WHY WE FIGHT
Lest we forget… From the New York Times, Jan. 26: Woman Who Survived 9/11 Is Killed by a Car in the City It was a beautiful morning on Sept. 11, 2001, so Florence Cioffi made a decision that helped save… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
Iraq
Iraq: 100 years of occupation?
In a front-page story Jan. 25, “US Asking Iraq for Wide Rights in Fighting War,” the New York Times writes: “With its international mandate in Iraq set to expire in 11 months, the Bush administration will insist that the government… Read moreIraq: 100 years of occupation?
Afghanistan
Afghans protest US air-strikes
Hundreds of Afghans chanted anti-US slogans in Ghazni Jan. 24 to protest the deaths of nine police, including a district commander, who local officials said were killed the previous day in an anti-Taliban operation by coalition troops. The coalition denied… Read moreAfghans protest US air-strikes
Greater Middle East
Turkey amends speech law, censors YouTube
Turkey’s government is expected to announce a reform of Article 301, the law against insulting “Turkishness” that has been used to prosecute writers who have addressed such issues as the Armenian genocide. The moves comes as a precondition for Turkey’s… Read moreTurkey amends speech law, censors YouTube
Europe
Russia signs Balkan pipeline deal with Serbia
Serbian and Russian officials have signed an energy deal they say will turn Serbia into a major hub for gas supplies to Europe and boost Russia’s economic influence in the region. The deal was signed in Moscow, where Serbia’s President… Read moreRussia signs Balkan pipeline deal with Serbia
Europe
France arrests ETA fugitive
French police Jan. 24 arrested accused ETA militant Eneko Galarraga near Bayonne. Police said Galarraga was not armed and did not resist. The Spanish news agency EFE said Galarraga, 27, has been wanted in Spain since 2002 when escaped to… Read moreFrance arrests ETA fugitive
Europe
Pakistani militants target Barcelona?
Police in Barcelona arrested 14 men and raided several apartments, two mosques and a bakery over the weekend. Authorities said the group included 12 Pakistanis, an Indian and a Bangladeshi, and that bomb-making materials were confiscated. Spain’s Interior Minister Alfredo… Read morePakistani militants target Barcelona?
South Asia
Ashura violence in India-controlled Kashmir
While the Shi’ite Ashura festivals went off peacefully in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir this year, there were riots on the Indian side of the Line of Control. Islamabad’s official Associated Press of Pakistan writes Jan. 21 that “[T]he occupying Indian troops subjected… Read moreAshura violence in India-controlled Kashmir
Palestine
Gazans breach border wall, challenge sham “peace process”
Joel Beinin of Jewish Voice for Peace writes from Cairo, Jan. 24: About 3:00 AM on Wednesday morning Jan. 23, well-coordinated explosions demolished the iron wall built by Israel to seal the southern border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt… Read moreGazans breach border wall, challenge sham “peace process”
The Andes
Venezuela: revolution in the revolution?
Hundreds of representatives of Venezuela’s grassroots social movements met in the Southern Caracas barrio of El Valle this weekend, to hash out plans for the formation of the Revolutionary Grassroots Front of the South [Frente Popular Revolucionario del Sur]—a new… Read moreVenezuela: revolution in the revolution?
The Andes
SOA graduates implicated in Bogotá “false attacks”
A director of Colombian military intelligence and another officer implicated in a series of false attacks and a bombing that killed a civilian and injured 19 soldiers in Bogotá in 2006, attended the US Army School of the Americas, an… Read moreSOA graduates implicated in Bogotá “false attacks”
North America
White supremacists threaten “second amendment” mobilization in Jena
200 counter-protesters from around the country outnumbered some 30 members of the “pro-majority” Nationalist Movement who marched in Jena, LA, Jan. 21 to protest the holiday honoring Martin Luther King and the national campaign for the “Jena Six,” black teenagers… Read moreWhite supremacists threaten “second amendment” mobilization in Jena