Bhutto death rocks Pakistan

International News | Pakistan – - The assassination of the former prime minister raises questions about the Musharraf government’s security measures.

The assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto by a suicide bomber Thursday threatens to bring to a halt Pakistan’s stuttering steps toward democracy. . . It is the starkest evidence yet that the forces aligned against law and order, once contained to the remote border region with Afghanistan, are now spilling into the heart of Pakistan, disrupting the country’s ability to function. To Read More…

By Shahan Mufti and Mark Sappenfield | of The Christian Science Monitor | Published: 28 December 2007

One Fearless Little Girl

This story came to my attention through whataboutourdaughters.com normally this is not a Global Village Monitor story.

This article was posted Dec 5 2007 on detnews.com about a 7 year old girl; name Alexis Goggins who was shot six times by her mother’s ex-boyfriend.

Little Alexis Goggins, who was trying to save her mother Ms. Selietha Parker, 30, was shot in the left side of her head and bicep.

The Detroit Police identified the shooter, Calvin Tillie, 29, a four-time convicted felon whom Ms. Parker had dated for six months.

According to the article, the family’s ordeal began after midnight Sunday when the furnace went out at their east side home on Dwyer where Alexis lives with her mother. Ms. Parker called her friend, Ms. Aisha Ford for help, and Ms. Ford drove to pick them up.

As Ms. Parker and Alexis were getting into the car, Calvin Tillie, 29, appeared out of the darkness and forced them into the vehicle.

Tillie ordered Ms. Ford to drive him to an address on Six Mile, but instead, she drove to a gas station on Seven Mile after telling Tillie she had to get gas. Ms. Ford called 911 when she was inside the station paying for gas. She was also stalling for time by slowly pumping the gas. When she went back into the station a second time the attendant noticed her crying, he asked what was wrong and then called police as they heard shots coming from the vehicle.

Police said Tillie shot Parker twice, grazing her head and hitting a biceps. Police said Alexis jumped from the back seat, shielding her mother, while Tillie fired six more rounds, which hit the youngster in the left temple, chin, cheek, right eye and right arm.

This courageous little girl is a victim of our failures. She is the latest young victim of the violence that rages through our country, most pointedly in our urban cities and often against the most vulnerable members of our society.

I noticed on the internet many individuals were blaming the mother of this girl, they expressed it was the mother’s fault because she was dating a four-time convicted felon.

However, we at Global Village Monitor are not writing this commentary to place blame on any one individual.

We see a bigger problem that is affecting most US cities, especially in the bigger urban communities. Read more

Al-Qaeda claims Algeria bombings

International News | Algeria –Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for two bombings in Algeria’s capital which killed at least 26 people and injured more than 170 other, according to the government… Hospital sources, said that the explosions near the constitutional court and a UN building on Tuesday had left about 60 people dead…a website said that two cars loaded with 800kg of explosives each had been used “to attack the headquarters of To Read More . . .

by english.aljazeera.net | 12 Dec 2007

Triple car bombs hit south Iraq

Three car bombs have exploded in the southern Iraqi city of Amara, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 100, police say.

International News | Iraq — Two bombs exploded in a car park packed with labourers waiting to travel to work, and a third detonated as people gathered to inspect the damage… Amara is a mainly Shia area, with four groups – three with armed militias – competing for political supremacy. To Read More…

By BBC News| Published: 12 Dec 2007

General Killed in Bomb Attack in Lebanon

International News | Middle East BEIRUT — A powerful car bomb killed a senior Lebanese army general and his guard in an eastern suburb of Beirut on Wednesday, army officials said…The general, Brig. Gen. Francois al-Hajj, was in charge of military operations during the battle against Islamic militants at the Nahr al Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon last summer…He was also a leading candidate to succeed Gen. Michel Suleiman, To Read More . . .

By Nada Bakri and Graham Bowley | The New York Times | Published: 13 Dec 2007

Rape of girl, 15, exposes abuses in Brazil prison system

South America | Brazil — The police jail a 15-year-old girl on suspicion of petty theft was placed among 34 male inmates … For 26 days the inmates treated her as their plaything, raping and torturing her repeatedly- – she was force to traded sex for food . . . The police shaved her head to make her look like a boy, and lying about her age. To Read More . . .

By Alexei Barrionuevo | International Herald Tribune | Published: 12 Dec  2007

Putin Backs Deputy Prime Minister as Successor

International News | Russia –President Vladimir V. Putin on Monday endorsed as his successor Dmitri A. Medvedev, a protégé with no background in the state security services and virtually no power base in the Kremlin… Mr. Putin’s selection of Mr. Medvedev, 42, makes him the overwhelming favorite to win the presidency in March and suggests that Mr. Putin is seeking to retain influence by To Read More …

By Clifford J. Levy | The New York Times | Published: 11 Dec 2007

Lawyers Cleared Destroying Tapes

North America | USA — Lawyers within the clandestine branch of the Central Intelligence Agency gave written approval in advance to the destruction in 2005 of hundreds of hours of videotapes documenting interrogations of two lieutenants from Al Qaeda, according to a former senior intelligence official with direct knowledge of the episode… The involvement of agency lawyers in the decision making would widen the scope of the inquiries To Read More…
By Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane | The New York Times | Published: 11 Dec 2007

Waterboarding probably saved lives

Ex-CIA officer says technique worked, but he now considers it torture
North America | USA – - A former CIA officer who participated in the capture and questioning of the first al-Qaeda terrorist suspect to be waterboarded said yesterday that the harsh technique provided an intelligence breakthrough that “probably saved lives,” but that he now regards the tactic as torture. To Read More…

By Walter Pincus and Michae l Abramowitz and researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report | MSNBC.COM | Published:10 Dec 2007