This is the dawning of the age of the robots. From BBC News, Nov. 16:

Police in Northern Ireland consider using mini drones
Police aerial surveillance in Northern Ireland may be about to take on a whole new form—one that belongs more to the world of sci-fi and the future.

The PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] is considering the use of mini drones to combat crime and the dissident republican threat.

Inspired by the global Occupation movement, a group of mostly women protesters from all over Japan are camping in front of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district to oppose nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. The camp, established Oct. 30, also embraces the economic demands of the wider movement. (Panorient News, Nov. 5)

The usually cautious International Energy Agency (IEA) warned last week that without far-reaching action in the next five years, the world will lock itself into high-emissions energy sources that will push climate change beyond the 2 degrees Celsius considered relatively "safe" by many scientists and officials. "As each year passes without clear signals to drive investment in clean energy, the 'lock-in' of high-carbon infrastructure is making it harder and more expensive to meet our energy security and climate goals," said IEA chief economist Fatih Birol. The IEA predicts that coal consumption could jump 65% by 2035, and that oil prices are likely to hit $150 a barrel. Subsidies of renewable energy are predicted to jump by four times, hitting $250 billion annually—but this is still well below current fossil fuel subsidies of $409 billion.

NTC forces based in the western city of Zawiya have for the past days been clashing with Wershifanna tribal fighters in the nearby Hashan area. Rumors maintain that Saif al-Islam Qaddafi is being harbored by the tribal fighters. AFP tells us Warfalla tribesmen are "thirsting for revenge" after their bastion Bani Walid was "looted and pillaged" by anti-Qaddafi fighters. The Washington Post in its Nov. 13 report of the clashes notes that fighting also broke out two weeks ago when fighters from the city of Misrata and the mountain town of Zintan attempted to "settle old scores" at Tripoli's central hospital. There have also been at least three shoot-outs between a local Tripoli brigade in the upscale Hay al-Andalus district and a group of Zintanis who have taken up residence in the plush Regatta compound where Qaddafi cronies lived. Zintan is in the Berber area of western Libya, but a very pessimistic National Post analysis of Oct. 29 notes that Zintan is also the name of an Arab tribe from the area, also called the Megrahi, which is allied with the Warfalla tribe in opposition to the NTC. As we have written, these tribes are traditional enemies of Qaddafi's own tribe, the Qadhadfa, and joined the rebellion against him, but seem to have suffered reprisals by NTC forces nonetheless.

Oil prices rose Nov. 6 to $95 a barrel, a more than seven-week peak, on heightened concerns about Iran's nuclear program and rumors of impending Israeli military strikes on the Islamic Republic. The tensions come as the International Atomic Energy Agency released a report finding that Iran is capable of developing a nuclear weapon, although stopping short of saying it intends to do so. (Reuters, WP, Nov. 7) Days earlier, Israel successfully tested a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The Jericho 3 missile, fired from Palmahim air force base, was seen by tens of thousands of Israelis. Many called the emergency services and radio stations in panic, believing it was an incoming missile. Defense minister Ehud Barak said: "This is an impressive technological achievement and an important step in Israel's progress in the missile and space field." (Irish Times, Nov. 3)

For the first time since the 1999 Seattle protests, a movement in the United States is in the vanguard of global resistance to capital. But this time, the stakes are much higher. Now, from Europe to the Arab world to South America to Manhattan and Oakland, the planet seems headed into a revolutionary situation. Occupy Wall Street, which has brought the struggle to the very nerve-center of world capitalism, has responsibilities on a world scale. There are some things that it is very important that we get right.

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The Israeli government immediately said it would move ahead with "sensitive housing projects" as a rebuttal to UNESCO's Oct. 31 decision to grant Palestine full-member status. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a forum of eight senior ministers formally decided the next day to initiate a new wave of settlement construction on the West Bank. The Prime Minister's Office said the construction of 2,000 housing units planned in East Jerusalem, Gush Etzion and Ma'aleh Adumim should be expedited. "All of the mentioned areas are ones that would remain in Israeli control under any future peace agreement," the PMO said in a statement. The "forum of eight" also resolved to suspend the transfer to the Palestinian Authority of tax remittances collected by Israel in October. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman additionally announced that Israel will "review its relations" with the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (Haaretz, Nov. 2; YNet, Oct. 31)