From the Santa Barbara Independent, Feb. 15: Ignoring the restrictions imposed by the mere geometry of UCSB’s curbs and sidewalks, students marching today in protest of the University of California’s involvement with military efforts stepped across the newly installed roundabout… Read moreWar protesters shut California’s Highway 217
From Military.com, Feb. 1: President Bush and his new military chiefs have been saying for nearly a month that they would “surge” an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, in a last, grand push to quell the violence in Baghdad and… Read moreThe real “surge”: 48,000 troops?
The House passes a non-binding resolution against the “surge”; the Senate fails to. Opponents invoke the need to “support the troops.” Is anybody listening to the troops and their families? From Military Families Speak Out, Feb. 5: Military Families Urge… Read moreMilitary families to Congress: cut the funds
Nepalese PM Girija Prasad Koirala has vowed to amend the country’s constitution to meet the key demands of Madheshi protesters from the country’s southern plains, BBC News reported on Feb. 8. He pledged to introduce a federal system of governance… Read moreNepal: Madheshi people reject marginalization
We noted earlier this week signs of an emerging ethnic insurgency in Iran’s eastern province of Baluchistan. Now news reports make reference not only to bombs, but “insurgents.” We didn’t expect to vindicated so quickly. From AP, Feb. 16: TEHRAN… Read moreBlast, clashes in Iran’s Baluchistan
We’re glad the hijacking was thwarted, but we don’t quite get the politics behind this incident. The hijacker was supposedly seeking asylum from Mauritania (which remains a pretty oppressive place despite the democratic transition supposedly underway there), but Mauritania said… Read moreMysterious Mauritanian hijacking thwarted
From the Japanese American Nichi Bei Times, Feb. 16: On Feb. 7, the court martial of Ehren Watada, the Sansei army lieutenant from Hawai’i who refused deployment to Iraq to participate in what he considers an illegal war of aggression,… Read moreIraq war resister gets mistrial
We’ve noted before that the laws against Holocaust denial are counter-productive, as they muddy the moral waters, showing “democracy” as the “real” totalitarianism. They serve as effective propaganda precisely for those they seek to silence. Unfortunately, here we go again…. Read moreZundel gets five years for Holocaust denial
We hope. From Reuters, Feb. 16: BOGOTA – A scandal over suspected Colombian government links to illegal right-wing militias could hamper President Alvaro Uribe’s bid to clinch a free-trade deal with the United States. Sen. Alvaro Araujo, the brother of… Read moreColombia: para scandal threatens trade deal
From the Regina Leader-Post, Feb. 16: A new chapter began this week in Canada’s relationship with the United States with new American regulations that require passports for air passengers entering the U.S. All non-Americans need a passport to enter the… Read moreNative nations protest US-Canada border restrictions
From Human Rights Watch via Reuters, Feb. 16: Dakar — The Guinean government has failed to control security forces responsible for rapes, robberies and more than 110 killings since mid-January, Human Rights Watch said today. After the imposition of martial… Read moreGuinea: rights abuses under martial law
President Bush has approved plans to create a Pentagon command for Africa, a move that reflects increasing US strategic interests in the continent. Bush said in a Feb. 13 statement that he had asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to get… Read moreAfrica Command: “Follow the oil”
