World War 4 Report editor Bill Weinberg, exiled from New York's WBAI-FM for his political dissent, has launched the first Internet edition of the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade, for the moment on YouTube. Many thanks to Stephen and Emerson Euphoria Sherman for production. In this initial episode, Weinberg relates the story of the radio show since its founding by Peter Lamborn Wilson more than 20 years ago, and explores the esoteric history of Moorish Orthodoxy and its links to the anarchist tradition. Some of the edits are a bit jumpy, but we believe it is an impressive first effort. Please note the annotations below, and tell us what you think.

Police in Mexico City announced the arrest of Óscar Osvaldo García Montoya, AKA "El Compayito" on Aug. 11—purported leader of "La Mano con Ojos" (Hand with Eyes) criminal organization, who is accused in some 900 killings. The raid was carried out by police from the Federal District and México state, with intelligence provided by the Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR). El Compayito, originally from Sinaloa, is said to have started his career as a sicario (hitman) for the Beltrán Leyva cartel before breaking off to form his own organization. His collaborators in the Beltran-Leyva cartel were named as Edgar Valdés AKA "La Barbie" and Gerardo Álvarez AKA "El Indio"—who was detained last year, and also said to be fighting his former Beltran-Leyva masters. El Compayito is a deserter from the Mexican navy, where he had achieved the rank of corporal and trained with Guatemala's elite military force, the Kaibiles.

The Economist, sacred guardian of the neoliberal order, fears "Anarchy in the UK" in an Aug. 9 commentary:

There is something deeply disturbing about the idea that your own city is out of control. There have been riots in London before but usually these have been confined to a single area—Brixton and Tottenham in the 1980s. These disturbances were in multiple locations, familiar names to all Londoners—Camden, Clapham, Croydon, Ealing, Hackney, Peckham and Woolwich—as well as other big cities such as Birmingham and Liverpool.

The head of Brazil's indigenous affairs agency, FUNAI, is to make an emergency visit to a remote Amazon outpost amid fears that members of an isolated tribe may have been "massacred" by drug traffickers. The move comes after a guard post protecting the "uncontacted" people was overrun by heavily-armed men, believed to be drug-traffickers from neighboring Peru. The post was ransacked and equipment destroyed. Fears mounted for the welfare of the indigenous bands after FUNAI workers found a rucksack apparently abandoned by one of the traffickers with a broken arrow inside. A rapid aerial survey has shown no trace of the uncontacted group, which made global headlines after being filmed from the air earlier this year. The post is located on the edge of the Xinane Isolated Indigenous Territory along the Río Envira in Acre state, some 32 kilometers from the border with Peru's department of Madre de Dios.

The Tripoli regime on Aug. 9 accused NATO of killing 85 of civilians, including several children, in an air attack on a village in western Libya. The remote village Majar, lies south of the town of Zlitan, on a ridge overlooking the rebel-held city of Misrata. A BBC correspondent reports that he saw about 30 body bags at a local hospital, but it was unclear how the people died. NATIO says the target was a military one, with civilian deaths unlikely. "NATO had very clear intelligence demonstrating that former farm buildings were being used as a staging point for pro-Gaddafi forces to conduct attacks against the people of Libya," the alliance said in a statement. "We do not have evidence of civilian casualties at this stage, although military casualties, including mercenaries, are very likely owing to the nature of the target." (The Telegraph, VOA, BBC News, Aug. 9)

Lebanese singer Zeid Hamdan of the band Zeid and the Wings was briefly jailed July 27 on charges of defaming President Michel Suleiman, who is a former commander of the armed forces, in his single "General Suleiman." From his cell, he managed to get out the following Facebook message: "Dear friends, I am now in the prison of the police station of the Palace of Justice in Beirut because of my song 'General Soleiman'. They are prosecuting me for defammation of President Soleiman. I dont know, until when I am staying in prison. Please mobilize!" There was an immediate outcry, and Hamdan was released after a few hours—and the charge seemingly dropped. The song's lyrics go, to a catchy reggae beat: "General Suleiman, Peace be upon you, General Suleimen. Put your weapons down, put your weapons down, now it's time to leave your warlords behind." The song ends: "General Suleiman, go home." (The National, UAE, Aug. 8; LA Times; Babylon & Beyond blog, July 28)

On Aug. 2 Honduran president Porfirio ("Pepe") Lobo Sosa announced that Honduras plans to support an effort by the Palestinian Authority to win recognition for Palestine as a state during the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September. Israeli officials reacted immediately. On Aug. 3 the ambassador to Honduras, Eliahu López, called the statement "a dagger wound in the heart of Israel." In Jerusalem the Foreign Ministry called in Honduran ambassador José Isaías Barahona to express "surprise" and "disappointment." According to the Jerusalem Post, Deputy Director General for Latin America Dorit Shavit "reminded the ambassador that Israel stood by Honduras two years ago when it went through a constitutional crisis that led to widespread worldwide condemnation"—apparently a reference to the June 2009 military coup that overthrew former president José Manuel ("Mel") Zelaya Rosales (2006-2009). [Israel was apparently one of the few countries to recognize the de facto regime after the coup.]

Workers at Chile's Escondida copper mine voted on Aug. 5 to end a 15-day-old strike despite failing to win their demand for a bonus of 5 million pesos ($10,562). By a 65.5% majority they agreed to settle for a 2.6 million peso bonus ($5,492)—less than management's earlier offer of 2.8 million pesos ($5,916)—but the company,the Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton corporation, is to pay the workers for the days they were on strike. Union officials admitted the members were worn out after two weeks without pay.