Friday, August 22, 2003
UK: DAVID KELLY
the Age: Kelly spoke of dying in the woods
British weapons expert David Kelly predicted he would be "found dead in the woods" five months before he apparently committed suicide in a forested area, an inquiry into his death has been told.
A senior British diplomat, David Boucher, told the Hutton inquiry that Dr Kelly had predicted his own death if Britain invaded Iraq, in a conversation with him in February, about a month before the war started.
"I thought he might have meant that he was at risk of being attacked by the Iraqis in some way," Mr Boucher said. But, after Dr Kelly's death, he realised the scientist "may have been thinking on different lines".
the Age: Kelly spoke of dying in the woods
British weapons expert David Kelly predicted he would be "found dead in the woods" five months before he apparently committed suicide in a forested area, an inquiry into his death has been told.
A senior British diplomat, David Boucher, told the Hutton inquiry that Dr Kelly had predicted his own death if Britain invaded Iraq, in a conversation with him in February, about a month before the war started.
"I thought he might have meant that he was at risk of being attacked by the Iraqis in some way," Mr Boucher said. But, after Dr Kelly's death, he realised the scientist "may have been thinking on different lines".
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Spiegel: Pentagon dementiert Entführung von Soldaten
Einem libanesischen TV-Sender zufolge wurden zwei US-Offiziere im Irak von einer bislang unbekannten Gruppe verschleppt. Das Pentagon dementiert: Beide Soldaten seien sicher und wohlbehalten in den USA
Laut der Nachrichtenagentur AP veröffentlichte der libanesische Fernsehsender LBC ein Schreiben der bislang unbekannten Gruppierung al-Madina al-Munawara. Demnach wurden die US-Soldaten bei einem Angriff auf einen Militärkonvoi westlich von Bagdad gekidnappt. Wann und wo genau der Überfall stattgefunden haben soll, wurde nicht erwähnt.
Spiegel: Pentagon dementiert Entführung von Soldaten
Einem libanesischen TV-Sender zufolge wurden zwei US-Offiziere im Irak von einer bislang unbekannten Gruppe verschleppt. Das Pentagon dementiert: Beide Soldaten seien sicher und wohlbehalten in den USA
Laut der Nachrichtenagentur AP veröffentlichte der libanesische Fernsehsender LBC ein Schreiben der bislang unbekannten Gruppierung al-Madina al-Munawara. Demnach wurden die US-Soldaten bei einem Angriff auf einen Militärkonvoi westlich von Bagdad gekidnappt. Wann und wo genau der Überfall stattgefunden haben soll, wurde nicht erwähnt.
ESSAY
marchtojustice: "Learning to Be Stupid in the Culture of Cash"
You might think that reading about a Podunk University's English teacher's attempt to connect the dots between the poverty of American education and the gullibility of the American public may be a little trivial, considering we've embarked on the first, openly-confessed imperial adventure of senescent capitalism in the US, but bear with me. The question my experiences in the classroom raise is why have these young people been educated to such abysmal depths of ignorance.
"I don't read," says a junior without the slightest self-consciousness. She has not the smallest hint that professing a habitual preference for not reading at a university is like bragging in ordinary life that one chooses not to breathe. She is in my "World Literature" class. She has to read novels by African, Latin American, and Asian authors. She is not there by choice: it's just a "distribution" requirement for graduation, and it's easier than philosophy -she thinks.
The novel she has trouble reading is Isabel Allende's "Of Love and Shadows," set in the post-coup terror of Pinochet's junta's Nazi-style regime in Chile, 1973-1989. No one in the class, including the English majors, can write a focused essay of analysis, so I have to teach that. No one in the class knows where Chile is, so I make photocopies of general information from world guide surveys. No one knows what socialism or fascism is, so I spend time writing up digestible definitions. No one knows what Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" is, and I supply it because it's impossible to understand the theme of the novel without a basic knowledge of that work - which used to be required reading a few generations ago. And no one in the class has ever heard of 11 September 1973, the CIA-sponsored coup which terminated Chile's mature democracy. There is complete shock when I supply US de-classified documents proving US collusion with the generals' coup and the assassination of elected president, Salvador Allende.
"CHECK IT"
marchtojustice: "Learning to Be Stupid in the Culture of Cash"
You might think that reading about a Podunk University's English teacher's attempt to connect the dots between the poverty of American education and the gullibility of the American public may be a little trivial, considering we've embarked on the first, openly-confessed imperial adventure of senescent capitalism in the US, but bear with me. The question my experiences in the classroom raise is why have these young people been educated to such abysmal depths of ignorance.
"I don't read," says a junior without the slightest self-consciousness. She has not the smallest hint that professing a habitual preference for not reading at a university is like bragging in ordinary life that one chooses not to breathe. She is in my "World Literature" class. She has to read novels by African, Latin American, and Asian authors. She is not there by choice: it's just a "distribution" requirement for graduation, and it's easier than philosophy -she thinks.
The novel she has trouble reading is Isabel Allende's "Of Love and Shadows," set in the post-coup terror of Pinochet's junta's Nazi-style regime in Chile, 1973-1989. No one in the class, including the English majors, can write a focused essay of analysis, so I have to teach that. No one in the class knows where Chile is, so I make photocopies of general information from world guide surveys. No one knows what socialism or fascism is, so I spend time writing up digestible definitions. No one knows what Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" is, and I supply it because it's impossible to understand the theme of the novel without a basic knowledge of that work - which used to be required reading a few generations ago. And no one in the class has ever heard of 11 September 1973, the CIA-sponsored coup which terminated Chile's mature democracy. There is complete shock when I supply US de-classified documents proving US collusion with the generals' coup and the assassination of elected president, Salvador Allende.
"CHECK IT"
IRAQ
Asia Times: Looking faceless terror in the eye
HONG KONG - Almost before the debris from Tuesday's blast at the United Nations' headquarters in Baghdad had finished falling from the sky, some were blaming it on al-Qaeda. This is the face of faceless terrorism today: whenever a bomb goes off anywhere in the world, images of turbaned clerics appear almost instantly.
And al-Qaeda is not alone in the fraternity of facelessness. Be it Jemaah Islamiya, the now disbanded Laskar Jihad, or the Kumpulan Mujahidden Malaysia, there seems to be a label to go along with any brand of terror.
The fact is, the "enemy" in the "war on terror" is faceless when it needs to be, but when a label or identity suits the current purposes of government, one is quickly found.
"CHECK IT"
Asia Times: Looking faceless terror in the eye
HONG KONG - Almost before the debris from Tuesday's blast at the United Nations' headquarters in Baghdad had finished falling from the sky, some were blaming it on al-Qaeda. This is the face of faceless terrorism today: whenever a bomb goes off anywhere in the world, images of turbaned clerics appear almost instantly.
And al-Qaeda is not alone in the fraternity of facelessness. Be it Jemaah Islamiya, the now disbanded Laskar Jihad, or the Kumpulan Mujahidden Malaysia, there seems to be a label to go along with any brand of terror.
The fact is, the "enemy" in the "war on terror" is faceless when it needs to be, but when a label or identity suits the current purposes of government, one is quickly found.
"CHECK IT"
IRAQ
Toronto Star: A guerrilla war takes root
Iraqis opposed to U.S. are destroying structures and services on which the population depends
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is outraged. U.S. President George W. Bush makes his usual clumsy attempt to paint the Iraqi resistance as just another bunch of "terrorists," and to link them with some worldwide conspiracy of terrorists who attack the United States because "they hate freedom."
All the usual suspects express their shock that the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad has been bombed. And you wonder: Can they really be surprised?
To adapt Bill Clinton's famous phrase: It's a war, stupid.
"CHECK IT"
Toronto Star: A guerrilla war takes root
Iraqis opposed to U.S. are destroying structures and services on which the population depends
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is outraged. U.S. President George W. Bush makes his usual clumsy attempt to paint the Iraqi resistance as just another bunch of "terrorists," and to link them with some worldwide conspiracy of terrorists who attack the United States because "they hate freedom."
All the usual suspects express their shock that the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad has been bombed. And you wonder: Can they really be surprised?
To adapt Bill Clinton's famous phrase: It's a war, stupid.
"CHECK IT"
IRAQ
Guardian: Into the quagmire
American rhetoric cannot deceive history, which shows that occupying armies are never seen as liberators
Guardian: Into the quagmire
American rhetoric cannot deceive history, which shows that occupying armies are never seen as liberators
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs
to the English or France to the French...What is going on in Palestine
today cannot be justified by any moral code of conduct...If they [the Jews]
must look to the Palestine of geography as their national home, it is wrong
to enter it under the shadow of the British gun. A religious act cannot be
performed with the aid of the bayonet or the bomb. They can settle in
Palestine only by the goodwill of the Arabs... As it is, they are
co-sharers with the British in despoiling a people who have done no
wrong to them. I am not defending the Arab excesses. I wish they had chosen
the way of non-violence in resisting what they rightly regard as an
unacceptable encroachment upon their country. But according to the
accepted canons of right and wrong, nothing can be said against the Arab
resistance in the face of overwhelming odds."
Mahatma Gandhi, quoted in "A Land of Two Peoples" ed. Mendes-Flohr.
"Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs
to the English or France to the French...What is going on in Palestine
today cannot be justified by any moral code of conduct...If they [the Jews]
must look to the Palestine of geography as their national home, it is wrong
to enter it under the shadow of the British gun. A religious act cannot be
performed with the aid of the bayonet or the bomb. They can settle in
Palestine only by the goodwill of the Arabs... As it is, they are
co-sharers with the British in despoiling a people who have done no
wrong to them. I am not defending the Arab excesses. I wish they had chosen
the way of non-violence in resisting what they rightly regard as an
unacceptable encroachment upon their country. But according to the
accepted canons of right and wrong, nothing can be said against the Arab
resistance in the face of overwhelming odds."
Mahatma Gandhi, quoted in "A Land of Two Peoples" ed. Mendes-Flohr.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Independent: Powell asks Arafat to help stop killing
Washington turned to Yasser Arafat yesterday, a man it had sought to marginalise and sideline for months, to help the so-called Middle East road-map after the Jerusalem bus bombing and Israel's killing of a senior Hamas leader threatened to wreck the peace plan.
Months after the United States demanded that the Palestinians elect a Prime Minister in an effort to reduce the authority of Mr Arafat, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, asked him yesterday to help stop the cycle of violence.
His appeal to the Palestinian Authority's chairman was an admission of the influence that Mr Arafat still wields and the inability of the Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, to stop Palestinian attacks.
Independent: Powell asks Arafat to help stop killing
Washington turned to Yasser Arafat yesterday, a man it had sought to marginalise and sideline for months, to help the so-called Middle East road-map after the Jerusalem bus bombing and Israel's killing of a senior Hamas leader threatened to wreck the peace plan.
Months after the United States demanded that the Palestinians elect a Prime Minister in an effort to reduce the authority of Mr Arafat, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, asked him yesterday to help stop the cycle of violence.
His appeal to the Palestinian Authority's chairman was an admission of the influence that Mr Arafat still wields and the inability of the Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, to stop Palestinian attacks.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Spiegel: Hamas-Mann der ersten Stunde
Gaza - Ismail Abu Schanab gehörte zum politischen Flügel der Hamas. Er warb in der militanten Bewegung für die Fortsetzung des Waffenstillstands, an dessen Aushandlung Ende Juni er maßgeblich beteiligt war. Israel warf Abu Schanab dagegen vor, er sei direkt an der Planung von Anschlägen beteiligt gewesen - auch an dem Selbstmordanschlag vom Dienstag, bei dem in Jerusalem 20 Menschen getötet wurden.
Spiegel: Israel droht mit gezielten Tötungen
Neue Gewaltdrohungen machen die Lage in Nahost immer explosiver: Israel kündigte an, weitere Hamas-Führer liquidieren zu wollen, wenn es zu neuen Anschlägen kommen sollte. Genau das hatten die militanten Palästinenser bereits angekündigt.
Independent: Israel vows to kill more Palestinian militants
Israel plans to kill more Palestinian militants, military officials warned, as thousands of Palestinians gathered for the funeral of the Hamas leader killed yesterday, promised thunderous revenge.
An Israeli security source said all Hamas leaders were now considered fair targets and new strikes would be launched after a 24 hour lull to give Palestinians a chance to act on their own against militants. "We were waiting to see even just one Hamas arrest," he said.
Spiegel: Hamas-Mann der ersten Stunde
Gaza - Ismail Abu Schanab gehörte zum politischen Flügel der Hamas. Er warb in der militanten Bewegung für die Fortsetzung des Waffenstillstands, an dessen Aushandlung Ende Juni er maßgeblich beteiligt war. Israel warf Abu Schanab dagegen vor, er sei direkt an der Planung von Anschlägen beteiligt gewesen - auch an dem Selbstmordanschlag vom Dienstag, bei dem in Jerusalem 20 Menschen getötet wurden.
Spiegel: Israel droht mit gezielten Tötungen
Neue Gewaltdrohungen machen die Lage in Nahost immer explosiver: Israel kündigte an, weitere Hamas-Führer liquidieren zu wollen, wenn es zu neuen Anschlägen kommen sollte. Genau das hatten die militanten Palästinenser bereits angekündigt.
Independent: Israel vows to kill more Palestinian militants
Israel plans to kill more Palestinian militants, military officials warned, as thousands of Palestinians gathered for the funeral of the Hamas leader killed yesterday, promised thunderous revenge.
An Israeli security source said all Hamas leaders were now considered fair targets and new strikes would be launched after a 24 hour lull to give Palestinians a chance to act on their own against militants. "We were waiting to see even just one Hamas arrest," he said.
Thursday, August 21, 2003
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Spiegel: Israelische Kampfhubschrauber töten Hamas-Führer
Israel hat seine Politik der gezielten Exekution von Extremisten wieder aufgenommen. Kampfhubschrauber töteten im Zentrum von Gaza den militanten Hamas-Führer Ismail Abu Schanab und zwei seiner Leibwächter. Die Hamas erklärte die nur sieben Wochen alte Waffenruhe kurz darauf für beendet.
Independent: Hamas leader killed in Israeli gunship strike in Gaza
A senior leader of the militant group Hamas was killed, along with two bodyguards, when an Israeli gunship fired missiles at a car in Gaza City today.
Israeli military sources admitted that they had targeted the car in which Ismail Abu Shanab waas travelling.
Haaretz: Senior Hamas official Abu Shanab killed by missile strike on car
Senior Hamas official Ismail Abu Shanab was among
three Palestinians killed Thursday afternoon in a
missile attack in Gaza City that Israeli security
sources said targeted Shanab.
In response to the attack, senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad
officials announced an end to the Palestinian cease-fire that
was declared on June 29, and Hamas vowed revenge.
"Die Roadmap ist Geschichte"
Spiegel: Israelische Kampfhubschrauber töten Hamas-Führer
Israel hat seine Politik der gezielten Exekution von Extremisten wieder aufgenommen. Kampfhubschrauber töteten im Zentrum von Gaza den militanten Hamas-Führer Ismail Abu Schanab und zwei seiner Leibwächter. Die Hamas erklärte die nur sieben Wochen alte Waffenruhe kurz darauf für beendet.
Independent: Hamas leader killed in Israeli gunship strike in Gaza
A senior leader of the militant group Hamas was killed, along with two bodyguards, when an Israeli gunship fired missiles at a car in Gaza City today.
Israeli military sources admitted that they had targeted the car in which Ismail Abu Shanab waas travelling.
Haaretz: Senior Hamas official Abu Shanab killed by missile strike on car
Senior Hamas official Ismail Abu Shanab was among
three Palestinians killed Thursday afternoon in a
missile attack in Gaza City that Israeli security
sources said targeted Shanab.
In response to the attack, senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad
officials announced an end to the Palestinian cease-fire that
was declared on June 29, and Hamas vowed revenge.
"Die Roadmap ist Geschichte"
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Independent: Israeli troops move into West Bank towns
Israeli troops and tanks moved into the West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin early today, searching for Palestinian militants following the Jerusalem suicide bombing in which 20 people died.
In Hebron, also in the West Bank, Israeli forces demolished the bomber. Dozens of soldiers secured the area before dawn and set up explosives in the concrete house, which they detonated.
The family had moved out with their possessions after the bombing, expecting the home would be demolished. The bomber, 29-year-old mosque preacher Raed Mesk, was friends with an Islamic Jihad leader in Hebron, Mohammed Sidr, who was killed by Israeli troops last week.
Shots rang out in Jenin after 20 tanks, personnel carriers and other vehicles entered, witnesses said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties in either town. A curfew was imposed in central Nablus after more than 30 vehicles — mostly trucks and a few tanks — rolled in.
Independent: Israeli troops move into West Bank towns
Israeli troops and tanks moved into the West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin early today, searching for Palestinian militants following the Jerusalem suicide bombing in which 20 people died.
In Hebron, also in the West Bank, Israeli forces demolished the bomber. Dozens of soldiers secured the area before dawn and set up explosives in the concrete house, which they detonated.
The family had moved out with their possessions after the bombing, expecting the home would be demolished. The bomber, 29-year-old mosque preacher Raed Mesk, was friends with an Islamic Jihad leader in Hebron, Mohammed Sidr, who was killed by Israeli troops last week.
Shots rang out in Jenin after 20 tanks, personnel carriers and other vehicles entered, witnesses said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties in either town. A curfew was imposed in central Nablus after more than 30 vehicles — mostly trucks and a few tanks — rolled in.
IRAQ
American Free Press: CIA Accused Of Bank Heist
Shortly before U.S. forces began streaming across the Iraqi border, commencing Persian Gulf War II, the CIA and the Department of Defense, with a little help from Israel and some Europeans, pulled off a massive bank heist in Iraq to the tune of several billion dollars.
The CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) are accused by International Currency Review, the London-based journal, of mounting a joint ultra-secret operation to electronically remove an estimated $10 billion out of the Iraqi Central Bank hours before the start of Persian Gulf War II. The whereabouts of the money is not known.
“We believe it is in a secret CIA fund which will be used to mount further special services operations, such as tracking down Saddam Hussein,” said the Review’s publisher, Christopher Story.
Story is a former financial advisor to Lady Thatcher when she was Britain’s prime minister. In the past 10 years, he has testified before several congressional committees dealing with financial scandals.
DIA coordinates all intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is headquartered in the Pentagon.
The report is titled “The Great Robbery of the Central Bank of Iraq.” It has been sent to finance ministers of leading nations, the World Bank, the Bank of England and heads of all other major banks.
The report is bound to cause huge embarrassment to President Bush after he signed an executive order on March 23, ordering a worldwide hunt for the hidden assets of Saddam Hussein and his family.
The Review claims that using skilled hackers recruited by the DIA and key Iraqi bank officials who had been bribed to provide secret access codes to the Central Bank’s accounts for Saddam Hussein and his family, the money was transferred out of the bank in a high-tech operation
American Free Press: CIA Accused Of Bank Heist
Shortly before U.S. forces began streaming across the Iraqi border, commencing Persian Gulf War II, the CIA and the Department of Defense, with a little help from Israel and some Europeans, pulled off a massive bank heist in Iraq to the tune of several billion dollars.
The CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) are accused by International Currency Review, the London-based journal, of mounting a joint ultra-secret operation to electronically remove an estimated $10 billion out of the Iraqi Central Bank hours before the start of Persian Gulf War II. The whereabouts of the money is not known.
“We believe it is in a secret CIA fund which will be used to mount further special services operations, such as tracking down Saddam Hussein,” said the Review’s publisher, Christopher Story.
Story is a former financial advisor to Lady Thatcher when she was Britain’s prime minister. In the past 10 years, he has testified before several congressional committees dealing with financial scandals.
DIA coordinates all intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is headquartered in the Pentagon.
The report is titled “The Great Robbery of the Central Bank of Iraq.” It has been sent to finance ministers of leading nations, the World Bank, the Bank of England and heads of all other major banks.
The report is bound to cause huge embarrassment to President Bush after he signed an executive order on March 23, ordering a worldwide hunt for the hidden assets of Saddam Hussein and his family.
The Review claims that using skilled hackers recruited by the DIA and key Iraqi bank officials who had been bribed to provide secret access codes to the Central Bank’s accounts for Saddam Hussein and his family, the money was transferred out of the bank in a high-tech operation
USA-ISRAEL
Haaretz: Israel, US Sign Loan Guarantees Worth $9 Billion
After several months of exhaustive negotiations, Israel and the United States on Wednesday signed the loan guarantee agreement, enabling Israel to raise $9 billion in government bonds on American financial markets over the coming three years.
Harry Langman, the accountant general's representative in New York, and his deputy Yaron Neuderfer signed the accord for Israel, and Gordon West, deputy assistant administrator for American aid programs (USAID), for the U.S.
Israel plans to raise the first $3 billion - which will be backed by the U.S. government - in late 2003. Under the agreement, every dollar Israel spends in the occupied territories will be deducted from the guarantees.
"Die USA ermoeglicht Israel weiterhin die Palaestinesischen Gebiete zu besetzen. Sie unterstuetzen damit einen Staat der seit ueber 30 Jahren UN-Resolutionen bricht. Irak wurde aus diesem Grund zerbomt. Von Krediten kann im Grunde genommen keine Rede sein, da Israel noch nie etwas zurueckbezahlt hat. Ohne USA keine Besatzung. Das ganze geschwafel von Frieden im Nahen Osten ist nichts weiter als Heuchelei und PR"
Haaretz: Israel, US Sign Loan Guarantees Worth $9 Billion
After several months of exhaustive negotiations, Israel and the United States on Wednesday signed the loan guarantee agreement, enabling Israel to raise $9 billion in government bonds on American financial markets over the coming three years.
Harry Langman, the accountant general's representative in New York, and his deputy Yaron Neuderfer signed the accord for Israel, and Gordon West, deputy assistant administrator for American aid programs (USAID), for the U.S.
Israel plans to raise the first $3 billion - which will be backed by the U.S. government - in late 2003. Under the agreement, every dollar Israel spends in the occupied territories will be deducted from the guarantees.
"Die USA ermoeglicht Israel weiterhin die Palaestinesischen Gebiete zu besetzen. Sie unterstuetzen damit einen Staat der seit ueber 30 Jahren UN-Resolutionen bricht. Irak wurde aus diesem Grund zerbomt. Von Krediten kann im Grunde genommen keine Rede sein, da Israel noch nie etwas zurueckbezahlt hat. Ohne USA keine Besatzung. Das ganze geschwafel von Frieden im Nahen Osten ist nichts weiter als Heuchelei und PR"
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Mirror: Attack On The UN -Iraqi Chaos 'Is America's Fault'
Iraq is in chaos as America's plans to rebuild the country fail, it was claimed last night.
Former US Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin spoke out after suicide bombers killed at least 24 people at the UN headquarters in Baghdad.
He said the Bush administration had "dropped the ball massively" since ousting Saddam Hussein and allowed terrorist groups to operate.
The plan to return the country to the Iraqi people had failed "spectacularly", leading to a collapse in law and order.
He added: "The real problem is chaos - the chaos that has allowed terrorist organisations and others to come into Iraq where, let's remember, they weren't before."
The bombers drove a concrete lorry packed full of explosives into the Canal Hotel, the UN base.
The front of the three-storey building collapsed, leaving more than 100 injured and dozens trapped.
Mirror: Attack On The UN -Iraqi Chaos 'Is America's Fault'
Iraq is in chaos as America's plans to rebuild the country fail, it was claimed last night.
Former US Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin spoke out after suicide bombers killed at least 24 people at the UN headquarters in Baghdad.
He said the Bush administration had "dropped the ball massively" since ousting Saddam Hussein and allowed terrorist groups to operate.
The plan to return the country to the Iraqi people had failed "spectacularly", leading to a collapse in law and order.
He added: "The real problem is chaos - the chaos that has allowed terrorist organisations and others to come into Iraq where, let's remember, they weren't before."
The bombers drove a concrete lorry packed full of explosives into the Canal Hotel, the UN base.
The front of the three-storey building collapsed, leaving more than 100 injured and dozens trapped.
POLICESTATE USA
Guardian: Bush's Secret War
When security agents took away her husband in the middle of the night they did not tell Ellah Ulusam that Washington had just opened a new front in its war against terror. They said he would be back the next day. Arif Ulusam vanished along with four other Muslim men, all arrested at home, handcuffed and bundled into a car for a bizarre odyssey which has not yet ended.
This is a part of George Bush's war which does not make it on to television news, for it is waged on a front so remote few know it exists. In less eventful times what happened would be considered extraordinary. As it is, their story has been barely reported.
On June 22 Malawi security agents seized five men in Limbe, outside Malawi's commercial capital Blantyre, and spirited them out of the country on suspicion of belonging to al-Qaida, earning praise from the US ambassador.
Relatives were distraught. "Taking Arif away was a big loss to me. I was stranded. I didn't know what was going on," says Ellah, 27, cradling her daughter Kardelen, not yet three. "Kardelen misses her father so much, she puts on his shoes, kisses his shirts."
Following the script from Afghanistan and other countries where terror suspects have been snatched, it seemed these were more Muslims destined for orange jumpsuits, their guilt or innocence to be decided at a future date by a US military tribunal. Except a funny thing happened on the way to Guantanamo - they were released.
Guardian: Bush's Secret War
When security agents took away her husband in the middle of the night they did not tell Ellah Ulusam that Washington had just opened a new front in its war against terror. They said he would be back the next day. Arif Ulusam vanished along with four other Muslim men, all arrested at home, handcuffed and bundled into a car for a bizarre odyssey which has not yet ended.
This is a part of George Bush's war which does not make it on to television news, for it is waged on a front so remote few know it exists. In less eventful times what happened would be considered extraordinary. As it is, their story has been barely reported.
On June 22 Malawi security agents seized five men in Limbe, outside Malawi's commercial capital Blantyre, and spirited them out of the country on suspicion of belonging to al-Qaida, earning praise from the US ambassador.
Relatives were distraught. "Taking Arif away was a big loss to me. I was stranded. I didn't know what was going on," says Ellah, 27, cradling her daughter Kardelen, not yet three. "Kardelen misses her father so much, she puts on his shoes, kisses his shirts."
Following the script from Afghanistan and other countries where terror suspects have been snatched, it seemed these were more Muslims destined for orange jumpsuits, their guilt or innocence to be decided at a future date by a US military tribunal. Except a funny thing happened on the way to Guantanamo - they were released.
USA: BLACKOUT
AP: Bush Blocks Independent Blackout Investigation
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration on Tuesday moved to consolidate the investigation into the nation's worst power blackout, saying that an industry watchdog group would forgo its independent probe and work with a U.S.-Canadian task force.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, a co-chair of the task force, would not speculate on what might have caused the blackout that cascaded across a vast region from Michigan to New York City last Thursday.
"It is way too early to engage in speculation about the role any (incident) might have had in the overall problem," Abraham told reporters at a news conference.
The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), an industry-sponsored group that monitors power grid reliability, so far has been in the forefront of the investigation. The group has pointed to problems in a number of high-voltage transmission lines in Ohio, belonging to FirstEnergy Corp., saying that is where the power cascade that led to the blackout apparently began.
AP: Bush Blocks Independent Blackout Investigation
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration on Tuesday moved to consolidate the investigation into the nation's worst power blackout, saying that an industry watchdog group would forgo its independent probe and work with a U.S.-Canadian task force.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, a co-chair of the task force, would not speculate on what might have caused the blackout that cascaded across a vast region from Michigan to New York City last Thursday.
"It is way too early to engage in speculation about the role any (incident) might have had in the overall problem," Abraham told reporters at a news conference.
The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), an industry-sponsored group that monitors power grid reliability, so far has been in the forefront of the investigation. The group has pointed to problems in a number of high-voltage transmission lines in Ohio, belonging to FirstEnergy Corp., saying that is where the power cascade that led to the blackout apparently began.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Spiegel: Annan kritisiert Sicherheitslage im Irak
Nach dem verheerenden Bombenanschlag auf den Uno-Sitz in Bagdad streiten die Vereinten Nationen und die US-Regierung über die Sicherheitslage im Irak. Angeblich gab es vor dem Attentat Terrorwarnungen an die Uno. Es seien Fehler begangen worden, sagte Uno-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan.
Ich war ein wenig überrascht, als ich das las", sagte er. Auch dass die Uno-Verwaltung im Irak ein angebliches Angebot der Amerikaner für verstärkte Sicherheitsmaßnahmen abgelehnt haben solle, wundere ihn sehr. "Ich wäre sehr überrascht, wenn sie das ausgeschlagen hätten", sagte Annan.
Aber selbst, wenn dies der Fall gewesen sein sollte, hätten die USA die Ablehnung nicht akzeptieren dürfen, erklärte der Uno-Chef. Die New Yorker Polizei frage ihre Bürger auch nicht, ob sie besondere Schutzmaßnahmen wolle. Vielmehr schätze sie die Sicherheitslage auf Grund der ihr vorliegenden Informationen ein und ergreife dann die ihr angemessen erscheinenden Aktionen.
US-Verteidigungsminister Donald Rumsfeld wies alle Verantwortung von sich. Dem Verteidigungsminister zufolge können die USA die Sicherheit im Irak nicht "in jeder Straße und an jeder Ecke" garantieren. Dies sei in einem Land von der Größe des US-Bundesstaats Kalifornien nicht möglich, sagte er bei einem Kurzbesuch in Honduras
"Man sollte meinen das es auch in Kaliforninen möglich wäre das UN-Gebeude zu schützen"
Spiegel: Annan kritisiert Sicherheitslage im Irak
Nach dem verheerenden Bombenanschlag auf den Uno-Sitz in Bagdad streiten die Vereinten Nationen und die US-Regierung über die Sicherheitslage im Irak. Angeblich gab es vor dem Attentat Terrorwarnungen an die Uno. Es seien Fehler begangen worden, sagte Uno-Generalsekretär Kofi Annan.
Ich war ein wenig überrascht, als ich das las", sagte er. Auch dass die Uno-Verwaltung im Irak ein angebliches Angebot der Amerikaner für verstärkte Sicherheitsmaßnahmen abgelehnt haben solle, wundere ihn sehr. "Ich wäre sehr überrascht, wenn sie das ausgeschlagen hätten", sagte Annan.
Aber selbst, wenn dies der Fall gewesen sein sollte, hätten die USA die Ablehnung nicht akzeptieren dürfen, erklärte der Uno-Chef. Die New Yorker Polizei frage ihre Bürger auch nicht, ob sie besondere Schutzmaßnahmen wolle. Vielmehr schätze sie die Sicherheitslage auf Grund der ihr vorliegenden Informationen ein und ergreife dann die ihr angemessen erscheinenden Aktionen.
US-Verteidigungsminister Donald Rumsfeld wies alle Verantwortung von sich. Dem Verteidigungsminister zufolge können die USA die Sicherheit im Irak nicht "in jeder Straße und an jeder Ecke" garantieren. Dies sei in einem Land von der Größe des US-Bundesstaats Kalifornien nicht möglich, sagte er bei einem Kurzbesuch in Honduras
"Man sollte meinen das es auch in Kaliforninen möglich wäre das UN-Gebeude zu schützen"
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Haaretz: Israeli human rights group slams Hebron settlers
B'Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the
Occupied Territories) released a report yesterday citing harassment by Jewish
settlers for the exodus of some 400 Palestinians from the center of
Hebron over the past three years. "Settler violence and the lack of law
enforcement on settlers, the ongoing curfew and severe restrictions on
movement in the area that once was the commercial center of Hebron, and
violence against Palestinians by members of the security forces have
caused Palestinian families to pack up and leave the area," the report
charges. About 2,000 merchants have closed businesses in the downtown sector in
the same period, according to the B'Tselem report, entitled "Settlements
Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians."
B'Tselem: Full Report
Haaretz: Israeli human rights group slams Hebron settlers
B'Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the
Occupied Territories) released a report yesterday citing harassment by Jewish
settlers for the exodus of some 400 Palestinians from the center of
Hebron over the past three years. "Settler violence and the lack of law
enforcement on settlers, the ongoing curfew and severe restrictions on
movement in the area that once was the commercial center of Hebron, and
violence against Palestinians by members of the security forces have
caused Palestinian families to pack up and leave the area," the report
charges. About 2,000 merchants have closed businesses in the downtown sector in
the same period, according to the B'Tselem report, entitled "Settlements
Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians."
B'Tselem: Full Report
GULF WAR ILLNESS
AP: Victims From First Gulf War File Suit
NEW YORK (AP) - Blaming corporations for fueling former Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program, victims of the first Gulf War filed
a lawsuit Tuesday seeking compensation for illnesses affecting more than
100,000 soldiers. "Anyone with eyes and ears knew Saddam was killing
people with poison gas in the 1980s," lawyer Gary B. Pitts said outside
federal court. "These companies have to be held accountable or they'll do this
same thing in the future with some other tyrant." The lawsuit seeks
unspecified damages for more than 100,000 soldiers who it says suffered severe
injuries and staggering economic losses after they were exposed to chemicals
when coalition forces blew up Iraqi ammunition dumps.
AP: Victims From First Gulf War File Suit
NEW YORK (AP) - Blaming corporations for fueling former Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program, victims of the first Gulf War filed
a lawsuit Tuesday seeking compensation for illnesses affecting more than
100,000 soldiers. "Anyone with eyes and ears knew Saddam was killing
people with poison gas in the 1980s," lawyer Gary B. Pitts said outside
federal court. "These companies have to be held accountable or they'll do this
same thing in the future with some other tyrant." The lawsuit seeks
unspecified damages for more than 100,000 soldiers who it says suffered severe
injuries and staggering economic losses after they were exposed to chemicals
when coalition forces blew up Iraqi ammunition dumps.
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