Yeah, except the Cali cartel is old news. Its been dead for almost a decade, and Colombia's still-booming narco trade has now been effectively taken over by the armed gangs which were the former enforcers for the cartels (in the case of the paramilitaries) or their rivals (in the case of the guerillas). The US-led struggle against the Cali and Medellin cartels in the '90s was emblematic of the global War on Drugs, which history reveals as a sort of transition war between the Cold War (1945-1989) and the War on Terrorism (2001-?). The great thing about the Colombia war (from the perspective of US policy-makers) is that it now combines all three propaganda paradigms: a struggle against Communist terrorists funded by the drug trade. Some nearly non-news from AP, Sept. 27:

The Chiapas daily Estesur Sept. 24 noted a "bad weekend for Lopez Obrador," with PRD founder Cuauhtemoc Cardenas dissenting from his declaration as Mexico's "legitimate president," and a tough struggle looming for the PRD candidate in next month's Tabasco gubernatorial race. But this Sept. 22 op-ed in the Los Angeles Times should make him feel a little better—and certainly provides a challenge to those who would dismiss his claim as merely "spurious" (to use Lopez Obrador's favorite word for rival Felipe Calderon's victory).

In a Sept. 18 statement on the Papal controversy, the Islamic Society of North America—which recently made headlines by electing a woman (and Canadian ex-Catholic), Ingrid Mattson, as president (LAT, Sept. 21)—calls out His Holiness on some shabby scholarship.

Still cheering on the heroic Afghan resistance? From Index on Censorship, Sept. 26:

A senior Afghan official working for women’s rights has been shot dead by suspected Taliban gunmen. She was the highest placed female official to be assassinated in Afghanistan in the five years since the Taliban were ousted from power.

There is a distinct and unseemly tone of gloating here, but this article does point to Evo Morales' unenviable dilemma: already being accused of treason by hardliners to his left, while the right-wing opposition openly salivates for his assassination. Simon Romero writes for the New York Times, Sept. 26 (emphasis added):

La huelga de piernas cruzadas. Long overdue. Maybe it will catch on globally. From the London Times, Sept. 24:

A SEX strike organised by the girlfriends of gang members in one of Colombia’s most violent cities to protest against a wave of murders has been hailed as a success by the local security chief.

Having abandoned their encampments in Mexico City's main plaza, followers of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador held protests at 22 Wal-Mart outlets around the capital, accusing the company of "system violation of labor rights," and "an open campaign in favor of Felipe Calderon." Protesters charged that Wal-Mart employees had been ordered to vote for Calderon on threat of being fired. (La Jornada, Sept. 25, via Chiapas95)

From El Universal, Sept. 25, via Chiapas95:

A group of gunmen exchanged fire with protesters outside Oaxaca's Camino Real hotel on Sunday, injuring two and forcing dozens of guests, residents and journalists to run for cover.