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October 29, 2011 | | BLAME The November deadline on reaching a new round of debt deals is coming up, and once again Congress is deadlocked over how the supercommittee should cut the deficit. Are both sides to blame for this new political paralysis? No, writes The Daily Beast's Michael Tomasky—it all comes down to Republicans and taxes, and the Democrats will give in yet again, and roll over on Pentagon cuts too. SCORN The Arab League issued its strongest denunciation yet of Syria's deadly suppression of demonstrations. After security forces killed at least 40 civilians during Friday protests and continued shelling on Saturday, the Arab League sent an “urgent message ... to the Syrian government expressing its severe discontent for the continued killing of Syrian civilians.” Meanwhile, the U.S. company Blue Coat acknowledged that Syria has been using its internet-blocking technology despite strict U.S. trade embargoes. The company said it shipped its devices to Dubai late last year, believing they were for the Iraqi government, and don't know how they fell into the hands of President Bashar al-Assad. ATTACK As many as 10 people were killed when a suicide bomber drove a car into a NATO bus outside the American University in Kabul, Afghanistan. Officials say one Afghan policeman and three civilians were killed, and an eyewitness tells the New York Times that he saw six dead NATO soldiers inside the bus. NATO said “several” of its service members were among the casualties. In southern Afghanistan, a man wearing an Afghan military uniform opened fire on coalition troops, killing two people. DAMAGE CONTROL The White House has commissioned an independent review of Energy Department loans to businesses, like the one it gave now-bankrupt Solyndra. House Republicans are seeking more information on the solar company, which received a loan of over half a billion dollars from the Energy Department despite evidence that it was about to go under. The review will look at the status of other companies receiving loans from the government agency in hopes of avoiding another Solyndra situation. DISASTER After initially saying it didn't need assistance, the Thai government has asked a U.S. warship docked in Bangkok to help survey the floods inundating the capital. So far, Bangkok's dikes have held, but with the flood expected to peak Saturday and water already seeping into the royal complex, monks are stacking sandbags and residents are buying life preservers and boats. People continue to evacuate, and roads out of the city are jammed. The flood has also disrupted supply chains, causing the Bank of Thailand to slash its growth forecast to 2.6 percent from 4.1 percent. | | 
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