Calls for Mayor Paul Schell to resign or otherwise run away from office will have to wait for the next embarrassment, but it's wise to remember now who would replace him. The new council President, Margaret Pageler, fancies herself a principled independent. She has a reputation as a tireless worker who has been able to study and effectively legislate on complicated issues like municipal utilities. Problem is, she most always happens to vote the wrong way. And her abrasive personal style is already getting her in trouble with council colleagues. Along with Schell's weakness and council tensions, it promises to be a snippy new year at City Hall.

Pageler, among other curiosities, has appointed herself to eight of the 11 council committees: chairing two, vice-chairing two more, on two more, and an alternate on two others. She's also on about six regional water committees, and, of course, heads the council. Pageler is thus spreading herself impossibly thin--and giving herself a lot of power.

She's also rubbing some colleagues the wrong way. The announcement that Jim Compton would head the WTO investigative committee came publicly at a press conference, and was not told first to other council members who wanted the post. Says one council aide, "I see Pageler and everyone butting heads. It's kind of like den mother [Sue Donaldson] vs. Nurse Ratchet [Pageler]." Donaldson, the previous council President, was also a conservative downtown type, but more of a politician: before screwing you, she'd tell you--very nicely--why she was about to do it. Pageler just charges ahead.

The legislative priorities of the council shouldn't come as much of a surprise: like everywhere else, I-695 is heavy on the mind, and the last year's budget surplus is also being quickly eaten away by mounting WTO bills. That investigation also promises to be politically wired, for council relations with the public, Mayor Schell, and the police department. Then there's a new police chief to be hired and confirmed, and a new police accountability mechanism to try out--with a new police guild contract. Charged times ahead.--Geov Parrish

A new legislative session is beginning in Washington, D.C., where the Clinton administration proposed a $1.6 billion emergency military aid package for Colombia, ostensibly to fight the cocaine cartels, but in reality to provide equipment and training for the Colombian military to squash the rebels. This package stands a good chance of passing Congress, since it's very similar to last year's Republican proposal for aid to Colombia. The package includes the following: 84 percent of the emergency request will buy 30 Blackhawk helicopters, 33 Huey helicopters, training for two battalions, and other aircraft and intelligence aid. A meager $219 million will go towards economic aid, social development, and human rights assistance, in spite of the fact that right-wing paramiliataries and the army have killed most of the civilian who have died during the ongoing civil war. There are few details or controls on how any of these funds will be spent--funds for "human rights assistance" could very well end up in the hands of paramilitary groups, as happened throughout Central America in the 1980s. It's worth noting that this aid will make Colombia the third largest recipient of U.S. funds behind Israel and Egypt.

The timing of the Colombian military aid package is interesting: it was unveiled just before the Central Intelligence Agency is set to release its data on drug trafficking in Colombia. In spite of its name, the CIA has long offered a helping hand to drug traffickers and is well-known as a propaganda agency for whichever administration is in the White House. The expectation is that the CIA will announce the patently ridiculous estimate that cocaine trafficking from Colombia has increased three-fold over 1998 levels. This announcement will give proponents of Clinton's aid package the support they need to get it passed in Congress. Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey, always willing to lend a hand to save his job, will be on hand to cite the questionable figure of 80% of U.S. cocaine imports originating in Colombia. Meanwhile, the much-maligned Drug Enforcement Agency has admitted that the FARC rebels in Colombia have little to do with drug trafficking--they simply tax cocaine producers inside the territory they control. And last week Colombian President Andres Pastrana filled Madeline Albright's ears full of reminders that the Colombia army and police have nearly dismantled both the Medellin and Cali cartels, and even shipped some of the drug traffickers to the U.S. for trial. Also, a recent survey has shown that cocaine use in the U.S. is on the decline. Clearly, the $1.6 billion military aid package is not destined to be used for drug interdiction, but for supporting one side in the Colombian civil war.--Maria Tomchick

A recent shocker from the home front of the drug war: last week the online magazine Salon.com revealed that the U.S. government gave financial credits to television networks that ran TV shows with anti-drug content. In a nice Big Brother touch, the White House drug office even pre-screened scripts of top-rated TV shows, including "Chicago Hope," "The Drew Carey Show," "General Hospital," "ER," "Beverly Hills 90210," and "The Practice." This was a clear abuse of a 1997 bill approved by Congress authorizing the government to buy air-time to run anti-drug commercials on network TV. Here's how it happened: the government asked networks to match each government ad with a free one that would qualify the networks for a tax break on the value of that free air time. But networks balked and instead offered the content of their shows to qualify for the tax breaks; this allowed them to continue selling that valuable ad time and rake in revenues. This proves two things: 1) that TV is all about commercials and selling us crap (we knew that already, right?) and 2) that, as long as the profits keep rolling in, network executives are more than willing to serve as a propaganda machine for government and business interests. Can TV network executives sink any lower?--M.T.

Forwarded by John Chapman: From the Mexican daily La Jornada, January 3, 2000 Amador Hernandez, Chiapas--The Zapatista Air Force today attacked the Federal Army encampment here with paper airplanes. Some flew well and maneuvered themselves right into the dormitories, hidden by vegetation and large black plastic sheeting. Others sputtered in flight and barely cleared the barbed wire fence. The aircraft, white in color and letter size, carried written messages for the federal troops which have occupied a portion of the outskirts of this community for the last five months. The barbed wire is not the only cutting edge: "Soldiers, we know that poverty has made you sell your lives and souls. I also am poor, as are millions. But you are worse off, for defending our exploiter--Zedillo and his group of moneybags."