Posted on 02/26/2007 4:18:14 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
No one to counter Chavez In a region where the leading ideology is Bolivarianism, there is not one leader positioned to offer a better idea for a brighter future.
Commentary by Sam Logan for ISN Security Watch (23/02/2007)
For over two decades, the prevailing ideology in Latin America was neo-liberalism, a Washington-born idea that claimed the power of open markets would lift the region’s poor from misery. It did not, and corruption ran rampant.
While democracy still remains strong, resentful voters ushered in a new generation of neo-populist leaders touting a new idea: a form of socialism, called Bolivarianism, that has slowly but surely become the loudest and most prevalent ideology.
Bolivarianism is anti-capitalist, supports nationalization, regional trade with like-minded countries and above all, suggests that a country should rely on itself or fellow socialist states, not imperialist powers, as a source of the economic growth that will lift all from poverty. It is a sort of refurbished socialism that is not a guiding light for the future.
Latin America cannot readily absorb the economic shock of open markets, nor can it get bogged down in the trappings of old socialist ideas. A blended ideology must be promoted, but the problem is that no one is strong enough to counter Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the leader of Bolivarianism.
Chavez calls it Socialism for the 21st Century. Cuba's Fidel Castro passed him the torch. Leaders around the region pay homage to their own past as socialist upstarts through hugging and laughing with Chavez on the international stage while taking care of often pro-capitalist, neo-liberal business at home.
Brazilian President Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva is a perfect example. He has the leftist background and eye for fiscal conservatism to become a great ideological counterweight to Chavez. His politics represent an ideal blend for the region. But his politically weak position at home and strong voices from his own left deter any would be shouting match with Chavez.
Within a week after winning his second term in office, Lula visited Chavez for a photo opportunity on a bridge linking both countries. That was in November, and it looks like Lula’s administration will remain bogged down until March as he struggles to get past his party’s sordid past and form a working cabinet willing to share the same table.
Argentina of the past could have been a counter weight to the Bolivarian ideology. But since Nestor Kirchner has come to power, Argentina has become a Venezuelan puppet.
Chavez has literally bought the support of his southern neighbor with over US$3 billion in purchases of Argentine debt. The most recent purchase occurred on 16 February, when Venezuela dumped another US$750 million into Argentine government coffers.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has the politics to promote an ideological battle with Chavez. Colombia has been a model of economic growth through a mixture of neo-liberal policies and social programs. But Uribe has serious problems.
Political allies are falling like dominos due to links with former paramilitary leaders. And if Uribe took the time to speak out for neo-liberalism and against Chavez, he would be dismissed as another of Washington's puppets. Colombia is a top recipient of US aid.
The only other leader who could take up an ideological fight with Chavez is Mexican President Felipe Calderon. He has the right politics and his country has a history of not blindly supporting the US. Voting against the US invasion of Iraq at the UN is a clear indication. But Calderon won on the thinnest possible mandate. His opposition controls enough seats in the Mexican Congress to block any unwanted initiative, and his focus is on Mexican organized crime, not on verbal sword play with Chavez.
Finally, the US has launched a diplomatic offensive in the region. This is to be a year of engagement, but the US president is clearly obsessed with the war in Iraq, not with putting a muzzle on Venezuela’s leader for the sake of the region’s future. Washington is doubly discredited, first for promoting an ideology that clearly did not work, and second for doing nothing about it.
Latin America needs an independent leader willing to stand up to Chavez, but that leader does not exist on the region’s geopolitical map. Bolivarianism will continue to seep into the minds and hearts of millions across Latin America. Chavez and his pool of allies will control the headlines until the next round of presidential elections tell the world how the region has embraced this new ideology.
As Chavez puts it, Socialism for the 21st Century is just getting started. If that is true, then he will continue to trumpet his ideology until Latin Americans learn, the hard way, that Bolivarianism did not carry them much farther from poverty than neo-liberalism. Disillusionment with reality may then spread faster than hope for the future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam Logan is an investigative journalist who has reported on security, energy, politics, economics, organized crime, terrorism and black markets in Latin America since 1999. He is a senior writer for ISN Security Watch based in Brazil.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/english
Oslo Muslims Six Times More Likely to Rape
From the desk of Filip van Laenen on Fri, 2007-03-02 22:28
Norway's most important paper Aftenposten ran a story earlier this week saying that 65% of the rape crimes in Oslo were committed by foreigners, even though they only represent a mere 23% of the population in the Norwegian capital. The article was prompted by a call by the Rape Commission (Voldtektsutvalget) to the imams to put rapes and the attitude against women on the agenda.
continue reading
There were also serious riots this weekend...
Utrecht Riots: Neighbourhood Closed Off
From the desk of Paul Belien on Thu, 2007-03-15 08:10
The Dutch police deny that the police officer who killed Rinie Mulder is of Moroccan or Turkish descent. Esther, a Dutch blogger, refers to a post on a Moroccan website saying the police officer is Turkish, not Moroccan. The post has, however, been removed. Yesterday, we reported, relying on sources in Ondiep, that the officer was a Moroccan woman.
continue reading
Kommersant, 19 March 2007
Chechnya Won't be Sovereign Under New Constitution
The referendum to amend Chechnya's Constitution will be held before
the end of this year, Ismail Baikhanov, head of Chechnya's Election
Commission, said Saturday. The forecast is that, after the referendum,
Chechnya will hold no direct presidential elections and its two-house
parliament will turn into a single house authority. Under the new
Constitution, Chechnya won't be deemed the sovereign state any longer.
It was Chechnya's President Ramzan Kadyrov that publicly suggested
amending the Constitution past week. "I think the Constitution of the
republic should be adjusted to federal law with all existing
contradictions eliminated." At the same time, Kadyrov urged
legislators to pass bills "with regard to Chechnya's peculiarities."
He didn't specify, however, what exact national peculiarities he
actually meant.
The new legislation on Chechnya's Constitution will entail crucial
changes for the parliament of the republic, turning it from a
two-house body into a parliament of single house elected under the
party lists, said Chechen People's Assembly Speaker Dukvakha
Abdurakhmanov.
Another difference of vital importance will be crossing out the
provision for all-nation election of president. But the actual
sensation could be stripping the Constitution of mentioning the status
of state sovereignty for Chechnya. The wording of sovereignty,
Abdurakhmanov said, is of no practical matter and excluding this term
will be without serious consequences.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 19, 2007
http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.html?docId=751004
Islamist Website Instructs Use of U.S. Web Forums to Foster Anti-War Sentiment
Islamist Website Instructs Mujahideen in Using Popular U.S. Web Forums to Foster Anti-War Sentiment among Americans
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD150807
In the past few months, Islamists engaged in "media jihad" have increased their efforts to expose as broad a Western audience as possible to their jihad films, which purport to document the growing success of the mujahideen in Iraq and Afghanistan. As part of this endeavor, they have posted jihad films on popular free video-sharing websites such as YouTube, LiveLeak, and Google Video, hoping that such films will tip public opinion in the West against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan - thus pressuring Western governments to withdraw their troops from these countries.
As part of the campaign to foster anti-war sentiment among Westerners, and more specifically among Americans, a member of the Al-Mohajroon Islamist website with the username Al-Wathiq Billah instructed mujahideen in how to infiltrate popular American forums and to use them to distribute jihad films and spread disinformation about the war.
The following are excerpts: [1]
"Raiding American Forums is Among the Most Important Means of Obtaining Victory in the Fierce Media War… and of Influencing the Views of the Weak-Minded American"
"There is no doubt, my brothers, that raiding American forums is among the most important means of obtaining victory in the fierce media war... and of influencing the views of the weak-minded American who pays his taxes so they will go to the infidel American army. This American is an idiot and does not [even] know where Iraq is... [It is therefore] mandatory for every electronic mujahid [to engage in this raiding]."
"It is better that you raid non-political forums such as music forums and trivia forums... which American people... favor... Define your target[ed forum]... and get to know it well... Post your contribution and do not get into... futile arguments..."
Indicate You Are an American
"Obviously, you have to register yourself using a purely American name... Choose an icon that indicates that you are an American, and place it next to your nickname [in the forum]."
"In my experience, the areas most visited in American forums... [are titled] 'Random Thoughts' and 'What's going on in your mind?'... [The former] takes priority in the American forums, and is highly popular. You should post your contribution there... This should include films of the mujahideen in Iraq, mujahideen publications in English, and images and films of the Americans' crimes, [such as] killing unarmed civilians in Iraq... etc."
"Invent Stories About American Soldiers You Have [Allegedly] Personally Known"
"Obviously, you should post your contribution... as an American... You should correspond with visitors to this forum, [bringing to their attention] the frustrating situation of their troops in Iraq... You should invent stories about American soldiers you have [allegedly] personally known (as classmates... or members in a club who played baseball and tennis with you) who were drafted to Iraq and then committed suicide while in service by hanging or shooting themselves..."
"Also, write using a sad tone, and tell them that you feel sorry for your [female] neighbor or co-worker who became addicted to alcohol or drugs... because her poor fiancé, a former soldier in Iraq, was paralyzed or [because] his legs were amputated... [Use any story] which will break their spirits, oh brave fighter for the sake of God..."
How to Make Americans Feel Frustrated With Their Government
"You should enter into debate or respond only if it is extremely necessary... Your concern should [only] be introducing topics which... will cause [them to feel] frustration and anger towards their government..., which will... render them hostile to Bush... and his Republican Party and make them feel they must vote ton bring the troops back from Iraq as soon as possible."
"Do not... discuss issues pertaining to Arabs or Muslims at all, whether negatively or positively... because this could be a trap for you... In addition, do not ask people to circulate the material [you have posted] in other forums... as these types of requests will expose you..."
[1] http://www.mohajroon.com/vb/showthread.php?t=48233
http://in.news.yahoo.com/070319/43/6dgtu.html
Achuthanandan points to CIA-journalists link
By IANS
Monday March 19, 02:31 PM
Thiruvananthapuram, March 19 (IANS) Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Monday said there were 'intelligence reports' to indicate that some Kerala journalists were on the payroll of the CIA and said his government would get in touch with New Delhi to secure more details.
'Yes, there have been intelligence reports to indicate that this is true, and to clear this I will get in touch with the (central government),' Achuthanandan told the state assembly.
He made the statement after opposition leader Oommen Chandy insisted that either Achuthanandan should correct his earlier statement regarding the allegations or come clean with full details.
The issue surfaced March 12 when the chief minister told the assembly about a 'media syndicate' in Kerala receiving money from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Achuthanandan said he was unable to reveal details about the alleged CIA-funded journalists as it would 'affect relations between the US and India'.
MT: British Prosecutors May Explain Hold Up in Litvinenko Inquiry
Monday, March 19, 2007. Issue 3617. Page 3.
British Prosecutors May Explain Hold Up in Litvinenko Inquiry
By David Nowak
The Moscow Times Staff Writer
British prosecutors' demand that British investigators unearth more
information before prosecutors proceed with the case of dead security
services agent Alexander Litvinenko may explain why Russian
authorities have been barred from coming to London.
The Crown Prosecution Service has requested that London police fill in
unspecified holes in the police report on the Nov. 23 poisoning death
of Litvinenko in London, a Scotland Yard spokesman said Friday.
While the spokesman said the CPS request was not holding up Russian
investigators' request to conduct their investigation, he did add:
"Our investigation has to be the priority."
The spokesman commented on the condition of anonymity.
Russian authorities, who have started their own investigation into the
death of the former KGB and Federal Security Services agent, have
expressed frustration with British authorities for not giving them the
green light to travel to Britain.
Deputy prosecutor general, Alexander Zyvagintsev, said last week that
Moscow had waived some legal formalities for British investigators
when they traveled to Moscow in December. He urged London to
reciprocate.
"Whenever we receive requests from other countries, we ensure all due
processes are carried out," the Scotland Yard spokesman said. "Its the
way we do business." He added that there were "legal implications" for
not doing things by the book.
Russian authorities traveled to London last month to discuss the
inquiry and their request to work in Britain. They are believed to
want to meet with self-exiled magnate and former Litvinenko associate
Boris Berezovsky, and others.
Litvinenko's son, Alexander, 22, received a call from Litvinenko three
weeks before he was poisoned, Izvestia reported Friday. "I have big
problems," Litvinenko told his son. "I have to find work, preferably
in another country."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/Taylor031907
Islam: Setting the United States up for the fall
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/comments.php?nav_id=40203
Japanese mafioso arrested in Romania
18 March 2007
BUCHAREST -- A leader of a Japanese mafia group specializing in racketeering, wanted by Interpol, was arrested in Romania.
He was extradited this week to Japanese authorities, a Romanian Ministry of Administration and Interior official told journalists.
The National Interpol Office identified the Japanese citizen in the town of Galati, where he lived with his wife.
He was arrested early March, and extradited to Japanese authorities at the end of this week.
Takahiro Kawaguchi, aged 35, is the leader of a “shylock” group and a Yakuza pawn, according to information received by Romanian authorities from the Tokyo Interpol Office.
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/society-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=03&dd=18&nav_category=113&nav_id=40192
Police raid Wahhabi terrorist camp
18 March 2007 | 10:26 | Source: B92
NOVI PAZAR -- Police have arrested four people in connection to a Wahhabi terrorist camp discovered near Novi Pazar Saturday.
Weapons and equipment confiscated (photo courtesy MUP)
Weapons and equipment confiscated (photo courtesy MUP)
A police statement said they found a huge cache of plastic explosives equipped with trigger mechanisms, various caliber bullet rounds, protective masks, several kinds of military uniforms and hand grenades in the camp and a cave 30 kilometers from the southern Serbian town.
The four arrested were identified as Mirsad Prenti, Fuad Hodži, Vahid Vejselovi, and Senad Vejselovi, all members of the Muslim Wahhabi movement from Novi Pazar.
One suspect managed to escape during the raid and police said they were searching for him.
Among the material confiscated in the camp, police also discovered printed terrorist propaganda, military survival manuals, medical supplies, a saber, compasses, binoculars and maps.
The police statement said the raid that took several days to execute would continue with “intensive action to identify and locate organizers and members of this terrorist group.”
March 20 - International: Worldwide Reading in memory of Anna
Politkovskaya.
A worldwide reading of Chechnya-related reports written by journalist
Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered on October 7, 2006.
The event
will take place at locations in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada,
Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy,
Luxemburg, Palestine, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan,
Switzerland, Sweden, and the USA.
For details and other upcoming Chechnya-related events go to
http://www.watchdog.cz/calendar
Al-Qaida captive in Iraq talking
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4100629/
Al-Qaida captive in Iraq talking
U.S. intelligence: Ghul was likely bearing money, plans for bombings
By Andrea Mitchell
Chief foreign affairs correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 8:26 p.m. ET Jan. 29, 2004
Intelligence officials tell NBC News they now have strong evidence that al-Qaida is responsible for most of the suicide bombings in Iraq. The latest sign of al-Qaida's growing presence in Iraq: last week's arrest of a key bin Laden operative, Hassan Ghul, who was caught as he tried to cross into Iraq from the north.
"The capture of Ghul is pretty strong proof that al-Qaida is trying to gain a foothold here to continue their murderous campaigns," said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez.
Intelligence officials tell NBC News Ghul is talking and was likely bringing money and plans for more bombings to Abu Musab Zarqawi, leader of an al-Qaida cell in the so-called Sunni Triangle area of Iraq.
Story continues below V advertisement
"They believe that Ghul's key mission was to link up with Zarqawi and begin the process of creating a much more permanent presence of al-Qaida inside Iraq," said former national security official Roger Cressey.
The United States now believes Zarqawi has been in Iraq since before the war, planning terror operations that are now targeting the United States and its allies.
Intelligence officials say Iraq is the latest battleground for a badly wounded al Qaida organization, which they believe has now lost more than three-quarters of its top leaders — including key operatives now under arrest in Iran.
The most obvious failure in the war on terror is not finding Osama bin Laden. But intelligence officials tell NBC News they believe he is no longer in operational control of his organization. Instead, they say, he devotes most of his time to simply staying alive and occasionally, releasing audiotapes to inspire recruits and fund-raising.
That does not make al-Qaida any less deadly. In fact, the United States has credible reports that al-Qaida is trying to attack again — by air — hoping to inflict more damage than on 9/11.
© 2007 MSNBC Interactive
Itar-Tass, RIAN:Illegal armed groups to be eliminated within 10 weeks - Kadyrov
Illegal armed groups to be eliminated within 10 weeks - Kadyrov
19/ 03/ 2007
GROZNY, March 19 (RIA Novosti) - All illegal armed groups in Chechnya
will be eliminated within a two-month period, the president of the
troubled North Caucasus republic said Monday.
Ramzan Kadyrov, elected Chechen president earlier this year, said "the
counterterrorism operation in the region has been completed and today
we are fighting criminal [not terrorist] elements in the Republic of
Chechnya."
Earlier Monday Colonel General Arkady Yedelev, a Russian deputy
interior minister, said that currently 37 illegal armed groups,
consisting of about 450 militants, were still active in Chechnya.
Although the active phase of the North Caucasus antiterrorist campaign
officially ended in 2001, periodic bombings and clashes between gunmen
and federal troops still disrupt Chechnya and nearby regions,
including Daghestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and
Karachayevo-Circassia.
Yedelev also said Monday that foreign mercenaries, trained in Bosnia,
infiltrate the North Caucasus republics via Ukraine.
"We have concrete facts of [North Caucasus] penetration by mercenaries
from Bosnia, which have been trained there," he said.
Following the killing of Chechnya's warlord and number one terrorist,
Shamil Basayev, Russian authorities announced a partial amnesty July
15 for militants who had not been involved in major atrocities.
Officials say more than 600 militants have surrendered since then,
mainly in Chechnya.
Chechen leader says remaining militants will be destroyed (adds)
GROZNY, March 19 (Itar-Tass)- Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said
the problem of insurgents in the republic will soon be solved.
``We know where the militants are and what they are doing. We will
chase them, and I am confident there will be no militants in the
republic soon,'' Kadyrov said on Monday.
In his words, the problem is that many militants are hiding in
adjacent Russian area. ``The leader of foreign mercenaries, Abu Khave,
has been destroyed in Dagestan, and Shamil Basayev has been killed in
Ingushetia. They practically did not live in our republic and spent
most of time in the neighbouring regions,'' the president said.
According to the head of the Regional Operational Staff in charge of
the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus, Colonel-General
Arkady Yedelev, there are no more than 450 militants who are
continuing to operate in the mountains.
In his words, 174 militants were ``neutralised'', including 40
chieftains and foreign mercenaries, 1,200 firearms were seized, more
than 1,000 arms caches were destroyed, over 120 terrorist acts against
law enforcers, military personnel and civilians were prevented in 2004.
``Militants were trained in Bosnia and then moved to the republic
through Ukraine and Dagestan,'' Yevdelev said.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
March 20, 2007 Anti-Terrorism News
(Pakistan) 30 die in militant clash in Pakistan -- Uzbek Al-Qaeda
militants, Pakistan tribesmen clash
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070320/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_militant_fighting_1;_ylt=Anp3R.RDcrQ4XxUu85c0YcTzPukA
Pakistan: Two Students Die in Clashes with Militants in Tribal Areas -
Monday killings
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.396853462&par=0
(Pakistan) Another Al Qaeda suspect points to Pakistan link - Yemeni
Walid bin Attash says USS Cole attack had supplies and other support from
Pakistan
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/42082.html
(Pakistan) Rail track, gas pipeline blown up
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/March/subcontinent_March788.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=
(Iraq) Five killed in Baghdad car bombings
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2007/March/focusoniraq_March146.xml§ion=focusoniraq
Iraqi Government Hangs Saddam's Former Deputy - Taha Yassin Ramadan was
VP when ousted by U.S. in 2003 - fourth man executed for killings of
148 Shiites after 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,259725,00.html
(Iraq) UK hands Basra military base over to Iraqis
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21416667-1702,00.html
(Afghanistan) Troops kill three 'extremists' in Afghanistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070320/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanunrest_070320065258;_ylt=ArsSFdBf56Qimt_T4tUaBunOVooA
Afghanistan: Islamist Websites Congratulate Taliban for "Prisoner Swap"
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.396880150&par=0
(Afghanistan) Deal to free Italian journalist raises concern
http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070320-061434-6978r
(Afghanistan) Italian hospital's head arrested in Afghanistan - was
charity hospital where Italian reporter was housed
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070320/wl_nm/afghan_journalist_protest_dc_2;_ylt=AutGKiuekLd_XaFMJCo4.xvOVooA
(India) 6 rebels, 2 Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir gunbattles
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070320/wl_sthasia_afp/indiakashmirunrest_070320101135;_ylt=AqQ8vAUBZOFPI.1GqqG4jmxA7AkB
(Thailand) Insurgents burn school, bomb police
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=117556
(Thailand) Southern Thai towns increasingly rely on militias
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/19/news/thai.php
(Israel) We'll respond to any terror activity, security source says -
senior defense official says "from now on, any terror incident will
receive an appropriate response"
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3378687,00.html
(Israel) Alert lifted after terror suspects arrested in Sharon area
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/839641.html
(Israel) IDF stops civil defense drill following terror alert
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879129380&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Israel fears fight against Hamas - views Hamas fortifying Gaza for
fighting based on Iranian help, expertise
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20070319-100719-3495r.htm
(Lebanon) Palestinian factions clash in Lebanon - explosions, gunfire
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070320/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_palestinians_1;_ylt=AoJyNVjSncLI3cQ1mRqmcrPagGIB
(Iran) South Africa guts big power deal on Iran sanctions - wants to
drop arms embargo and financial among all key sanctions
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070320/wl_nm/iran_nuclear_un_dc_1;_ylt=AuJ9G8iN3sb98lF6pkUxktNSw60A
Iran's defense minister dismisses UN sanction threat
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/20/content_5869095.htm
Iran stops UN inspectors visiting nuclear site: diplomats
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070319/wl_mideast_afp/irannuclearpolitics_070319234443;_ylt=Alfyk1UnVYGx2dI.5xA.q49Sw60A
(Iran) US approves visa for Ahmadinejad
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2007/March/middleeast_March309.xml§ion=middleeast
(Iran) Russia gives Iran an ultimatum on enrichment -- will not supply
fuel for new nuclear reactor unless Iran agrees to suspend nuclear
enrichment
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/20/africa/web-0320iran.php
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879128328&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Update: Yemeni Waleed bin Attash admits 3 bomb plots, U.S. says - USS
Cole and two US embassies in Africa
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070320/NATIONWORLD/703200412/-1/ZONES04
Netherlands: Study day on radicalization
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2007/03/netherlands-study-day-on-radicalization.html
Greece offers million-dollar reward for information on terror group
that attacked U.S. Embassy
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/20/europe/EU-GEN-Greece-Terror-Reward.php
(Philippines) Jailed rebel Muslim leader stands for election
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21415031-1702,00.html
(Australia) Extremist students take over mosque
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21411910-2702,00.html
(Australia) Threat of terror is still real: Attorney General Ruddock
http://batemansbay.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=national%20news&subclass=general&story_id=567652&category=general
Top Interpol official warns of bioterror attacks
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Oman/10112361.html
Egypt to Launch Production on Movie on Al-Qaeda - intends to blame US
and Arabs for spread of terror
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/974.htm
(North Korea) Report: North Korea Refuses to Participate in Six-Party
Nuke Talks - until $25 million in frozen funds are released
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,259840,00.html
(Sri Lanka) Air attacks, land battles in Sri Lanka after ship sinkings
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070320/wl_sthasia_afp/srilankaunrest_070320054632;_ylt=Ah.34MOLq9eR8EAnFo2IL54tM8oA
Other News:
UK: Schools can ban wearing of Muslim veils
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879130271&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(UK) Passports issued to 10,000 false claimants
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/20/npassports120.xml
Sweden: Increase in secret identities
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2007/03/sweden-increase-in-secret-identities.html
Sweden: Cost of receiving immigrants 'to double' by 2010
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2007/03/sweden-cost-of-receiving-immigrants-to.html
Spain to have oldest population by 2050: report
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=81&story_id=37803
(Belgium) Convicted in Belgium, serving in Morocco
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=24&story_id=37844
Desperate housewives turn Egypt upside down -- Young Arab men fall for,
marry older, foreign, wealthy tourists
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54767
(Propaganda Alert) Rosie O'Donnell: Was 9/11 inside job to protect
Enron? Blog suggests destruction of federal investigations factor in terror
attacks
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54770
Sri Lanka sinks 'Tigers vessels'
By Roland Buerk
BBC News, Colombo
Sri Lanka's navy says it has sunk two cargo vessels at sea.
A spokesman said both the ships, which were off the country's
south-east
coast, were believed to be carrying weapons for the Tamil Tigers.
The incidents come as battles on land intensify between government
forces
and the rebels fighting for a separate state in the north-east.
Despite a ceasefire still being in place on paper, the island is
sliding
back towards a full-scale civil war.
'Warnings ignored'
The first vessel was spotted during the night by navy patrol craft.
The 70-metre-long (229ft) ship was challenged and warning shots were
fired
across her bows. But the crew fired back and a battle followed.
There were large explosions on board the ship before the vessel sank.
After the skirmish, the navy patrol came across a similar ship nearby
that
also ignored orders to stop for an inspection.
After warnings, it was destroyed too.
Navy spokesman Lt Cdr Rohan Joseph said he believed both vessels were
carrying weapons for the Tamil Tigers.
'Army confident'
The incidents at sea come Sri Lanka's military is moving to take
remaining
pockets of the eastern province still held by the Tigers.
More than 40,000 people have fled their homes in the district of
Batticaloa.
The Tigers have said the armed forces have made several attempts to
storm
their defensive lines in the north of Sri Lanka but have been beaten
back.
The ceasefire that has been in place since 2002 is being ignored by
both
sides.
A senior defence official has said the fighting could last for another
two
to three years and he said the government was confident it could defeat
the
Tigers on the battlefield.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6463817.stm
This is an odd site...claims to have a travel blog, yet what is the point? Details about comings and goings, yet short on details of "sightseeing" and things a tourist would find interesting.
Curious granny.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2007/03/20/military_not_ready_for_other_wars/
Military Is Ill-Prepared For Other Conflicts
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 19, 2007; A01
Four years after the invasion of Iraq, the high and growing demand for
U.S.
troops there and in Afghanistan has left ground forces in the United
States
short of the training, personnel and equipment that would be vital to
fight
a major ground conflict elsewhere, senior U.S. military and government
officials acknowledge.
More troubling, the officials say, is that it will take years for the
Army
and Marine Corps to recover from what some officials privately have
called a
"death spiral," in which the ever more rapid pace of war-zone rotations
has
consumed 40 percent of their total gear, wearied troops and left no
time to
train to fight anything other than the insurgencies now at hand.
The risk to the nation is serious and deepening, senior officers warn,
because the U.S. military now lacks a large strategic reserve of ground
troops ready to respond quickly and decisively to potential foreign
crises,
whether the internal collapse of Pakistan, a conflict with Iran or an
outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula. Air and naval power can only
go so
far in compensating for infantry, artillery and other land forces, they
said. An immediate concern is that critical Army overseas equipment
stocks
for use in another conflict have been depleted by the recent troop
increases
in Iraq, they said.
continued.....
Italy's history of terror
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3372239.stm
By Kathryn Westcott
BBC News Online
Italian investigators are focusing their attention on a shadowy group
thought to be based in Bologna after a string of bomb attacks beginning
in
the Christmas period.
Red Brigade five-point star logo
A Red Brigades logo was found near a murder scene in 2002
They suspect that a number of letter bombs received by EU officials,
including European Commission President Romano Prodi, are the work of
Italian anarchists.
An Italian-based group calling itself the Informal Anarchist Federation
has
claimed responsibility for the attacks. Investigators believe the group
has
fewer than 300 members in Italy.
The previously unknown group shares the Italian initials - FAI - of a
well-known northern group, the Italian Anarchists Federation. However,
the
latter condemned the attacks as counterproductive and denied any role
in the
bombings.
'Years of lead'
Italy has a history of politically motivated extremist groups. The most
notorious was the Bologna-based, Marxist-Leninist Red Brigades formed
in the
1970s by student protesters dedicating themselves to an armed struggle
against the capitalist state.
The Red Brigades created such fear during the 1970s and early 1980s
that the
period is known in Italy as the Years of Lead, referring to the vast
number
of bullets fired.
Italian authorities say they view the Informal Anarchist Federation as
less
threatening than the Red Brigades. Enrico di Nicola, chief prosecutor
of the
Bologna magistrates office, said the new group appears to lack the
structure, organisation or the political positions of the Marxists.
They are probably trying to play on the dissatisfaction within some
sectors
of the north, where citizens are against Europe
Gianfranco Pasquino
Professor of political sciences
Gianfranco Pasquino, professor of political sciences and a terrorism
expert
at Bologna University, says there is no evidence that the Informal
Anarchists are connected to the Red Brigades.
"It appears to be a small group linked to the anti-globalisation
movement"
he told BBC News Online.
Italy's La Repubblica newspaper printed extracts of a declaration made
by
the group, which states that it is against "Europe's masters, their
war,
their peace, their repression [and] their control".
But Mr Pasquino said: "Their aims are unclear because they have not
published a [detailed] pamphlet yet."
He added: "They are probably trying to play on the dissatisfaction
within
some sectors of the north, where citizens are against Europe.
"Italy has generally been in favour of EU integration but there are
those,
particularly in the north, who are exposed to the increased competition
this
has created, feel challenged by the increased migration and feel they
have
been left behind by the integration. I think this group is probably
trying
to make inroads into this dissatisfaction."
He said he believed the group did not have a specific goal at the
moment,
but that the postal attacks were to show that it existed.
The FAI appears not be very technologically sophisticated, Mr Pasquino
says.
"The explosives they use are not real bombs," he said. While the
packages
have exploded when opened, no-one has been hurt by the devices.
Bologna connection
It is not clear whether members of the group are from Bologna or have
just
chosen to identify with the city because of its association with former
acts
of terror.
If you want to create havoc in Italy, you do it via Bologna
Gianfranco Pasquino
It was a traditional stronghold of the Communist Party, has a large and
prestigious university, is highly prosperous and seen very much as a
key
Italian city, linking the north and south of the country.
As well as being the home of the Red Brigades, Bologna was also
targeted by
a right-wing group which planted a bomb at the city's railway station
in
1980 which killed 85 people.
"If you want to create havoc in Italy, you do it via Bologna," Mr
Pasquino
said.
In 1998, a series of parcel bomb attacks on politicians, journalists
and
judges sparked fears of a return to the type of terror inflicted by the
Red
Brigades. Anarchists and leftists were believed to be responsible for
the
attacks.
Earlier that year, there had been tension in Turin, home of the Fiat
empire
and Juventus football team, between authorities and squatters based at
12
self-declared collectives run by anarchists and other left-wing groups.
BLOODY TIMES
March 1978: Aldo Moro killed by Red Brigades
August 1980: Bomb planted by right-wing group at Bologna railway
station
kills 85
March 1985: Ezio Tarantelli, labour law expert, murdered
May 1999: Massimo D'Antona, industrial adviser, shot dead
March 2002: Marco Biagi, industrial adviser, shot dead
Italy was also the scene of some violent clashes between police and
anarchist groups during the 2002 Group of Eight summit in Genoa.
And it was back in Bologna in 2002 that fears of a new generation of
Marxist
killers were raised when an eminent economics adviser, Marco Biagi, was
murdered and the five-pointed star logo of the Red Brigades was marked
nearby.
The Red Brigades gained notoriety throughout the 1970s and early 1980s
for
violent attempts to destabilise Italy with sabotage attacks on
factories,
bank robberies and kidnappings.
In 1978, the group abducted and murdered Aldo Moro, the Christian
Democrat
leader and former prime minister, who was trying to reach an "historic
compromise" with the Communists.
After mass arrests in the late 1980s, the terror group slowly faded
into
insignificance though the murder of government adviser Massimo D'Antona
in
1999 and the Biagi killing brought back memories.
A group describing themselves as the new Red Brigades claimed
responsibility
for both murders, although it is unclear how close they were to the
original
underground movement.
The Chlorine Gas Attacks in Iraq and the Specter of Suicide Attacks
with
CBRN Weapons
By Assaf Moghadam
March 19, 2007 04:58 PM
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/03/the_chlorine_gas_attacks_in_ir.php
Last week's triple chlorine-gas suicide attacks that hit Falluja and
Ramadi
sent shockwaves around Iraq, while raising the specter of more
widespread
use of chemical weapons by terrorist groups in Iraq and beyond. The
bombings
followed a series of earlier chlorine gas attacks, although no chlorine
gas
attacks were recorded prior to January 2007.
Suicide attacks have inherent tactical benefits when compared with
non-suicidal attacks. They are cheap, precise, highly lethal, and they
create a sense of fear among the target population that usually exceeds
that
of ordinary terrorist attacks. When coupled with chemical or other
non-conventional weapons, these inherent tactical benefits of suicide
bombings are multiplied. In fact, delivering a non-conventional device
in
the course of a terrorist attack is far more likely to succeed if the
carrier of the device is willing to sacrifice himself in the process.
Because the suicide bomber is willing to die, he is undeterred by the
possible exposure to toxins or radiation that may result from the
handling
of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) devices.
Moreover,
a bomber carrying a CBRN device is not burdened by the need to wear
protective gear while delivering the device to the target area. His
willingness to die not only obviates the need to wear gas masks and
other
protective equipment, but also reduces the chance of his early
detection.
Combining the tactic of suicide operations with weapons of mass
destruction
also carries distinctive advantages for the group. All terrorism is
designed
to create terror, but there is probably no better way for a terrorist
to
maximize this intense fear among the target audience than by combining
two
modes of attack that are so difficult to defend against, while
presenting
the government as ineffective and law enforcement and first responders
as
helpless. In addition, for the group at large, the combination of CBRN
and
suicide attacks offers a unique possibility to demonstrate its
determination
to prevail in its mission.
Chlorine gas was among the first chemical weapons to be used as a
weapon in
modern warfare. In World War I, both the German and the British army
employed chlorine, releasing the gas from large cylinders in a
favorable
wind. The use of chlorine in terrorist attacks, however, is relatively
rare.
In 1997, a serial bomber detonated several chemical bombs containing
chlorine across Sidney's eastern suburbs that injured some three dozen
people. In Japan, on the third anniversary of the Sarin gas attacks on
the
Tokyo subway system, a chlorine-like gas was found in three beer cans
in the
Kasumigaseki subway stations. Other than that, reports of the use of
chlorine in terrorist attack are sparse.
While the use of chlorine gas in suicide attacks is entirely novel,
many
groups, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian arena, have attempted to
combine suicide attacks with crude chemical and biological components
for
some time. According to Israeli intelligence officials quoted by the
Times
of London, Hamas had first added pesticides and other poisonous
chemicals to
homemade bombs in 1997. The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported on
December 9, 2001, that a bomb exploding in Jerusalem during the
previous
week contained nails and bolts that had been dipped into rat poison,
most of
which, however, burned in the explosion. At least two Palestinian
suicide
bombers, Mahmoud Ahmed Marmash and Saeed Hotari, who detonated
themselves at
a Netanya shopping mall and a discotheque in Tel Aviv in May and June
2001,
had Hepatitis B. Although Israeli authorities were not sure whether the
perpetrators were accidental carriers or had been purposely injected
with
the disease, the Israeli Health Ministry decided in August 2001 that
henceforth, all victims of suicide attacks would be vaccinated against
Hepatitis B. On April 13, 2004, Yediot Ahronot reported that a Fatah
cell
from Kalkiliya had plotted to insert AIDS-infected blood among the
explosives for an attack timed to be executed during the Jewish
Passover
holiday.
Furthermore, indictments against Palestinian terrorist operatives
revealed
that both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) attempted to use
cyanide
for terrorist attacks against Israelis on several occasions. According
to an
indictment against Abbas Sayyid, who headed Hamas' military arm in
Tulkarm,
Sayyid planned to use cyanide in the attacks on the Sharon shopping
mall and
the Park Hotel in Netanya in May 2001 and March 2002, respectively. An
indictment filed in May 2004 against Anas Hatnawi, a member of PIJ in
Jennin, revealed similar plans to use cyanide in suicide attacks
against
Israelis.
Weapons of mass destruction seem to be a particular fitting choice for
Salafi-Jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda in Iraq, which is blamed for
Friday's chlorine-gas attack. Given the ideological worldview of
Salafi-Jihadists, who divide the world into good versus evil and
subscribe
to a notion of permanent jihad, the real question is not why Iraq-based
groups, the most violent of whom are Salafi-Jihadist in nature, have
decided
to employ chemical weapons as part of their arsenal of tactics, but
rather
why they have not done so sooner.
Have posted several that you may want to read to 'all', more on the way............
Good morning, make it a smiling day....
European Roots of Antisemitism in Current Islamic Thinking
November 2004
European Roots of Antisemitism in Current Islamic Thinking
By Matthias Küntzel
Islamic antisemitism is a key challenge of our time. It is not only
expressed through Al Qaida’s suicide terror attacks against synagogues
or
through attacks against Jewish institutions perpetrated by European
Muslims,
but is propagated day by day throughout the Arabic-Islamic world. Allow
me
to present to you three examples of this particular kind of
antisemitism:
Firstly Sheikh Madiras, an Imam from Palestine. In September this year,
he
addressed the following to the faithful: “The Resurrection will not
take
place until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them. The
Muslims will kill the Jews, rejoice [in it], rejoice in Allah’s
Victory.…
The Prophet said: the Jews will hide behind the rock and the tree, and
the
rock and the tree will say: oh servant of Allah, oh Muslim this is a
Jew
behind me, come and kill him!… Everything wants vengeance on the Jews,
on
these pigs on the face of the earth.”[2] No-one protested when the
Palestinian Authority’s official TV station broadcast this call for
genocide. The story of the rock and the tree is a popular one and a
standard
item on the Hamas propaganda menu.
Secondly Sheikh Tantawi, the Head of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University and
thus
the most renowned spiritual authority in Sunni Islam. The fourth
edition of
his standard work “The people of Israel in the Koran and in the Sunna”
appeared in 1997. In it, Tantawi writes that the Jews instigated the
French
Revolution and October Revolution; that they provoked the First and
Second
World Wars; that they control the world’s media and economy; that they
endeavour to destroy morality and religion and run brothels worldwide.
Tantawi, the highest Sunni Muslim theologian, quotes Adolf Hitler’s
words in
Mein Kampf that “in resisting the Jew, I am doing the work of the
Lord”. He
praises the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, noting without the
slightest
trace of regret that “after the publication of the Protocols in Russia,
some
10,000 Jews were killed.”[3]
The Protocols are in fact an instrument of war. They project all the
supposed evils of modernity onto one single enemy, the Jews, dividing
the
world on Manichean lines: on the one side the endangered Good, on the
other,
the Jewish Evil, leaving as the only choice either the destruction of
this
Evil or one’s own downfall. In Russia, this pamphlet triggered pogroms,
while in Germany it was the textbook for the Holocaust; no other
forgery had
greater influence on Hitler’s policy towards the Jews.[4]
Isn’t this a sufficient reason for this key text to be internationally
outlawed, and people like Sheikh Tantawi who promote it ousted? But the
opposite is taking place. Apart from the Koran, no other book enjoys
greater
influence in the contemporary Arab world than the Protocols of the
Elders of
Zion. And that brings me to my third example: This forgery which guided
Hitler has actually been popularised in recent years in soap-opera form
in
several TV series. Egyptian state television and many other TV stations
have
broadcast this incitement repeatedly during Ramadan.[5] Anyone
acquainted
with Nazi films like “Jud Süss” [The Jew Süss] knows what incredible
suggestive power the antisemitic film exerts. For example, at one point
in
the Arab film version of the Protocols, Jews haul a frightened
youngster
into a room. Then the camera zooms in on the child for a close-up shot
of
the Jews slitting his throat and collecting his blood in a basin.[6]
Here we
have the blood libel, according to which Jews consume the blood of
infidels
during the Passover, being drummed into the minds of millions of
Muslims at
peak viewing time. It will take generations to get rid of this poison.
The seriousness of this development is rarely grasped in the Western
world.
Many either react as if hating Jews was a feature of the Oriental
world,
like hookahs or mosques. Or antisemitism among Muslims is glossed over
as a
kind of “anti-imperialism of fools” and rationalised as an alleged
response
to the Middle East conflict. The quintessence of both modes of thinking
is
the belief that Muslim antisemitism is totally different from European
antisemitism.
This view, however, won’t stand up to close examination. In Islamic
tradition, the Jews were viewed as being inferior. As a result, the
fear of
“eternal” Jewish hostility or even a “Jewish conspiracy” was unknown in
the
Muslim world for centuries. An antisemitism based on the notion of a
conspiracy of World Jewry is not rooted in Islamic tradition, but is
based
rather on European ideological models. The decisive transfer of this
ideology took place between 1937 and 1945 under the impact of Nazi
propaganda. How did Nazi Germany promote Islamic antisemitism?
The most important agent of Nazi propaganda was Amin el-Husseini, the
Mufti
of Jerusalem, and at that time one of the most prominent figures in the
Islamic world. His friendship with Heinrich Himmler and his role in the
Holocaust are widely known. Less so is an achievement which only today
is
bearing full fruit: the Mufti was the first to transfer European
antisemitism into an Islamic context. At the heart of his efforts lay
an
attempt to revitalise the hatred of Jews on the basis of Islamic
traditions
which he cleverly linked with the notion of an “eternal” conspiracy
against
the faithful. There is a pamphlet entitled “Islam and Judaism” which
the
Nazis disseminated in several languages. In its foreword the Mufti
wrote:
“Regrettably, only a few know that the enmity between Islam and Judaism
is
not of recent vintage.”[7] And, indeed, the anti-Jewish Koranic suras
and
the above-mentioned hadith about the rock and the tree had lain
completely
forgotten for centuries. Now these messages of hatred have been brought
back
to life by continual repetition.
A second ally of the Nazis was the Muslim Brotherhood, which in 1939
received more money from Berlin than any other Egyptian group. These
Muslim
Brothers were the nucleus of Islamism and have remained at the centre
of
Islamic antisemitism up to the present time. The Nazis appreciated not
only
their anti-Jewish campaigns but also their “fierce hostility to Western
liberalism”, as Giselher Wirsing, a contemporary, put it.[8]
The most powerful tool of Nazi propaganda in the Islamic world was,
however,
a radio transmitter near Berlin whose very existence is virtually
unknown
today. In the years from 1939 to 1945 the Zeesen short-wave transmitter
broadcast its Arabic-language programs to the Islamic world every day.
These
programs skilfully mixed antisemitic agitation with quotations from the
Koran as well as bits of Arabic music. A contemporary described the
constantly repeated message like this: “the Jew has been the eternal
enemy
of the Muslims since the time of Mohammed. It is pleasing to God to
kill
him”. Between 1939 and 1945, no other radio station enjoyed similar
popularity in public places in the Arab world as this Nazi broadcast
which
from 1941 onwards was directed by the Mufti9 <> .
In April 1945 Radio Zeesen was closed down. From now on, however,
antisemitism in the Arab world began to spread even more rapidly.
Today, we
are confronted with a Jew-hatred which fuses together the traditional
European notion that Jews are deviously powerful with the Islamic view
that
they are inferior. At one and the same time, we find Jews being derided
as
“pigs” and “apes”, while simultaneously being demonised as the puppet
masters of world politics.
The result is a genocidal Islamist ideology which produces genocidal
programs and genocidal actions. Radical Islamists not only advocate the
murder of people who happens to be Jew; they practice what they preach
– be
it in Djerba, Istanbul, Casablanca, Mombasa or Taba. So far, their
destructive ambitions are mainly restricted by technological
limitations.
This has consequences for how the Holocaust is viewed. All those who
consider the Jews to be a global force of Evil, and wish to annihilate
them,
cannot sincerely criticise Hitler’s so-called Final Solution. Instead,
to
the outside world they deny that the Holocaust took place, while in
secret
it serves as a source of inspiration to them and as a precedent which
proves
that one can in fact murder millions of Jews.
This antisemitism has nothing to do with ethnic characteristics or
cultural
peculiarities deserving protection from criticism on grounds of
“political
correctness”. In fact, we are witnessing the revival of Nazi ideology
in a
new garb. Giving support to all those Muslims who oppose this
development is
of the utmost importance. Let me therefore conclude with an appeal by a
Muslim, a scholar of Islam, Bassam Tibi, who said: “only when the
public
takes the appropriate stand against the antisemitic dimension of
Islamism
will it be possible to say that they have truly understood the lessons
of
the Holocaust.”[10]
————————————————————————————————————————
[1] This paper was presented at the “Lessons & Legacies VIII
International
Conference On The Holocaust”, November 4-7, 2004 at Brown University in
Providence, R.I., USA.
[2] Itamar Marcus & Barbara Crook, Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin, 14
September 2004
[3] Wolfgang Driesch, Islam, Judentum und Israel, Deutsches
Orient-Institut,
Mitteilungen Band 66 (Hamburg, 2003), pp. 76ff. The Hitler quotation is
from
„Mein Kampf“, München 1934, p. 70.
[4] Stephen Eric Bronner, Ein Gerücht über die Juden. Die ‘Protokolle
der
Weisen von Zion’ und der alltägliche Rassismus (Berlin, 1999), pp.
129ff
[5] ‘Galloping Anti-Semitism’, Washington Post, 16 November 2002
[6] Lisbeth Rausing, ‘Frequenzen des Hasses. Wie die Hisbollah ihre
Mordpropaganda nach Europa trägt’, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(FAZ), 13
March 2004
[7] Zani Lebl, Hadz-Amin I Berlin (Belgrade, 2003), pp. 181-82
[8] Giselher Wirsing, Engländer Juden Araber in Palästina, fifth
revised
edition (Leipzig 1942), p. 136.
[9] Matthias Küntzel, ‘Von Zeesen bis Beirut. Nationalsozialismus und
Antisemitismus in der arabischen Welt’, in D. Rabinovici, U. Speck, N.
Sznaider, Neuer Antisemitismus? Eine globale Debatte (Frankfurt am
Main,
2004), pp. 271ff
[10] Bassam Tibi, ‘Der importierte Hass. Antisemitismus ist in der
arabischen Welt weit verbreitet’, Die Zeit, 6 February 200
IRAN: WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST DISAPPEARS
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.396707364&par=0
IRAN: WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST DISAPPEARS
Tehran, 19 March (AKI) - Marzieh Khazari Ghahe, a woman's rights
activist who was arrested from her home by plainclothes officials on 11
March, has been missing since then and her parents have been unable to
obtain any news of her, Iran press news reported on Monday. The
officials who took the woman away said they were agents of the
intelligence ministry, the report said. Ghahe had participated in a
rally in Tehran on 8 March, International Women's Day.
Meanwhile reports on Monday said two activists, Shadi Sadr and
Mahboubeh
Abbasgolizadeh, who had been arrested on 4 March for taking part in a
peaceful demonstration have been released.
The two were part of a group of 33 arrested for staging the rally in
support of five women who were standing trial for staging a
demonstration last 12 July demanding legislation granting more rights
to
women in Iran.
The other protesters had been released on 8 March but Sadr and
Abbasgholizadeh, who had denounced police violence during questioning
following their arrest, had remained in detention until Monday.
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