The passing of Turkmenistan’s wacky despot Saparmurat “Turkmenbashi” Niyazov and the country’s first-ever multi-candidate (although not multi-party) elections have brought no surprises so far. In the weeks prior to the Feb. 11 vote, Turkmen officials announced that foreign journalists would… Read moreTurkmenistan: pseudo-elections bring no surprise
Explosions tore through two buses traveling on a highway Feb. 13 near Ein Alaq, a mountain town northeast of Beirut, leaving at least 12 dead and 10 wounded. Ein Alaq is near Bikfaya, the ancestral home of the Gemayel family,… Read moreGemayel presidential ambitions spark new Lebanon terror?
US military officials and Japanese police have confirmed an explosion near the Camp Zama base outside Tokyo, adding no one was hurt and there was no damage from the blast. A similar incident was reported near Camp Zama in 2002,… Read moreJapanese armed left re-emerges?
Michael R. Gordon‘s Feb. 10 New York Times story, “Deadliest Bomb in Iraq Is Made by Iran, US Says,” backs up some administration claims: “The most lethal weapon directed against American troops in Iraq is an explosive-packed cylinder that United… Read moreIran link to Iraq insurgents: more NYT jive?
Somalia’s transitional government has announced it will take tough measures against those behind the violence and killings that are increasing in the capital, Mogadishu. “The security forces of the government will double its clearing operation against the insurgents hiding in… Read moreDirty war in Somalia?
An international campaign to boycott diamonds polished in Israel coincides with the Valentine’s day season, Moyiga Nduru writes from Johannesburg, South Africa, for IPS Jan. 26: Avocados, Diamonds at Core of Anti-Israel Trade Campaign A call from a South African… Read moreInternational campaign to boycott Israeli “blood diamonds”
On the same day as the “Soldiers of Heaven” battle in Najaf—and eclipsed from the headlines by it… From The Scotsman, Jan. 5: 7 pupils killed as schools in Iraq are targeted SEVEN children died and 30 were wounded in… Read moreIraq: slaughter of the innocents
Last year we noted US plans for new military bases on the Black Sea coast of Romania and Bulgaria. Now a Jan. 28 report in Scotland’s Sunday Herald indicates these bases could be used to launch air-strikes on Iran: President… Read moreBalkans as US staging ground for Iran attack?
Francis Boyle has had some good stuff to say in recent years, but he now seems to be losing it. He is going way overboard here, but this is the stuff that the relentlessly annoying Alex Jones laps up. Yes,… Read moreFrancis Boyle: “Neo-Nazis have signed us onto WWIII”
Do we laugh or do we cry? From Inter-Press Service, Jan. 29: Resolving the conflicts in Somalia and Darfur will extend well beyond the two-day African Union (AU) summit, according to academics and civil society activists. But, they say, the… Read moreArchitect of Darfur genocide wants to lead African Union
Talk about a vicious cycle: the authorities raid madrassas to crack down on pissed-off Islamists, which inevitably results in—more pissed off Islamists. From Pakistan’s Daily Times, Jan. 29: ISLAMABAD — Police raided several seminaries in Rawalpindi and Islamabad early on… Read morePakistan: more madrassas raided
Canada caves in—the US remains intransigent. From This Week of Kamloops, BC, Jan. 28: Maher Arar is Kamloops’ newest millionaire, but in an impassioned speech Friday, his lawyer reminded potential detractors that no amount of money will help Arar and… Read moreCanada: compensation and apology for “rendition” victim
