Steven Tyler Family Members Furious Over Singer's Engagement

Steven Tyler's big engagement news did NOT go over so well with several members of his family ... who are telling friends they simply don't like his new fiancee ...

Sources connected to the Tyler clan tell us ... several family members have clashed with Erin Brady for years ... and have told friends, "She's just not nice."

One source tells us, "She's just been mean to the family."

And to make matters worse -- we're told several family members have griped that they had no idea about Steven's proposal plan until AFTER he popped the question to 38-year-old Brady this weekend ... and they felt slighted by the omission.

Sources tell us ... the family members were hoping they could eventually repair the relationship with Erin, but now, they feel Steven has only widened the divide.

Multiple calls to Steven's rep have not been returned.

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Rachel Uchitel I'M PREGNANT!!!

There's something growing inside of Rachel Uchitel ... and this time, it's not the guilt from sleeping with a married golfer.

Uchitel -- former Tiger Woods mistress numero uno -- has announced that she's preggo ... and by the looks of the photo, she's pretty convinced the baby belongs to her husband Matt Hahn.

TMZ broke the story ... Rachel and Matt secretly tied the knot back in October. The two have been living together in San Francisco ever since.

Uchitel tweeted the photos last night -- and wrote, "Expecting big things for 2012... Five down, Four months to go." By our math, the baby is due sometime around the end of April.

Congrats!

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Cheetah the 'Tarzan' Chimp Dead at 80(ish)

Cheetah the chimpanzee -- who reportedly played Johnny Weissmuller's sidekick in the 1930s "Tarzan" films -- passed on to the great jungle in the sky last week after suffering kidney failure ... this according to the primate sanctuary that he called home.

The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, Florida -- where Cheetah had been living since the 1960s -- made the announcement, saying, "It is with great sadness that the community has lost a dear friend and family member."

Cheetah was believed to be 80 years old.

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Homs: Bloody winter in Syria's revolution capital

CNN) -- The Arab Spring has turned to bloody winter in Homs, the city that has suffered the most from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's deadly nationwide crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Known as the capital of the revolution, Homs has seen the worst of the violence that has left an estimated 5,000 people dead since protests began in Syria in March.
Located in the agricultural heartland of central Syria, Homs has long been a transport and commercial hub of vital strategic importance.

The road through Homs connects the capital, Damascus, in the south to Syria's largest city, Aleppo, in the north. Homs is home to one of two oil refineries in the country; preserving that oil supply is crucial to the Assad regime's ongoing efforts to crush the anti-government movement there.
Syria's third largest city and its citizens, known as "Homsies," hold a contradictory place in the Syrian national conscience, according to Chris Phillips, a Syria analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit.
"Homsies are often the butt of jokes in Syria," said Phillips, "but they've actually got quite a large cultural and educational influence on the country."
The city of 1 million is one of Syria's most ethnically diverse. Traditionally a Sunni Muslim merchant town, a considerable number of Alawite Muslims, a Shia sect, have settled in Homs in the past 30 years, and there also is a small Christian population in the city.

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"We live in a complex community, with many different sects and religions," a Homs opposition spokesman -- who uses the name Abu Rami to hide his real identity from security forces -- told CNN.
"Before the uprising, we were all living here as brothers and we didn't think there were differences between us," said Rami from central Homs, where scores have been killed in non-stop fighting between opposition and regime forces this month.
Homs is more warzone than city now, he says. Parts of the city are without electricity; in other parts, security forces shut off the electricity and telecommunications networks ahead of early morning raids to root out opposition members.
"If you're in a place where they cut off the power or the phones, you know you're in trouble," said Rami.
There is a shortage of everything from children's milk formula to oil for heating, and he says security forces are preventing medical aid from reaching dying citizens.
"Every day there are murders -- snipers on the roofs are shooting anything that moves, preventing the arrival of medical supplies and shooting at ambulances. It's a very hard situation," said Rami.
A 26-year-old born and raised in a middle class family in Homs, Rami left his medical studies at Al Baath University to help organize protests against al-Assad's government in March.
Nine months later, the city and its once-vibrant sidewalk cafe culture is in lockdown mode after fighting intensified there recently.
Defectors from the military have joined volunteers in forming the Free Syrian Army in Homs, and residents in some neighborhoods have organized into armed defense committees, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.
With at least 60 checkpoints set up in Homs and dozens of tanks now surrounding the city, the opposition fears al-Assad is plotting an attack that could rival the 1982 crackdown in Hama, when regime tanks and troops killed thousands of people and reduced parts of that city to rubble.
President al-Assad denies responsibility for the escalating violence in Syria, and distanced himself from his armed forces in a recent television interview.

If you're in a place where they cut off the power or the phones, you know you're in trouble
Abu Rami in Homs

"They are not my forces," al-Assad told ABC's Barbara Walters. "They are forces for the government. I don't own them. I'm president. I don't own the country. So they are not my forces."
The bloodshed has left city residents on edge. Public life is limited to about six hours each day from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., says Rami -- shops close soon after that and people are rarely seen on the street.
Rami himself has been hiding in a friend's basement in the relatively calm Al Ghouta neighborhood for days, as he doesn't feel it is safe to return to his own home.
"I haven't seen my house or my parents in five days, but I've talked to them on the phone and I've told them not to worry, that I'm okay," he told CNN. "My neighborhood is surrounded by shabiha thugs and I'm afraid to be arrested or killed."
The "shabiha" pro-regime militia, reportedly working alongside government forces, has been blamed by the opposition for attempting to stoke sectarian tensions in Homs.
And while Homs has traditionally been a place of religious tolerance, Syria expert Phillips told CNN "there is a real sense now that that is changing and being manipulated by people on both sides" of the conflict.
"The older Sunni merchant class that feel the city is theirs rightfully are now turning on the Alawites, who they see as these recent migrants that don't actually belong in the city," said Phillips.
"Alawites live on the outskirts; they're not seen as really part of the old city. They don't fall within the old city boundaries, they're recent migrants and [some Sunnis] are not very happy with them."
While certain elements of the Sunni community would like to overthrow the Alawite al-Assad and retake what they see as their rightful place as leaders of Syria, Phillips says the Alawite community fears the prospect of persecution if the government falls.
"The regime is trying to persuade the Alawites that if they abandon the government, they will be wiped out in the dog-eat-dog aftermath," he said.
According to Phillips, those who have spent the last nine months protesting every day in Homs fear that "if they stop doing this, then they will be crushed."
Rami says he would like to stay in Homs if and when the uprising ends.
"I hope Homs will be okay," he said. "I hope in the future we'll stand together in Homs."
As the death count continues to rise and prospects for peace in the near future dims, Rami believes the war in Homs can only end one of two ways.
"Either we all die," he said, "or we get victory at the end."

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Analysis: Bombings expose Iraq's deepening sectarian divisions

(CNN) -- Nature abhors a vacuum but terrorism relishes one. And Iraq appears to be offering new space for al Qaeda and other militant groups, as political rivalries and sectarian animosities deepen.
The coordinated bomb explosions across Baghdad Thursday -- which killed more than 60 people -- bear the hallmark of Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), which is closely associated with al Qaeda.
No other group in Iraq has shown itself capable of such synchronized suicide attacks. Some, but not all, of the bombings were in Shiite neighborhoods; frequently al Qaeda's targets appear indiscriminate as part of a strategy to sow fear and stir sectarian tensions.
The attacks come as Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, demands the surrender of Iraq's Sunni Vice-President, Tareq al Hashimi, on charges that he ordered bombings and assassinations.

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Hashimi has taken refuge in the northern Kurdish-administered part of Iraq, and the country's always-fragile tripartite balance now appears to be in grave danger -- with the restraining effect of a U.S. military presence gone.
Ramzy Mardini, of the Institute for the Study of War, believes the presence of U.S. troops helped stabilize Iraq's political discourse, and "their premature removal from the political space has altered the manner on which Iraq's actors interact."
But even before their departure, there were ominous signs, as two largely Sunni provinces declared their intent to become autonomous regions. Those moves appeared to have the support -- or at least sympathy -- of Vice-President Hashemi.
Al Qaeda in Iraq has shown before that one of its aims is to spark sectarian bloodshed between Iraq's Sunnis and Shiites.
Under the leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, it carried out a double bombing of one of Shiite Islam's most holy places -- the Askariya shrine in Samarra -- in February 2006.
The plan nearly worked: there were retaliatory attacks against Sunni mosques and for nearly two years Iraq was mired in sectarian bloodletting.
In words that may apply equally today, Iraq's national security adviser at the time, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, said: "The main aim of these terrorist groups is to drag Iraq into a civil war."
While political violence in Iraq is nowhere near its peak of 2006-07, it has never gone away.
ISI regrouped after the death of Zarqawi, and after losing support within the Sunni community because of its vicious attacks on civilians.
Iraqi officials speak of a "third generation" of al Qaeda in Iraq, with fewer foreign fighters and more battle-hardened Iraqi Sunnis.
Analysts say ISI has turned to bank raids and other forms of crime to finance its activities, and is targeting police patrols in areas where it is strong, largely north of Baghdad.
U.S. officials say that unlike al Qaeda under Zarqawi, the group no longer holds swathes of territory, but acts in smaller cells.
It is strongest in the city of Mosul, 260 miles north of Baghdad and one of Iraq's many sectarian faultlines.
The city is a base for ISI but rarely suffers from its violence. But it has shown it can operate across the country.
On one day in August, 13 people were killed and dozens injured in attacks blamed on ISI. Two bombs in Baghdad killed 18 people at the end of October.
U.S. officials expected ISI to step up its campaign on the heels of a U.S. withdrawal. The former spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq, Major General Jeffrey Buchanan said: "It's likely they will try to harbor their resources for a significant series of attacks after the U.S. military withdrawal if for no other reason than to demonstrate their relevance."
He added that "since August al Qaeda has been working really hard to foment sectarian conflict," and warned that "if the Iraqi security forces are not able to put pressure on them, they could regenerate."
But when the U.S. military left Iraq, it took its intelligence-gathering with it -- making the job of Iraqi counter-terrorism units more challenging still.
"Without all the enablers we provide, there's no doubt there will be less capability than there is right now," Buchanan said a few weeks ago.
Shiite militias -- often supported by Iran -- have emerged to counter the threat of Sunni militancy.
And as Iraqi security forces have gone after Sunni militants, the balance of power has tipped toward these Shiite militias -- groups like Asaib ahl-Haq and Kata'ib Hezballah.
U.S. officials contend that Shiite groups sponsored by Iran were a greater danger than al Qaeda to the country's stability.
Despite his good relations with Iran, Prime Minister Maliki is well aware that its influence is a double-edged sword -- and is anxious that Iraq does not become a battleground between the Islamic republic and the Sunni monarchy in Saudi Arabia.
"We do not allow Iran to use us against others that Iran has problems with, and we do not allow others to use us against Iran," he said last week.
But Iraq has little control over its own borders, and a former U.S. military officer who served in Iraq told CNN last week that its security forces were still largely divided on sectarian lines.
The situation in neighboring Syria adds another dimension to the situation. Thousands of Sunnis took refuge there after the fall of Saddam Hussein, but if the regime of President Bashar al Assad falls, they may need to return home.

Maliki has already said that Assad's fall could set off a regional sectarian crisis -- one reason perhaps that his government has opposed Arab League sanctions against Syria.
And some Iraqi Shiites see a Saudi hand at work in Syria. For its part, Iran has all the more reason to reinforce its influence in Iraq should its long-time Arab ally in Damascus be ousted.
This regional volatility only adds fuel to an always combustible internal situation.
Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said after a visit to Baghdad: "The leadership of Iraq is committed to a strong and sovereign and independent Iraq and for that reason I am confident they are going to succeed."
Al Qaeda and its enemies at the other end of the religious spectrum are doing their best to prove him wrong.

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Readied To Donate Organs, 21-Year-Old Emerges From Coma

Sam Schmid, an Arizona college student believed to be brain dead and poised to be an organ donor, miraculously recovered just hours before doctors were considering taking him off life support.

Schmid, a junior and business major at the University of Arizona, was critically wounded in an Oct. 19 five-car accident in Tucson.

The 21-year-old's brain injuries were so severe that the local hospital could not treat him. He was airlifted to the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Phoenix, where specialists performed surgery for a life-threatening aneurysm.

As hospital officials began palliative care and broached the subject of organ donation with his family, Schmid began to respond, holding up two fingers on command. Today he is walking with the aid of a walker, and his speech, although slow, has improved.

Doctors say he will likely have a complete recovery. He even hopes to get a day pass from the hospital to celebrate the holidays with his large extended family.

"Nobody could ever give me a better Christmas present than this -- ever, ever, ever," said his mother, Susan Regan, who is vice-president of the insurance company Lovitt-Touche.

"I tell everyone, if they want to call it a modern-day miracle, this is a miracle," said Regan, 59, and a Catholic. "I have friends who are atheists who have called me and said, 'I am going back to church.'"

Schmid's doctor, renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Robert Spetzler, agreed that his recovery was miraculous.

"I am dumb-founded with his incredible recovery in such a short time," said Spetzler. "His recovery was really remarkable considering the extent of his lethal injuries."

Hospital officials are crediting Spetzler with having a "hunch" that despite an initially dire prognosis, the young man would make it. But he said it was "reasonable" for others to consider withdrawing the patient from life support.

"It looked like all the odds were stacked against him," said Spetzler, who has performed more than 6,000 such surgeries and trained the doctor who operated on Congressman Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot at the beginning of this year.

During surgery, Spetzler clipped the balloonlike aneurysm in the blood vessel -- "as if I were patching a tire," a procedure that eventually worked.

For days Schmid didn't seem to be responding, but what puzzled his doctor was that he did not see fatal injuries on the MRI scan. So he decided to keep Schmid on life support longer.

"There was plenty wrong -- he had a hemorrhage, an aneurysm and a stroke from the part of the aneurysm," Spetzler said. "But he didn't have a blood clot in the most vital part of his brain, which we know he can't recover from. And he didn't have a massive stroke that would predict no chance of a useful existence."

So while the family was given a realistic picture of Schmid's poor chances for survival, Spetzler ordered one more MRI to see if the critical areas of the brain had turned dark, indicating brain death.

"If not, we would hang on and keep him on support," he said. "But I didn't want to give the family false hope."

Schmid's mother said no one "specifically" asked if her son would be a donor, but they "subtly talk to you about quality of life."

"At some point, I knew we had to make some sort of decision, and I kept praying," said Regan.

The MRI came back with encouraging news during the day and by evening Schmid "inexplicably" followed the doctors' commands, holding up two fingers.

"It was like fireworks all going off at the same time," said Spetzler.

Today, Schmid -- his speech clear and sounding upbeat -- told ABCNews.com, "I feel fine. I'm in a wheelchair, but I am getting lots of help."

Sam Schmid Has No Memory of the Accident

He said he remembers nothing of the accident nor coming around after being in an induced coma. "It wasn't until I woke up in rehab," he said. "But they told me about afterwards."

Schmid was returning from coaching basketball at his former Catholic school when a van swerved into his lane. The Jeep in which he was riding went airborne, hit a light pole and landed on its side.

Schmid's left hand and both of his femurs broke and required surgery. But the worst were the traumatic head injuries, which were complex and nearly always fatal.

All those involved say the support that Schmid got from family and friends -- and especially the care at Barrow -- may have made the difference. His brother John, a 24-year-old IT specialist, took a leave of absence from his job in Chicago to be at his brother's bedside.

Family flew in from around the country, and Delta Chi fraternity brothers made regular visits, even creating a mural for their friend.

"It seems like we were being led down a path to plan for the worst and that things were not going to work out," said John Schmid. "The miracle, to put it bluntly, was that in a matter of seven days, we went from organ donation to rehab. What a roller coaster it was."

He said his brother's speech is slow, but he understands what others are saying. Sam Schmid's athleticism -- as a basketball coach and snowboard instructor -- probably helped, he said.

"Honestly, I am at a loss for words," said John Schmid. "I am just so proud of Sam. He's got a strong constitution and he's very determined. But it's been quite an eye-opener for me -- a real learning curve. You can't take anything for granted."

Sam Schmid's surgeon agrees.

"You get incredible highs when you save someone facing neurological devastation or death," said Spetzler. "That is counter-pointed by the incredible lows when you fail to help someone."

"In a way, his recovery was truly miraculous," he said. "It's a great Christmas story."

Ever the scientist, Spetzler wasn't willing to speculate what a comatose patient hears. But he admits, "There are so many things we don't understand about the brain and what happens at the time someone is near death."

"The whole family was at his side during the day and at night hovering over him, then to see there was a chance after being ready to let go," he said. "But I am very much a big believer that positive thoughts and positive energy in a room can only help."

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2nd bacterial infection reported in Missouri baby

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Authorities investigating a possible link between the death of a Missouri newborn and the formula powder he was fed say another baby in the state may have contracted a rare bacterial infection after consuming prepared formula.

Ten-day-old Avery Cornett died Sunday after he was fed Enfamil Newborn powder bought at a Walmart in the southern Missouri town of Lebanon.

Wal-Mart subsequently pulled a batch of the infant formula from more than 3,000 of its stores. The government has not requested a voluntary recall.

The Missouri Department of Health said in a statement released Monday that preliminary tests indicate another infant was infected with Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria within the past month, but recovered.

This photo provided Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, by the Holman Howe Funeral Home, shows Avery Cornett of Lebanon, Mo., who died Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. Federal health agencies are testing samples of liquid and powdered infant formula and some distilled water used to prepare the powder by the Missouri parents of a 10-day-old boy who died from an apparent bacterial infection. Cornett died Sunday night after he was fed Enfamil Newborn powder bought at a Walmart store in Lebanon, Mo. The store has stopped selling the product, and the company pulled a batch of the infant formula from more than 3,000 of its stores nationwide

The department did not identify the brand of formula consumed by the baby who survived the infection.

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NY mom sends husband on errand, then kills family

PERINTON, N.Y. (AP) — A western New York woman sent her husband on an errand Wednesday, then used a shotgun to kill her father, her 10-year-old daughter and herself, authorities said. The older man managed to tell sheriff's deputies what had happened just before he died.

Penelope Luddy, 53, had been "extremely distraught" for the past few weeks and may have been undergoing treatment, the Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn said. He declined to elaborate except to say that "the family had been concerned."

Luddy persuaded her 57-year-old husband, Michael, to go visit a sick relative around 8:30 a.m., O'Flynn said.

When he returned just over an hour later, he found his wife dead and his daughter, Alexandra, and father-in-law, 79-year-old Harold Bertram, gravely wounded in the finished basement of their home on a quiet cul-de-sac in a hilly section of Perinton, a Rochester suburb.

Both Bertram and the girl had been shot twice. There were signs of a struggle in the basement, where Bertram had been living for some years, investigators said.

His injuries "were very severe, so he was very limited in the amount (of information) he could provide to us" at the home and in an ambulance, said sheriff's Lt. Michael Fowler. Penelope Luddy did not leave a note.

Bertram told deputies that "she had shot both the daughter and him prior to taking her life," O'Flynn said. They were pronounced dead at the hospital.

It's unclear who owned the 12-gauge shotgun Luddy used. The couple had obtained pistol permits in September, but police were unable to find any record of either buying a gun, O'Flynn said.

No permit would have been required for the shotgun, he said.

Luddy typically drove her daughter, a fifth-grader, to her elementary school in nearby Pittsford shortly after 9 a.m. each morning. Counselors were on hand at the school for students, faculty and staff members.

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Miley Cyrus Defends Against Rude Fan

In the smartphone world, a celebrity has to be on her best behavior 24 hours a day. A minor fan incident started politely enough, when a gaggle of girls surrounded Miley Cyrus in mid-stride to a waiting helicopter.

According to the Daily Mail, the mega-star -- who was on a Costa Rica trip with beau Liam Hemsworth -- stopped for photos. That wasn't enough for the pint-sized paparazzi. After Cyrus said, "Sorry, gotta go honey," a woman from the pack yelled out an obscenity -- suffice it to say, a body part shared by both genders.

Cyrus' instinctive reaction was a stunned, equally foul-mouthed response that ended with, "Are you for real?" She kept walking and said, "We're on vacation, I'm not being [a body part shared by both genders], we're on vacation." Apparently such exchanges leave no lasting scars, because the persistent pack caught up with her at the copter and apologized. They posed for one last shot before Cyrus and Hemsworth boarded the chopper to their next destination.

Listen to more PG-rated Miley Cyrus lyrics at Yahoo! Music

Of course, the inevitable YouTube video has circulated, and Cyrus defended herself with three Tweets. "" Been trying not to tweet & just enjoy the holidays but just to clear something up I would NEVER swear to a fan. When someone yells something," she tweeted. "SO rude making ME look like an "a**hole" infront of fans who I am more than happy 2 take a picture w/ i cant tolerate that kind of rudeness" Then she ended on a positive holiday message. "Every1 who was there apologized 4 the womans brusque behavior. She obviously wasnt a fan. Hope every1 has a Merry Christmas! LOVE 2 ALL!"

YouTube commenters and fans (aka "Real Smilers") have been mostly on the singer's side, although some regret her in-the-heat-of-the-moment reaction in front of minor. In the spirit of the season, others were more understanding: "She said she needed to leave in a nice way," commented hallgrl95. "Yeah, I think she could have been the bigger person and just ignored the person, but every celebrity has their breaking point and/or bad days."

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Philippines flooding: How to help

Typhoon Washi hit the southern Mindanao region of the Philippines on December 16, sparking flash floods and mudslides that killed hundreds of people while they slept.
According to the Philippines Red Cross, the death toll has risen to more than 900, and that number is expected to climb. In the port city of Cagayan de Oro, about 580 people -- mostly women and children who lived on river banks -- were killed, reports the Associated Press. Civil Defense officials say that more than 140,000 people have been affected by the flooding.

Click to see more of the devastation in the Philippines

  Below are organizations that are working on relief and recovery in the region.
SAVE THE CHILDREN: Save the Children is launching an emergency response to help victims of the flooding. Experts are on the ground to distribute drinking water and essential items to families affected by the disaster. Please designate your gift to "Philippines Annual Monsoon and Typhoon Children in Emergency Fund." Donate here.
SHELTERBOX: ShelterBox has committed aid for families in need after flooding and landslides caused widespread devastation in the Philippines.  ShelterBoxes will be transported from a storage facility in the Philippines and will arrive in the region shortly. They will be distributed to the families most in need by SRT members, in coordination with the local authorities. Donate here.
UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: UNICEF is preparing to respond to the needs of approximately 43,000 children affected by the devastating floods brought on by Tropical Storm Washi.  UNICEF has prepared supplies to be dispatched to the affected areas including: water kits, to ensure safe, clean water; hygiene kits containing soap, toothbrushes and personal hygiene items; tents and tarpaulins for temporary shelter, vitamin A for mothers and infants; breastfeeding education materials to reduce the risk of infant mortality and recreation kits so children can play and begin to have a sense of normalcy. Donate here.
WORLD VISION INTERNATIONAL: World Vision relief teams have mobilized to provide 5,000 families in Cagayan de Oro with drinking water, rice, biscuits, and canned goods, as well as emergency items like hygiene kits with soap, blankets, sleeping mats, cooking pots, and utensils.

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North Korean mourners, crying to survive?

Since Kim Jong Il's death was announced on Monday, many people have marveled at the mourning scenes featured on North Korean state television, made viral on the Internet: North Koreans prostrate, weeping, hitting the ground. Many have asked whether the anguish is genuine. How could citizens mourn the passing of a totalitarian, such a gross abuser of human rights?

The answer may be found in the human rights abuses themselves.

It is a lamentable characteristic of totalitarian regimes that they often demand acts of deceit from those they oppress. Often it is a matter of simple survival. Those who hate the regime are obliged to demonstrate patriotism. To fail is to risk persecution. The only alternative is to flee, a choice made by tens of thousands of North Koreans in the past two decades.

North Korea is unambiguously a totalitarian state. An estimated 200,000 North Koreans are held under brutal conditions in remote forced labor camps called kwan-li-so. Citizens are deprived of the freedom to speak, to dissent, to assemble, to seek remedies for grievances. Perhaps worst of all, there is no freedom from fear -- knowing that one can be imprisoned and tortured for minor trifles, sent to a kwan-li-so for being related to someone who displeased the state, or face a kangaroo court trial and possible public execution for a long list of political or economic "crimes."

Even those who manage to keep out of trouble suffer from the government's deadly economic mismanagement and a "military first" policy: death from famines, widespread stunting in children from persistent malnutrition and untreated illness. It is difficult for many North Koreans to obtain adequate money or food without committing acts that are criminal or, given the crackdown on economic crimes, potentially suicidal.

For many, to live in North Korea is to live in fear for one's very existence. In a context like this, there is no way to know what is genuine and what is theatrical. Totalitarianism and fear impair the idea of truth and the concept of objectivity.

Rather than focusing on the televised tears of mourners for Kim Jong Il, we should be asking what needs to be done to ensure that someday North Korean television will show the tears of the fathers, mothers and children who have seen their relatives suffer or die because of the acts and omissions of Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il Sung, before him, during their unbroken 63-year rule.

The "Great Successor," Kim Jong Un, is still largely untested and doubts persist about whether he is really in charge in Pyongyang, but many hope that change is more likely now than a week ago.

The international community should use this transition period to press the new leader to break from the criminal tyranny of the past and steer the country in a new direction. Kim Jong Un could start by taking note of calls made in the latest U.N. General Assembly resolution on North Korea, and allowing a visit by U.N. special rapporteurs.

Change needs to come to North Korea, in one form or another. Those who will lead North Korea now, Kim Jong Un and the generals and ministers who control the state apparatus, need to remember that history has not been kind to tyrants. Totalitarian regimes can linger, and often do, but ultimately gross injustices are unsustainable and those who commit them can (and now often do) face the punishments of international justice.

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Wave of attacks kills dozens amid Iraq's upheaval

Baghdad - A wave of explosions across Baghdad killed dozens of people Thursday and spread fears that Iraq's government could collapse in the wake of the U.S. military's departure.

At least 65 people were killed and at least 196 were wounded in 20 explosions just days after the final U.S. troops withdrew, police said.

The attacks targeted civilians across all walks of life. One took place at a market. Another, at a school as children were arriving. A third was at a coffee shop.

The attacks were a painful reminder of Iraq's most violent years.

The seemingly coordinated explosions Thursday struck during the height of morning rush hour, hitting a number of Baghdad's primarily mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods. Nine car bombs, six roadside bombs and a mortar round all went off in a two-hour period, targeting residential, commercial and government districts in the Iraqi capital, two police officials told CNN.

There have been no immediate claims of responsibility, though the attacks resemble previous bombings that have been claimed by both Sunni and Shiite insurgents as well as al Qaeda in Iraq.

The deadliest attack was a suicide car bombing outside the offices of the Integrity Commission, the country's main anti-corruption body. At least 23 people were killed and 43 others were wounded in the explosion, which also damaged part of the building, police officials said.

The violence comes as Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaders square off over a warrant issued for the arrest of Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who is accused of organizing his security detail into a death squad that targeted government and military officials.

Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has demanded that Kurdish lawmakers hand over the Sunni vice president, who has denied the charges and refuses to return to Baghdad from northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi told CNN he does not believe the violence is directly connected to the latest political developments, "but there is a good environment for terrorists to be active in these bad circumstances."

Terrorists "will justify their criminal activities" and argue that the solution to Iraq's woes "isn't in the political process," said al-Issawi, a member of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya minority political bloc.

The head of Iraqiya, former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, complained that the bombings "reveal the weakness of the security and intelligence services to achieve security and stability because some of these services were busy chasing down political forces." He accused those services of creating confusion in the political process, "which is essentially broken."

Al-Maliki meanwhile, called on "clerics, politicians, parties, tribal leaders and all the national groups to bear responsibility in this delicate situation, support the security forces and unify ranks."

"The criminals and those who stand behind them will not be able to change the course of events and the political process or escape punishment that they will face sooner or later," he said.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a statement condemning the attacks.

"We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and communities of these victims," the statement said. "It is especially important during this critical period that Iraq's political leaders work to resolve differences peacefully, through dialogue, and in accordance with Iraq's constitution and laws. Senseless acts of violence tear at the fabric of Iraqi unity and do not in any way help the people of Iraq or any of its communities. "

]At the Medical City hospital in central Baghdad, doctors treated the wounded whose bodies were peppered with what appeared to be shrapnel from explosions.

Images of bloodied, battered bodies and destroyed storefronts and homes were broadcast on Iraqi television stations.

While violence in Iraq has fallen off in recent years, the latest spate of attacks are among the worst since August when a series of coordinated bombings killed at least 75 people in 17 Iraqi cities.

The attacks come amid heightened sectarian tensions, raising fears that the political turmoil in Iraq could spark a return of sectarian bloodshed that nearly ripped the country apart during the height of the war.

Al-Hashimi has denied the charges against him, saying the accusations are politically motivated amid the rivalry between his Sunni-backed Iraqiya minority political bloc and al-Maliki's Shiite majority bloc.

The warrant for al-Hashimi's arrest was issued just days after Iraqiya suspended its participation in parliament, claiming it was being cut out of the political process by al-Maliki.

The prime minister has said failing to hand over al-Hashimi or allowing him to flee to another country "could cause problems."

Al-Issawi, the finance minister, told CNN that before U.S. troops left, Iraqi officials made clear their fears of what could happen.

"So many times we warned the Americans, both the political and security situation (are) very fragile. Unfortunately, no one listened."

In a speech this month about bringing the U.S. troops home, President Barack Obama said, "Iraq is not a perfect place. It has many challenges ahead. But we're leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people. "

"There can be no fuller expression of America's support for self-determination than our leaving Iraq to its people. That says something about who we are," Obama added.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, cited the latest violence in an interview Thursday with CNN's "American Morning."

He complained that the president is "spouting how we have left a stable and Democratic Iraq."

"Unfortunately, what I anticipated is taking place," he said, adding that the United States should have maintained a "residual force" in the country.

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