Hugo Chavez threatens to cut oil to the US at the same time that he makes it available at a subsidized rate to low-income US consumers. Capitol Hill Republicans go apoplectic that a developing country could stand up to Uncle Sam while making shrewd overtures to the working people of the United States. Sometimes Chavez really seems to have his eye on the ball, even if we don't like his bluster about building nuclear power plants. From AP, Feb. 27:

A rather ironic way to note the 20th anniversary of the "People Power" revolution that ousted longtime dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. Those who marched in Manila to commemorate the revolution over the weekend did so in defiance of a state of emergency that bans all public gatherings. (BBC, Feb. 27) And one of those arrested in the alleged plot against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is a hero of the 1986 revolution. Details from this Feb. 27 Al-Jazeera account:

From AP via the Glasgow Herald, Feb. 27:

Tens of of thousands of demonstrators, including ministers and politicians of all stripes, united in a show of force against racism and anti-Semitism yesterday, marching through the capital after the torture and killing of a Parisian Jew.

From the Village Voice Power Plays blog, Feb. 25:

Critical Mass: NYPD Carries Smaller Stick This Week

by Sarah Ferguson

The NYPD switched up its game at Friday's Critical Mass ride. Instead of making mass arrests for protest charges like disorderly conduct and parading without a permit, cops cited cyclists with traffic violations, then let them go on their way.

From DPA, Feb. 26:

A bomb blast Sunday at a Shiite shrine in the southern city of Basra injured four people, a security source said.

The incident at a shrine to Imam Ali in central Basra, 550 kilometres south of Baghdad, occurred before noon, the source said.

Would be rather a Phyrric victory if, four years and counting after Operation Enduring Freedom, the US wound up losing control of both Pakistan and Afghanistan simultaneously. From VOA, Feb. 27:

Hundreds of Afghan forces - backed by tanks and rocket launchers - have surrounded the country's main high security prison after Taleban and al-Qaida prisoners seized control Saturday evening. Authorities restarted negotiations Monday but warned the government could use force end the standoff.

Is Pakistan's Islamist military government going to fall—to even more radical Islamists? Just what the world needs—a nuclear-armed Taliban. Of course the repression will only enflame things. Dictators always seem to learn that lesson too late. From Pakistan's Dawn Feb. 27:

Police sealed all entry points into the city on Sunday in a bid to prevent opposition activists from reaching Lahore to participate in a rally called by the Qaumi Majlis-i-Mushawarat.

Hey, its all just good, clean fun compared to what they do to the civilian population. From Mercopress, Feb. 21:

Colombian Army "basic training" exercises for recruits that involved scorching with a branding iron, beatings, near-drowning and sexual abuses ended Tuesday with the sacking of the commander of the force.