Simón Trinidad [nom de guerre of Ricardo Palmera Piñeda], the FARC's well-known prisoner-exchange negotiator, was today sentenced to 60 years in prison in Federal District Court in Washington, DC. Several months ago, Trinidad was found guilty of conspiracy to take three [US] military contractors as hostages, a crime occurring back in 2003. The sentence was determined in a separate proceeding held today.

At least five were killed in Beirut Jan. 27 in clashes between Lebanese soldiers and young Shi'ite residents protesting electricity cuts. Hezbollah issued a statement holding "the de facto authorities" fully responsible for "every drop of blood shed," and demanding that the army identify "who opened fire on innocent citizens demanding their social rights." Meanwhile, the 14 March coalition, which supports the western-backed government, accused "forces of the Syrian-Iranian axis" of "detonating the situation and stirring up dangerous disturbances." It said the opposition were "acting on the orders of the Syrian-Iranian axis, which is openly inciting disorder, and exploiting economic problems..." (BBC, Jan. 28)

Freedom's on the march. From the Winston-Salem Journal, NC, Jan. 26:

An inmate claiming widespread harassment of Muslims in U.S. prisons cannot sue prison guards who he says took his Qurans and prayer rug, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

From the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN), Jan. 28:

Accountability for Suharto's Crimes Must Not Die With Him
Indonesia's former dictator General Suharto has died in bed and not in jail, escaping justice for his numerous crimes in East Timor and throughout the Indonesian archipelago. One of the worst mass murderers of the 20th century, his death tolls still shock:

Spain's Justice Minister Mariano Fernandez Bermejo said Jan. 23 he will ask the Spanish cabinet to outlaw Basque Nationalist Action (ANV) and the Communist Party of the Basque Lands (EHAK) on grounds that they are part of Batasuna, the nationalist party banned in 2003 for its supposed links to the Basque armed group ETA. The move to ban the parties would have to be upheld by the courts. (EiTB24, Jan. 24)

Some 1,000 anti-fascist activists gathered on Jan. 19 in Pilsen, Czech Republic, to commemorate the victims of Nazi terror. The date marked the 66th anniversary of the deportation of Pilsen's Jews. The night before, local "anti-fa" in Pribram, Jan Kucera, 18, was knifed to death by neo-Nazi Jiri Fous, 20. The incident occurred after skinheads marched in Pribram, giving the Nazi salute and provoking a group of young punks and anti-fascist skinheads, to which Kucera belonged. (Antifa.cz, Jan. 20)

A new "manifesto" from five senior Western military commanders finds: "The risk of further [nuclear] proliferation is imminent and, with it, the danger that nuclear war fighting, albeit limited in scope, might become possible. The first use of nuclear weapons must remain in the quiver of escalation as the ultimate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction." The document is likely to be discussed at the April NATO summit in Bucharest. The authors are Gen. John Shalikashvili, ex-NATO commander and ex-chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff; Germany's Gen. Klaus Naumann; the Netherlands' Gen. Henk van den Breemen; Admiral Jacques Lanxade of France; and Lord Inge of the UK. The document is said to include Lord Inge's recommendation: "To tie our hands on first use or no first use removes a huge plank of deterrence." (The Telegraph, Jan. 24; The Guardian, Jan. 22)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez told a Caracas press conference Jan. 26: "I accuse the government of Colombia of devising a conspiracy, acting as a pawn of the US empire, of devising a military provocation against Venezuela. A military aggression is being prepared." He warned that Venezuela would cut off all oil exports in the event of a military strike. "In that scenario, write it down: The price of oil would reach US$300, because there wouldn't be oil for anyone. The invaders would have to step over our dead bodies."