Dozens of workers trapped in the besieged offices of a newspaper in Oaxaca managed to publish on Sunday despite what they call a bogus strike organized by politicians to silence the daily for its criticism of the state government. The… Read moreNewspaper under siege in Oaxaca
Is the current fighting along Iraq’s Syrian border actually a prelude to a US invasion of Syria? Certain voices in the Arab world seem to think so. This from UPI, June 15: AMMAN, Jordan — The United Arab Emirates’ al-Bayan… Read moreUS preparing Syria invasion?
Even as the US moves to restore military ties with Indonesia, harsh repression continues in areas of the archipelago where indigenous peoples are fighting for sovereignty. This from Survival International, June 15: INDONESIA: Fifteen years in prison for flying a… Read moreIndonesia: more repression in West Papua
This editorial, to appear in the International Herald Tribune June 20, was (in slightly longer form) in the New York Times June 18: Guantánamo and who we are The New York Times MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2005 It was a relief… Read moreNYT: Close Gitmo
After the UK froze a planned $36.1 million aid package, Ethiopia has freed 336 prisoners seized in a crackdown following clashes with police over elections which left 36 dead. But more remain behind bars. The main opposition group, the Coalition… Read moreElectoral violence, ethnic war in Ethiopia
A former Taliban official now living on Long Island pleaded guilty in US District Court in Manhattan June 16 to tax fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Noorullah Zadran, 53, of Huntington Station, faces up to 8 months in… Read moreEx-Taliban big cops plea in New York
You almost have to admire the chuztpah of the Bush gang. Not only are they refusing the close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, they are actually planning to expland it–and Halliburton gets the contract! This from the AP: Halliburton Gets… Read moreGitmo to expand; Halliburton gets contract
This June 18 BBC account on Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s approaching 60th birthday provides a good brief overview of the recent escalating violence in Burma: No happy returns for Suu Kyi By Tony Cheng BBC News, Bangkok… Read moreAung San Suu Kyi faces 60th birthday under house arrest
From the Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, June 16th, 2005 (online at Stop The Wall): Villagers of Marda Continue To Resist Settler Bypass Road Thirty villagers were injured today during clashes with Occupation Forces in Marda, in the east of… Read morePalestinian village protests land confiscation, attacked by occupation forces
Another escalation is reported in the persecution of the Mapuche indigenous people of Chile: the imprisonment of the editor of a Mapuche magazine on six-year-old charges related to a land occupation, effectively preventing him from travelling to Canada for a… Read moreChile: Mapuche editor imprisoned
Almost completely overlooked by the world media, the insurgency of the Naxalites, India’s Maoist guerillas, has been simmering since the 1960s, and now shows signs of gaining ground, as indicated by this June 17 report from the Indian news agency… Read moreIndia: Maoist insurgency gains ground
Perhaps embarrassed by outgoing chief Tom Ridge’s admission that the color coded terror alert was raised for political reasons (USA Today, May 10), the Homeland Security Department appears to be slowing in some of its most egregious (or ambitious) new… Read moreHomeland Security weighs privacy rights
