A new adittion to the alphabet soup of armed rebel groups in Africa's most oil-rich region: the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). From the BBC, Feb. 17:

A Nigerian militant commander in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta has told the BBC his group is declaring "total war" on all foreign oil interests.

From the Village Voice's Power Plays blog, Feb. 15:

Judge: City Can't Stop Critical Mass Ride

by Sarah Ferguson

A judge today threw another monkey wrench in New York City's effort to stop the Critical Mass bike rides.

In a 24-page ruling issued late Wednesday morning, New York Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Stallman rejected the city's motion for a preliminary injunction to bar people from going on the monthly rides and gathering in Union Square without permits.

From the UK Telegraph, Feb. 12:

US prepares military blitz against Iran's nuclear sites
Strategists at the Pentagon are drawing up plans for devastating bombing raids backed by submarine-launched ballistic missile attacks against Iran's nuclear sites as a "last resort" to block Teheran's efforts to develop an atomic bomb.

How does this square with the fatwa against nuclear weapons reportedly issued by Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last year (which predictably failed to accrue any media attention in the West)? From the neo-conservative Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Feb. 17:

The overwhelming majority of those protesting the notorious Danish cartoons have, of course, never seen them. The same goes for the overwhelming majority of those defending them. Whatever one thinks of them, there is a strong case that newspapers by this point have a responsibility to print them just to let their readers see what is at the center of a global protest wave. But, with depressing predictability, in the US and much of Europe this falls to the ideological conservative press, which then get to smirk and gloat about how the rest of the world is too intimidated by the Muslim menace. A sneering case in point is Human Events, "the National Conservative Weekly," which has all twelve cartoons on its website.

From South Africa's Mail & Guardian, from wire sources, Feb. 15:

Italian minister to wear Muhammad cartoon T-shirt
A prominent Italian government figure planned on Wednesday to wear a T-shirt sporting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that have sparked violent reactions from Muslims around the world.

Yet more evidence of the Western democracies' sterling commitment to freedom of expression. From the Washington Post:

LONDON, Feb. 15 -- The House of Commons on Wednesday backed a bill that would make "glorification" of terrorism a criminal offense, a measure that Prime Minister Tony Blair called crucial to Britain's battle against religious extremists.

This is—potentially—a breakthrough. Can there be a negotiated settlement to the long-standing problem of Tibet? Or, as some have suggested, will there be new CIA "destabilization operations in Tibet, if there is fresh unrest there following the death of the Dalai Lama, when the Chinese are expected to designate a Dalai Lama of their choice"? From Reuters, Feb. 15:

BEIJING - Envoys of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, arrived in China on Wednesday for secretive talks on allowing more autonomy for the Buddhist region, Tibet's government-in-exile said.