Our January issue featured the story “Niger Delta: Behind the Mask” by Ike Okonta, which explored the concept of petro-violence, pioneered by Michael J. Watts of UC Berkely, in the context of contemporary Nigeria— where oil exploitation has only brought… Read moreUS oil profligance and third world petro-violence: our readers write
The Western Hemisphere’s worst human rights abuser by a mile (and, not coincidentally, closest US ally) is a “good model” for what Washington hopes to build in Afghanistan. The Afghans must be very comforted. From Reuters, Jan. 19 (emphasis added):… Read morePentagon: Colombia “good model” for Afghan drug war
In his first published interview with the foreign press since he became Mexico’s president last month, Felipe Calderon told the Financial Times: “The United States is jointly responsible for what is happening to us… [I]n that joint responsibility the U.S…. Read moreMexico: Calderon appeals for more Drug War aid; Chiapas in crosshairs
Honduras announced Jan. 12 that it will temporarily take control of oil storage terminals as part of a program to lower fuel prices and combat “energy terrorism.” “It is not a nationalization, it’s a temporary use of the storage tanks… Read moreHonduras seizes oil facilities
Some 45 Jews in Sa’ada, Yemen, have fled their homes after being threatened by radical Muslims and are seeking aid from the government, according to a Jan. 21 report in the Saudi daily Al Wattan. The Jews apparently received letters… Read moreAnti-Jewish pogrom in Yemen
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid diplomatic visits to three Latin American countries Jan. 13-15, starting with Venezuela on Jan. 13. He and President Hugo Chavez reviewed accords they had signed in Caracas in September and signed new accords which were… Read moreAhmadinejad tours Latin America
On Jan. 18 center-right Mexican president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa and a group of business executives signed an agreement to hold the price of corn at 8.5 pesos ($0.78) per kilogram. The plan for de facto price controls, a shift from… Read moreMexico: Calderon responds to “tortilla crisis”
From the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), Jan. 22: To: Kurdistan Regional Government International Campaign to remove Article No 7 from the Kurdistan regional constitution! Article 7 of the proposed constitution for Kurdistan is an open threat to… Read moreIraq: campaign to repeal sharia law in Kurdish constitution
From the China Daily, Jan. 18: An online campaign initiated by a television host to drive Starbucks out of the Forbidden City has won the backing of more than half a million netizens, who see the presence of the coffee… Read moreBloggers in the news: China
From the AP, Jan. 19: CAIRO — An Egyptian blogger went on trial Thursday on charges of insulting Islam and causing sectarian strife with his Internet writings. Egypt’s first prosecution of a blogger came as Washington has backed away from… Read moreBloggers in the news: Egypt
From the New York Times, Jan. 18: BRASÍLIA — Far more Indian groups than previously thought are surviving in Brazil’s Amazon rain forest isolated from the outside world, but they risk destruction at the hands of encroaching loggers and miners,… Read moreAmazon’s “uncontacted” peoples: more than thought, facing peril
The following statement from DeleteTheBorder.com, was presented to the Zapatista Encuentro held in Chiapas over the New Year weekend: As long as the US/Mexico border has existed, people having been struggling against it. It is a highly militarized, violent boundary… Read moreProtest camp planned against US-Mexico border militarization
