphs
against hardship. Earlier this
month, state flagship
broadcaster China Central
Television drew record bids of
14.26 billion yuan ($2.25
billion) into its annual auction
for prime time advertising
spots, earlier media reports
showed. There was no
indication that the ban would
affect advertisements before
and after television dramas.
Reaction was mixed among
advertising and television
professionals, who agreed that
the ban posed a challenge to
television's commercial
development in the face of
increasing competition from
the Internet. "If ad revenues
drop, then stations must cut
their budgets to buy good TV,"
Ivy Zhong, CEO of TV
production company Beijing
Galloping Horse told AFP.
"Competition is good for
companies that know how to
produce good dramas. Stations
will simply have to make
smarter choices." Tom
Doctoroff, head of US
advertising firm JWT's China
operations, told AFP he
thought that the policy would
threaten the creativity of
Chinese television. "This policy
is draconian," Doctoroff said in
an email. "Consumers won't
really be angry because no one
likes commercials. But they will
not be happy when content
becomes even more watered
down than it already is." Just
as China's 500 million web
users increasingly find ways to
get around SARFT's censorship
of the Internet, Doctoroff said
the ad ban and its drain on
revenues was "a great shot in
the arm for illegal DVDs." Nearly
98 percent of China's
population of 1.3 billion people
has access to a television and
the country is home to more
than 2,400 television stations,
official statistics show.

Former US General Barry
McCaffrey has called the
Afghanistan allies to beg pardon
from Pakistan for Nato air strike
at a checkpost in which 24
soldiers were killed. According to
media reports General McCaffrey
said the Nato alliance should
accept its mistake and tender
apology to Pakistan over the
deadly incident. Pakistan
cooperation has been must for
success in Afghanistan. The
supplies to the Nato forces, if
stopped permanently, will make
difficult to continue the Afghan
operation, the US former general
said. He advised the allies to pay
a compensation if necessary, to
end discontent of Pakistan to
restore supplies to the Nato
forces in Afghanistan.

This is the second Thanksgiving the Dolls have spent together.  We're all from somewhere else and most of us wait until the Christmas holidays to visit family and friends, so we gather up all of the orphans and have a huge feast at the Dusty Rose Vintage HQ.

Now that this little shindig is becoming a tradition, the Dolls are bringing their own traditions into the fold.  Now no Thanksgiving will feel complete without:

A quick obsessions post before we get into the Thanksgiving festivities!

Snowflake is obsessed with these cute but tough rainboots from the Rachel Antonoff for Bass collaboration. Nothing beats a new pair of rainboots to keep you dry in all this rain! The cute heart shaped buckle is just icing on the cake.


MessDemeanor is currently totally obsessed with the iPhone 4GS voice recognition program Siri.  She allows me to text friends and set reminders hands free, which is basically an essential in the winter when wearing gloves.  Plus she apologizes when she can't meet my every need - something more people should do!



Scarlet Fever is absolutely obsessed with her Frye Veronica Stonewash boots, but pure torture till they are broken in.  My heels are covered in Band-aids.
This week Kill E. Kaposki is currently obsessed with Shel Silverstein poetry. The children's books are filled with short and simple poems, bursting with creativity. "Listen to the Mustn'ts" provides so much inspiration--I can't read it without getting chills.


Stevie Kick's current obsession is apple spice/ apple cinnamon candles. Perfect for making an apartment with no oven smelled like freshly baked pie.