Don't say we didn't warn you. From the The Missoulan, Feb. 8:

WHITEFISH - British Columbia's top mining minister stepped down this week amid outrage at his anti-American sentiments, and Montanans who have been negotiating with the province over controversial coal projects were not sorry to see him go.

It barely rates a headline these days, but things are sure looking good in the long aftermath of another US military adventure, eh? From the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, Feb. 12:

Hundreds gathered on Sunday, February 11, in the centre of Pristina to mourn the victims of the previous day’s demonstration against the UN peace plan that turned violent and ended in fatalities. Two people died and more than 80 were injured in clashes with the police.

We've noted before in the US anti-war movement's factional jockeying, how the sectarian-controlled International ANSWER has used Palestine as a "wedge issue" against the more legitimate United for Peace & Justice (UFPJ) coalition—which really has been timid around the question. Now, at long last, UFPJ is seriously addressing Palestine. The Forward may not be happy about this, but we are. Daniel Treiman writes, Feb. 2:

From the Calgary Sun, Feb. 18:

OTTAWA -- A Liberal MP has accused the Conservatives of trying to keep the public in the dark about the state of three terrorist suspects on a hunger strike in a prison derisively known as Guantanamo North.

Followers of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr insist their leader is still in Iraq, disputing claims by US officials that he has fled to Iran to avoid a new offensive against militants. Four Sadr aides said he was still in the country, with some indicating he was in Najaf but had reduced public appearances for "security reasons." "He is now in Iraq," Nassar al-Rubaei, head of the Sadrist bloc in Iraq's parliament. The conflicting reports come after Iraq announced it is closing its borders with Iran and Syria and lengthening a night curfew in Baghdad to try to curb relentless violence in Baghdad.

From the Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus, Feb. 14:

MONTPELIER — Vermont's Legislature became the first in the country Tuesday to pass a resolution calling for an immediate and orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

A year ago, al-Qaeda issued a call for its followers to target oil infrastructure throughout the Islamic world. Now it threatens to take the campaign global, calling for attacks on US suppliers in the western hemisphere—especially invoking Canada, Mexico and Venezuela. From AFP, Feb. 14:

The passing of Turkmenistan's wacky despot Saparmurat "Turkmenbashi" Niyazov and the country's first-ever multi-candidate (although not multi-party) elections have brought no surprises so far. In the weeks prior to the Feb. 11 vote, Turkmen officials announced that foreign journalists would be welcome to observe, but EurasiaNet reports that "virtually no outside journalist seeking to cover the election received a visa to do so." In a Feb. 9 statement, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the imposition of "restrictions" on foreign and domestic journalists hoping to cover the election. CPJ director Joel Simon said "the press is systematically impeded from doing its work" in Turkmenistan. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which operates an information-gathering network inside Turkmenistan, claimed that the turnout total of 99% appeared to be dramatically inflated. Hudayberdy Orazov, a Turkmen exile in Sweden who heads the Watan opposition movement, said there was "quite enough evidence" that the totals were manipulated. Avdy Kuliyev, another exiled Turkmen opposition leader, called the vote a "stage-managed drama," Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported. "We consider the election … illegal and undemocratic, and of course, we cannot recognize it." (EurasiaNet, Feb. 12) All six candidates—chosen by the country's legislative body, the People's Council—pledged fealty to the ideas of Turkmenbashi and vowed to follow in his footsteps. (RFE/RL, Feb. 12)