Another sign of Nigeria's social breakdown—and similar tensions are reported from Ghana. From Xinhua, Jan. 9:

Six persons were killed at the weekend in a bloody clash between herdsmen and farmers in Korenganuwa village in Nigeria's northwestern state of Zamfara, the official News Agency of Nigeria reported on Monday.

More than a thousand peasants and fishermen marched in Campeche, in the Yucatan peninsula, Jan. 6 to protest the degradation of their lands and waters by the state oil company Pemex. Participants included members of the National Campesino Confederation, the Supreme Maya Council, the Council of Campesino Organizations, and other member groups of Campeche's newly-formed Frente Estatal de Organizaciones Campesinas y Pesqueras (State Front of Peasant and Fisherman Organizations). In its first statement, issued the day of the march, the State Front denounced the rural development policies of President Felipe Calderon and demanded restitution for damaged lands and waters. (La Jornada, Jan. 7 via Chiapas95)

Since the beginning of the year we've been keeping track of ghastly acts of (non-Muslim) terrorism from around the world which the media have largely played down or completely ignored. The latest entry is from India's restive Northeast. From BBC News, Jan. 7:

Suspected separatist rebels have carried out more attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in a third day of violence in India's Assam state.

From Catholic Information Service for Africa via AllAfrica, Jan. 5:

A message purportedly from the deputy leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network has appeared on the internet, urging the Union of Islamic Courts fighters in Somalia to launch suicide attacks against Ethiopian troops.

Incoming Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended that President Bush order an immediate buildup of 10,000 troops in Iraq, with an option of doubling that to 20,000 by spring. The plan is known as "Five Plus Two," sending five Army brigades into Baghdad plus two Marine battalions into western Iraq. Two of the Army brigades would go into Baghdad starting in January, with the other three on call. The plan comes with a high-level personnel shake-up in the Global War on Terrorism apparatus. Gen. David Petraeus has been named to replace Gen. George Casey as top US commander in Iraq, with Adm. William Fallon, now head of the Pacific Command, to replace Gen. John Abizaid as chief of Central Command. Outgoing Abizaid and Casey have both expressed qualms in recent weeks about boosting US forces in Iraq, with Abizaid warning that an increase of 20,000 could not be sustained for long by the overburdened US military. (CBS, Jan. 6)

The year is off to a great start. As in Madrid and Bangkok, somebody seeks to prove the intellectual superiority of their position by blowing up random civilians. (And none of these three cases involves Muslims, by the way.) From the NYT. Jan. 6:

COLOMBO — A powerful bomb blew up a passenger bus on Saturday, killing 11 people and wounding more than 40 others on the southern coast of Sri Lanka.

The routing of Somalia's Islamist forces from their last stronghold in the southern port of Kismayo is being portrayed in the Western press as a victory for order and civilization against extremism and terrorism. A look at the local press reveals that the forces of the so-called "Federal Transition Government" which have taken the city are led by exactly the same warlord whose misrule had resulted in the populace rallying to the Islamic Courts Union in the first place. From Garowe Online, Jan. 1:

We actually sympathize with the cause of Basque independence, but given everything that is going on in the world, why does anybody think blowing up random civilians is a legitimate means to acheive political aims? The Basque movement does appear to be divided—or does this indicate that the attack was a provocation to sabotage the peace talks? From The New Standard, Jan. 4: