North Africa

Libya: continued fighting signals post-Qaddafi contradictions

NTC forces based in the western city of Zawiya have for the past days been clashing with Wershifanna tribal fighters in the nearby Hashan area. Rumors maintain that Saif al-Islam Qaddafi is being harbored by the tribal fighters.

Iran

Israel to attack Iran in December —yet again?

Oil prices rose as the IAEA released a report finding that Iran is capable of developing a nuclear weapon and Israel tested a long-range ballistic missile. The British armed forces are said to be preparing for military action against Iran.

New York City

OWS: Yes, we are anti-capitalist!

The fear of being seen as “socialist” is deep seated. It is time to get over it, and reclaim the word, as gays did the word “queer.” The concept that the Earth and its wealth belong to society must be redeemed. Everything, ultimately, is riding on it.

Winter fund drive exceeds minimum goal!

Thanks to a donation from a reader in New York City, we have exceeded our winter fund drive goal of $2,000. The total now stands at $2,250. If any other readers want to thusly encourage us, please feel free…!

Palestine

Israel responds to UNESCO vote with new West Bank settlements

The Israeli government said it will move ahead with “sensitive housing projects” in East Jerusalem and the West Bank as a rebuttal to UNESCO’s decision to grant Palestine full-member status. The US meanwhile cut funds to UNESCO.

North America

Protests shut down Port of Oakland

Thousands of protesters blocked the Port of Oakland Nov. 2, bringing work there to a halt, as the city’s teachers and nurses and many businesses honored a general strike call. Protesters also blocked downtown streets, and seized an abandoned building near City Hall. Police only intervened in the wee hours of the next morning, evicting the occupied building, using tear-gas and rubber bullets and arresting some 80.

Photo: Climate Connections

Africa

Kenya to divide Somalia?

As the Kenyan military and Shabab rebels accuse each other of killing civilians in southern Somalia, a BBC report suggests Nairobi hopes to carve a separatist enclave to be called “Azania” out of Somalia as a military-controlled “buffer zone.”

North Africa

Calls to divide Libya —already

As elite voices in the West call for breaking Libya up along “tribal lines,” the country’s Berbers—who have the most to fear from a centralized Arab-dominated regime—issued a statement calling for a unified state with equal rights for all.

WHY WE FIGHT

From the San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 28: S.F. crash badly injures person in wheelchair SAN FRANCISCO — A person in a wheelchair suffered life-threatening injuries today after being hit by a pickup truck in a South of Market intersection, San… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Karzai and ISI each play both sides?

BBC quotes several Taliban commanders boasting of the aid they receive from Pakistan’s ISI. Afghan President Karzai reacts by telling Pakistani TV: “God forbid, if ever there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will stand by Pakistan.”

Iraq

Obama announces final Iraq pull-out (except special forces)

Obama announced that all US forces will be withdrawn from Iraq by the new year—but in fact thousands of private contractors and hundreds of military advisors will remain in a program coordinated by the Pentagon’s Office of Security Cooperation.