A glimmer of hope is that the outcry following the slaying of Hrant Dink is coming from Turks as well as Armenians. Perhaps his death will not have been in vain—or will there be an inevitable backlash? From the UK-based Turkish newspaper Londra Toplum Postasi, Jan. 25:

Hundreds of anti-water privatization activists gathered outside El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly this week to back legislation that would "increase [water] coverage, quality and sustainability and guarantee access… for low-income families." They presented a new proposal entitled "The Potable Water and Sewage Sub-sector Law" for legislative approval. The alternative proposal was developed by a number of civil society organizations in close consultation with communities struggling for access to clean water.

The Honduran government reversed its decision to take over oil storage terminals in attempt to lessen oil prices for the Central American country’s impoverished population. The reversal, announced last Friday, followed a threat by U.S. Ambassador Charles A. Ford, who said that "the consequences of this situation could be serious."

A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a military convoy Jan. 22 near Mirali, in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan, killing four troops and a civilian woman, and injuring 23, including 20 soldiers. The convoy was a joint force of the federal army and local paramilitary troops. (Dawn, Pakistan, Jan. 23) That same day, a helicopter gunships from the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan bombed a border post in the remote Shawal area of North Waziristan, killing one paramilitary troop, injuring two more and prompting an official protest from Islamabad. (IRNA, Iran, Jan. 24) The following day, at least 10 mortar shells were fired from across the Afghan border into Pakistani territory in North Waziristan. Military sources said the shells were fired by Afghan government troops in retaliation for rocket-fire from a guerilla position near the border in Khost province. (Dawn, Jan. 25)

From Reuters, Jan. 24:

MOGADISHU - A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship has launched a second air strike against suspected al Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified U.S. officials.

We have noted internal divisions in Iran over the nuclear issue. This story from the Jan. 23 New York Times provides another piece of the puzzle, and greater nuance than the corporate media generally display on the Tehran regime:

TEHRAN — Iran is barring 38 nuclear agency inspectors from entering the country in retaliation for a United Nations resolution aiming to curb Iran’s nuclear program, a senior Iranian lawmaker said Monday.

The assassination of Hrant Dink has, fortunately, sparked renewed challenges to the censorious Article 301. But the Turkish state seems to be trying to squelch the debate. Would Dink have wanted his funeral to be used in this manner? From the Turkish Daily News, Jan. 24:

Responding to calls from prominent Turks and foreign leaders to annul a controversial law immediately, Justice Minister Cemil Çiçek said on Tuesday that the last thing Turkey needed was to begin another debate on Article 301 of the penal code, arguing that the matter should be discussed after slain journalist Hrant Dink, convicted under the article last year, was laid to rest.

Freedom's on the march. From the San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 24:

One of the Bush administration's most far-reaching assertions of government power was revealed quietly last week when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified that habeas corpus -- the right to go to federal court and challenge one's imprisonment -- is not protected by the Constitution.