World News
1/21/02 - 1/27/02

Sunday 1/27/02

Targeting Tehran  1/27/02 Al Ahram, Egypt: "Israeli officials are trying to persuade their friends in the US that Iran should be next on the hit list. Iran is a major source of backing for Lebanon's Hizbullah -- a common enemy to both Israel and the US. Iran, Israel claims, is giving military and financial backing to armed Palestinian groups in the occupied territories, something apparently confirmed by the Karin-A affair which has recently hit the headlines. US intelligence reports about Iran's nuclear potential may also be used to further the case against Iran." The next thing we know, Bush targets Iran!

Ghosts and secrets at mass killer's funeral  1/27/02 Independent, UK: "The professional assassins had erased the chassis serial number which would have allowed the owner to be traced, but Lebanese intelligence men found the engine number and telephoned Mercedes headquarters. It came back with the chassis number, and the police immediately traced the vehicle to a man living in the town of Jezzine – notorious under Israeli occupation for 19 years as a headquarters for Israeli Shin Beth intelligence men."

Tension mounts as US turns its back on Arafat  1/27/02 Independent, UK

raisethefist.com archived web site  1/27/02 Internet Archive

Powell Asks Bush to Reverse Stand on War Captives  1/27/02 NYT: no longer unpatriotic to consider POW's status?

U.S. Account of a Battle With Taliban Is Disputed  1/27/02 NYT: US continues lying streak?

Pro-Putin cult urges return to Soviet 'glory'  1/27/02 Telegraph, UK: 1984, the good old days: "Mr Yakimenko's latest attempt to indoctrinate members, aged mainly between 14 and 30, is a proposal to "purify Russian literature". Modern "liberal" books, which depict the difficulties of modern Russian life, have been damned by Walking Together. The group has in turn published thousands of copies of a book of stories recounting the Red Army's "glorious victories" during the Second World War. These books were offered free in exchange for "corrupting" works."

Top Russian generals killed in chopper explosion over Chechnya  1/27/02 Yahoo: continuing the western tradition of labeling your enemy a terrorist: "The Interfax news agency said that preliminary evidence showed that the explosion was the result of "an act of terrorism," suggesting an attack by Chechen rebels."

'''Marin hot tubbers,' Iran-Contra ghosts, and other fears of the Bush clan''  1/27/02 Yellow Times, US: "James Brosnahan, former federal prosecutor and former member of the Lawrence Walsh Independent Counsel team, is John Walker Lindh’s attorney. Recall that the elder Bush hated no one on earth more than Walsh. In his book Shadow, Bob Woodward describes how, during the height of the Walsh inquiry, Bush received a “Lawrence Walsh” doll as a gag Christmas gift from a member of his staff. Bush slammed the doll repeatedly against his desk, shouting, “Take that, Walsh!” - Coca Contra lives on!

Saturday 1/26/02

ENRON SCANDAL: Was John Clifford Baxter Murdered?  1/26/02 Aztlan, US

BLOOD BROTHERS & SISTERS  1/26/02 Black Web Portal: "The Euro-Americans have hollywoodized our history, physical make-up and culture to fit their historical needs and desires. We have been placed into two categories in Euro-American history. One being what I call the Dances With Wolves syndrome defined as; if you do not look exactly like an Indigenous person from this movie, you are not considered Indigenous to this country."

United States War Crimes  1/26/02 Centre for Research on Globalisation: "The first advance party of U.S. units, the 17th Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division, actually began arriving at Inchon on September 5th, two days before MacArthur's occupation declaration. The bulk of the US occupation forces began unloading from twenty-one Navy ships (including five destroyers) on September 8 through the port at Inchon under the command of Lieutenant General John Reed Hodge. Hundreds of black-coated armed Japanese police on horseback, still under the direction of Japanese Governor-General Abe Noabuyki, kept angry Korean crowds away from the disembarking US soldiers."

Muslims to boycott Holocaust Day in UK  1/26/02 IRNA, Iran: "Genocide is the most abhorrent and outrageous crime against humanity and we are not going to prevent it by selectively remembering only some of its victims," MCB secretary general Yousuf Bhaliok said."

Friday 1/25/02

Draping History - Halls of Justice: A Weekly Look Inside the Justice Department  1/25/02 ABC News: "About three weeks ago, I received a tip. The attorney general was fed up with having his picture taken during events in the Great Hall in front of semi-nude statues. He had ordered massive draperies to conceal the offending figures. But initially not only could the story not be confirmed — it was strongly denied." Fig leaves are back.

A Legal Guide to Survival in the Post-9/11 World - Know Your Rights  1/25/02 Counterpunch

'Black Hawk Down' portends military foray: Somalis  1/25/02 Dawn, Pakistan: "The film is stupid and presents Somali leaders and fighters as inhuman," said Mohamed Said Abdulle, one of the gunmen who took part in the battle that claimed the lives of 18 US soldiers and hundreds of Somalis. "The fighting in Mogadishu was a legitimate defence against foreign domination," he added. He said the movie could be a gimmick to prepare the American public for another US military strike against Somalia, a country where, according to Washington, terrorists might have found a safe haven. In one of Mogadishu's makeshift cinemas, youths cheered the scene showing a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Somali gunmen hit one of the helicopters. "The Americans killed hundreds of our people on that day, but they still talk about 18 of their servicemen," Abdulle said."

Main drug control agency in Kabul is evicted  1/25/02 Independent, UK: remind you of the Cocaine Coup in Bolivia, right after Reagan came to power?

The man who would testify against Sharon is blown up. Was this another targeted killing?  1/25/02 Independent, UK: This story is getting a different spin in the Israeli dominated US press: "Within hours, Belgian lawyers seeking to indict Mr Sharon – the Israeli defence had only finished giving its reasons for opposing a trial on Wednesday – expressed their "profound shock" at Hobeika's murder. "Mr Hobeika had several times expressed his wish to assist the Belgian inquiry on the massacres at Sabra and Chatila," a statement from the lawyers said. "His determination to do so was reported widely on the eve of his assassination. The elimination of the key protagonist who offered to assist with the inquiry is an obvious attempt to undermine our case."

raisethefist.com raided  1/25/02 IndyMedia

Raisethefist.com: Confirmation of Raid from LA FBI  1/25/02 IndyMedia

Harrods reinstates Israeli products in boycott battle  1/25/02 Israeli Insider: "The change in Harrods' policy came after furious reactions from the Israeli Embassy and the British Jewish community, which threatened to boycott the store in response to the original store decision, Ha'aretz reported. "Harrods' decision to boycott Israeli products due to Palestinian pressure could increase tensions between [the Jewish community and Muslims in Britain," said Eric Moonman, president of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain."

Taleban army rises again to face US  1/25/02 Times, UK: "A renegade army of 5,000 Taleban soldiers with 450 tanks, armoured carriers and pick-up trucks is locked in a tense stand-off with American special forces in Afghanistan."

Congress considers new kind of draft; Legislation would require military training of all young men  1/25/02 WorldNet Daily: draft card burnings, selective service bribery, fragging, bring 'em all back!

Thursday 1/24/02

US Funds Penetrate Zimbabwe Airwaves  1/24/02 Africana.com: "The United States is secretly funding a radio station in London which has infuriated Robert Mugabe with its nightly broadcasts to Zimbabwe and led his government in Harare to blame the BBC. SW Radio Africa, which broadcasts three hours a night on short wave from clandestine studios in Borehamwood, receives millions of dollars from a department of the US international development agency, the office of transition initiatives (OTI)."

L'ancien ministre libanais Elie Hobeika a été assassiné à Beyrouth  1/24/02 Le Monde, France: The former head of the Christian militia in Lebanon had declared himself ready to testify against Sharon in Belgium is assassinated by a car bomb; Lebanese blame the Israelis.

The Man with the Winning Card in the Sabra and Shatilla Case Assassinated  1/24/02 Palestine Chronicle: "Elie Hobeika, the former Lebanese Christian warlord was killed by a car bomb in Beirut Thursday. It is believed that Hobeika had evidence that links Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon directly the massacre of Sabra and Shatilla in 1982, and vowed in recent months to introduce it to the court in Brussels, currently deliberating whether to try Sharon for war crimes."

FIRST US SOLDIERS ARRIVE IN THE PHILIPPINES  1/24/02 Radio Havana

Israeli ‘dove’ to defy his leader  1/24/02 Scotsman, UK: "IN A first crack in the virtual consensus behind the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, the speaker of the parliament, Avraham Burg, announced yesterday that he would defy the prime minister and accept an invitation to address Palestinian legislators in Ramallah."

Chinese enter Afghan arena  1/24/02 Times, UK: "Mr Karzai [the new Afghan leader] met senior members of the Chinese leadership, including Zhu Rongji, the Prime Minister, who are believed to have offered their support if and when Afghan rulers want to rid themselves of foreign troops on their soil."

Israel put on alert as spy chief predicts worsening onslaught  1/24/02 Times, UK: "The Israeli prediction of growing violence came from Major-General Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, after a Hamas declaration of “all-out war” on Tuesday. He told Knesset deputies: “The coming period will see more serious terror attacks than we have been used to up to now in cities throughout Israel.” Exactly what Sharon has been seeking.

Mossad suspected of Killing Key Witness in Sharon Trial  1/24/02 Ummah News

Wednesday 1/23/02

THE WAR AGAINST THE SAUDIS  1/23/02 Antiwar.com: the roots of the US Saudi rifts are in 1998? "The pivotal event occurred without much public notice, on September 23, 1998, during Crown Prince Abdullah's visit to the US, where he met with the presidents of the major US oil companies, "with whom he exchanged cordial talks and reviewed issues pertaining to petroleum affairs," as the Saudi embassy website delicately phrases it. But the reality lurking beneath the veneer of diplomatic phrases was a lot rougher: according to widespread reports in the Arab media, the Prince basically told the Aramco consortium that their monopolistic state-privileged status was about to be revoked."

Somalis cheer at 'Black Hawk Down' screening  1/23/02 CNN: "At the screening, Somalis paid the equivalent of 10 U.S. cents to watch the movie, less than a mile from where a real Black Hawk helicopter went down. Audience members seemed to take delight in scenes of U.S. defeat. Each time an American chopper went down in the film, the audience cheered. Every time an American serviceman was killed, the audience cheered some more."

Rumsfeld remarks anger UK MPs  1/23/02 Dawn, Pakistan

Arafat Burns Last Bridges to Oslo, Declares War  1/23/02 Debka: from the Israeli psyops site: "DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has ordered his 20,000-man police force to take to the war field – a drastic step that moves his confrontation with Israel into the realm of full-scale belligerence. Militarizing his police force is more than just another blatant violation of the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords, which established the Palestinian Authority and allowed it to establish a police force confined to civilian duties; it is their death blow. Arafat fully comprehends the international, diplomatic and legal consequences of his action. Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority’s secretary, Abdul Rahman, clearly declared all Palestinian accords with Israel null and void….However, on Monday January 21, a top Palestinian police officer, Gen. Abdel-Razek al-Majaydeh, announced over Iranian television that “Palestinian forces” would henceforth be taking full and active part in the war against Israel. This announcement brought Miguel Moratinos, the European Union’s special Middle East envoy, rushing over to Ramallah, to demand an explanation from Arafat of the use to which European funds were being put. Those funds are extended to support a civilian police force – nothing more. He reminded the Palestinian leader that, when he declared his confrontation with Israel in September 2000, Europe froze the subsidy, pending receipt of Arafat’s guarantee that no Palestinian policemen would take part in hostilities against Israel. Payments were then renewed. Foreseeing a second halt in the wake of his escalation, Arafat has been sending his emissaries round the Arab oil-producing states in the last two weeks, to solicit replacement funds. Saudi Arabia may be contemplating acceding to Arafat’s demands and taking the radical step of shouldering the cost of a military force waging war on Israel. Riyadh will be influenced in its decision by its growing rift with Washington."

As war cries ring out, U.S. silence may signal rare free hand for Israeli military moves  1/23/02 Haaretz: more wart crimes for Sharon: "With talk of all-out war resounding in the Holy Land, the Bush administration has granted Israel its widest military freedom of action since - in an ominous precedent - a Republican administration turned a blind eye to Ariel Sharon's 1982 invasion of Lebanon."

US military changes female policy in Saudi Arabia  1/23/02 Hindustani Times: Aramco looses its monopoly and the US discovers feminism in Arabia!

Everyone's a Critic as Hollywood Version of '93 Battle Opens  1/23/02 IHT: Same story as reported by the warmongering CNN, but with a different slant: "The Weheliyas are upset that any film was made. "Seven people in our family died," wailed Sahara Abdi Karim Weheliya, 35. "Four grown ones and three children. Since then, no one has come and asked what happened to us." . "We are the place where this happened," said an elder relative, Marian Shire Kediye, 60. "But different people, who were not here, take the profit of this event."

Alliance nearly opened fire on UK troops  1/23/02 Independent, UK: "Paul Bergne told MPs that Northern Alliance commanders "came within an ace" of ordering their soldiers to open fire on the 100-strong contingent of Special Boat Service marines. His graphic description of the near-disaster on 15 November prompted immediate demands for a Ministry of Defence statement on the incident."

Robert Fisk: Congratulations, America. You have made bin Laden a happy man  1/23/02 Independent, UK: "But already we are turning ourselves into the kind of deceitful, ruthless people whom Mr bin Laden imagines us to be. Shackled, hooded, sedated. Prepared for a trial without full disclose of evidence. With a possible death sentence at the end, we are now the very model of the enemies Mr bin Laden wants to fight. He must be a happy man."

UN concerned over threats to independence of judges in Italy  1/23/02 IRNA

THE GETAWAY  1/23/02 New Yorker

Tuesday 1/22/02

Islamic feminism: what's in a name?  1/22/02 Al Ahram

Gunmen attack American Centre in Calcutta, four dead  1/22/02 AP: "Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani condemned the attack by "armed terrorists" and hinted at a possible connection with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency." Coming from a racist, Hindu fundamentalist government, this is choice. But then the minister was a refugee from Pakistan, and perhaps has to prove he can cut it in the Hindu environment.

Bill Clinton — a feather to every diplomatic wind that blows  1/22/02 Arab News: "Clinton’s snub was another blow to the Palestinian leader, who has been shunned by two groups of visiting US congressman in as many weeks. And as if to rub salt in Arafat’s wounds, Tel Aviv University plans to open a Clinton Center for American Studies — the first department dedicated to Israel’s political, economic and military backer."

Win American hearts through sustained lobbying: Neil Bush  1/22/02 Arab News, Saudi Arabia: ""The US media campaign against the interests of Arabs and Muslims and the American public opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be influenced through a sustained lobbying and PR effort," Bush, chairman and chief executive officer of Ignite! Inc., said in his keynote address on the concluding day of the three-day Jeddah Economic Forum at Hilton Hotel here."

Pashtun ire toward US grows  1/22/02 Boston Globe: "Villagers and commanders in the area said in interviews that the attacks killed more civilians than Taliban and Al Qaeda members. Pashtun leaders said the base itself had been abandoned and contended that the US military ignored their intelligence in carrying out the attacks, which ended last week."

Red Cross: US broke Geneva Conventions  1/22/02 Independent, UK: "The Red Cross accused the United States yesterday of violating the Geneva Conventions by releasing photographs of Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters held at Guantanamo Bay."

Israel’s latest worry: Egypt  1/22/02 Jane's, UK: "The reason given is that Israeli military intelligence discovered that in all recent Egyptian army exercises, the targeted enemy was Israel. The Israelis acted quickly and asked the Americans not to supply Egypt with new, state-of-the-art F-15s. At first the Americans refused. However, they changed their mind after the Israelis provided them with proof."

30 Israelis Wounded in Jerusalem Attack, Four Hamas Activists Assassinated in Nablus  1/22/02 Palestine Chronicle

Destruction of Palestinian Projects Financed by EU Money Criticized  1/22/02 Palestine Chronicle

Israel Likely to Remain Blacklisted for Money-Laundering Following Scandal Involving Israel and French Jewish Networks  1/22/02 Palestine Chronicle: "The scandal was unearthed on January 14, when Daniel Bouton, the president of Societe Generale, France’s third largest private bank, was accused by French authorities of "aggravated money-laundering". Bouton is suspected of being a middleman in a massive fraud operation involving Israeli banks and many other financial institutions in France. It’s widely believed that the operation was centered around a network of Jewish organizations based in France. Proceedings have been brought against many rabbis, and six people have been placed under judicial inquiry. The Israeli media recently reported that that Societe Generale and Credit Lyonnais announced that from now on, they will refuse all cheques from their corresponding banks in Israel."

Harrods reinstating Israeli settlement products  1/22/02 Ummah News: what's next, looted Palestinian goods? Body parts? Both need to be sold somewhere!

Monday 1/21/02

Jingoism jibe over Black Hawk Down  1/21/02 BBC: ""At that time, I was covering the conflict as a journalist, and I know that the people who were fighting were not only supporters of Aideed. "Many of them were just people in the neighbourhood who got caught up in this fire and were trying to defend their homes, as they thought they were under attack," he said."

Racism Inside Israel  1/21/02 Colorlines: on the nature of Israeli apartheid, valid today as when it was published on 12/15/00: "Other rights are defined as nationality rights, and are reserved for Jews only. If you are a Jew, you have exclusive use of land, privileged access to private and public employment, special educational loans, home mortgages, preferences for admission to universities, and many other things. Many other special privileges are reserved for those who have served in the Israeli military. And military service is compulsory for all Jews (male and female), except for the ultra-Orthodox who get the same privileges as other Jews, but excludes Palestinians, who do not. Over 80 percent of the land within Israel that was once owned by Palestinians has been confiscated. All told, 93 percent of Israel's land can only be leased or owned by Jews or Jewish agencies. Moreover, despite Israel's booming economy, Palestinian unemployment is skyrocketing--Adalah says it is about 40 percent. In 1996 twice as many Arab citizens (28.3 percent) as Jewish citizens (14.4 percent) lived below the poverty line. Less than five percent of government employees are Arab. And eighty percent of all student drop- outs are Arab."

The Peters Principle: How Unpleasant Fictions Fuel a Culture War  1/21/02 Defense and the National Interest: a DOD related US website - "Far from being "funded by all those drivers of those oversized SUVs on American roads," it is Saudi Arabia that is helping to finance the United States, directly through its arms purchases and indirectly through the market mechanism holding the price of oil down… When he heaped all the blame for the America's mess with Islam on the "Anti-women, anti-meritocratic, anti-democracy, anti-education in any meaningful, liberating sense, racist and profoundly anti-freedom, Saudi-sponsored religious extremism" which is "funded by all the drivers of those oversized SUVs on American roads," Peters is used the same kind of fanatical reasoning as that was used by the ignorant Mullahs who tried to move Afghanistan from the 13th Century to the 7th Century. My advice: Just say no to culture war. Call it anti-culture war."

Saudi denounces US agenda behind bombing campaign  1/21/02 Sydney Morning Herald: "In an almost unprecedented criticism of US foreign policy, Mohammad al-Oteibi, the former Saudi ambassador to Kabul, said Osama bin Laden "is only a card in the game played by the United States and of which it has convinced the world to justify intervention in Afghanistan. If the United States had wanted to arrest bin Laden, they could have done so easily without taking the trouble to launch this fanciful war ... they could have caught him long ago," he said. The response to the September 11 attacks in the United States was intended "to impose [American] hegemony on [Afghanistan] and to set [Americans] up there to achieve their objectives" in Asia, the former envoy said.

Britain and US in rift over terrorist prisoners  1/21/02 Telegraph, UK: Brits getting uppity? "Robin Cook, the former foreign secretary, irritated senior Bush officials by describing Mr Rumsfeld witheringly as a "man of robust views" and saying: "The secretary of state for defence is an honourable post and we pay respect to that post, but it is not an independent post."

Camp X-Ray could split allies  1/21/02 Times, UK: "In a sign of the breakdown of Britain’s “shoulder-to-shoulder” stance with the US over Afghanistan, the Foreign Secretary had earlier said that he was “seeking information” about the circumstances of photographs published at the weekend showing the prisoners bound, gagged and blindfolded. He said: “The Government’s position is that prisoners — regardless of their technical status — should be treated humanely and in accordance with customary international law."

World News

"There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an advantage and security to all, but especially to Democracies as against despots: suspicion." -- Demosthenes

Qawafil-ush-Shuhadaa http://www.shuhadaa.com [ARABIC]

Islam Question & Answer - Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Islaam Homepage

Islamic Assembly of North America [IANA on LINE]

Jam'iat Ihyaa' Minhaaj al-Sunnah Homepage

Nida'ul Islam/ The Call of Islam Magazine Online

Words Written in Blood. Arabic book collection of Shaheed Sheikh

Abdullah Azzam [ARABIC]

Maps & Weather

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/

A number of maps here
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/afghanistan.html

http://www.weatherhub.com/

Estimates of the total number of Muslims range from 0.7 to 1.2 billion worldwide and 3 to 6 million in the U.S. About 20% of all people on earth follow Islam. The religion is in a period of rapid growth.

Christianity is currently the largest religion in the world. It is followed by about 33% of all people -- a percentage that has remaind stable for decades. It is expected that, if current trends continue, Islam will become the most popular religion sometime in the mid-21^st century.

-- http://www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm

Death from America

Iraq news: Soaring death rates among Iraqi children, 1999 BBC, UNICEF 500,000 child deaths

Ramsey Clark: Report to UN Security Council re: Iraq, 1/26/2000
1.5 million deaths

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World News 1/21/02 - 1/27/02

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World News
1/21/02 - 1/27/02