Three days after President Vicente Fox sent in thousands of federal police troops, Oaxaca City remains divided. Supporters of the Popular People's Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO), driven from the city center, still maintain barricades in many barrios, and pledge to retake the central plaza, called the zocalo. Some 2,000 APPO protesters have established a new encampment at a plaza a few block from the zocalo, which they say will be their new base of operations until they can reclaim the central plaza.

Imagine! Venezuelan meddling in American politics! Where would they ever get an idea like that? From the New York Times via the Denver Post, Oct. 29:

Voting machines' Venezuela link probed

The federal government is investigating the takeover last year of the manufacturer of electronic voting systems used in Denver and Arapahoe County by a small software company that has been linked to the leftist government of President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

From the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), Oct. 30:

London -- James Bond actor Daniel Craig voted against plans to have suicide bombers in the new movie "Casino Royale" because that would anger Muslims.

Which is more hilarious? The US warning regional powers against carrying out a "proxy war" in Somalia while Washington itself is openly backing the warlord alliance that opposes the Islamic Courts Union? Or Eritrea's apparent backing of the Islamic Courts Union to oppose rival Ethiopia even as it uses the supposed jihadist threat to repress freedom at home? From Reuters, Oct. 30:

A bomb blast ripped through a crowd of laborers lining up for work offers in a square in Baghdad's Shi'ite Sadr City enclave Oct. 29, killing at least 25 people and wounding 60. It was the most recent of several attacks by presumed Sunni insurgentsin Sadr City. In July, more than 60 people were killed when a car bomb blasted through a market in the district. (Reuters, Oct. 31) But this attack came as US troops are sweeping Sadr City and throwing up barricades and checkpoints in a search for a kidnapped US soldier. (WP, Oct. 30 via Electronic Iraq) Sadr City residents demonstrated Oct. 30 against the siege of their district by US forces. Shi'ite MP Fallah Hassan Shanshal blaimed US troops for all attacks citizens in the district. Radical Shi'ite leaders Moktada al-Sadr's local office threatened a campaign of "civil defiance" if siege is not lifted. (Alsumaria TV, Iraq, Oct. 30)

On the order of President Vicente Fox, thousands of federal police backed up by army troops stormed past barricades in embattled Oaxaca City Oct. 29, seizing control of the city center from protesters who have held it for five months.

From CTV, Oct. 28:

NATO's top commander apologized Saturday for civilians killed during battles between NATO-led forces and the Taliban militia in Afghanistan this week.

Brad Will (Bradley Roland Will), 36, a photojournalist for New York City's Independent Media Center (IMC) was fatally shot Oct. 27 when gunmen opened fire on a protest barricade in the besieged capital of Oaxaca state in southern Mexico.