As the Bush administration heads into months of negotiations with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the future of US troops in Iraq, it aims to stretch the bounds of executive power to unprecedented lengths. The administration plans to bypass Congress… Read moreBush to sidestep Congress on Iraq military pact
Authorities in Ciudad Juárez said March 14 they had discovered a further 19 bodies buried behind two houses used by drug dealers, bringing the total number of corpses found there to 33. Agents began digging behind the houses on March… Read moreMass graves in Ciudad Juárez
Mexico’s lower House of Deputies voted to open an investigation into accusations that Government Secretary Juan Camilo Mouriño improperly helped his family win contracts from the state oil monopoly Pemex. The accusations stem from contracts Mourino signed between 2000 and… Read moreMexico: Pemex scandal hits Calderón administration
On March 14, activist group “Agrofools” closed down the World Biofuels Market meeting in Brussels by sealing four sets of double doors with padlocks and chains and barring access with their bodies just before the official opening. A battle ensued… Read moreActivists protest at World Biofuels Market
More than two weeks after Colombia's military incursion into Ecuadoran territory to take out Raul Reyes, a top-ranking leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), voices are being raised about possible US complicity or direction in the hit…. Read moreColombia: US hand in Raul Reyes hit?
With military vehicles patrolling Lhasa and monasteries surrounded by troops following the biggest protests in Tibet since 1989, unrest is spreading to other cities with substantial Tibetan populations. Protests are reported at Lutsang monastery in Qinghai (known in Tibetan as… Read moreTibetan uprising spreads
We’ve noted that CentCom commander Adm. William Fallon is an exponent of the “pragmatist” view on Iran—a point also stressed by this March 11 AP account of his sudden resignation. Does this signal a silent coup by Cheney and the… Read moreFallon “resignation”: neocon coup?
Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, kidnapped in Iraq last month, was found dead on March 13, his body half-buried in an empty lot in the northern city of Mosul. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki blamed Rahho’s death on al-Qaeda and said… Read moreAbducted Chaldean archbishop found dead in Iraq
We’re surprised the right-wing blogosphere hasn’t yet accused the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) of being behind the revelations of gubernatorial hanky-panky-for-pay in New York state. Among the now-shamed Elliot Spitzer‘s many enemies is Richard Grasso, the former NY… Read moreSpitzer scandal: FARC’s revenge?
WHAT ABOUT KRISTEN? New York Sex Worker Organizations Respond to Spitzer Scandal New York, NY – In the last few days, Governor Eliot Spitzer has publicly admitted to being associated with an escort agency and is considering resignation. As sex… Read moreNew York sex workers speak on Spitzer scandal
Almost 30 years after the Aug. 8, 1978 confrontation in Philadelphia, the eight remaining “MOVE 9” prisoners are now eligible for parole (see Philadelphia Inquirer and Metro articles). In early April, they will be interviewed by the Parole Board. With… Read morePhiladelphia’s MOVE 9 face parole hearings
Indigenous and environmental activist Saw O Moo is reported killed in Burma's conflicted Karen State. According to the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN), Saw O Moo was killed in an ambush by Burmese army soldiers while returning home from a community meeting to help organize humanitarian aid for villagers displaced by renewed hostilities between the military and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Saw O Moo was one of the most active local community leaders pushing for the creation of the Salween Peace Park, a proposed 5,400-square-kilometer protected area to be overseen by indigenous peoples. “We will never forget his dedication in the ongoing struggle to build peace and protect ancestral lands,” KESAN said in a statement. (Photo: Burma Link)
