Kinda heartwarming, eh? From The Telegraph, Nov. 8:

Jews and Muslims unite against homosexuals
Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem have found common ground in their fierce opposition to a gay rights rally due to be held in the city this week. Leaders from both faiths have united to denounce the parade, which has prompted nights of street protest by ultra-orthodox Jews, who regard homosexuality as an "abomination", and death threats against those taking part.

As Mexico's federal Government Secretary Carlos Abascal appealed to Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz Ortiz to reconsider his stated intention to remain in office, thousands of the embattled governor's supporters rallied in the streets of Oaxaca City Nov. 7. That same day, a women's march demanding the withdrawal of federal polcie was attacked by armored vehicles with water cannons. Meanwhile, the Popular People's Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO) issued a statement demanding not only the resignation of Ruiz, but of his attorney general Lizbeth Caña, state police chief Lino Celaya and all the local state and municipal police commanders, as well as the withdrawal of federal police from Oaxaca, as pre-conditions for re-establishing dialogue with the federal government.

Note the last paragraph. Tajikistan, it seems, is the new Uzbekistan. Islam Karimov may now be Moscow's son of a bitch. But Emomali Rakhmonov is (as FDR said of Nicaraguan dictator Anastaio Somoza) "our son of a bitch." From Pakistan's Daily Times, Nov. 8:

Tajik president courted by the West cruises to poll victory

DUSHANBE: Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov was declared winner on Tuesday of a presidential election in the strategic Central Asian state, a result likely to be welcomed by foreign powers despite doubts about its fairness.

Have we finally arrived at the pinnacle of cynicism? The use of torture is used as an excuse to keep detainees from speaking publicly about...the use of torture. From AP, Nov. 5, link added:

Court Told It Lacks Power in Detainee Cases

Washington: A suspected terrorist who spent years in a secret CIA prison should not be allowed to speak to a civilian attorney, the Bush administration argues, because he could reveal the agency's closely guarded interrogation techniques.

From El Universal, Nov. 7, via Chiapas95:

OAXACA - A combative grandmother known as Doctor Berta has become the signature voice of the insurgents in Oaxaca, where radio airwaves have become an essential tool of protesters.

For all of the lurid propaganda about Islamo-fascism, you'd think these guys would at least know a little about Islam... From the Nov. 2 editorial page of the conservative Washington Times, link added:

What they don't know is frightening
How alarmed should Americans be upon learning that one of the nation's highest-ranking FBI counterterrorism policy-makers and two members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, among numerous other unnamed officials, possess shallow knowledge about terrorist groups that have slaughtered Americans in the past, are killing our soldiers in the war on terror today and threaten to obliterate us in the future?

In this Nov. 8 commentary for Truthout, Jason Leopold saves some salient facts about the incoming Defense Secretary from the Orwellian Memory Hole. It seems that like the outgoing Rumsfeld, he was instrumental in building US intelligence and military links with the Saddam Hussein dictatorship in the 1980s. Life's little ironices. However, we are not as optimistic as Leopold that these facts "are bound to come up again." We can only hope...:

From Mexico's El Universal, Nov. 7 via Chiapas95:

GENEVA - The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), embroiled in a conflict with the Attorney General's Office (PGR), will present a report before the UN human rights officials on Wednesday saying that torture in Mexico has increased 300 percent during the current administration.