A new military operation on Mindanao and growing impetus for a sweeping "anti-terrorism" bill in Manila, both aimed at the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)—which denies involvement in the terror blasts which have targeted markets and other public places, leaving a dozen dead in recent days. From the Philippines' Sun-Star Network, Oct. 11:

While the Mexican Senate ponders dissolving the powers of Oaxaca's state government, thousands of activists from the Oaxaca Popular Peoples Assembly (APPO) and the striking teachers union are camped outside, having marched 290 miles cross-country from the conflicted state to Mexico City.

After rejecting an offer from the federal government to end the five-month standoff in Oaxaca, striking teachers and community leaders are preparing a counter-proposal in the tense negotiations. Meanwhile, thousands of teachers and activists have arrived at the outskirts of Mexico City after marching 466 kilometers (290 miles) from Oaxaca.

As of this writing, some 12 hours after North Korea announced its first test of a nuclear weapon, at an underground site in North Hamgyong province, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has still not moved the hands of the famous Doomsday Clock, which last moved forward in February 2002 and now stands at seven to midnight—just as it did at its unveiling in 1947. Has North Korea indeed now joined the elite "nuclear club," heretofore consisting of the US, Russia, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan and Israel?

The New York Times notes Oct. 6 that charges were dropped against Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, whose fictional character committed the crime of refering to the "Armenian genocide." But almost simultaneously, charges were brought against another writer, Hrant Dink, who dared to uphold historical truth. This Sept. 29 report from Turkey's BIA news agency indicates growing dissent among Turkish intellectuals:

We recently noted a violent struggle in Colombia's Sierra San Lucas, where army and paramilitary troops, apparently in league with major gold-mining interests, are terrorizing small-scale independent campesino miners from their lands. A similar struggle now appears underway in Bolivia's Oruro department—except this time, it is miner-versus-miner: the independent prospectors versus the unionized employees of the state mining company—and both sectors are a support base for Evo Morales, creating yet another dilemma for the populist president. From AP, Oct. 7:

Especially given the contested presidential elections and the seizure of popular power in Oaxaca—both potential threats to Mexico's ruling elites—it is ominous indeed to see the evident emergence of Colombia-style death squads linked to the drug trade and (we can assume) elements of the security forces. From Reuters, Oct. 8:

Freedom's on the march. From the Rocky Mountain News, Oct. 3:

Arrest over Cheney barb triggers lawsuit
A Denver-area man filed a lawsuit today against a member of the Secret Service for causing him to be arrested after he approached Vice President Dick Cheney in Beaver Creek this summer and criticized him for his policies concerning Iraq.