Police in Northern Ireland are considering deployment of mini-drones to combat crime and the dissident Republican threat. The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are small enough to fit into a rucksack and will be used for surveillance.
With Occupation protests now underway in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and even Hong Kong, authorities in mainland China have banned web search terms such as “Occupy Beijing,” “Occupy Shanghai” and “Occupy Guangdong.”
Following weeks of mass protests across Algeria, long-ruling President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced that he will not run for a fifth term—but also said elections that were set for April will be postponed, with no new date set for the polls. There has also been a government shake-up, with the prime minister stepping down. But protesters vow to keep the pressure, demanding that Bouteflika cede power immediately, and, increasingly, that his entire government resign. The protests are on a scale unprecedented since the 1990s when a military coup aborted a democratic process, precipitating a civil war. Algeria's army chief invoked this period in a stern warning to the protesters. "There are some parties who want Algeria to return to the era of extreme pain," Lt. Gen. Gaed Salah said. (Photo via Albawaba)
The usually cautious International Energy Agency warns that without far-reaching action in the next five years, the world will lock itself into high-emissions energy sources that will push climate change beyond the “safe” 2 degrees Celsius.
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.
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.
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.
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…!
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.
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
OK, our winter fund drive now stands at $60. So we have $4,940 to go. Now eight of you have responded. Do we really only have eight readers? Our web states indicate we have thousands. Well, then…?
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.”
