From Bangkok's The Nation, Jan. 4:

Blasts shatter hopes for reconciliation
The bomb blasts that hit Bangkok on New Year's Eve signalled that the worst is yet to come. The explosions, which killed three people and injured almost 40, were certainly not the work of international terrorists, who typically direct their attacks at large targets for maximum impact and exposure -- that much is certain. However theories and counter-theories abound regarding the other two key suspects -- southern insurgents and the remnants of the previous regime. Some analysts have ruled out militants from the deep South on the grounds that it would be unlikely for them to want to venture beyond their accustomed areas. Besides, the manner in which the bomb devices were planted in eight different locations in Bangkok was too sophisticated for southern insurgents.

A communique from the Iraq Freedom Congress, Dec. 29:

Iraq Freedom Congress statement on Saddam's execution

The execution of Saddam was carried out and announced by the global media. As IFC stated soon after the death sentence was issued, this trial had nothing to do with serving justice, restoring dignity to Iraqis or to preserving the human rights that have been violated in the "new democratic Iraq" more than ever.

A communique from the Worker-Communist Party of Iran, Dec. 30, received via e-mail:

On the execution of Saddam Hussein

This morning Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq, was hanged on the orders of the US government and its hand-made ethnic-religious regime. For around 30 years, Saddam’s regime was a symbol of the most criminal and repressive dictatorships in history, claiming countless victims. The repression, brutality and tyranny of the Ba’ath regime caused enormous suffering for the people of Iraq, in particular political opponents, labour activists, communists and ethnic and religious minorities. Tens of thousands of people were tortured, executed and eliminated under that regime or brutally massacred by chemical bombs and other means. The atrocities of Saddam’s regime are truly beyond description and will never be forgotten.

Shulamit Aloni writes for Ynet (English translation via Kibush), Jan. 4:

Indeed there is Apartheid in Israel
A new order issued by the GOC Central command bans the conveyance of Palestinians in Israeli vehicles. Such a blatant violation of the right to travel joins the long list of humans rights violations carried out by Israel in the [Occupied] Territories.

From El Universal, Jan. 2 via Chiapas95:

Relatives of prisoners detained during a Nov. 25 federal crackdown on Oaxaca demonstrators set up a protest camp outside the Miahuatlan prison in Oaxaca City Monday, and vowed to stay there until all the jailed sympathizers of the Oaxaca People's Assembly (APPO) are set free.

From El Universal, Jan. 2 via Chiapas95. We take strong exception to the last paragraph, for reasons which should be clear to our readers.

OVENTIC, Chiapas - Thousands of Zapatista rebels on Monday celebrated the 13th anniversary of their brief uprising against the Mexican government with dance, song and discussions aimed at improving the status of poor Indians in the southern state of Chiapas.

From El Universal, Dec. 29 via Chiapas95:

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ - The Chiapas state government said Wednesday it has created a special prosecutor's office to investigate a 1997 massacre of 45 indigenous villagers.

Sadam Hussein was hanged in the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 30 for crimes against humanity in the mass murder of 148 men and boys from the Shi'ite town of Dujail in 1982, after a failed assassination attempt against him there. Also hanged were Awad Haman Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, and Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim. Four other co-defendants received prison terms ranging from 15 years to life. While President Bush called the execution a milestone on Iraq's road to democracy, Human Rights Watch denounced it, calling Saddam's trial "deeply flawed."