From AP, March 23: BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. and British troops Thursday freed three Christian peace activists in a rural area of Iraq without firing a shot, ending a four-month hostage drama in which an American among the group was… Read moreIraq: three CPT hostages freed
From AP, March 22: KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Authorities launched a probe today into the killings by Afghan security forces of at least 15 people, who an Afghan army commander claimed were Taliban rebels but locals said were tribesmen wanting to… Read moreAfghanistan: threats, violence meet Nowruz
On March 16, 2003, Washington state-born activist Rachel Corrie, 23, was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer while acting as a “human shield” against the demolition of a Palestinian home in Rafah, on the Gaza Strip. Last year, Katherine Viner,… Read moreNYC: activists bring Rachel Corrie’s censored words to stage
From Reuters, via Khajeel Times, March 21: QUETTA, Pakistan – Suspected militants blew up a gas pipeline in Baluchistan on Tuesday, the latest attack in the troubled southwest Pakistan province where rebels are fighting for greater autonomy, officials said. The… Read morePakistan: Baluch rebels blow up pipeline —again
From Reuters, March 21: President George W. Bush held out the possibility on Tuesday of a U.S. troop presence in Iraq for many years, saying a full withdrawal would depend on decisions by future U.S. presidents and Iraqi governments. Bush,… Read moreBush: years-long military mission in Iraq
Another expendable piece of cannon fodder is scapegoated… WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Army dog handler was found guilty on Tuesday of abusing detainees at Baghdad’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison and faces up to eight years and nine months in… Read moreSaddam’s torture chambers now Uncle Sam’s
Freedom’s on the march. From the BBC, March 20: An Afghan man is being tried in a court in the capital, Kabul, for converting from Islam to Christianity. Abdul Rahman is charged with rejecting Islam and could face the death… Read moreAfghan faces death sentence for Christianity
A March 21 statement from the San José de Apartadó Peace Community: We call for national and international solidarity to demand the freedom of GILDARDO TUBERQUIA, member of the Internal Council of the Peace Community, who has been illegally detained… Read moreColombia: Peace Community leader detained
Lukashenko is doubtless correct that the protesters are backed by the West—or are about to be. Can we—meaning progressives in the West—possibly think of a more creative response to this dilemma than rallying around Lukashenko? From the BBC, March 21:… Read more“Regime change” for Belarus?
From the UK’s Iraq Union Solidarity, March 17: Support the Tehran busworkers! Since April 2005, Tehran busworkers have combatted mass jailings and sackings to insist on their right to form a union and claim unpaid wages. Most recently, bus workers… Read moreSolidarity with Iranian transit workers
From Madison’s Capital Times, March 18: Wisconsin will blaze a trail in April when, for the first time, voters will go to the polls as part of a statewide effort to pass referendums opposed to the war in Iraq. “We… Read moreWisconsin towns launch anti-war referendums
Sarah Ferguson writes for the Village Voice, March 19: Seventeen demonstrators were arrested Sunday for blocking traffic as part of a funeral procession intended to transform Times Square into a “Zone of Mourning” on the third anniversary of the U.S…. Read moreNYC: arrests at Iraq war protest
