Received via Chiapas95, Jan. 16:

Hello,
My name is Bina Darabzand. From Tehran, Iran. I run a Leftist Site Salam-Democrat.com, in persian language for the Iranian "Radical Left" Young Student movement in Iran. We only heard of Oaxaca Movement after Brad Will was killed. Since, I have tried to keep my readers up to date with the events &analysis by giving sum-ups of Narco News, Indymedia & Prensa Latina reports & few Translations of Speeches & Texts. I have joined your group with hopes of better serving my readers & possibility of taking some actions in support of the Oaxaca Movement & APPO. Ofcourse you know that in Iran we are limited in actions we can take.

Received via Zapagringo blog, Jan. 18:

Brad Will’s Family Seeks “a Vigorous Prosecution of the Guilty Parties”
Human Rights Attorney Miguel Angel de Los Santos Takes the Case to Mexican Court

by Craig Will
Brother of Brad Will (1970-2006)

The Will family is pleased to have the renowned Mexican human rights lawyer, Miguel Angel de Los Santos Cruz, join the cause for justice in the case of Bradley Roland Will’s death.

From Mexico's Centro de Medios Libres, Jan. 15:

Adherent to the Other Campaign seriously injured. Solidarity required.

After the Meeting of the Zapatista Peoples with the Peoples of the World was over, Ricardo, an adherent to the Other Campaign in Mexico City was brutally clubbed by several men on January 6 in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, where he had stayed on to participate iin follow-up activities. The attack was apparently a repressive action.

Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, bishop of the Chiapas Highlands, called upon Mexico's federal government to urgently address the recent spike in tortilla prices, invoking the possibility of a new uprising in the restive state. "With all respect for the federal authorities, I exhort them to find a means to resolve this grave problem for the economy of the poor, if they truly care about the poor and they don't want to see new social movements as dramatic as that of 1994," he said. (Melel Xojobal News Synthesis, Chiapas, Jan 15 via Chiapas95)

Israeli historian Benny Morris, once seen as a post-Zionist dissident, produces a terrifying piece of war propaganda. Far be it from us to be optimistic, but this scenario strikes us as a long shot. Is Ahmedinejad likely to still be in power five years hence, even if the fear-mongers do not succeed in prompting military intervention against his regime? Even if he is, and even if he really is lusting to exterminate the Jews (rather than shrewdly playing a card to solidify his internal support), would he really be so sanguine about committting genocide against Muslims (even Sunnis)—and going down in history as the man who destroyed the al-Aksa Mosque? And even if the answer to all those questions is "yes," is he so fanatical as to risk massive US retaliation, which strikes us as a certainty? (The fact that Morris can describe the current hyper-interventionist posture of the US as "isolationist" indicates how far out of wack he is.) In fact, Israel would likely launch a pre-emptive strike as soon as Tel Aviv figured out what he was planning—and, despite his protestations that Israel would be paralyzed and the US apathetic, a pre-emptive srtike seems to be what Morris is really arguing for. Which brings us to the most salient point: Doesn't Morris realize that aggression by Israel would only make its own destruction that much more likely? Talk about creating what you fear... Originally published in German by Die Welt, Jan. 6 (translation received via e-mail):

It now stands at five minutes to midnight. Before this change, it stood at seven to midnight, having moved forward two minutes in February 2002. That was the same position it stood at when the clock was unveiled in 1947. It is now closer than at any time since 1984, the peak of the Reagan arms race, when it was moved to three minutes to midnight. That, in turn, was the closest it stood since 1953, when the Soviets developed the H-bomb, and the Clock was moved to two minutes of midnight. The furthest it has ever stood was 17 to midnight in 1991, with the end of the Cold War. (Clock Timeline) From the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jan. 17:

Another step closer to global catastrophe. From Kuwait News Agency, Jan. 9 (emphasis added):

TOKYO -- Japan on Tuesday upgraded the Defense Agency to a full-fledged ministry for the first time since World War II, when the US stripped Japan of its right to a military.

From The Scotsman, Jan. 18, links and emphasis added:

Mullah Omar, leader of the Taleban, is living in Pakistan under the protection of the country's intelligence service, a captured Taleban spokesman has told Afghan interrogators.