Watching the Shadows
Cheney warns of nuclear attack
Former vice president Dick Cheney warned Politico.com that there’s a “high probability” the US will get nuked by terrorists during President Obama’s watch.
Author: CounterVortex
The Andes
Venezuela: Chávez accuses rivals of exploiting synagogue attack
President Hugo Chávez condemned the attack on Caracas’ main synagogue—but warned it was being used to fan unrest ahead of a referendum next week on his bid for unlimited re-election.
The Andes
Survival International: Colombian guerillas threaten indigenous people
Survival International reports that indigenous communities of the Sierra de Perijá in Venezuela are being threatened by Colombian rebels, who violate their land rights, demand resources and threaten leaders.
The Amazon
Brazil: uncontacted tribes flee loggers’ bulldozers
A group of 300 Awá hunter-gatherer nomads is fleeing from bulldozers in the Brazilian Amazon as their last forest is rapidly destroyed, Survival International reports.
The Amazon
Ecuador: president condemned for policy on uncontacted tribes
At the World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil, President Rafael Correa was condemned by Ecuador’s national indigenous peoples’ organization CONAIE over his policy towards uncontacted Amazon tribes.
Mexico
Mexico: Sinaloa Cartel’s Colombia broker busted
Mexico’s Federal Preventative Police announced the arrest of GerĂłnimo Gámez GarcĂa, said to be the key middle-man between the Sinaloa Cartel and Colombian cocaine suppliers.
Mexico
Mexico: more protests on northern border
For the second time in a week, the streets of the Mexican border city of Reynosa hosted protestors in actions over high food and fuel prices, maquiladora lay-offs and the presence of the army in the city.
South Asia
India: tribe forms human chain to protect sacred mountain
Hundreds of members of the Dongria Kondh formed a human chain at the base of their sacred Niyamgiri mountain Jan. 27 to prevent British mining giant Vedanta from bulldozing it.
Europe
Greece: farmers clash with police
Riot police fired tear gas to prevent Cretan farmers from caravaning their tractors from the port of Piraeus to Athens on Monday. Farmers intended to blockade the agriculture ministry’s headquarters.
Europe
“Unlimited strike” movement sweeps France
The Jan. 29 general strike in France—called “Black Thursday”—was the first to hit a major industrialized nation since the start of the global financial crisis. Eight major trade unions, representing teachers, postal workers, rail workers, and other public-sector employees, along… Read more“Unlimited strike” movement sweeps France
Palestine
Palestinians to sue over settler land-theft
The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din is launching a campaign to help Palestinians sue over the use of their privately owned lands for Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
Watching the Shadows
Gitmo Uighurs seek asylum in Canada
Six detainees from the Guantánamo Bay military prison, including three Uighurs from China’s Xinjiang province, are seeking refugee status in Canada with the support of Canadian sponsors.