Guerrillas

The Islamic teacher sat on the wooden porch of his house smiling politely, his infant son playing at his feet. Those who study the Koran are automatically suspect, Dul Nasir Hama said, adding that he's not a terrorist nor are his students part of the insurgency. As he spoke, a Thai army patrol skirted the grounds of his madrasa in Pattani, a jungle area of southern Thailand with a long history of violent clashes between Malay Muslims and Thai Buddhists. "They're afraid to come in here," he said.

Hardly anyone knows what he looks like and only a handful of people have seen his art. But at January's Sundance Film Festival, the little-known documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop" -- featuring the enigmatic English guerrilla artist Banksy -- created a fan and media frenzy not seen in Park City, Utah, in quite some time. Hundreds lined up hours before the premiere in 15-degree weather for a chance at a much-coveted ticket. The story, told by Banksy -- known for keeping his real identity secret as well as for his spontaneous, politically disruptive and at times hilarious street art (think of graffiti stencils of two male police officers making out or the queen of England as a chimp)

Leftist Colombian rebels Sunday released the first of two military hostages they have promised to free, with the liberation of the other -- one of this nation's longest-held hostages -- expected Tuesday. Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, released Josue Daniel Calvo, 23, to a team that included representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, a Brazilian helicopter crew and leftist Sen. Piedad Cordoba, a key intermediary in other FARC hostage releases over the last two years.

Tom 'T-Bone' Wolk Bass player for Hall & Oates Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, 58, best known as the longtime bass player for the band led by pop-rock stars Daryl Hall and John Oates, died Sunday in Pawling, N.Y., of an apparent heart attack, according to the duo's manager, Jonathan Wolfson. Wolk died hours after completing a recording session with Hall, who was working on a solo album. The bassist had been scheduled to appear Monday night with Hall and Oates on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon."

The movie doesn't appear anywhere in the Sundance Film Festival's catalog. Outside a small circle of ultra-secretive confidantes, nobody knows its director's identity or whereabouts. And the film's place in the Sundance schedule wasn't even announced until last week. That didn't prevent "Exit Through the Gift Shop," a film from acclaimed British street artist Banksy, from becoming Park City's hottest ticket on Sunday night. Outside the 446-seat Library Center Theatre, Banksy fans started queuing up hours before "Gift Shop's" premiere, in 15-degree weather, even if their chances of getting in were somewhere between slim and none.

I'm always flabbergasted by the foaming fury with which some people regard the painter and guerrilla poster artist Robbie Conal. Over the years, letters-to-the-editor writers have said, "Conal is a cancer on society" and, "He should be behind bars, not in an art gallery." They were mad mostly because of what wasn't in an art gallery. For a quarter of a century, Conal has slapped the powerful in the face by slapping up grotesque caricatures of them in public places. Both George Bushes, Ronald Reagan, Robert McNamara, Al Gore and many more are in Conal's rogues gallery of evildoers.

Caqueta state Gov. Luis Francisco Cuellar was found dead Tuesday, Colombian authorities said, less than a day after he was abducted from his home by suspected leftist guerrillas. Cuellar's body was found near Florencia, the state capital where he lived, authorities said. President Alvaro Uribe later said on national television that Cuellar's throat had been cut as the assailants fled from security forces. His body was found by a rural road, said Uribe, who promised to press the fight against rebel violence.

It's been two months since a couple of young political guerrillas made a splash with a series of hidden-camera videos about the liberal social service organization ACORN. Now agents provocateurs James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles have released their latest installment via the Internet and Sean Hannity's program on Fox News, with the promise that there could be more to come. Fans of O'Keefe and Giles -- and they have many on the political right -- describe them as heroes.

Suspected insurgents fired a rocket Saturday at a luxury hotel that had previously come under attack, injuring two people and rekindling fears that foreigners are being targeted in the capital. The projectile hit just outside the perimeter wall of the hotel, where a number of foreign humanitarian workers, forced to relocate after a deadly strike on a U.N. guesthouse last month, have been staying. The Serena, Afghanistan's only five-star hotel, was the scene of a major attack in January 2008, when it was stormed by gunmen and suicide bombers in a coordinated assault that killed seven people.

All the world's an art gallery to some folks -- no matter what City Hall says. Just the other day an 18-foot-tall dinner fork was set in concrete in a Pasadena traffic median by conspirators wearing fake Caltrans uniforms and hard hats. Yes, a true fork in the road. The utensil was a 75th birthday present from artist Ken Marshall to his friend Bob Stane, an area coffeehouse/showroom owner. Marshall didn't ask permission to put it there, so Pasadena is pondering whether to allow it to stand for a while or ask Stane to take his gift home.