Mexico’s Defense Secretariat has dispatched troops from the 36th Infantry Battallion, based at the 44th Military Zone headquarters in Minatitlan, Veracruz, to the Oaxaca City, which has been paralyzed by civil protests for weeks. The situation has promped the Popular… Read moreMexico: army mobilized to Oaxaca
This is how censorship works in the USA: by other names—which, of course, makes it more insidious. An ACLU press release, Aug. 24: Village Cannot Impose Prohibitive Insurance Requirement as Condition of Free Speech, NYCLU Warns NEW YORK — The… Read moreLong Island anti-war group faces censorship
We welcome the Aug. 23 Amnesty International report taking Israel to task for massively targeting Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure. But there is an ominous Achilles’ heel to Amnesty’s arguments. Contrasting Israel’s actions to the “lawful targeting of military objectives” implicitly loans… Read moreAmnesty’s Lebanon report: legitimizing “collatoral damage”?
From page 5, below the fold, of the New York Times, Aug. 25: 8 Killed in Raid by U.S. Forces in Afghanistan KABUL — Eight civilians, including a child, were killed in an operation by American forces in eastern Afghanistan… Read moreAfghanistan: US kills more civilians
This report from India’s northeastern Bihar state is analogous to situations we have noted in Colombia. Caught bewteen the government and guerillas, self-governing peasant communities are finding a voice of their own via village-based radio. From the Christian Science Monitor,… Read moreGrassroots radio empowers India’s peasants
From Newsday, Aug. 24: Muslim, Arab and South Asian passengers are being profiled by Homeland Security officers at Kennedy Airport, civil liberties groups said Wednesday, citing a New Jersey family that was detained and interrogated after a flight from Dubai… Read moreEthnic profiling at NY’s JFK airport
From the Indiana Daily Student, Aug. 23: Officers killed in charity ride accident A traffic accident during a charity bicycle ride killed two police officers Tuesday afternoon and injured three others. The charity, Concerns of Police Survivors, exists to help… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
Don’t dismiss this as a local story, as similar reports are growing around the world. From the New York Times, Aug. 23: NEWPORT, Ore., Aug. 17 — On the north shore of Yaquina Bay rests the rusty fishing fleet of… Read moreMeanwhile, the oceans are dying…
“With the world’s eyes on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the deteriorating human rights situation in the country is being forgotten,” writes Robert Tait for the UK’s Guardian, Aug. 23 (emphasis added): Seven years ago, he was the symbol of a brave… Read moreIran: harsh crackdown on dissidents
The trial of Saddam Hussein is once again in the headlines. The first case against him, concerning the 1982 mass arrests and killing of Shi’ites at the town of Dujail, has been concluded. Presiding Judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman charged Saddam with… Read moreSaddam trial tackles Kurdish genocide: grim test for historical memory
The Bush administration has been meeting with quite a few reversals at the hands of the judiciary lately, as we have noted. From CNN, Aug. 21: MIAMI — A federal judge in Miami on Monday dismissed a terror count against… Read moreJudge drops Padilla terror charge, calling it redundant
Simon Romero writes for the New York Times, Aug. 21 (emphasis added): Venezuela, Tired of US Influence, Strengthens Its Relationships in the Middle East CARACAS — Venezuela has long cultivated ties with Middle Eastern governments, finding common ground in trying… Read moreVenezuela-Iran alignment grows
