A Somali cleric who is on the US list of terror suspects was elected as head of the Islamist militia that controls the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the country’s south. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys was elected in absentia June… Read moreAl-Qaeda suspect elected to lead Somalia
Kidnapping workers is the latest tactic of the Iraqi insurgents that some on the supposed left persist in glorfying as the “resistance.” On June 25, unidentified gunmen kidnapped 16 employees of a technology institute in Taji, north of Baghdad. Taji… Read moreIraq Freedom Congress protests abduction of workers
From Israel’s largest newspaper, Yediot Aharanot: Refuseniks call on soldiers to refuse striking Gaza June 23 by Yossi Yehoshua The Courage to Refuse organization, which advocates soldiers’ refusal to serve in the occupied territories, renewed its activity on Thursday in… Read moreIsraeli Refuseniks: quit firing at Gaza
Italy down. Spain down. Now Japan. From AP, June 20: TOKYO — Japan ordered the withdrawal of its ground troops from Iraq on Tuesday, declaring the humanitarian mission a success and ending a groundbreaking dispatch that tested the limits of… Read moreJapan announces Iraq withdrawal
Here is the proof that the United States is not totalitarian state. Under totalitarianism, the government spies and collects data on its own citizens, without the formalities of warrants or court orders. In the United States, in contrast, these functions… Read moreBig Brother goes corporate
From The New Standard, June 22: Lynne Stewart, a lawyer convicted of terrorism-related charges, has asked a federal court to compel the federal government to disclose whether the National Security Agency’s illegal warrantless domestic-spying program helped the prosecution in its… Read moreDid NSA spy on Lynne Stewart?
More scapegoats are hung out to dry, this time in relation to the Hamdania case. We’re reminded of the famous line from Apocalypse Now: “Charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets at the… Read moreFamilies rally for indicted Marines
No “state of emergency,” eh? Just like there’s no civil war. These distinctions appear to be rather semantic. From Al-Arab, June 23: Iraq’s government will impose a curfew in Baghdad on Friday, from 2 p.m. (10:00 GMT) until 6 a.m.(02:00GMT)… Read moreBaghdad under curfew; no “state of emergency”
The Japanese constitution—ironically imposed at US behest after World War II—states that “land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.” Now Japanese warships participate in US military maneuvers in the Pacific. From AFP,… Read moreJapan participates in US Pacific missile test
From AFP, June 7 via Spacewar: A new world war involving nuclear weapons may have already begun, Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said Wednesday, warning that an attack on Iran would be disastrous. Mahathir said that bloodshed in Iraq… Read moreMalaysia’s Mahathir: “World War 4” looms
Having heretofore run only a photo with a caption, the New York Times today finally takes note of the labor strife and deadly repression in Oaxaca (albeit on page 6). Isn’t it interesting, though, that rare accounts in the mainstream… Read moreNYT notices Oaxaca strife —at last!
From Mexico’s El Universal, June 21, via Chiapas95: Arrest warrants issued for 23 officers A top State of Mexico judge issued arrest warrants for 23 police officers who stand accused of abuse and use of excessive force during unrest in… Read moreCrackdown widens in Atenco case
