A series of flotsam & jetsam

The world is a strange place with twist and turns at every new day. Some of this stuff is so unexpected that one just can't make it up.
Right on the heels of the Iran nuclear debacle and Pres. whos-its tirade about wiping Israel off the face of the earth comes the revelation that the government of Iran admits to torturing prisoners and engaging in 'other' human rights abuses; like false imprisonment and unusual punishment.
Iran promises not to do it again.
Santa is also coming to town.

Iran also has a drug problem, in particular Afghan opium.
"The use of narcotics, particularly opium, has always been a problem in Iran. Tehran eventually eradicated opium crops in the country; but having Afghanistan, the world's biggest opium producer, as a neighbor means that the problem not only persists but is getting worse. Opiates are not the only issue, as Iranians' use of cannabis and synthetic drugs is increasing."
I guess the western 'devil' is not the only one with this scourge plauging its people.

On the bright side, an Iraqi court has sentenced saddam's nephew to 15 years in prison for financing insurgents and making bombs. Apparently he did the terrorist tango back and forth across the Syrian border to accomplish these dastardly deeds.
Excuse me.
But is there an iraqi language equivelent for the term 'white trash'? This whole family is an embarrassment to the gene pool.

And speaking of the Syrian border, guess who closed its norther border with that thorn in mid east peace? Iraq has closed that border (as much as that is possible) in anticipation of shannanigans during the upcoming elections in Iraq on Dec. 15.

It does appear that Syria is feeling the world heat to clean up its act and maybe help out its neighbor by taking out the trash. For the second day in a row, Syrian military forces have launched assaults upon terrorist encampments siezing bomb making materials and killing some of the rats.

Up north in Afghanistan, NATO has announced plans to expand its military duties in that country. Several thousand troops are expected to help out with keeping the peace by early next year.

It's a strange world.
This just in: Osama bin Laden is still dead no matter what Zawahri says (blah, blah, blah).