Raúl Hasbún, alias Pedro Bonito, a banana plantation owner turned paramilitary chieftain, gave preliminary testimony in MedellÃn about his participation in several massacres, including against the Peace Community [of San José de Apartadó]. Massacres were a practice to ensure control… Read moreColombia: banana executive admits participation in Peace Community massacres
Two more Colombian paramilitary commanders pleaded guilty July 29 in US federal court to drug conspiracy charges. Ramiro Vanoy Murillo, 60, and Francisco Javier Zuluaga Lindo, 38, entered their pleas before US District Judge K. Michael Moore in Miami. Under… Read moreColombian paras cop plea in Miami; “New Generation” wreaks terror in Nariño
No, it’s not a football match. Our July issue featured the story “Shake Djibouti: Eritrea Crisis Destabilizes Imperialism’s Horn of Africa Beachhead” by Sarkis Pogossian, on the brief war between the two states in June. Pogossian writes: “While Eritrea increasingly… Read moreEritrea vs. Djibouti: our readers write
Seattle Post-Intelligencer blogger Monica Guzman writes that local voices are calling for the Seattle Critical Mass to be banned following a violent incident at the last ride. For a study in contrasts, let’s compare corporate and alternative media accounts of… Read moreSeattle: curtains for Critical Mass after cyclists bash back?
A glimmer of hope that this has, at least, sparked an outcry—thanks to a tourist with a video-camera, and YouTube. From the New York Times, July 29: Officer Investigated in Toppling of Cyclist A New York City police officer was… Read moreNYC: police assault of Critical Mass cyclist probed
On July 27 voters in Mexico’s Federal District (DF, Mexico City) and nine states were scheduled to vote in a non-binding referendum on President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa’s proposals to allow more involvement the state oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), by… Read moreMexico: Pemex referendum starts
The body of Colombian unionist Guillermo Rivera Fuquene was found buried in a garbage dump in a rural area of Ibague, Tolima department, on July 15. Rivera Fuquene, an economist in the Bogotá Controller’s Office and the president of the… Read moreColombia: Bogotá unionist found dead
On July 14 former US Congress member James “Jim” Courter (R-NJ, 1979-1991) resigned from the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in which he was one of 20 national finance co-chairpeople. The resignation followed a July 9 decision by… Read moreFCC probe of Haiti telcom deal hits McCain backer
On July 25 a jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted right-wing paramilitary leader Emmanuel (“Toto”) Constant of mortgage fraud. He faces a 5-to-15 prison sentence in New York, followed by deportation to Haiti. “The trial proved there is rampant fraud… Read moreHaitian death squad leader convicted in New York —of mortgage fraud
Suicide bombers struck Shi’ite pilgrims in Baghdad and a Kurdish rally in Kirkuk July 28, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300, police said. Three female bombers detonated their explosive vests in the middle of a group of… Read moreIraq: more Shi’ite pilgrims killed; more terror in Kirkuk
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) denied involvement in two bombs that exploded in a busy Istanbul suburb on July 27, killing 17 people. “The PKK has nothing to do with this event,” the group’s leader, Zubeyir Aydar, said in a… Read morePKK denies Istanbul terror blasts
Ahmedabad, capital of the Indian state of Gujarat, was hit by 17 blasts in a space of 70 minutes July 26, killing at least 45 and leaving some 150 injured—one day after eight near-simultaneous explosions rocked the southern city of… Read more“Indian Mujahedeen” claim Ahmedabad blasts
