The Democratic Voice of Burma website reports that army troops attempting to raid monasteries in Rangoon and Mandalay were forced to withdraw by local residents Sept. 27. Troops approaching the monasteries backed off after locals armed with sticks and slingshots barred their way. Residents reportedly set up an alert system, banging pots and pans at the approach of soldiers. Monasteries have been raided in Mandalay, Masoyein, Mya Taung, Veitthudayon, Phayagyi and Dhammikarama. (DVB, Sept. 25) Protests continue in Rangoon today, bringing some 20,000 to the streets despite a heavy military presence and repression which has left an unknown number dead. (DVB, Sept. 24)

We understand why geopolitics practically mandate that Evo and Hugo do this, but it still rubs us the wrong way. We keep feeling like we have to belabor the rather obvious point that Ahmadinejad is no leftist. From AP, Sept. 27:

CARACAS — Iran's president opened his nation's wallet to Bolivia on Thursday and then visited Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, in a post-U.N. trip to boost ties with Latin American leftists who are increasingly embracing Iran as a counterweight to U.S. influence.

A Mexican federal court in Oaxaca has ordered President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, Gov. Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA), the Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) and other government entities to present alive Edmundo Reyes Amaya, one of the apparent followers of the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) who have been "disappeared" since May 25. The order came in a case brought by the Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights (LIMEDDH) on behalf of Reyes Amaya's family. (La Jornada, Sept. 25)

State authorities in Chiapas have requested that federal army troops be deployed to assure security in the upcoming elections in the conflicted southern Mexican state. Elections are to be held in two weeks for local authorities in 118 municipalities and for 40 state deputies. The state government says ten municipalities are "zones of alert" due to a "climate of tension." (Mirada Sur, Chiapas, Sept. 24) In response, the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) issued a communique Sept. 22 charging that the state government, under the control of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), is "attacking the poor and needy, and courting and benefiting the rich and powerful." (Mirada Sur, Sept. 25) The EZLN denied rumors that it is supporting candidates from any party in the elections. (Heraldo de Chiapas, Sept. 19) However, the rebels pledged not to interfere with the elections in their zones of control. (Cuarto Poder, Chiapas, Sept. 23)

For those who know their history, the notion of Serbian neo-Nazis is almost as wacky as Israeli neo-Nazis. Serbia was occupied by the Nazis in World War II, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (ruled by the Serb royal family) dismantled by the Axis powers. It's a particular irony that this rally is to be held (or not held, if the ban prevails) in Novi Sad, capital of Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina—which was detached from Serbia and handed over to Hungary by the Axis occupation. However much these guys may hate Jews and Roma—what could they be thinking? "March for Serb Unity"? Huh? From Reuters, Sept. 26:

Another blow in Iraq's escalating Sunni civil war—and further evidence that any attempt at "reconciliation" will be doomed as long as the US remains in Iraq, allowing the jihadis to pose as the "resistance," and anyone advocating co-existence to be tarred as collaborators. (Not that these collaborationist sheikhs necessarily do want co-existence with Shi'ites.) Contrary to the depressing conventional wisdom, the first absolutely necessary requisite for a de-escalation in Iraq and isolating the al-Qaeda types is a withdrawal of all occupation troops. From the New York Times, Sept. 25:

While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Sept. 24 soapbox session at Columbia University sparked high-profile protests and a media feeding-frenzy, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's appearance that same day at a Shi'ite mosque in Queens went largely unnoticed—despite the fact that he runs a death-squad state and also aspires to Iran-style Shi'ite totalitarianism. Why is that? OK, here's a clue: The mosque where he appeared is named after and linked to the foundation established by a late imam of al-Maliki's tendency who was no more progressive (or "moderate") than Iran's reigning mullahs where rights for women, gays, secularists or Sunnis is concerned—but who happened to be on the CIA payroll. In other words, as FDR said of a particular Central American dictator, "our son of a bitch." While al-Maliki's visit did make the New York Times, it was only the Queens Times-Ledger which noted (without comment) his rather sinister comments at the affair (emphasis added):

History is being made in Burma, as some 100,000 protesters led by Buddhist monks marched through Rangoon Sept. 24, the largest demonstration since a 1988 pro-democracy movement was brutally crushed by the military regime. Surreptitiously shot photographs and videos show thousands of civilians marching with the monks; audio recordings document shouts of "Do-aye!"—"It is our task!"—a slogan also heard in 1988. Protesters raised the political ante Sept. 22 when more than 500 marched past the home of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, where she greeted them in her first public appearance in more than four years. (SMH, Sept. 25) In a media footnote, dozens of activists protested Sept. 25 against a visit to Rangoon by India's Petroleum Minister Murli Deora to discuss energy cooperation, including new contracts between Indian and Burmese firms for three deep-water gas exploration blocks. The protesters, who included school children, held placards reading "Hey, Murli Deora, Don't Go For Gas, Go For Democracy" and "India Stop Supporting Burmese Military Rule." Said a written statement from the protesters: "It is a shame for the world's largest democracy to send its cabinet minister to Burma for reasons of exploiting more natural gas from the country at the time people and monks are protesting against the fuel shortages and economic hardships in Burma." (Reuters, Sept. 24)