We again point out the surreal irony that Pakistan, the closest US ally in the region, is serving as a staging ground for the anti-US insurgency in Afghanistan. This report indicates that the actual Taliban leadership which was chased out… Read moreTaliban real power in Pakistan’s border region?
Yeah, except the Cali cartel is old news. Its been dead for almost a decade, and Colombia’s still-booming narco trade has now been effectively taken over by the armed gangs which were the former enforcers for the cartels (in the… Read moreUS boasts “final, fatal blow” to Cali cartel
The Chiapas daily Estesur Sept. 24 noted a “bad weekend for Lopez Obrador,” with PRD founder Cuauhtemoc Cardenas dissenting from his declaration as Mexico’s “legitimate president,” and a tough struggle looming for the PRD candidate in next month’s Tabasco gubernatorial… Read moreLAT op-ed: what’s Mexico hiding?
In a Sept. 18 statement on the Papal controversy, the Islamic Society of North America—which recently made headlines by electing a woman (and Canadian ex-Catholic), Ingrid Mattson, as president (LAT, Sept. 21)—calls out His Holiness on some shabby scholarship. PLAINFIELD,… Read moreIslamic Society of North America accuses Pope of poor scholarship
Still cheering on the heroic Afghan resistance? From Index on Censorship, Sept. 26: A senior Afghan official working for women’s rights has been shot dead by suspected Taliban gunmen. She was the highest placed female official to be assassinated in… Read moreAfghanistan: women’s rights defender assassinated
There is a distinct and unseemly tone of gloating here, but this article does point to Evo Morales’ unenviable dilemma: already being accused of treason by hardliners to his left, while the right-wing opposition openly salivates for his assassination. Simon… Read moreBolivia: Evo caught between opposing hardliners
La huelga de piernas cruzadas. Long overdue. Maybe it will catch on globally. From the London Times, Sept. 24: A SEX strike organised by the girlfriends of gang members in one of Colombia’s most violent cities to protest against a… Read moreColombian women go on sex strike
Having abandoned their encampments in Mexico City’s main plaza, followers of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador held protests at 22 Wal-Mart outlets around the capital, accusing the company of “system violation of labor rights,” and “an open campaign in favor of… Read moreLopez Obrador’s followers target Wal-Mart
From El Universal, Sept. 25, via Chiapas95: A group of gunmen exchanged fire with protesters outside Oaxaca’s Camino Real hotel on Sunday, injuring two and forcing dozens of guests, residents and journalists to run for cover. The shoot-out came hours… Read moreGunfire in Oaxaca City
Perhaps some of you noticed Bill Clinton’s $15,000-a-head confab at a Midtown Manhattan Sheraton hotel last week to raise funds and awareness to tackle global poverty and climate change. Hillary, Colin Powell and even Laura Bush were all on hand…. Read moreGore stumps with “World War 4” architect Woolsey
After Richard Armitage was named as the source in the Valerie Plame leak, there was a paroxysm of unseemly crowing from the right-wing pundits, who predicted that Plame would not now sue Armitage because he is such a handsome, straight-shooting… Read moreArmitage threatened Pakistan blitzkrieg
The irony is certainly not lost on Iran. From Business in Africa, Sept. 22: Cairo – The United States ambassador to Egypt, Francis Ricciardone, said his country has no problem with an Egyptian nuclear programme and was ready to supply… Read moreUS pledges nuclear aid to Egypt
