Ultra-orthodox Haredim Jews torched trash cans in Jerusalem's Shabbat Square and nearby streets March 7. Police closed all roads leading to the square and heavily deployed forces in the area. The unrest comes two days after dozens of Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces again stormed East Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque compound to break up protests following Friday prayers, firing tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades. (YNet, Ma'an News Agency, March 7)

Its been a bad week for the 9-11 conspiranoia set. First, the Pentagon shooter appears to have emerged from within their milieu; now Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad weighs in for their wackiness in the most vulgar terms. From CNN, March 7:

Municipal police in San Nicolás de los Garza, a suburb of Mexico's northern industrial hub of Monterrey, staged protests outside their precinct stations March 6 after three of their colleagues were shot to death and a fourth was gravely wounded in a dawn ambush on a patrol car. The protesting cops demanded better weapons, more bulletproof vests, and life insurance. "We want our rifles back," was a favored slogan. City officials said the police have agreed to continue working "under protest" while talks are underway.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended a five-day tour of Latin America March 5 with a stop in Guatemala, where she promised the assembled Central American leaders more Drug War aid—and repeated her call for them to recognize the new government of Porfirio Lobo in Honduras. "We support the work that President Lobo is doing to promote national unity and strengthen democracy," Clinton said at a news conference, announcing that the US will restore aid to Honduras. Lobo himself attended the meeting—seeming to signal a step toward normalizing relations with Guatemala and El Salvador. Costa Rica and Panama, also in attendance, have already recognized the Lobo government. The Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega, who did not attend the meeting, is unlikely to do so. Also on hand were the presidents of Belize and the Dominican Republic. (NYT, CSM, March 5)

The number of extremist groups in the United States exploded in 2009 as militias and other organizations steeped in anti-government conspiracy theories exploited populist anger across the country and infiltrated the mainstream, according to a report issued this week by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The man who shot two police officers at the Pentagon March 4 was apparently a devoted follower of the 9-11 "Truth" movement. Police say John Patrick Bedell, 36, acted alone, but his apparent online postings indicate that he was a dedicated conspiracy theorist. His now-deleted Wikipedia user page said he wished to establish "the truth of events such as the 9-11 demolitions and institutions such as the coup regime of 1963 that maintains itself in power through the global drug trade, financial corruption, and murder, among other crimes."

White House advisers are considering recommending that accused 9-11 co-conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed be tried in a military court rather than through the civilian criminal justice system, according to March 5 reports. The Washington Post reported that President Obama's legal advisers are finishing their review of the Mohammed file, and CNN confirmed that a military tribunal is still an option. Authorities have been unable to decide where to try Mohammed, with many Republicans and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opposed to holding the trial in a civilian court in Manhattan.

The US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs voted 23-22 March 2 to adopt a resolution that recognizes the Ottoman Empire's treatment of Armenians between 1915 and 1923 as genocide. In his opening remarks, committee chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), noted that every country must face uncomfortable issues its past, stating, "It is now time for Turkey to accept the reality of the Armenian Genocide."