More
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
US News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Matrix Masters'
SUPPORTERS

Lorenzo's
Random Musings
. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Bin Laden Reportedly Back at Helm of al Qaeda
LONDON (Reuters) -- Osama bin Laden is firmly back in command of al Qaeda and the group is digging in for guerrilla attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, an Arab journalist with close ties to the militant's associates said on Tuesday. Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper, said al Qaeda associates recently told him the network had regained confidence after facing intense U.S. bombing and was ready to fight U.S. troops over the long haul. "Al Qaeda were shattered during the U.S. bombing so it was difficult for bin Laden to stay in control. Now they said he is fully in command again and they have regrouped and are organized again," Atwan told Reuters. "Al Qaeda people say they are relaxed now and they will fight a war of attrition against U.S. soldiers," added Atwan, who interviewed bin Laden in 1996 and keeps in contact with his associates and followers. Bin Laden was in good health and "safe" and was planning new attacks on the United States, he was told, but his whereabouts were not disclosed. The United States launched strikes on Afghanistan last year to flush out al Qaeda and hunt down bin Laden, its prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, and punish the Taliban regime that protected him. But remnants of al Qaeda and their Taliban allies have continually frustrated the U.S.-led coalition by hiding in mountains, melting into the local population or fleeing into neighboring Pakistan or Iran. Atwan said that the al Qaeda and Taliban had re-established links that were severed when the United States began its military campaign in Afghanistan.

. . . Read more!


posted by West 11:59 AM

 

U.S. Jets Attack Northern, Southern Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. warplanes on Tuesday attacked air defense targets in "no-fly" zones of northern and southern Iraq a day after Vice President Dick Cheney said it was time to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The U.S. military, citing repeated Iraqi attempts to shoot down U.S. and British warplanes, said American jets attacked a radar site in northern Iraq and an air defense command facility in southern Iraq. Hundreds of such tit-for-tat exchanges have occurred since the 1991 Gulf War, but they have increased sharply in recent months as speculation has grown that President Bush will order the U.S. military to invade Iraq and remove Saddam, who Washington accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction.

. . . Read more!


posted by West 11:57 AM

 

Iraq 'Couldn't Care Less' About U.S. Threats: U.S. Air Strikes Have Already Begun
DAMASCUS (Reuters) -- Iraq said on Tuesday it did not fear threats of military action from the United States, a day after Washington said it was safer to act against Baghdad's weapons program than to do nothing. "We could not care less about the threats that are out there. Iraq has a long history with these threats and such despotism," Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan told reporters in Syria after meeting President Bashar al-Assad. Iraq reported fresh U.S. air strikes on Tuesday on no-fly zones in the north and south of the country. The U.S. military said American planes had attacked a radar site in northern Iraq and an air defense command facility in the south. On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney laid out the case for pre-emptive action against Iraq, citing mortal danger to the United States. Cheney warned of the danger of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists and said: "The risk of inaction is far greater than the risk of action." In Baghdad, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted President Saddam Hussein as saying on Tuesday U.S. action against Iraq would be an attack on all Arabs. "The American threats do not target Iraq alone but all the Arab nation," INA quoted Saddam as saying during a meeting with Qatar's foreign minister.

. . . Read more!


posted by West 11:52 AM

 

Lobsters, caviar and brandy for MPs at summit on starvation
thesun.co.uk -- THE sickening champagne and caviar lifestyle being enjoyed by Earth Summit delegates was exposed yesterday. They are gorging on mountains of lobster, oysters and fillet steak at the Johannesburg conference — aimed at ending FAMINE. As the summit began yesterday, desperate kids in nearby shanty towns queued for water at standpipes. Bigwig politicians among the 60,000 delegates, including Deputy PM John Prescott, also get vintage bubbly and brandy. Taxpayers are footing the £500,000 bill for the 70-strong British party. Friends of the Earth called the extravagance “deplorable”.

. . . Read more!


posted by West 11:19 AM

 

New from McDonald's: the McAfrika burger (don't tell the 12m starving)
guardian.co.uk -- McDonald's has been accused of extreme insensitivity after releasing a new sandwich called the "McAfrika" in Norway, one of the world's richest countries, at a time when 12 million people are facing starvation in southern Africa. The launch of the new hamburger has infuriated the Norwegian equivalent of Christian Aid and the Norwegian Red Cross and generated a storm of bad publicity for the American fast-food giant. The concoction of beef, cheese, tomatoes and salad in a pitta-style sandwich is said to be based upon an authentic African recipe and is being sold to Norwegian consumers for about £2.80. But aid agencies trying to raise funds to stave off a famine in southern Africa say that the timing of the McAfrika marketing campaign is insensitive, crass and ill-considered and have demanded remedial action from McDonald's.

. . . Read more!


posted by West 10:16 AM

 

EU warns against U.S. immunity
washingtontimes.com -- The European Union yesterday told all countries hoping to join the bloc that they should not sign U.S. accords granting immunity to U.S. peacekeepers from the new International Criminal Court. Yugoslavia said yesterday it would not sign such a pact. The warning by European Commission President Romano Prodi to aspiring EU members followed an EU announcement of regret that Romania had become the first country to sign an ICC-immunity agreement with the United States. "Other candidate countries which have also been approached by the United States, for now in any case, should not make any more moves to agree to sign such an accord," said a spokesman for Mr. Prodi in Brussels yesterday.

. . . Read more!


posted by West 9:14 AM

 

UN chief warns against Iraq war
independent.co.uk -- Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the United Nations, warned yesterday against any military assault on Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein while violence rages between Israel and the Palestinians. His stance, spelt out on the same day the UN Security Council was considering an invitation from Iraq to resume talks on readmitting weapons inspectors, appeared to reflect recent thinking in London. Tony Blair also wants America to focus on Middle East peace talks before taking action in Iraq. Mr Annan said: "It would be unwise to attack Iraq, given the current circumstances of what's happening in the Middle East." After talks with the 15 Security Council ambassadors, Mr Annan stopped short of rejecting an invitation by Iraq to the chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix, to travel to Baghdad to discuss a return of the inspectors. The secretary general said he would ask Iraq to clarify whether it was ready to allow the monitors back.

. . . Read more!


posted by West 8:42 AM

 

Did The Drug War Claim Another 3,056 Casualties On 9-11?
While Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida minions were diligently preparing for their murderous mission, the FBI was looking the other way with equal determination. More than twice as many FBI agents were assigned to fighting drugs (2,500) than fighting terrorism (1,151). And a far greater amount of the FBI's financial resources was dedicated to the war on drugs.
........................
And it wasn't just the FBI. This Drug War Uber-Alles mindset infected the entire law enforcement community, starting at the top. "I want to escalate the war on drugs," said Attorney General John Ashcroft in his first interview after being nominated for the post. "I want to renew it. I want to refresh it." And he was true to his word. Witness the $43 million the Bush administration gave to the Taliban just four months before Sept. 11. Sure there was the small detail of harboring a guy named bin Laden, but the Taliban had agreed to ban the production of opium poppies. And so the drug war trumped the terror war once again.

. . . Read more!


posted by Hal 9:11 PM

 

The Pope and his minions have failed miserably to right serious wrongs. The same thing can be said for those Muslim leaders who have not taken to the streets in protest of murder in the name of Allah. One of the most catastrophic religious upheavals in history has just happened, and few in the media have even recognized it. Two of the most influential faiths in the world, Roman Catholicism and Islam, have seen their images battered -- perhaps beyond repair in some places. (Maybe these religions deserve to have their reputations besmirched.) . . . Islam: Faced with a violent faction using the name of Allah to kill civilians, Muslims the world over did little. There were no mass demonstrations against terrorism, no peace vigils, and no organized condemnation of the al Qaeda criminals. In fact, many Muslim countries actually condoned the attacks on Sept. 11 or blamed them on "the Jews." One year ago would we think it possible that psychopathic killers would soon hijack the Islamic religion. But that is exactly what has happened, and the damage done to the image of Islam in the Western world is incalculable . . . And, the Catholic Church in North America has lost its moral authority because high-ranking cardinals and bishops covered up acts of priest-pedophilia and the Vatican has refused to discipline the guilty parties . . . The Pope visited Canada and declined to meet with some of the victims of clerical abuse. The Vatican said the Pope could not fit the meeting into his schedule. How sad. The Pontiff knew he was coming to North America months ago, and he had to understand the immense damage the church had sustained because of the scandal. But he couldn't find the time to reach out to those that have suffered at the hands of his priests?

. . . Read more!


posted by Hal 8:40 AM

 

Irony at the U.N. World Food Summit
Devoted to helping the 800 million people starving worldwide, the summit opened in Rome with a luncheon of lobster, foie gras and goose stuffed with olives for the 3,000 limousine-using delegates (June 30). Weird News (News of the Weird.com)
Delegates to the U.N.'s World Food Summit, mainly from the Third World, arrived at the June 10 kickoff luncheon in police-escorted limousines. There were 170 waiters serving the fine food. The summit leaders dined on a feast of: Toast di foie gras con kiwi (Foie Gras on toast with kiwi fruit), Aragosta in vinagrette (Lobster in vinaigrette), Filetto d’oca con olive (Fillet of goose with olives), Verdure DI stagione (Seasonal vegetables), Composta DI frutta con vaniglia (Compote of fruit with vanilla). And for the delegations: Mushroom crêpes, Risotto with orange and zucchini slices, Salmon with peppers and polenta. World Hunger Talks Start with Lobster and Foie Gras (CommonDreams.org)

. . . Read more!


posted by Hal 8:06 AM