Given all the reactionary prattle we have seen in the New York Times lead op-ed slot of late, it was quite a breath of fresh air to read something downright progressive and courageously iconoclastic: "Whose Oil is It, Anyway?" by Antonia Juhasz, an analyst with Oil Change International and author of The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time. We have felt like we're spitting in the wind when we have attacked the bogus arguments of those who claim the Iraq adventure is not about oil, or that oil privatization is good for Iraq. It is vindicating to see someone with a much bigger soapbox and mainstream creds leading the charge against these rascals—for a change. From the New York Times, March 13:

What does this mean? No extradition from Dubai? From the BBC, March 9:

Halliburton, the oil services company formerly headed by US Vice-President Dick Cheney, is moving its headquarters from Texas to Dubai.

Hey, fuck the polar bears. If they don't have what it takes to survive in an unregulated free-market economy, why does the world owe them a living?* From the San Francisco Chronicle, March 9:

U.S. accused of silencing experts on polar bears, climate change
The federal agency responsible for protecting Arctic polar bears has barred two Alaska scientists from speaking about polar bears, climate change or sea ice at international meetings in the next few weeks, a move that environmentalists say is censorship.

A monument to the 191 victims of the March 11, 2004 terror attack has just been unveiled in Madrid. (AP) But that is not what's dominating the headlines from Spain. Did the huge protest over the release of an ETA militant spontaneoulsy "overshadow" the 3-11 commemoration—or was it consciously designed to exploit it, just as José Maria Aznar initially sought to use al-Qaeda's attack as propaganda ammo against ETA? From the London Times, March 12, emphasis added:

From AP, March 9:

GUATEMALA CITY -- Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday.

Thousands march in Montevideo
Thousands of people protested in the streets of Montevideo, Uruguay on the evening of March 9, just before Bush's arrival in the country. A march called by Uruguay's only labor federation, the Inter-Union Workers Plenary-National Workers Convention (PIT-CNT), drew some 10,000 people. A second march, organized by the Anti-imperialist Coordinating Committee, was smaller and more radical, with some of the estimated 1,200 participants wearing ski-masks, burning effigies of Bush and Uruguay's socialist president Tabare Vazquez, and spraypainting or vandalizing McDonald's restaurants, banks and other businesses; 16 people were arrested and accused of vandalism. (DPA, March 9; El Universal, Montevideo, March 10; Terra/Reuters, March 10; La Haine/Fogoneros report March 9 on Uruguay Indymedia)

On March 8, thousands of Brazilians marched to celebrate women's day and protest the visit to Brazil of US president George W. Bush, scheduled to begin that evening. The largest march took place in Sao Paulo, with more than 10,000 people participating (as many as 20,000, according to some reports). When a few demonstrators sat down to block the street, riot police sought to disperse the crowd with a barrage of tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets. Chaos ensued as the demonstrators, including many families with children, tried to escape. About 20 people were injured. Some demonstrators responded by throwing rocks at police; several agents were among those injured. Four demonstrators were detained; they were freed late that same night. (Indymedia Brasil, March 9; Reuters, March 8)

On Feb. 14, six indigenous Mapuche families (about 25 people) began occupying a plot on the 534-acre Santa Rosa estate in Chubut province, in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina. The Italian clothing company Benetton claims ownership of the Santa Rosa estate. With support from many other people, indigenous and non-indigenous, the six families have begun building homes on the land. "This is not a protest, nor is it a clandestine action. We don't intend to be owners, but rather to live as a community in our territory," Mauro Millan, spokesperson for the families, told Tierramerica. (Inter Press Service, Feb. 27 from Tierramerica via CorpWatch; Adital, Feb. 16 from Ansalatina) "With this gesture we want to express that we all have the right to design our own future, that our action can serve as a source of inspiration, as a contribution, as an open space for the participation of those of us who are revaluing cultural diversity," the Mapuche said in a communique on Feb. 14, the day of the occupation. (Communique from Pueblo Nacion Mapuche, Feb. 14)