From the Global Justice Ecology Project, Dec. 7: Indigenous Peoples shut out of Climate Change Negotiations Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia – Indigenous peoples representing regions from around the world protested outside the climate negotiations today wearing symbolic gags that read… Read moreIndigenous peoples protest UN climate meet
However naive she may be about Western intentions, Ayaan Hirsi Ali deserves creds for asking the tough questions about the Muslim establishment. Why—with rare exception—are no voices on the anti-imperialist left asking these questions? From the New York Times op-ed… Read moreAyaan Hirsi Ali calls out “moderate” Islam
Pakistani security forces dynamited the homes of Maulana Fazlullah and his spokesman Maulana Sirajuddin Dec. 6 in the Swat Valley village of Imam Dehri, North-West Frontier Province. The Maulana’s madrassa was left intact. “The fate of the controversial seminary of… Read morePakistan: liquor found in raid on Taliban leader
More than nine months and countless African lives ago, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued what critics dismissed as toothless “pseudo-indictments” against two men identified as masterminds of the Darfur genocide—Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman (nom de… Read moreICC issues another report on Darfur impunity
The CIA’s admission that it filmed the interrogation of terrorism suspects and then destroyed the tapes will kill any chances of convictions, attorneys representing Guantanamo Bay prisoners say. “First, it’s a criminal offence to destroy evidence,” said Clive Stafford Smith… Read moreDestroyed CIA tapes to undermine Gitmo trials?
From the Polytechnic Free Campaign, support group for dissident students at Amir Kabir University of Technology (formerly Tehran Polytechnic), Dec. 6: On Tuesday the 4th of December, security police and masked intelligence agents arrested 28 students during a demonstration against… Read moreIran: dissident students arrested
An imprisoned Eritrean has been named “Journalist of the Year 2007” by Reporters Without Borders. Seyoum Tsehaye has not been allowed a visit from his family or attorney during his six years in prison, the group says. He is one… Read moreImprisoned Eritrean honored by Reporters Without Borders
All the talk about how calm Iraq is now thanks to the surge only indicates how dumbed-down our definition of “calm” has become. A suicide bomber blew himself up near a police station northeast of Baghdad Dec. 4, killing at… Read morePeshmerga police Diyala; more terror in Kirkuk
Israeli forces carried out a series of raids in the West Bank the night of Dec. 5. Soliders invaded the village of Beit Sira, near the Green Line west of Ramallah, conducting house-to-house raids and seizing more than 20 Palestinians…. Read moreIsrael abducts Palestinians in West Bank raids
An unpublished UN map leaked to the London Times in Kabul illustrates risk levels across the country for staff and aid workers with color shadings, revealing a sharp deterioration in security over the last two years. A similar map from… Read moreAfghanistan: no-go zones grow
Perhaps the revolt against the hypertrophy of the technosphere has finally begun. We’ve already noted the rebellion at a Druze village in Israel against the local siting of a cellphone antennae, and the strike by New York City taxi drivers… Read moreRural England revolts against GPS
A we’ve noted before, the National Intelligence Estimate—a body made up of analysts from 16 US spy agencies—appears to be in the corner of the “pragmatist” wing of the ruling elites. Its new report, “Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities,” finds… Read moreNational Intelligence Estimate rains on Iran war drive
