We recently argued that the planned NATO intervention in Darfur has more to do with securing the oil resources of neighboring Chad for Exxon than with saving lives in Darfur. Yeah we know, us leftists and our conspiracy theories. But all we do is read the newspapers, honest. First, from Reuters, April 16:

Chad says to stop oil output if no WB deal

N’DJAMENA: Chad will stop its oil production from Tuesday unless it reaches an agreement with the World Bank to end a dispute over the use of oil revenues, a government minister said on Friday.

As in recent similar cases in Bangkok and Nazareth, the attacks on religious targets in Alexandria are being dismissed as the work of a "mentally disturbed" loner. Could be (although note that in this case there were three near-simultaneous attacks). But (as we argued before) even the choice of targets by the proverbial lone nut reflects a general zeitgeist—and the response to the attacks is assuredly political. "Fanatics"? Certainly. But why are there so many fanatics in the world these days? (They are, of course, asking the same question in Delhi right now.) From AP, April 15:

From Gulf News, United Arab Emirates, via TMCNet, April 15:

New Delhi: Delhi was put under red alert after two low-intensity blasts rocked the historic Jama Masjid yesterday.

A glimmer of hope. From AP, April 12:

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they will no longer seek to enforce a gag order on Connecticut librarians who received an FBI demand for records about library patrons under the Patriot Act.

This wave of peasant protest is the first glimmer of real opposition in China since Tiananmen Square. Yet it is getting little media coverage, and the outside world is largely ignoring it. The protests have been sweeping the industrial heartland along the South China Sea coast for months, and some have been incredibly violent—almost paramilitary in their level of organization and militancy, if not weaponry. But is there any leadership or coordination? Or are the protests all still "spontaneous"? From Reuters, via Environmental News Network, April 13:

And this is the "stable" country and chief US ally in the region. Interesting how Pakistan's internal conflicts have spun out of control since the US established it as a staging ground for destabilzing and then policing neighboring Afghanistan. From AFP, April 13:

KARACHI: The Pakistan government sent its army to Karachi on Thursday after unrest broke out ahead of funerals for Sunni Muslim leaders who were among 57 people killed in a suicide blast two days ago, officials said.

The Taliban denies it. So who did do it? AP, April 12:

ASADABAD, Afghanistan — A rocket exploded Tuesday in a schoolyard in eastern Afghanistan, killing seven students and wounding 34 other people in an attack possibly aimed at a nearby U.S. military base, officials said.

From Bloomberg, April 12:

Iran Could Produce Nuclear Bomb in 16 Days, U.S. Says

Iran, defying United Nations Security Council demands to halt its nuclear program, may be capable of making a nuclear bomb within 16 days, a U.S. State Department official said.