World News
1/28/02 - 2/3/02

Sunday 2/3/02

New Magazine debutes: War Times  2/3/02 AfroCubaWeb

For father and son, a shared anguish  2/3/02 Boston Globe: over 70 priests in the Boston area alone have a track record for child molestation.

Innocent Muslims killed as Bush allies 'crusade'  2/3/02 Guardian, UK: "Human rights leaders point the finger at the America's new ally in its global war, the Philippine armed forces. Since 11 September, they say, incidents of abuse have grown, and there is a palpable climate of fear. 'We are the ones who are living in terror,' said the imam of a mosque in a squalid Muslim ghetto on the edge of Zamboanga City. 'This war against terror is just the latest campaign in a 400-year crusade against Islam,' he said, echoing the convictions of the wider Islamic world."

Dissent Among Israeli Soldiers  2/3/02 Newsday, US: "In newspaper ads, more than 100 reserve combat officers and soldiers have denounced the army for what they call immoral behavior toward Palestinian civilians and have vowed that they will no longer serve in the West Bank or Gaza. Alarmed by the declaration, the army has begun relieving some of the dissenters of their commands and is threatening to court-martial them." - the numbers are growing.

When Dubya and Lay Were as Closeasthis  2/3/02 NY Daily News: "Since Bush first ran for governor in Texas, Lay and his wife, Linda, have personally given Bush, his campaigns and his inauguration parties more than $610,000 — not from Enron Inc., Enron employees or an Enron political action committee, but from their own bank accounts."

London Attempts To Mitigate U.S. Unilateralism  2/3/02 Stratfor, US: "The British government has held talks with Beijing about the possibility of using Chinese air bases for operations in Afghanistan. By requesting such unprecedented military cooperation from China, London is trying to convince an increasingly unilateralist Washington of the necessity of coalition building. China, for its part, could use the offer to re-emerge on the global stage after being on the sidelines post-Sept. 11. "

Did Israel's lost tribes end up in Afghanistan?  2/3/02 Times of India: "The Pashtun tribes that produced the Taliban, one of the most zealous sects the Muslim world has ever seen, have traditionally traced their roots to the Jews who disappeared after the Babylonian Captivity in the sixth century B.C. The legend, which seems bizarre in light of Jewish-Muslim tensions since the creation of Israel in 1947, is the cornerstone of the complex genealogies delineating the proud Pashtun tribes of Islamic Afghanistan and Pakistan."

Commanders say 30,000 troops needed to secure Afghanistan  2/3/02 Yahoo: sounds like 'Nam…

Saturday 2/2/02

U.S. Says Innocents Died in Raid  2/2/02 AP: "Two senior officials said Friday it appears likely that a mix of Taliban and anti-Taliban fighters were present at the site of the nighttime raid by U.S. special forces soldiers. U.S. intelligence officers had believed it was an al-Qaida terrorist hide-out." Hey Rummy, did you let this one slip out?

Sharon aide threatens Palestinians expulsion  2/2/02 Arab News, Saudi Arabia: a new "trial of tears" to Oklahoma? Hitler was a great admirer of US Indian policy.

CNN CAPITAL GANG - Did Bush Declare War in State of Union Speech?  2/2/02 CNN: from a US conservative - "BOB NOVAK, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": I hate to echo that unnamed Communist anchorman from Pyongyang, but that's what it sounded like. The president has been a very effective war leader. And I think he had the people of the United States behind him, but I have never heard of anything quite like this. This was a surprise to indicate that imminent action, military action, was against these three, what we used to call them rogue nations. The nexus, the connection with the events of September 11 is very dim. The president didn't even kind of set the connection. Didn't talk about Osama bin Laden. We -- and besides that, Mark, we do not have the armaments after expending so much against -- so much of an arsenal against Afghanistan to go to war against anybody for a while. But I can tell you this, many Republican members are very concerned about that speech. Not going to say anything, because they don't want to criticize the president in what is described as a state of war."

Crisis looms for Sharon  2/2/02 Guardian, UK: "The public consensus that the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has marshalled behind his policies cracked yesterday. Polls showed him receiving his lowest public approval rating in months, and 50 more combat reservist officers added their names to a petition calling on soldiers to refuse to serve in the occupied territories. There are now 104 signatories to the petition, which is the most serious domestic challenge to his policies on the Palestinians since he came to power one year ago."

Israel thrusts Iran in line of US fire  2/2/02 Guardian, UK

New Enron scandal link to Bush  2/2/02 Guardian, UK: "The former head of Enron, Kenneth Lay, gave the White House a list of his personal recommendations for key federal energy posts and two of the people on his list were appointed, it emerged yesterday, providing the strongest evidence so far of the political influence wielded by President Bush's biggest financial backer."

Mofaz hints at political backing for reservists  2/2/02 Haaretz, Israel: But former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon, who is also a former admiral in the Israel Navy, said Friday that he had "a lot of empathy for the reserve officers," and that while soldiers at checkpoints found themselves in an "impossible situation," the answer, nevertheless, was not refusal to serve. Ayalon, who spoke Channel One's Friday evening news program, went on to say that soldiers should not obey orders that were "blatantly illegal." "As far as I'm concerned," he said, "too few soldiers are refusing such orders. For example, [an order] to shoot an unarmed youth is a blatantly illegal order. I am very worried by the number of Palestinian children who have been shot in the past year."

U.S. to Test High-Tech Security Plan Linking Reservations to Databases  2/2/02 IHT: designed to have many false positives to keep the machinery in business.

Villagers Add to Reports of Raids Gone Astray  2/2/02 NYT

Israeli Draft Dodgers and Sharon’s Embarrassment  2/2/02 Palestine Chonicle: "While Israel’s political climate is in turmoil, news agencies in the West, particularly the American ones, remain relatively silent on an issue that is apparently too embarrassing to allow it to receive major attention. It started with an open letter, published in one of the major daily Israeli newspapers over the past weekend, signed by 52 reserve soldiers of the Israeli army, who are currently serving in the occupied territories. In this letter, the reservists, including officers from parachute regiments and other elite brigades, had conveyed the message that they were not willing to serve in the Palestinian lands, occupied by Israel, any longer… Particularly remarkable are the following excerpts, which state that "the price of occupation is the loss of the IDF’s human character and the corruption of the entire Israeli society", and that "we shall not continue to fight beyond the 1967 borders in order to dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire people".

McCain warns 'a day of reckoning' approaches  2/2/02 USA Today: "McCain, R-Ariz., said, "The next front is apparent and we should not shirk from acknowledging it. A terrorist resides in Baghdad with the resources of an entire state at his disposal." In tough talk that provoked objections from some European allies and from former Cold War foes China and Russia, McCain said, "A day of reckoning is approaching. Not simply for Saddam Hussein but for all members of the Atlantic community whose governments face the choice of ending the threat we face every day from this rogue regime or carrying on as if such behavior … were somehow still tolerable."

Friday 2/1/02

On the Lookout for Terrorists?  2/1/02 ABC News: "Large majorities across all demographic groups say they're leaving the job to the authorities. Vigilance peaks among higher-income Americans (albeit at just 38 percent), Republicans (31 percent) and people 45 and older (28 percent)."

Sharon regrets Arafat not ‘killed’ in ’82  2/1/02 Arab News, Saudi Arabia

Munich police clash with protesters  2/1/02 BBC

Covert Operations and the CIA's Hidden History in the Philippines  2/1/02 Derechos.org: "The CIA in the Philippines has engaged in countless covert operations for intervention and dirty tricks particularly in Philippine domestic politics. On top of all this is the US diplomatic mission, especially the political section that is a favorite cover for many CIA operatives. CIA front companies also provide an additional but convenient layer of cover for operatives assigned overseas. In general, wherever you find US big business interests (like Coca-Cola, Ford, Citicorp, United Fruit, Nike, etc.), you also find a very active CIA. But the covers often used are diversified."

Car crash adds to Lebanese suspicion of Israeli cover-up  2/1/02 Independent, UK: "Did Jean Ghanem hold the secrets of the testimony on the 1982 Sabra and Chatila massacre that Elie Hobeika planned to reveal about Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, before Hobeika's assassination in Beirut last week? If he did, we shall never know them – because Mr Ghanem, once Hobeika's political deputy, died only four days before Hobeika, two weeks after a mysterious car accident in east Beirut."

Rebellion grows among Israeli reserve officers  2/1/02 Independent, UK: "Israel's armed forces are struggling to contain the most serious internal challenge of the 16-month Palestinian intifada after more than 100 combat reservist soldiers signed a petition saying they would not serve in the occupied territories." A similar petition in the '70s led to the creation of Peace Now, the major Israeli antiwar organization.

IndyMedia NYC World Economic Forum Coverage  2/1/02 IndyMedia

UK ministers suppressed Saudi torture report  2/1/02 Irish Times: "A top secret report revealing the extent of torture meted out to Britons accused of bombings in Saudi Arabia was circulating at the highest levels of the UK government a year ago but ministers decided to suppress the evidence, according to the Guardian newspaper. The report described how the Britons were subjected to physical assaults, including beating on the soles of their feet - confirming accounts published by the Guardian. It also included unflattering comments about Prince Naif, the Saudi Interior Minister, suggesting he was a protagonist of torture and an anti-western conservative." So torture in the US is OK, but not in Saudi Arabia? Where is Alan Dershowitz!

Albright Criticizes Bush Foreign Policy  2/1/02 Reuters: ""First of all they (Iran, Iraq and North Korea) are very different from each other," said Albright, who was Secretary of State in the Clinton administration." - Since when has such considerations stopped any American administration, always ready for simple slogans designed to increase military spending!

Al-Qaeda in talks with Lebanon group  2/1/02 Times, UK: "A senior operative of Osama bin Laden’s network, a Yemeni national who has the alias of Salah Hajir, is believed to have arrived in Lebanon about two weeks ago and has held meetings in Beirut with leaders of the Hezbollah terrorist group. Hezbollah is known to be funded and sponsored by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The Iranian Government is in the spotlight after President Bush’s State of the Union address on future threats to the United States which highlighted an “evil axis” of Iran, Iraq and North Korea."

US eyes Russian base in Vietnam, starts talks with former foe Hanoi  2/1/02 Yahoo: the Empire grows!

Thursday 1/31/02

Exploring 'Planet Enron'  1/31/02 Al Ahram, Egypt: "Last week the spotlight was on Army Secretary Thomas E White. John Hendren of the Los Angeles Times described him as fighting battles on two fronts. "As his soldiers lead the ground war in Afghanistan, the former Enron Corp. executive has found himself increasingly fielding uncomfortable questions about his role in the energy company's sudden collapse," Hendren wrote. In the same piece Hendron noted that although White excused himself from dealing with Army contracts involving the energy giant, he continued to play a role in advocating the privatisation of energy services at Army installations -- which employ 1.2 million soldiers and civilians on 15 million acres of land."

Fending off the 'final solution'  1/31/02 Al Ahram, Egypt: "This week, the violence was reaching such a fever pitch that criticism came from a number of unlikely Israeli politicians. Knesset Speaker Abraham Burg, who accepted an invitation to address the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah amid adamant opposition from Sharon and religious and right-wing hard-liners in the Knesset, told the Israeli parliament on 28 January that "We are an occupying force, we occupy another people against their will." He added that "we must remind ourselves that both the prisoner and the prison- keeper are behind bars: the bars of the absence of hope." But Burg's claim that the Israeli occupation is culpable for the atmosphere of violence and terror was answered by angry calls for his resignation. "

Rumsfeld: Prepare for Surprise Attacks  1/31/02 AP: steady there, rummy!

French prepare powerful eye in sky  1/31/02 BBC: will they get us pics of Afghanistan?

J'ACCUSE: BUSH'S DEATH SQUADS  1/31/02 Cryptome: catalog of recent CIA related hits.

Guantánamo S&M Porn P R .. D I S A S T E R  1/31/02 Dr. Susan Block: best analysis yet…

In Curious Battle: An Expert Recants on Why WTC Collapsed  1/31/02 Emperor's Clothes

Aid worker known as the 'Tartan Taliban' is released without charge  1/31/02 Independent, UK

Sharon approves hi-tech security plan to seal off Jerusalem in its entirety  1/31/02 Independent, UK: More criminal activity…

Black Musician, Beaten by Spanish Police, to Miss Concert  1/31/02 NYT: Spanish police are notoriously racist: "In a case that has raised concerns over racial profiling in Spain, the principal trumpet player for the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra was beaten so badly by police in Barcelona two weeks ago that he will be unable to appear with the ensemble in its performance at Carnegie Hall tomorrow night. The musician, Rodney Mack, an African-American who is featured on posters promoting the orchestra in Barcelona and who is the cousin of the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, was attacked by four police officers; they mistook him for a car thief who had been described as a black man of roughly Mr. Mack's height."

Who's a Terrorist?  1/31/02 Salt Lake City Weekly

The Others  1/31/02 The Nation: by Howard Zinn - "Then it occurred to me: What if all those Americans who declare their support for Bush's "war on terrorism" could see, instead of those elusive symbols--Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda--the real human beings who have died under our bombs? I do believe they would have second thoughts."

Muckrakers And Buckrakers  1/31/02 Tom Paine: enronitis in the media…

Wednesday 1/30/02

'What tiger?'  1/30/02 Al Ahram: "Claudia Wright's words 16 years ago are even more relevant today: "Eight weeks after Pollard's arrest, the US media was preoccupied with Arab terrorism, not Israeli espionage, against America. The investigative reporters of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and other newspapers were reassigned, their stories unwritten or unpublished." … Espionage? What espionage? "

Ted Koppel's Congo Report: The Heart Of Whiteness  1/30/02 Black World Today: the US media at it again: "Thus from being a major achievement in journalism, because of an innate subtle race- based orientation, Nightline's "Heart of Darkness" became another political self-serving tale to avoid a long-overdue indictment of the United States for its collaboration with Belgium in over 116 years of collaborating in the genocidal plunder of Africa's richest country that has impoverished the continent's third largest nation state."

FREE SPEECH - In Kingston, watch what you say  1/30/02 Boston Phoenix: "When it comes to presenting a variety of perspectives about global issues, especially the Middle East, some viewpoints are much more welcome than others. Consider the case of former state representative Rod Driver, whose February 20 talk at the Kingston Free Library was abruptly canceled (and then reinstated) because of his sympathy for the Palestinians."

Cryptome Banned from NY Press Horde  1/30/02 Cryptome: "What other police department would hire a former Marine general and a CIA head of espionage to pimp its desirability with press-terrorism-drunk Washington DC except a new Commish just back from poppy farming national security?"

A Guantanamo gulag  1/30/02 Metro Times, Detroit: "Late in the war, German civilians in the ruins of Berlin angrily killed a number of Allied pilots shot down over their burning cities. When they could, the Nazi government intervened, and sent the fliers to POW camps. Yet we now seem to be less human. Sixty years ago, we sent German prisoners back to America during the war, and sought to win them over to democracy by treating them decently and letting them see how our system worked. Now we shave our prisoners’ heads and beards, shackle and manacle them and take their water away if they protest."

Strange Victory: A critical appraisal of Operation Enduring Freedom and the Afghanistan war  1/30/02 Project on Defense Alternatives

State Penitentiary Marksman Killing Of Muslim Inmate Raises Questions Of Racial Profiling  1/30/02 Seattle Medium: "Circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of Washington State Penitentiary inmate Abdul Ali, a 21-year-old Somalian illegal alien, raise questions whether a white Tower guard followed Washington State Corrections Department policy, or was it racial profiling?"

Fahd pardons almost half the prisoners  1/30/02 The News, Pakistan: clearing the decks?

America serves notice on Iraq and Iran  1/30/02 Times, UK: "Mr Bush’s specific reference to Iraq, Iran and North Korea is likely to unsettle European capitals including London, where Tony Blair and other EU leaders have cautioned the President that he would lose support abroad if he over-reached America’s war aims."

US Helicopter Downed in Khost: 25 Killed.  1/30/02 Ummah News: more hidden casualties, a practice not unknown in previous US engagements…

Afghans Protest U.S. Capture Of Officials  1/30/02 Ummah News

U.S. Reporter Seen as Victim of Sophisticated Trap  1/30/02 Washington Post

Tuesday 1/29/02

Racial Tensions Rising at Cornell University  1/29/02 Aztlan, US: "The Cornell Review, a conservative right wing publication at Cornell University, is predicting a possible "race war" on campus. The prediction is the aftermath of two racial incidents that occurred at the university over the weekend. The first was the cowardly attempted lynching of a Mexican-American first year female student by 6 to 7 bat wielding white thugs and the second was the Gestapo type treatment of a popular president of a Latino fraternity by the campus police and the Ithaca City Police Department. The Cornell Review, notorious for its race-baiting approach to its editorials, has noted the Black student community's support for the two victims of Mexican descent by stating, "In the coming weeks, there will likely be a silent struggle inside of Ujamaa (Black student organization) between the moderates concerned about the civil liberties of all students and the radical black nationalists who want to start a campus race war over this incident."

In Defense Of Danny Glover  1/29/02 Black World Today

Four US commandos die  1/29/02 Frontierpost, Pakistan

The coming Saudi eruption  1/29/02 Guardian, UK: "As al-Qaida prepares its next move, the House of Saud is desperate to get US troops to leave the Arabian peninsula."

EU publicly backs Arafat in fresh challenge to Bush  1/29/02 Independent, UK: Some people have learned that it is not advantageous to support genocide: "In stark contrast to recent US criticism of Mr Arafat, the EU said " ... Israel needs the Palestinian Authority and its elected president, Yasser Arafat, as a partner to negotiate with". Some EU foreign ministers were more blunt, Sweden's Anna Lindh, being the most outspoken. As she arrived for yesterday's meeting of EU foreign ministers, she said: "I think it is very dangerous if the United States is supportive of the Israeli government and of the confrontation [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon has tried to use instead of supporting peace talks."

The man who knew too much  1/29/02 Independent, UK: "Clifford Baxter was found dead with a gun in his car. He was a man under pressure. Like other directors, he sold shares as the firm's losses were hidden. He had documents; investigators wanted to speak to him. He was talking of hiring a bodyguard." - He wanted to hire a bodyguard to help him commit suicide?

George W. in the Garden of Gethsemane  1/29/02 Michael Moore: "The only thing that surprises me more than all the Enron henchmen who ended up in your cabinet and administration is how our lazy media just rolled over and didn't report it. The list of Enron people on your payroll is impressive. Lawrence Lindsey, your chief economic advisor? A former advisor at Enron! Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill? Former CEO of Alcoa, whose lobbying firm, Vinson and Elkins, was the #3 contributor to the your campaign! Who is Vinson and Elkins? The law firm representing Enron! Who is Alcoa? The top polluter in Texas. Thomas White, the Secretary of the Army? A former vice-chair of Enron Energy! Robert Zoellick, your Federal Trade Representative? A former advisor at Enron! Karl Rove, your main man at the White House? He owned a quarter-million dollars of Enron stock. Then there's the Enron lawyer you have nominated to be a federal judge in Texas, the Enron lobbyist who is your chair of the Republican Party, the two Enron officials who now work for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and the wife of Texas Senator Phil Gramm who sits on Enron's board. And there's the aforementioned Mr. Pitt, the former Arthur Andersen attorney whose job it is now as SEC head to oversee the stock markets. George, it never stops! My fingers are getting tired typing all this up -- and there's lots more." Lazy? Muzzled.

Monday 1/28/02

Mexican-American Students at Cornell University Under Siege  1/28/02 Aztlan, US: "This morning, La Voz de Aztlan received disturbing information concerning two serious racial incidents that occurred at Cornell University over the weekend. The information was provided by two Mexican-American students enrolled at the Ivy League school located in the state of New York. A subsequent investigation by La Voz de Aztlan uncovered an ugly pattern of ethnic discrimination against students of Mexican descent. Apparently, Mexican-American students are under siege by bigoted white students and by an uncaring and hypocritical university administration that includes a "Gestapo" type campus police department working in collusion with the Ithaca City Police Department."

US Guard call-up hits cities hard  1/28/02 Christian Science Monitor

Saudis ask U.S. to reduce forces, W. House admits  1/28/02 CNN: "Saudi Arabian officials have asked the United States to reduce its military presence in their country, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told CNN on Sunday."

SPY CASE IN CANADIAN COURTS SUGGESTS US NAVAL OFFICER HAD FOREKNOWLEDGE OF 9-11  1/28/02 From the Wilderness

US accused of killing anti-Taliban leaders  1/28/02 Guardian, UK

BBC staff are told not to call Israeli killings 'assassination'  1/28/02 Independent, UK: story from last August, reinforces Israeli political power.

Downfall Would Cause Serious Repercussions, Intelligence Chief Says  1/28/02 International Herald Tribune (IHT): This just in from IHT, made up of the New York Times and the Washington Post, for overseas consumption. Wake up boys: "A classified U.S. report taken from a Saudi intelligence survey of educated Saudis between the ages of 25 and 41 in mid-October concluded that 95 percent of them supported Mr. bin Laden's cause, according to an administration official with access to such reports."

Book Has 'Explosive Implications' for U.S.-Israeli Ties  1/28/02 NewsMaax: "There's a lot of talk about an Israeli role" in Chinese spying during the Clinton administration at Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory, revealed in Gordon Thomas' new book, "Seeds of Fire," United Press International reported today.

Russian Oil To Flood Markets, Sabotage OPEC Production Cuts  1/28/02 Stratfor Strategic Forecasting

Washington turns up the heat on Arafat  1/28/02 Sydney Morning Herald: coddling war criminals: "Washington has told Israeli officials that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Mr Arafat's Fatah faction will be listed before the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, visits the White House on Thursday week, and that if Mr Arafat fails to rein in groups that attack Israelis his Force 17 presidential guard unit will also be cited."

Only 'communists' oppose US military operations: Arroyo  1/28/02 Sydney Morning Herald, Australia: one liar propping up another: "Popular support for US troops joining Filipino soldiers in anti-terrorist military operations is overwhelming, with communists the only dissenters, President Gloria Arroyo said today."

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
1/28/02 - 2/3/02