On Dec. 14, more than a dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided the home of longtime immigrant advocate Ben Guiliani in South Portland, Maine. The agents were seen carting out numerous boxes of evidence and computer equipment, according… Read moreICE raids home of Maine immigrant advocate
The bishops of San Cristobal de las Casas, Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel (titular), Enrique Diaz Diaz (auxiliary) and Samuel Ruiz Garcia (emeritus) officiated at a mass in the Chiapas Highland village of Chenalho Dec. 22 in memory of the victims of… Read moreChiapas: Acteal massacre commemorated
Four people were wounded in an armed clash between rival factions of Tzotzil Maya settlers in the outlying colonia (neighborhood) of Molino de los Arcos in the Chiapas Highland city of San Cristobal Dec. 21. The settlers are originally from… Read moreMexico: more factional violence in Chiapas
From AP, Dec. 23: OVENTIC, Mexico – About 5,000 Zapatista rebels, many in black ski masks, gathered in this village in southern Mexico to show their support for protesters in the historic city of Oaxaca who are trying to oust… Read moreChiapas: Zapatistas march for Oaxaca
Thousands of supporters of the Popular People’s Assembly of Oaxaca again took to the streets of southern Mexico’s Oaxaca City Dec. 22 to demand the resignation of Gov. Ulises Ruiz, as well as the release of “political prisoners” arrested in… Read moreInternational mobilization for Oaxaca
This is why the European laws against Holocaust denial are completely counter-productive. They just provide a media spotlight (and therefore a voice) to these sinister charlatans—and worse, allow them to legitimately accuse the establishment of silencing them. Every turn in… Read moreDavid Irving free to spread lies, media lap it up
As Christianity and Islam vie for the title of “religion of peace”… From AP, Dec. 21: THESSALONIKI – Rival groups of monks wielding crowbars and sledgehammers clashed yesterday over control of a thousand-year-old monastery in a community regarded as the… Read moreMonastic slugfest rocks Greek abbey
Shaikh Abdul Ameer al-Jamri, a Shiite cleric who led pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in the 1990s, died Dec. 18 at the age of 67. Shiites throughout the small island state went into mourning, hanging black flags and banners outside their… Read moreBahrain’s top Shi’ite cleric, opposition figure dies; streets filled for funeral
This Dec. 22 account from the Russian daily Kommersant reveals another recent win for Moscow in its bid to rebuild influence in the “near abroad” of Central Asia, and beat the American and European competition to the punch in securing… Read moreTurkmenistan: dictator’s death throws gas leases into question
Iraq’s government is drafting a new hydrocarbons law that will chart the course for the country’s oil sector and determine how its revenues will be apportioned. The law would put much of Iraqi oil into the hands of foreign companies,… Read moreIraq drafts new oil law; greater access for multinationals
The quaint traditions of Saddam’s Iaq survive in the US-created new order. From
Fighting exploded between Islamic Courts Union (ICU) forces and the “official” Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia Dec. 20, just as the ICU’s deadline for Ethiopian troops to quit the country or face a declaration of “jihad” expired. Rocket, mortar… Read moreSomalia: “jihad” against Ethiopian forces opens
