The New York Times has published a detailed account of China's spontaneous mass protests :

"Our society has a short fuse, just waiting for a spark." -Yu Jikui, a porter

"They lost control...Suddenly the police were nobody and the people were in charge." - Cai Shizhong, a taxi driver

A number of primitive cultures may have been wiped by the tsunami which devastated Asia and has left over 125,000 people dead so far. The forces of nature which caused this disaster seemed to have tipped off non-human species in the area who left the regions affected shortly before.

Brazil - A mob attempted to lynch two murder suspects in Salinopolis, a coastal town of 40,000 people about 1,600 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. After failing to capture their targets, they came up with a better plan and looted then burned down two police stations, several police cars, and motorcycles and a courthouse. 20 prisoners were set free and one rioter was killed.

Anti-government feelings in China continue to grow and on occasion explode as happened last Saturday in Da Lang village in Guangdong province. As many as 50,000 people attacked police with sticks and rocks, and burned four police cars. The incident was sparked by police allegedly beating a man to death. There are unconfirmed reports that authorities fired on crowds, killing some of the rioters.

Officials survey the damage at the former site of the Tikrit police station

Iraq - A resurgence of insurgent offensives, which yesterday left at least 31 Iraqi policemen, one deputy provincial governor dead, and one police station destroyed in four major attacks, is expected to escalate further in the run-up to the January 30 national elections. The most brazen of the four was a full frontal assault on the Tikrit police station. The 12 police officers captured were executed and their headquarters destroyed.

Philippines - Striking dock workers defend their picket line against armed police with only crude petrol bombs, sticks, and stones.

Greece - A force of approximately "50 suspected anarchists" attacked an Athens police station on Christmas Eve. The building's windows were smashed, and cars were overturned and set on fire. Officers trapped inside had to fire waring shots to disperse the rioters who came out of concern for two Afghan immigrants who had been tortured in the station.

With the number coalition fatalities growing everyday, anti-occupation forces have won an important victory as the first major private contractor pulls out of Iraq. Contrack International Inc. who was chosen to rebuild Iraq's roads is leaving the country because rising security costs have made the job economically unprofitable.

Like in the U.S. demonstrations without official government permission are illegal in Algeria. Because there permission is rarely granted frustrations often leed straight to rioting, like the most recent instance, which was sparked by a housing shortage in a country where 30% of the population is unemployed.

1,800 people were arrested for expressing their opposition to the Republican Party or their policies during the GOP's national convetion in NYC last August. Of the 1,188 cases which have been decided the City has only convicted 5 people of crimes. Civil libertarian groups like the National Lawyer's Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union point to this record as evidence of a preemptive strategy on the part of the police to clear the streets and sidewalks of anyone critical of the Republicans. Protests throughout the week of the convention were overwhelmingly peaceful in the face of what appears to be criminal police actions to repress free speech. Free speech is the corner stone of American democracy and must be defended even if that means physically resisting illegal police actions.

Nassau, Bahamas - Detained asylum seekers clashed with guards and set fires in a detention center known for inhumane practices. Prisoners in immigration detention centers are not criminals and are locked up merely for not being citizens. Shortly after the disturbance was put down with rubber bullets, three detainees were able to escape, and one is still free.

More than 40 recently finished and partially constructed luxury homes in Indian Head Maryland burned as a result of being built too close to a sensitive wetland habitat. Buildings in Colorado, New York, California, Michigan, Arizona, and other places have been destroyed by fires after being carelessly constructed dangerously close to Fragile ecosystems. The homes destroyed were valued at between 400-500,000 dollars. 20 miles away in Silver Spring Maryland three federal vehicles parked outside an armed forces recruiting station also caught on fire.

Housing Developers Burn Down Community Center
Bronx, NY December 2, 2004 - Thirty residents of Casa Del Sol, a community center in the South Bronx, are homeless after a fire partially destroyed their building and sent 16 firefighters to the hospital. Residents blame ACORN, a development group, for allowing the fire to burn five hours after police evicted the building's residents.

"The circumstances are incredibly suspicious," says former Casa Del Sol resident Joleene Martin. "The fire happened under their watch. I blame them for either negligence or malice. Either way, it's their fault."

Police ejected residents on Tuesday, November 30, after a contentious Buildings Department order. Police cleared residents in 10 minutes and welded the doors of the building. Shortly thereafter, a fire started on the third floor of the building. Residents were prepared to challenge the order in court on January 7.

"We kept this building up for 20 years," says community center volunteer and resident Jacques Aboaf, 24 "The police were in charge of it for a couple hours and managed to burn it down."

The Casa Del Sol building was abandoned 20 years ago by its owner and claimed by its residents. The city has tried to clear out the building several times throughout the years, using helicopters and riot police. Still, the building remained more or less continuously occupied and a source of great frustration for the police.

Two years ago, a battle began between building residents and the developers ACORN, which wanted to take over the property. ACORN also wanted access to the adjacent Cherry Tree Garden, a space granted to the Trust for Public land after Elliott Spitzer's 1999 landmark garden case.

"We're trying to impact this community in a positive way," says former Casa resident Mark Shenson. "Acorn is just looking to profit off of an already impoverished community."

Casa Del Sol's most recent projects included a silkscreen shop, a community garden, an after school program, the Adverse Possession art gallery, and weekly concerts. Casa Del Sol also hosted an annual street fair and Halloween party, and houses the offices of the Cherry Tree Association and the Mutual Aid Project, which produces the New York City Free Events Calendar.

Residents of the building are staying for three days in a motel room provided by the Red Cross. Residents will be homeless afterward.

None of the firefighters were seriously injured, and were quickly released from the hospital.