No one expected what happened in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and Jordan. Demonstrations last week in support of the Egyptian people were suppressed by the Hamas-ruled authority in Gaza and by the Fatah-ruled authority in the West Bank (both in violation of the Palestinian laws that guarantee freedom of assembly and expression). Thursday, plain-cloth security personnel disrupted a peaceful gathering in Ramallah, arrested participants and took their video footage.

Despite illegal orders from the PA, Friday's demonstrations in Bil'in, Wad Rahhal, and elsewhere emphasized Egyptian-Palestinian unity in the face of oppression, and Saturday demos were held in Gaza, Jerusalem, Beit Ommar, Ramallah, and Bethlehem. Over 1000 people gathered in Ramallah. Dozens of plain-cloth PA personnel tried to disrupt the demonstration and arrested people.

Uruknet: Egyptian revolution reverberates throughout Arab world

Louis Theroux spends time with a small and very committed subculture of ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers. He discovers a group of people who consider it their religious and political obligation to populate some of the most sensitive and disputed areas of the West Bank, especially those with a spiritual significance dating back to the Bible. Throughout his journey, Louis gets close to the people most involved with driving the extreme end of the Jewish settler movement - finding them warm, friendly, humorous, and deeply troubling.

Just as power seems to be settling on Egyptian VP Omar Suleiman, Wikileaks has released a slew of cables related to the former spy chief. The cables show Suleiman as a valued partner of Israel and an enemy to Iran. It's obvious why Obama has supported his accession. However, his connections to Israel could make him unpopular in the Muslim world. Suleiman was Israel's top choice for VP.

PressTV: Israel wants Suleiman to lead Egypt
Stephen Soldz: The torture career of Egypt’s new Vice President
AWIP: 27.09.2005: AMB. JONES´ 9/26 MEETING WITH ISRAELI MOD´S GILAD FOCUSES ON EGYPT, GAZA, HAMAS ACTIVITY AND PA ELECTIONS

Top State-Run Newspaper Lashes Govt, Praises Protesters. After 30 years of championing President Hosni Mubarak on all issues, one of the strongest voices in Egypt’s state-run media, the al-Ahram newspaper, has led its Monday issue with a front page editorial reversing that stance. The editorial, written by editor-in-chief Osama Saraya, cheers the “nobility” of the growing protest movement against Mubarak and lambastes the dictator for refusing to make serious changes.

Online Journal: Sending Pharaoh Mubarak packing

There is a risk of "denial of justice" if Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is tried for rape in Sweden, his lawyer has told a UK extradition hearing. Geoffrey Robertson QC also said his client could face the death penalty if then sent to the US on separate charges relating to the whistleblowing website. But prosecutors rejected suggestions the Swedish legal system did not have safeguards against such a "violation". Mr Assange, 39, denies claims of sexual assault against two women. At Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in London, Mr Assange's lawyers accused the prosecutor in Sweden attempting to extradite Mr Assange of having a "biased view" against men. They said he was "willing and able" to co-operate with Swedish authorities, so no arrest warrant was needed.

Robert Stevens: Julian Assange legal team makes devastating critique of Swedish extradition attempt

Last week, while visiting Mexico, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was interviewed by Denise Maerker of Televisa, who asked her opinion of proposals to address black-market violence by repealing drug prohibition. Clinton's response illustrates not only the intellectual bankruptcy of the prohibitionist position but the economic ignorance of a woman who would be president (emphasis added):

Maerker: In Mexico, there are those who propose not keeping going with this battle and legalize drug trafficking and consumption. What is your opinion?

Clinton: I don't think that will work. I mean, I hear the same debate. I hear it in my country. It is not likely to work. There is just too much money in it, and I don't think that—you can legalize small amounts for possession, but those who are making so much money selling, they have to be stopped.

BMJ: An alternative to the war on drugs

Flawed European arrest warrant system means thousands face unjust extradition each year. At the heart of the problem with the European arrest warrant (EAW) is the inability or unwillingness of Europe's judges to prevent injustice. The standard retort to arguments against extradition is that we must co-operate with our European neighbours, we must trust them to do the right thing. We do, of course, need an effective system of extradition in Europe: we cannot allow people to evade justice by crossing Europe's open borders. Given the grave human consequences of extradition, the current blind faith approach to justice is not, however, acceptable.

The challenge now is to fix the EAW by building in much-needed safeguards against misuse and injustice. Fair Trials International has given the UK's extradition review panel concrete suggestions for how this could be achieved. Unless and until it is, many more people will suffer an unjustified extradition ordeal and public confidence in the EAW will continue to ebb away.

Probe starts on Adly’s reported role in Alex church attrack. Ex-minister suspected behind Alex church bombing. Egypt's general prosecutor on Monday opened probe on former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly's reported role in the New Year's Eve bombing of al-Qiddissin Church in Alexandria in which 24 people were killed, an Egyptian lawyer told Al Arabiya. Laywer Ramzi Mamdouh said he had presented a proclamation to Egyptian prosecutor Abd al-Majid Mahmud to investigate news media reports suggesting that the former interior ministry had masterminded the deadly church attack with the intent to blame it on Islamists, escalate government crackdown on them, and gain increased western support for the regime. Mahmud said the information contained in some reports were "serious."

The Obama administration is quietly seeking the power for it and other governments to veto future top-level domain names, a move that raises questions about free expression, national sovereignty, and the role of states in shaping the future of the Internet. At stake is who will have authority over the next wave of suffixes to supplement the venerable .com, .org, and .net. At least 115 proposals are expected this year, including .car, .health, .nyc, .movie, and .web, and the application process could be finalized at a meeting in San Francisco next month.

It’s the popular kids, not the misfits, who bully most, study finds. Sociologists at the University of California, Davis, examined data from a longitudinal study of 19 elementary and high schools in North Carolina, focusing on students in Grades 8, 9 and 10. It’s common to cast the class bully as a marginalized, troubled kid acting out. But we should be taking a closer look at the behaviour of the popular kids, according to new research on aggression and social status. It’s actually the second-most popular kids who are particularly likely to torment their peers as a way to earn status and power.