World News
6/24/02 - 6/30/02

Sunday 6/30/02

Missile Destroys Munitions Depot in Spin Boldak - Explosion Destroys U.S. Military Vehicle in Kandahar; Killing all Occupants  6/30/02 Azzam: not to be found in any US media - "In a separate incident, according to reliable information received from Kandahar city, an Afghan civilian reportedly stabbed a patrolling U.S. soldier with a knife and killed him instantly. This incident took place at around 1300 Local Time near the Currency Market in Charsu shopping center in central Kandahar on Thursday. Eye witness accounts report that the U.S. soldier was left to bleed to death, whilst the attacker escaped unharmed."

Chavez supporters take to the streets  6/30/02 BBC: "There was a party atmosphere in the crowd with many of Mr Chavez' supporters dancing to the rhythms of African style drums." - this is part of what really bothers Chavez opponents!

Toward Black-Jewish Relations Outside Of The AIPAC-ADL Construct  6/30/02 Black Electorate: published 6/19 - "Black-Jewish relations will improve significantly once Black organizations, elected officials and spiritual leaders arrive at a consensus that the Anti-Defamation league (ADL) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) do not represent all Jewish people. At that point the probability of a frank dialogue, between the two communities in America, free of pre-conditions or litmus tests, becomes higher than ever before."

The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding  6/30/02 FFEU: "Stevie Wonder Joins The Foundation To Launch National Campaign On Ethnic Tolerance"

Aids legacy of the Russian dolls  6/30/02 Sunday Herald: "But the trap is about to be sprung. Until 1996, the rate of contamination by HIV was very low. In 1994 just 158 cases were recorded, but now the federal Aids centre estimates that there are more than one million infected people. Critically, the rate of infection in Russia and neighbouring Ukraine is higher than anywhere in the world. Because HIV only began its march through Russia in the mid-1990s, the full implications of its threat are still dimly perceived across the country. It takes anywhere from 10 to 12 years for HIV to develop into full-blown Aids and for people to start dying from the disease, so it could be at least another five years or so before the full horror of what is happening is fully understood. Most Russians write it off as a marginal problem. They still tell you it's not a big issue -- and that, in any case, most of those affected are drug addicts and social outcasts. This is partly because the full consequences of the spread of HIV infection have yet to be felt but perhaps also because Russians are already overwhelmed by other apparently more urgent problems."

Blair rebuffed as rift with Bush deepens  6/30/02 Telegraph: "Washington lobbyists expect the US to grant only a fifth of the exemptions to the ban on British imports for which Mr Blair has lobbied. The rebuff will come after the most public split between Washington and London over how to deal with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. Although Downing Street officials are playing down the clash between Mr Blair and President Bush at the G8 summit meeting in Calgary, Canada, they are braced for a further downturn in the so-called "special relationship" as the tariff exemption deadline expires on Wednesday."

Blair's aides denounce US 'blundering' in Afghan war  6/30/02 Telegraph: "Senior officials in the Prime Minister's office have launched an astonishing attack on America's handling of the hunt for Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'eda fugitives. They have told The Telegraph that troops carrying out house-to-house searches in the remote tribal areas of Pakistan along the Afghanistan border were "blundering" with a "march-in-shooting" approach. The US action was "backfiring", increasing support for terrorism and making it harder for bin Laden and his henchmen to be caught."

Simpson on Sunday: 'Arrogant' Bush shakes British bedrock of Atlantic Alliance  6/30/02 Telegraph, UK: "And amid all this, poor old Tony Blair has to try to stay on friendly terms with a president whom even some of his own ministers and civil servants regard with contempt. It won't be at all easy."

Colombian Rebels Move to Retake Lost Territory  6/30/02 Washington Post: "The result has been relatively large confrontations between the irregular armed groups, a departure from the hit-and-run tactics and terrorism that have characterized the country's 38-year civil war. The offensive is the most significant military development since the guerrillas lost their government-sanctioned demilitarized zone four months ago. "Why are we in all of these places? Because the paramilitaries are," the commander of a FARC mobile unit who identified himself as Pinchon said last week, while his men stopped traffic on a highway leading into one of the new battle zones. "We have received a number of new troops, and every day we're getting stronger."

Saturday 6/29/02

Roosevelt ordered surveillance of Windsors  6/29/02 Guardian, UK: "President Roosevelt personally ordered covert surveillance on the Duke and Duchess of Windsor during the second world war after receiving intelligence that the duchess had been passing secrets to a top Nazi with whom she was alleged to have had a tempestous affair, according to documents released to the Guardian by the FBI."

Multitudinario respaldo a Chávez  6/29/02 Juventud Rebelde: "Para ello, grupos musicales de las distintas regiones se apostaron en varias áreas de la larga avenida ofreciendo su arte a los numerosos asistentes, entre los que no faltaron los niños." But no mention of the drumming, perhaps because it is part of every day life in Cuba.

Rebels Push Colombia Toward Anarchy  6/29/02 LA Times

Of Lies and Oil  6/29/02 Petroleum World: published today, interview conducted 6/15 - "From coups in Venezuela to civilian deaths in Afghanistan, Rahul Mahajan says the U.S. media turns a blind eye to what George W. Bush is really doing."

Al-Qaeda rocket attack kills 19 in east Afghanistan  6/29/02 Times, UK: "A ROCKET attack that killed 19 people in eastern Afghanistan yesterday marks the latest step in a concerted al-Qaeda campaign to destabilise the fledgeling Kabul regime. The missile hit an ammunition dump, sparking a chain of massive explosions lasting several hours as other rockets and munitions rained down on the former Taleban redoubt of Spin Boldak. Those killed included seven soldiers and 12 civilians, among them four women and three children."

Friday 6/28/02

Pledging Allegiance To Fundamentalism  6/28/02 Alternet: "[Pledge of Allegiance author Bellamy's] version of the pledge did not contain a reference to God. Those two words were added in 1954, when Congress, reacting to a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, inserted those two words and turned the pledge into a public prayer of sorts. (The point was to contrast the godly United States of America with the godless Soviet Union.) So the pledge had worked just fine for 62 years without bringing the Big One into the picture. And according to a history of the pledge written by John Baer, Bellamy's granddaughter has maintained that Bellamy, who died in 1931, would have resented the alteration. He had, she noted, been forced out of his own church and in his later years, when he lived in Florida, stopped attending services because he was put off by segregation in churches. (Back in 1892, Bellamy had considered adding "equality" to the "liberty and justice for all" phrase, but he realized that would draw objections from people opposed to equality for women and African-Americans.) "

US SPECIAL FORCES TRAINER: WHY I SUPPORT THE GUERRILLAS  6/28/02 ANNCOL: "The problem with that story in Colombia is that guerrilla revenues from taxing coca were miniscule compared to the revenues from actual trafficking by army officers and paramilitaries. Not only did the US government not put any pressure on this aspect of the drug trade, the Department of Defense and the CIA assisted the army and paramilitaries in integrating their staffs in 1991, which effectively means that the paramilitaries are an actual, if unacknowledged, component of the Colombian armed forces. Where is the logic in attacking the guerrillas, whose hypothetical subtraction from the drug production and trafficking would not change the volume of production or trafficking one iota? They simply levied a tax between production and process. And the peasants who produce the leaf, well they are making a little money, but the profit hikes from processing to distribution go up exponentially, especially when they get to the United States. Unfortunately, Americans are not trained to ask these simple kinds of questions, and they are not trained to employ logic in their thought processes, and so they never ask these questions. Our society is arguably the most indoctrinated in the world, and the most attached to official pronouncements that amount to denial of reality."

Powell says he is determined to freeze out Arafat, seek other Palestinian leaders  6/28/02 AP: "U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell held firm Friday on excluding Yasser Arafat from Mideast peacemaking. Turning to other potential Palestinian leaders, Powell said "there's a price to be paid for inaction against terrorism, inaction against reform."

10 Pakistani Troops Killed in Clash with Mujahideen in Southern Waziristan  6/28/02 Azzam: "The bloody encounter took place in a village called Warsak, which is about fourteen kilometers from Wana in Southern Waziristan. Of the ten Pakistani troops killed, six were army soldiers and the remaining four were local paramilitary troops. Two soldiers were severely injured. The surprise attack by well armed Mujahideen took place while the soldiers were sweeping the village for suspected Al-Qaida and Taliban members. According to Associated press (AP), a US Defence Office spokesman had confirmed this fact and sources have also reported that US Special Forces and FBI operatives were accompanying the troops on the operation."

Blast hits Afghan arms depot  6/28/02 BBC: "Afghan officials in Pakistan say the explosion appears to have been an accident, but some local residents believe it was started deliberately and have blamed fugitive al-Qaeda fighters."

Al Qaeda Network Operating In U.S.  6/28/02 CBS: "Sources said domestic intelligence intercepts have now convinced officials that such a network of al Qaeda fundraisers and operatives exists in the United States. A number of people are under surveillance. None is believed to have had a supporting role in the 9/11 attacks."

Israelis shun .il, create sites with faux Palestianian names  6/28/02 Declan McCullagh's Politech: The genocide continues on-line - "A group of Israeli citizens launched a network of websites operating from url’s carrying Palestinian names, in order to reach surfers who might pass by a site with an obvious pro-Israel name. These sites are jenin.org, tulkarem.org and beitjalla.com (named after the Palestinian towns of Jenin, Tul Karem and Beit Jalla), fatah.org.uk (named after the major organization in the PLO) and force17.org (named after Arafat’s personal brigade)."

Hilliard: Mideast Dispute Takes Toll on Black-Jewish Relations  6/28/02 Fox News: "The undoing of Alabama Rep. Earl Hilliard is the fault of Israeli extremists, say the candidate and his Muslim supporters, and the electoral assault is not likely to end with the defeat of the five-term black congressman in this week's primary run-off. "I see a future with a great deal of conflict between African-Americans and Jews in this country," he said. "It's going to get worse before it gets better. I don't think African-Americans are going to sit back and let this continue. There will be retribution."

FBI hunting suspected terrorists with Israeli passports  6/28/02 Haaretz: "The six were arrested over the weekend in a state in the Midwest while traveling in two cars, and were found to have photographs and information about a Florida nuclear reactor and the Alaska pipeline, the news agency reported. There are three nuclear reactors in Florida. They also had "suspicious equipment," including box-cutter knives similar to those used by the hijackers on September 11, Knight-Ridder said."

European Media and Anti-Israel Bias  6/28/02 Honest Reporting: After detailing how Israel is a paradise of civility and human rights, this report objects to anyone who might differ with this view. "The bias in the Spanish media strikes me as even more blatant than that in France. The Spanish media is less cautious in trying to disguise its hostility than for example, the Danish or the Dutch media, where the bias is equally strong, but more subtle. (Spaniards, it should be noted, play a disproportionately important role in formulating Middle East policy for the whole EU. Both Xavier Solana the EU's high representative for foreign policy -- Europe's de facto foreign minister -- and Miguel Moratinos, the longtime Europe special envoy on the Middle East, are from Spain)."

Europeans resist US call for UN immunity  6/28/02 Independent: "Leaked documents show that America is seeking wide-ranging immunity for its troops on United Nations missions, especially in the former Yugoslavia, from prosecution before the new International Criminal Court. One of two resolutions presented to the UN Security Council would guarantee that "current and former" UN forces did not have to face an international tribunal, and this "immunity shall continue after termination of their participation in the operation for all such acts". The widely held view is that if the Security Council adopted the US resolutions, the International Criminal Court (ICC) would be severely under-mined before it began its life next week." Freedom to torture and kill.

Global Eye -- Jungle Fever  6/28/02 Moscow Times: article is followed by a good set of links on Bolivia's perilous situation at the hands of the Yanqui mercenaries - "And now the "war on drugs" is merging with the "war on terror," with a corresponding growth in scale and firepower, offering excellent potential for long-term profits for the "defense"-related industries that hold such a disproportionate sway in international \politics. This merging also accelerates the moral corrosion that flourishes under the acidic metaphor of "war" -- as we can see in Bolivia."

Harvard-Russia Spat  6/28/02 Moscow Times: "The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to order Harvard University and two men accused of mismanaging an economic reform program in Russia to repay the government $102 million. The government sued two years ago, alleging that staff of the now-defunct Harvard Institute for International Development had invested in companies directly affected by advice they gave the Russian government." HIID was also the home of a former Cuban "political prisoner" who in fact was jailed for embezzlement.

Israel May Have Murdered 15 Palestinian Activists in Hebron Today  6/28/02 Palestine Chronicle: "Israeli military officials say they likely killed 15 Palestinian activists in two overnight explosions at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank City of Hebron. The powerful overnight blasts at the municipal and security offices completely flattened the building. The force of the explosions overturned cars and damaged nearby buildings. The Israeli army says it used two tons of explosives. An occupation army statement said "more than 20 wanted Palestinians who were inside the besieged building since Tuesday surrendered, while other alleged terrorists involved in deadly attacks anti-Israeli attacks remained bunkered inside". Israel, the land of civility and human rights.

Xerox Restates $6.4 Billion  6/28/02 Reuters: America's corporate metldown continues - "Xerox Corp. XRX.N on Friday said it would restate five years of results to reclassify more than $6 billion in revenues, in yet another scandal battering confidence in Corporate America's accounting. The move rattled investors, who were shaken by the revelation earlier this week that U.S. telecoms carrier WorldCom WCOME.O inflated profits by hiding nearly $4 billion in expenses, and after several years of nagging questions about Xerox's accounting practices. Shares of Xerox, once the king of copiers, fell 75 cents, or 10 percent, to $7.24, after earlier tumbling almost 25 percent to $6.10. The drop was spurred by a downgrade from Merrill Lynch, which cut its Xerox rating to "sell" from "neutral."

Bolivian candidates blast U.S. "interference"  6/28/02 The News, Mexico: "The usually at-odds presidential candidates in Bolivia's upcoming elections united Thursday to denounce as interference in their country's affairs a recommendation by the U.S. ambassador not to vote for the leader of peasant coca-leaf growers. Just three days before the Bolivian presidential elections, the candidates criticized U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha for urging the voting public not to cast their ballots for peasant leader Evo Morales. Without directly naming Morales, Rocha said that if Bolivians elect "those who want Bolivia again to be a cocaine exporter (they) are endangering future U.S. aid." Another US attempt to subvert democracy. What do we call people who consistently attempts to control every other nation on the planet through force and intimidation?

Mossad chief warns of Iran missile threat  6/28/02 Times, UK: Israeli psyops - "THE HEAD OF Israel’s intelligence service has warned Nato that Iran is not only pressing ahead with a nuclear weapon programme but is developing missiles capable of hitting Europe and North America. Ephraim Halevy, the Mossad director, told Nato chiefs in a confidential briefing this week that Iran represented the most serious threat to stability in the Middle East and a danger to the West as well. Mr Halevy, a veteran diplomat, told Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, the Secretary-General, and other Nato representatives that Iran was investing heavily in the construction of a missile with a range beyond that of its Shibab-3, which can hit targets 3,000km away."

Mayors flee Colombian towns  6/28/02 Washington Times: "A massive effort by Colombian rebels to eliminate local governments and tighten their grip on the country has dozens of Colombian mayors resigning and fleeing their towns — sometimes seeking shelter in the United States."

Thursday 6/27/02

Blueprint for Anthrax Attack  6/27/02 ABC News: "The report, obtained by ABCNEWS, was written in February 1999 by William Patrick III, a leading bioweapons expert and submitted to a defense contractor, Science Applications International Corporation where Hatfill worked at the time. It says that a terrorist would use 2.5 grams of powder in a standard envelope, about the same amount sent to Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee."

Israeli defence ministry sees no military solution to Mideast conflict  6/27/02 AFP: the big lie - Israel will never give up the water in the West Bank and will always seek the total domination of Palestine.

FBI/U.S. Intelligence Officers Spotted in Tribal Regions  6/27/02 Azzam: "Reliable intelligence sources are reporting that FBI and U.S. intelligence agency officers have been trying to infiltrate certain tribal areas of Pakistan, in order to locate Arab and Taliban Mujahideen. One source reported that these intelligence officers were flown into Kohat, one of Pakistan's tribal regions, earlier this month. In what seems to be a rather bizarre strategy of the 'advanced' U.S. intelligence machine, it is believed that these intelligence officers have disguised themselves as Muslim preachers, locally known as 'Tablighi Jamat'. They were initially spotted in the Tablighi Jamat centre in Kohat. These men could possibly be hypocrites from the region, for they reportedly speak Urdu and Pashtu fluently and have long beards, or they may be very well trained U.S. intelligence officers."

Another blow for corporate America  6/27/02 Christian Science Monitor: "WorldCom's woes further undermine a fragile economy, shake Wall Street, and may affect millions of consumers."

US commander: 'This is still a war, any way you cut it'  6/27/02 Christian Science Monitor: someone finally notices that the US has not won the war, just as the Soviets didn't before them - "US troops won't be leaving the scarred battlegrounds of Afghanistan any time soon. Far from crumbling after the destruction of the Taliban's national government, Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters have proved to be tenacious guerrilla warriors, lying low, launching hit-and run-attacks – and fighting back when confronted."

U.S. infrastructure information found on al Qaeda computers  6/27/02 CNN: "Information about both public and private computer systems that control the nation's infrastructure has been found in seized al Qaeda computers, government officials confirmed Thursday."

A-G: Israel cannot exile families of suicide bombers overseas  6/27/02 Haaretz, Israel: some law still applies in Israel - "The exiling of families overseas contravenes article 49 of the Geneva Convention, which prevents the wartime transfer of citizens from conquered land to a different country. Those present also speculated as to whether any country would be willing to take in the families."

Bush Says Palestinians Will Lose Aid if They Keep Arafat  6/27/02 NYT: Within hours, a senior administration official briefing reporters by telephone from the meeting site, in Kananaskis, took the warning a step further, saying that while the Palestinian people were free to re-elect Mr. Arafat, they should know that it would cost them significant aid. "We respect democratic processes," the official said, "but there are consequences."

Colombian Rebels Tell Mayors to Resign Now, or Face Death  6/27/02 NYT: "Colombia's largest rebel army is threatening to kill or kidnap the country's mayors and municipal judges if they do not resign, in its biggest offensive against civilian authorities in 38 years of guerrilla war. In an interview atop a mountain outside the capital, Bogotá, late Tuesday, a commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said the rebels aimed to destroy the state from the bottom up. He said the elimination of mayors and all municipal authorities was the first step, and he demanded that the mayors resign by midnight tonight… The American ambassador to Colombia, Anne Patterson, said Washington would give mayors financial support under a protection program already earmarked under the Plan Colombia antidrug offensive." The American "drug war" pretext for Plan Colombia finally dropped.

Seven Year Old Palestinian Boy Shot Dead by Israeli Army  6/27/02 Palestine Chronicle: and Israel is a paradise of civility and human rights

No rush to help Bush eject Arafat  6/27/02 Sydney Morning Herald: "We deal with leaders who are elected - and in the case of dictatorial regimes, those who are not elected - as we find them," said the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw. "If President Arafat were re-elected by the Palestinian Authority we would deal with him." The French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, said: "It's up to the Palestinians themselves to choose their leaders." The European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and the German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, said they would talk with Mr Arafat… The Palestinian representative in Australia, Ali Kazak, said that in an election in 1994 Mr Arafat received a much bigger percentage vote than Mr Bush had achieved in the US presidential election."

US FBI-raj knocks on Indian-American door  6/27/02 Times of India: "Aghi says he told them he had met that particular consular officer (who has since left San Francisco) in course of his community activities such as helping American citizens with whatever help they needed while visiting India. Whatever he did was open and transparent, and he had no idea that this consular officer may have been an intelligence officer nor did he have any way of knowing this even if it was true. It might have been the end of the matter, except Aghi is also a prominent Democrat from California and has hosted and toasted fund-raisers for a host of American law-makers."

Lebanese Jew accused of spying for Hezbollah  6/27/02 Ummah News: "He is charged with providing Hezbollah with pictures ad information about various possible targets such as gas and electrical depots. He was also asked to befriend a high ranking official in the IDF and obtain significant data about various military operations. The prosecution also claimed that Nissim has confessed to all charges against him, including slipping to Hezbollah a note warning it of assassination plots against its top ranking officials."

Wednesday 6/26/02

Global Village: Is World Music the Next Big Thing?  6/26/02 Africana.com

Bush insulted Palestinians and enraged leadership of Arab world  6/26/02 Arab News: Robert Fisk - "[Arafat] was given time to prove his loyalty to the West, to America, to Israel. He was supposed to have made Israel's settlements both safe and sacred. Now, when he can no longer control the people he was supposed to control - remember the BBC's repeated question: "Can he control his own people?" - his usefulness is at an end. He must go, to be replaced by our choice of leader - forget elections - who will be as 'democratic' as the new Afghan 'interim' government."

Making the blooms desert  6/26/02 Arab News: "Many people wonder why Israel won't give back the occupied territories in return for peace. One reason is that more than half of Israel's water supplies now come from the Mountain Aquifer and Jordan river basin, which are situated deep within them."

Arab-American vendors boycott New York Post  6/26/02 Arab News, Saudi Arabia: "Word has it that these days it can be difficult to buy a copy of the New York Post in some New York neighborhoods. The reason is simple: Some Arab-American newsstand vendors are boycotting the newspaper because they say the daily paper is publishing false information about Muslims, and turning American society against them. Arab storeowners, even those who continue selling the Post, are considering severing all ties with the publication. They say the paper "curses them" by supporting Israel in the war with Palestine and by placing anti-Islamic editorials."

Crackdown Against Arabs And Foreigners In Pakistan  6/26/02 Azzam: "A special search and crackdown is underway in Karachi to locate any foreigners. Apparently, large numbers of foreigners, including significant numbers of Arabs, have been arrested and are being held in an unknown place. All the arrested are under custody of and are being interrogated by the FBI… Also reported is that members of the recently banned religious groups (also known as 'jihadi' groups) are currently being tortured. The BBC reports that approximately 100 members of the prescribed groups, including more than 40 from Lahore alone, have been arrested by the local police."

Davis ousts Hilliard  6/26/02 Birmingham News: "The 12-county 7th District, joining Birmingham with the rural Black Belt, has a 62 percent black population. Hilliard was the first black elected to Congress from Alabama since Reconstruction… Hilliard tapped veterans of the civil rights movement for his support. But Davis, who holds two degrees from Harvard University, appealed to white voters and bypassed the traditional black power structure by cobbling together his own network."

Euphemisms for Israeli Settlements Confuse Coverage  6/26/02 FAIR: Is it that the US is based on its own settler culture? "This may be partly due to campaigns by pressure groups within the U.S. Take the case of Gilo, an Israeli settlement that some pro-settler groups have used as a focal point for their campaigns to eliminate the term "settlements" in favor of "neighborhoods." In September 2001, CNN changed its policy on how to characterize Gilo: "We refer to Gilo as 'a Jewish neighborhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem, built on land occupied by Israel in 1967.' We don't refer to it as a settlement," said the order from CNN headquarters. CNN denies that its decision was a concession to outside pressure, but according to veteran Middle East reporter Robert Fisk (London Independent, 9/3/01), sources within the network said that the switch followed "months of internal debate in CNN, which has been constantly criticized by CNN Watch, honestreporting.com and other pro-Israeli pressure groups."

Blair in rift with Bush over Israel  6/26/02 Independent, UK: "George Bush was facing his first serious rift with Tony Blair last night after Britain joined the European Union and the United Nations in rejecting American calls for Yasser Arafat to be ousted as leader of the Palestinian authority. In a sharp rebuff to President Bush, Downing Street and Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said it was up to the Palestinian people to decide their leader."

Analysis: Anti-Arafat Talk May Backfire on U.S.  6/26/02 Newsday: ""The height of the expectations from this speech will be comparable to the depths to which the region will plunge,” said Israel's leftist foreign minister, Shimon Peres. "A bloodbath can be expected,” Peres said as he watched the speech, reported Yedioth Ahronoth. Bush's speech was historic in its support for the creation of a Palestinian state but also in being perceived by both sides as more favorable to Israel's right wing than almost any other pronouncement by an American president. Israeli columnist Nahum Barnea declared him the "new member of Likud,” Sharon's party."

Police Cross a Line  6/26/02 Newsday: "I was livid,” Cannie said. "I asked the police how would they feel if their child was asked to be in a lineup without their permission? They admitted they wouldn't like it. "I have to live every day recognizing there could be additional dangers for African-American young men who have their pictures in police files from my school district.” Nassau Legis. Patrick Williams (D-Uniondale), to whom Cannie complained about the incident, called the police policy "unadulterated racism.” "This common practice of utilizing the school as the place of recruitment without parental consent or school administration approval, is only practiced in the minority community,” Williams said in an interview.

In Saudi Arabia, Concern About Rocky Relations With U.S.  6/26/02 NNS: "News reports said religious police locked the girls inside and blocked male rescuers, because the girls were not properly covered. Human Rights Watch supported the accusations against the religious police. At least one Saudi newspaper investigated, though, and found that religious police did not interfere. An official report criticized dangerous overcrowding and inadequate safety measures, but it was silent on the role of the religious police. Still, the Saudi public was outraged -- and the monarchy soon took control of girls' education from the religious authorities. "This was the first time a major change like this occurred as a result of a public outcry expressed by the press," says Adel Al-Abdulkarim, a guest columnist at Riyadh's largest paper and an assistant professor at King Saud University. "This is significant."

EXXONMOBIL TAKES GREENPEACE TO COURT  6/26/02 O'Dwyer's PR Daily: "ExxonMobil says the doctored logo resembles the "infamous SS" insignia of the elite troops of the Nazi army. That is a "repulsion," according to ExxonMobil, and will drive consumers away from its brand." - apparently they forget Exxon's extensive dealings with the Nazis before and during WW II as Standard Oil of New Jersey's, when IG Farben, which represented 90% of Germany's exports, was #2 stockholder in Standard Oil after the Rockefellers…

Read Between the Lines - Bush Made Bold Move for Mideast Peace  6/26/02 Pacific News: curiously pollyanna view of Bush's attempts to overthrow the Palestinian government. To quote the New York Times on 6/27: "Within hours, a senior administration official briefing reporters by telephone from the meeting site, in Kananaskis, took the warning a step further, saying that while the Palestinian people were free to re-elect Mr. Arafat, they should know that it would cost them significant aid."

Analysis: Bush Speech Seen Spurring M.East Radicals  6/26/02 Reuters: "This is God's gift to Osama bin Laden," said Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based Arab newspaper al-Quds, who has interviewed the Saudi-born militant in the past. "Bush pleased two people -- the ultra-rightwing Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and the ultra-rightwing fundamentalist bin Laden. He confirmed bin Laden's argument that America is Israel and Israel is America," Atwan said."

Pro-Israel lobby buys Alabama Congress seat  6/26/02 Ummah News: "US Muslims have blamed pro-Israeli groups in the country of buying victory in yesterday’s runoff primary in Alabama's 7th Congressional District. The Council for American Islamic Relations called Artur Davis success in the election a "defeat for democracy," an insult to African-Americans and a victory for pro-Israel extremists. In the heavily Democratic district, the winner of the primary will almost certainly be elected to the House of Representatives… An analysis by CAIR of a recent Davis donor list revealed that 81 percent of his campaign contributions came from outside Alabama, mostly from New York. The donations from the pro-Israel lobby began to flow after Davis traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with representatives of AIPAC, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee."

Al Qaeda Training for Small-Arms Massacre  6/26/02 Village Voice: trigger happy police to become even more so - "In advice to law enforcement, one analyst of this training tape urges cops to begin shooting as soon as they recognize what's going on, and not to wait for any SWAT team or other support. Complying at any point is useless, since everyone will be ritually executed on the roof."

Davis Ousts Rep. Hilliard In Alabama Runoff  6/26/02 Washington Post: "The race between Hilliard, 60, and Davis, 34, became a referendum on Middle East politics. Davis amassed funds from Jewish donors angry over Hilliard's support for Arab nations, while Arab American groups flocked to the incumbent."

Tuesday 6/25/02

Right-Wing Hawks Win Big On Middle East  6/25/02 Alternet: "The speech was greeted with enthusiastic praise by the coalition of Christian Right and neo-conservative hawks who have repeatedly called on Bush to extend his war on terrorism in Afghanistan to Iraq and Iran, as well as the Palestinian Authhority."

Bush calls for end to Arafat's rule  6/25/02 BBC: Bush tries to overthrow another elected government.

US reservists feel the strain  6/25/02 BBC

Israel halts aid to territories from Iran and Iraq  6/25/02 Haaretz: "Israel recently decided to stop the flow of aid - food and medicine - from Iran and Iraq to Palestinians in the territories."

Britain racist to core, says chief prosecutor  6/25/02 Japan Today: "Britain is racist to the core, according to its chief prosecutor, whose views have emerged in an interview to be broadcast Tuesday. Asked if all Britons were racist, Sir David Calvert-Smith said "Yes," prompting the Prime Minister's office and the Commission for Racial Equality to swiftly play down his remarks. "The whole of society has a problem," Calvert-Smith, who was knighted earlier this month, told BBC radio."

Confidence in war on terror wanes  6/25/02 USA Today: "Public confidence that the United States and its allies are winning has slipped to 33%, the lowest level since Sept. 11. In January, amid news reports that the U.S. military had al-Qaeda terrorists on the run, 66% said the United States was winning the war."

Metropolitan Police (PM) officers have arrested two men wearing military uniforms and with a consignment of 5 boxes of 100 military uniforms.  6/25/02 Vheadlines: on Company business.

Palestinian election may backfire on Bush -Annan  6/25/02 Zawya: "U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned on Tuesday that President George W. Bush's call for Palestinian elections could backfire by producing a more hard-line leadership than was now in charge."

Monday 6/24/02

Web Castes  6/24/02 Alternet: "Traditional radio stations pay royalties to composers and music publishers, but not to performers. It’s always been assumed that those artists reap huge promotional benefits from radio play. Apparently, Congress decided that this concept doesn’t apply to Internet radio, even though Webcasts are capable of reaching a global audience. Hence, the creation of the DMCA."

98 UNIONISTS KILLED SO FAR THIS YEAR  6/24/02 ANNCOL: "According to the CUT national trade union federation in Colombia, so far this year 98 of their activists have been either assassinated or 'disappeared' by rightwing death squad units. The federation, along with individual unions and human rights organisations in Colombia are placing the blame for the murders firmly at the door of the Colombian government whom, they say, are guilty of promoting the violence against the union movement."

Los servidores públicos del Estado Colombiano  6/24/02 ANNCOL: "“Contribuyen a crear un clima en el que los criminales sienten que pueden amenazar y atacar a los defensores de derechos humanos con impunidad” dijo en Ginebra la Alta Comisionada de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos la señora Robinson."

BABA WAWA'S WHITEWASH - Israeli spies cheer as WTC burns – not that there's anything wrong with that, says Barbara Walters  6/24/02 Antiwar.com: "There they might have read this astonishing story that appeared in the [September 12, 2001] Bergen Record, which describes the 5 Israeli detainees picked up 8 hours after the WTC attack as "carrying maps linking them to the blasts": "[S]ources close to the investigation said they found other evidence linking the men to the bombing plot. 'There are maps of the city in the car with certain places highlighted,' the source said. ‘It looked like they're hooked in with this. It looked like they knew what was going to happen when they were at Liberty State Park.’"

CNN blinks first in battle with Israeli officials  6/24/02 Haaretz: Asked about how he views CNN coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ahmed Sief, a lecturer in communications at Bir Zeit University, offered an explanation that sounded uncannily like the Palestinian version of Rivlin: "CNN covers the Israeli point of view and tends to ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian side is considered less important from the news point of view and the language of the broadcast is pro-Israeli."

Tavis Smiley's Audience Growing  6/24/02 NYT: Tavis went on the TransAfrica trip to Cuba and produced a good documentary on the event on BET before the new management fired him for not toeing the party line.

New Document: CIA Knew About Latin Terror Plan for Paris  6/24/02 Pacific News Service: "In the 1970s, the CIA knew more than it has revealed until now about the secret terrorist network known as Operation Condor. Washington should have publicly warned prospective victims then and should cooperate with courts today, writes PNS contributor Lucy Komisar, who sought the newly declassified information for seven years."

ISM Members Report More War Crimes in Jenin  6/24/02 Palestine Chronicle: "The Army is beginning to repeat in the city of Jenin what it has done in the camp, going house to house and rounding up the men as well as shelling sporadically. One soldier is walking the streets beating people with a baton."

Who Are the Palestinians?  6/24/02 The East African: "The Philistines arrived from Crete by boat – for which reason their Egyptian cousins called them Pelest ("people of the sea") – to occupy the Gaza Strip almost a century before the Israelites, under "Joshua", emerged from the Sinaitic "wilderness" to take parts of Canaan." But then "God" gave Palestine to Israel! It gets better - "The year 722 BC was a crucial one. Assyria, which had become the new master in the Middle East, invaded the northern kingdom, destroyed Samaria and carried off its elite back to Nineveh in Assyria. But the Cutheans (the Assyrian elite) settled down in Israel permanently. There thus began a systematic intermingling between them, the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Abrahamic lines and – nota bene – the 10 Israelite tribes that had composed the northern kingdom. Because Samaria remained their capital, the melting pot came to be called Samaritans. And it was this swallowing of the 10 Israelite tribes that earned them the description "Ten lost tribes of Israel." The point becomes clear. Even if we accepted the myth of "the Promised Land," the Samaritans – because their blood contained a whole 90 per cent of the original Israelites – would be Jacob's real heirs...the modern Euro-American Jew has no blood ties to the original Semitic Jews. Many Euro-American Jewish historians themselves – like Moshe Menuhin, Michael Kiernan, and Isidore Epstein – show conclusively that modern European Jews are descendants of the Khazari." The Khazari were a Turkish people who converted en masse to Judaism in 740 AD.

Robert Novak - Who runs Colombia?  6/24/02 Town Hall: "Colombia's avowedly hard-line President-elect Alvaro Uribe paid a low-profile visit to Washington last week that seemed successful but actually sowed suspicion. Meeting with Republican House members who will influence the flow of U.S. aid to Colombia, Uribe was asked two key questions. He responded with two disquieting non-answers. The questions: Would Uribe have a place in his administration for Gen. Jose Serrano, the heroic former national police chief? Would he appoint to high office Pedro Juan Moreno, a shadowy figure who had run-ins with U.S. and Colombian authorities over importing precursor chemicals of a kind that produce illegal narcotics? Although the president-elect was non-committal on both scores, he implied there was no place for Serrano but there would be a prominent post for Moreno."

FBI Begins Visiting Libraries  6/24/02 Washington Post: "The University of Illinois conducted a survey of 1,020 public libraries in January and February and found that 85 libraries had been asked by federal or local law enforcement officers for information about patrons related to Sept. 11, said Ed Lakner, assistant director of research at the school's Library Research Center. The libraries that reported FBI contacts were nearly all in large urban areas.The University of Illinois conducted a survey of 1,020 public libraries in January and February and found that 85 libraries had been asked by federal or local law enforcement officers for information about patrons related to Sept. 11, said Ed Lakner, assistant director of research at the school's Library Research Center. The libraries that reported FBI contacts were nearly all in large urban areas… "People are scared and they think that by giving up their rights, especially their right to privacy, they will be safe," Krug said. "But it wasn't the right to privacy that let terrorists into our nation. It had nothing to do with libraries or library records." Some libraries said they will still resist government efforts to obtain records."

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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