| Author | Message | | Alpha | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 6:56 pm Post subject: George Washington's Farewell Address/Passionate Attachment |
| "So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill will, and a disposition to retaliate in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld . . . "Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government . . . Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests. " . . . nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded, and that in place of them just and amicable feelings toward all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges toward another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest." -- President George Washington Farewell Address September 26, 1796 Todays Holy Wars News: http://www.antiwar.com | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2005 6:11 pm Post subject: Israel settlement building up 83 pct |
| From: BGJDAVID Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2005 14:02:12 EDT Subject: Israel settlement building up 83 pct This is the thanks that we get for our support of Israel. The U.S. asks Israel to stop settlement expansion and we learn today that the construction has not only continued but has expanded at an 83 percent rate. When will the U.S. begin using our generous foreign aid package as leverage to force Israel to abide by International law? Israel settlement building up 83 pct in 1st quarter JERUSALEM, June 8 (Reuters) - Israel built almost twice as many settler homes in the first quarter of 2005 as in the same 2004 period, despite U.S. calls to stop expanding settlements on occupied land, official figures showed on Wednesday. Construction work began on 564 new homes in West Bank and Gaza settlements in the first three months of 2005, an 83 percent increase from the 308 homes begun in the same period a year ago, the statistics bureau said in a statement. There was no breakdown on how many new homes were being built in the 21 enclaves in Gaza and four in the West Bank due for evacuation in August under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for "disengaging" from conflict with the Palestinians. At the same time, housing starts in Israel fell 6 percent from the first quarter of 2004, the bureau said. U.S. President George W. Bush has urged Israel to halt settlement expansion in territories occupied in the 1967 Middle East war, in line with a U.S.-sponsored "road map" peace plan that envisages a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Sharon has made clear that under any final peace deal Israel intends to keep large settlement blocs in the West Bank, where the vast majority of its 240,000 settlers live. Palestinians, who want all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, say settlement expansion is meant to deny them a viable state. | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 4:01 pm Post subject: Nobody Attacks Civilization |
| http://www.antiwar.com/reese/?articleid=6596 Nobody Attacks Civilization by Charley Reese British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush went into their standard routine after the London bombings. This was an attack against civilization and all civilized nations, they said. That's bosh and hokum, and it does a disservice to the people. The first step always in solving any problem is to define the problem correctly. There are no terrorists anywhere in the world whose goal is the destruction of civilization, Western or otherwise. The terrorist attacks against the U.S., Great Britain and Spain are motivated exclusively by Western policies toward the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the presence of Western military forces in Islamic countries. Al-Qaeda, the ideological source of these attacks, has always been crystal-clear and specific about its reasons for declaring war against the United States. You can't win a war unless you know who your enemy is, know why he is your enemy and know what his objectives are. Only then can you properly direct your military and political forces to combat him successfully. Unfortunately, very early on, President Bush decided to create a mythical enemy of vague and ambiguous proportions and irrational motives. This was done to give carte blanche to the government to pursue policies that really had nothing to do with fighting al-Qaeda – e.g., invading Iraq, putting North Korea and Iran in the "axis of evil" and including groups on the enemies list that were in fact not our enemies. The confusion this causes was illustrated by television coverage of the London attacks. Several commentators lumped together the terrorist attacks against public transport in Moscow, Madrid and London. However, the Moscow attack had nothing to do with the attacks in Madrid and London, or with us. Moscow is fighting Chechen rebels who want independence for Chechnya. Chechen attacks against Russia, like Palestinian attacks against Israel, are not directed at us. They are motivated by specific political objectives. Chechens and Palestinians have no desire to destroy civilization; they simply wish to take their place in the family of nations as independent countries. You can't have a war against terrorism because, as many people have pointed out, terrorism is a tactic employed by people who have no real military power. It is not an entity. There is no worldwide terrorist organization. Terrorist tactics work because we live in a wired world. Ten or 12 people can set off a few bombs in London, and the world turns its electronic eyes on the story and chats, discusses and shows video clips until some other event distracts it. The media attention and the inflated rhetoric of politicians magnify the terrorist act far beyond its actual import. These attacks – pinpricks, really, in terms of any damage they do to national power – cannot be completely stopped. A few malcontents inspired by someone's rhetoric can get together and set off a bomb or two or shoot some people. Terrorists should be considered criminals, and their acts as ordinary crimes. Physically dealing with terrorists is properly ordinary police work. There is no war involved. What the United States should be doing, instead of invading and occupying countries, is re-examining its foreign policy vis-à-vis the Islamic world. There is no natural conflict between the West and Islam. The followers and true believers of Osama bin Laden are a tiny minority. The best way to cut the ground out from under him is to develop and pursue policies that treat all of the Islamic countries with fairness and respect. We don't do that at the present time. Because of the power of the Israeli lobby to skew our policy to benefit Israel, our Middle East policies are riddled with double and triple standards and reek of hypocrisy. Because of that, we are the best recruiter Osama bin Laden has. But in the meantime, remember that terrorist attacks are primarily media events. You still have more to fear from the flu or accidents than you do from terrorists. | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 8:57 pm Post subject: ]New Pape book: Suicide bombers driven by policy... |
| New Pape book: Suicide bombers driven by policy... http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400063175/qid=1120941171/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/002-5927327-1252023?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Book Description Suicide terrorism is rising around the world, but there is great confusion as to why. In this paradigm-shifting analysis, University of Chicago political scientist Robert Pape has collected groundbreaking evidence to explain the strategic, social, and individual factors responsible for this growing threat. One of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject, Professor Pape has created the first comprehensive database of every suicide terrorist attack in the world from 1980 until today. With striking clarity and precision, Professor Pape uses this unprecedented research to debunk widely held misconceptions about the nature of suicide terrorism and provide a new lens that makes sense of the threat we face. FACT: Suicide terrorism is not primarily a product of Islamic fundamentalism. FACT: The world’s leading practitioners of suicide terrorism are the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka–a secular, Marxist-Leninist group drawn from Hindu families. FACT: Ninety-five percent of suicide terrorist attacks occur as part of coherent campaigns organized by large militant organizations with significant public support. FACT: Every suicide terrorist campaign has had a clear goal that is secular and political: to compel a modern democracy to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland. FACT: Al-Qaeda fits the above pattern. Although Saudi Arabia is not under American military occupation per se, one major objective of al-Qaeda is the expulsion of U.S. troops from the Persian Gulf region, and as a result there have been repeated attacks by terrorists loyal to Osama bin Laden against American troops in Saudi Arabia and the region as a whole. FACT: Despite their rhetoric, democracies–including the United States–have routinely made concessions to suicide terrorists. Suicide terrorism is on the rise because terrorists have learned that it’s effective. In this wide-ranging analysis, Professor Pape offers the essential tools to forecast when some groups are likely to resort to suicide terrorism and when they are not. He also provides the first comprehensive demographic profile of modern suicide terrorist attackers. With data from more than 460 such attackers–including the names of 333–we now know that these individuals are not mainly poor, desperate criminals or uneducated religious fanatics but are often well-educated, middle-class political activists. More than simply advancing new theory and facts, these pages also answer key questions about the war on terror: • Are we safer now than we were before September 11? • Was the invasion of Iraq a good counterterrorist move? • Is al-Qaeda stronger now than it was before September 11? Professor Pape answers these questions with analysis grounded in fact, not politics, and recommends concrete ways for today’s states to fight and prevent terrorist attacks. Military options may disrupt terrorist operations in the short term, but a lasting solution to suicide terrorism will require a comprehensive, long-term approach–one that abandons visions of empire and relies on a combined strategy of vigorous homeland security, nation building in troubled states, and greater energy independence. For both policy makers and the general public, Dying to Win transcends speculation with systematic scholarship, making it one of the most important political studies of recent time. About the Author Robert A. Pape is associate professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he teaches international politics and is the director of the Chicago Project on Suicide Terrorism. A distinguished scholar of national security affairs, he writes widely on coercive airpower, economic sanctions, international moral action, and the politics of unipolarity and has taught international relations at Dartmouth College and air strategy for the U.S. Air Force’s School of Advanced Airpower Studies. He is a contributor to The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The New Republic, and The Washington Post and has appeared on ABC’s Nightline and World News Tonight, National Public Radio, and other national television and radio programs. | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 9:03 pm Post subject: New Pape book: Suicide bombers driven by policy... |
| New Pape book: Suicide bombers driven by policy... http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400063175/qid=1120941171/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/002-5927327-1252023?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Book Description Suicide terrorism is rising around the world, but there is great confusion as to why. In this paradigm-shifting analysis, University of Chicago political scientist Robert Pape has collected groundbreaking evidence to explain the strategic, social, and individual factors responsible for this growing threat. One of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject, Professor Pape has created the first comprehensive database of every suicide terrorist attack in the world from 1980 until today. With striking clarity and precision, Professor Pape uses this unprecedented research to debunk widely held misconceptions about the nature of suicide terrorism and provide a new lens that makes sense of the threat we face. FACT: Suicide terrorism is not primarily a product of Islamic fundamentalism. FACT: The world’s leading practitioners of suicide terrorism are the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka–a secular, Marxist-Leninist group drawn from Hindu families. FACT: Ninety-five percent of suicide terrorist attacks occur as part of coherent campaigns organized by large militant organizations with significant public support. FACT: Every suicide terrorist campaign has had a clear goal that is secular and political: to compel a modern democracy to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland. FACT: Al-Qaeda fits the above pattern. Although Saudi Arabia is not under American military occupation per se, one major objective of al-Qaeda is the expulsion of U.S. troops from the Persian Gulf region, and as a result there have been repeated attacks by terrorists loyal to Osama bin Laden against American troops in Saudi Arabia and the region as a whole. FACT: Despite their rhetoric, democracies–including the United States–have routinely made concessions to suicide terrorists. Suicide terrorism is on the rise because terrorists have learned that it’s effective. In this wide-ranging analysis, Professor Pape offers the essential tools to forecast when some groups are likely to resort to suicide terrorism and when they are not. He also provides the first comprehensive demographic profile of modern suicide terrorist attackers. With data from more than 460 such attackers–including the names of 333–we now know that these individuals are not mainly poor, desperate criminals or uneducated religious fanatics but are often well-educated, middle-class political activists. More than simply advancing new theory and facts, these pages also answer key questions about the war on terror: • Are we safer now than we were before September 11? • Was the invasion of Iraq a good counterterrorist move? • Is al-Qaeda stronger now than it was before September 11? Professor Pape answers these questions with analysis grounded in fact, not politics, and recommends concrete ways for today’s states to fight and prevent terrorist attacks. Military options may disrupt terrorist operations in the short term, but a lasting solution to suicide terrorism will require a comprehensive, long-term approach–one that abandons visions of empire and relies on a combined strategy of vigorous homeland security, nation building in troubled states, and greater energy independence. For both policy makers and the general public, Dying to Win transcends speculation with systematic scholarship, making it one of the most important political studies of recent time. About the Author Robert A. Pape is associate professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he teaches international politics and is the director of the Chicago Project on Suicide Terrorism. A distinguished scholar of national security affairs, he writes widely on coercive airpower, economic sanctions, international moral action, and the politics of unipolarity and has taught international relations at Dartmouth College and air strategy for the U.S. Air Force’s School of Advanced Airpower Studies. He is a contributor to The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The New Republic, and The Washington Post and has appeared on ABC’s Nightline and World News Tonight, National Public Radio, and other national television and radio programs. | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:52 pm Post subject: War on Terror Should Focus at Source |
| James J. David is a retired Brigadier General and a graduate of the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College, and the National Security Course, National Defense University, Washington DC. He served as a Company Commander with the 101st Airborne Division in the Republic of Vietnam in 1969 and 1970 and also served nearly 3 years of Army active duty in and around the Middle East from 1967-1969. He is a regular contributor to Media Monitors Network (MMN). War on Terror Should Focus at Source by James J. David (Monday July 11 2005) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "U.S. Policy in the Middle East has been the greatest recruiting tool that the terrorists could possibly have. Its lopsided support of Israel is the main reason we have so many problems we have today." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Jewish campaign to effectively silence any critic of Israel may well be the biggest contributing factor in this birth of world terrorism we see today. In his weekly radio address, two days after the London bombing attacks, President Bush said: "We are now waging a global war on terror -- from the mountains of Afghanistan to the border regions of Pakistan, to the Horn of Africa, to the islands of the Philippines, to the plains of Iraq." I wanted to scream and yell, "What about Israel, President Bush? If you really want to fight a war on terrorism, then the first place you need to go to is Israel. Stop wasting your time in those places you just mentioned and go to the source of terrorism. Go to where all the terror began. You can bring about a victory on the war on terrorism without sacrificing more than 1,700 American servicemen, and over $1 trillion of U.S. taxpayer money. Iraq isn't the place where terror began. Go to Israel. Go to where it all began and continues today." All he would need to do is break clean from Israel and suspend all aid until Israel relinquishes its control of the occupied territories, stops building and expanding illegal Jewish settlements, accedes to the Palestinians right to self-determination and evacuates Jewish settlers now living in areas of the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights. Just one day after President Bush made his remarks on the war on terrorism, Israel's Cabinet, ignoring Palestinian objections and U.S. misgivings, endorsed a Jerusalem separation barrier that will cut off 55,000 Palestinian residents from the city. The barrier leaves four Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, with some 55,000 residents, on the West Bank side, while including the largest Jewish West Bank settlement, Maaleh Adumim, with close to 30,000 people, on the Jerusalem side. This is the same wall that dips deep into the West Bank in several places to encircle main Jewish settlements grabbing thousands of acres of Palestinian land. Calling it anything other than a land grab would be misleading. During this past week, the Israelis demolished 8 Palestinian homes and a gas station in Arab East Jerusalem in order to make way for a park. This, after a report showing that Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank was up 83 percent for the quarter even after Ariel Sharon had promised not to build any new settlements during last month's White House visit with President Bush. Once again, only misgivings came from the White House, and nothing from the State Department. By getting tough with Israel and initiating my recommendations, the president could instantly, and without firing a shot, quiet guerilla warfare in Iraq, eliminate terrorism here and abroad, and reduce anti-American protests throughout the world. Further, he would be taking a major step toward restoring the U.S. to the position of respect and honor it once held among all Muslim and Arab nations. U.S. Policy in the Middle East has been the greatest recruiting tool that the terrorists could possibly have. Its lopsided support of Israel is the main reason we have so many problems we have today. The unquestionable protection of Israel and our refusal to condemn and take action no matter what crimes and human rights violations it commits is the fuel that ignites the birth of terror. Get tough with Israel and you will succeed in the war on terror. Sounds simple, but we know the obstacles that prevent such action are all too real. The Israeli and Jewish lobby, the fundamental Christians, the media, the corporate bosses, the ADL, the big campaign contributors, are all obstacles that keep our politicians from doing what's right. Who dares to criticize Israel without inheriting the label of "bigot" or, even worse, "anti-Semite?" It is absurd and dangerous to claim that bigotry is at the root of calls for adherence to basic standards of human rights. But the ongoing threat of the "anti-Semitic" label helps to prevent U.S. politicians from criticizing Israel. Which one of them would be brave enough not to vote "yes" to any of their demands, even when the demands threatens peace to the world? The Jewish campaign to effectively silence any critic of Israel may well be the biggest contributing factor in this birth of world terrorism we see today. When the day comes when we have a president and congress brave enough to finally say, "enough is enough," then we will see the beginning of the end to world terrorism. Until then, we have a long war ahead. President Bush has the power to end the reign of terror right now if he is willing to break clean from the stranglehold of the Jewish lobby. Politically, it is a hard choice, but ultimately a sensible and realistic one that would bring about true peace and justice in the Middle East and reduce tensions around the world. >Source: by courtesy & © 2005 James J. David Links referenced within this article Media Monitors Network (MMN) http://www.mediamonitors.net/ Send feedback http://usa.mediamonitors.net/feedbacktoauthor/239/5110 China's Bin Laden: The Terrorist leader China forgot http://usa.mediamonitors.net/headlines/china_s_bin_laden_the_terrorist_leader_china_forgot Why the CIA always will be a costly flop http://usa.mediamonitors.net/headlines/why_the_cia_always_will_be_a_costly_flop America Defines & Defends "Torture" http://usa.mediamonitors.net/headlines/america_defines_defends_torture Making Policy Backwards http://usa.mediamonitors.net/headlines/making_policy_backwards Senator John McCain's mistake http://usa.mediamonitors.net/headlines/senator_john_mccain_s_mistake A "Lull in Middle East Violence?" http://usa.mediamonitors.net/headlines/a_lull_in_middle_east_violence Best Policy: Talk Tough with Israel http://usa.mediamonitors.net/headlines/best_policy_talk_tough_with_israel Help others before you need one regardless any natural or man-made calamity! http://world.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/12291/ subscribe https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=Editor%40MediaMonitors.net&item_name=Media+Monitors+Network+/+MMN+International+Inc.&item_number=No+minimum+subscription+required+-+We+are+grateful+for+any+and+all+contributions%2C+no+matter+what+the+size+or+frequency.&return=http%3A//world.mediamonitors.net&cancel_return=http%3A//world.mediamonitors.net&cn=Comments+/+Suggestions%3A&tax=0¤cy_code=USD donate http://www.amazon.com/paypage/p3bj6mc4qn849u MMN Shopping web-site http://books.mediamonitors.net/ here http://books.mediamonitors.net/ James J. David http://usa.mediamonitors.net/feedbacktoauthor/239/5110 Find this article at: http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/16650 | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 7:41 am Post subject: 55,000 Palestinians to be cut off by J'lem fence |
| From: BGJDAVID Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2005 11:02:46 EDT Subject: 55,000 Palestinians to be cut off by J'lem fence If the United States and Great Britain are really serious about defeating terrorism then the first and foremost priority should be at the source of terrorism. And the best place to start would be in Israel and the crimes committed against the Palestinian people. Allowing Israel to continue committing such crimes will insure defeat of any battle against terrorism. The Israeli government and the Jewish lobby have successfully silenced any critic of Israel no matter what crimes she commits. This silence is what fuels the fires of terrorism. When will the American people wake up? Haaretz - Israel News - 55,000 Palestinians to be cut off by J lem fence Prime Minister Ariel Sharon entering the weekly government meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday. (AP) Last update - 15:51 10/07/2005 55,000 Palestinians to be cut off by J'lem fence By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent The separation fence surrounding the Jerusalem area will cut off some 55,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem from the rest of the city, the government ministers decided during the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday. The government also decided on September 1 as the new deadline for completing the construction of the fence, which will leave the Shu'afat refugee camp and the village of Aqab to the east of the fence. The government approved a plan to address the "daily life" issues of Jerusalem's Palestinian population who will be affected by the separation fence. Advertisement According to the plan, the Jerusalem municipality will make arrangements to ease passage at the fence and to bus students from one side to the other, as well as procedures for administering medical and humanitarian services to those in need. The government will also encourage East Jerusalem hospitals to open branches beyond the fence. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will oversee the implementation of the plan. The ministers approved a supplementary NIS 17 million to the Public Security Ministry budget as well as NIS 8 million for the Jerusalem municipality for providing the new services. Health Minister Danny Naveh said that the intention is to create convenient passage for the stranded residents and to allow them to receive health services on both sides of the fence without interference. Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that 3,655 school children will also be left on the cut off side of the fence, "for whom we will have to provide daily transportation to their schools," Olmert said. The cabinet ministers were told that the Jerusalem fence will include 12 passage gates, and that schools, post offices and National Insurance branches will be built on the other side of the fence, in order to alleviate the life situation of the residents caught behind it. Minister Without Portfolio Haim Ramon said the gates and crossings in the fence must remain open, and be shut down only in emergency situations. According to Ramon, public services on this side of the fence must be brought to the same level as on the other side. Deputy Construction Minister Avraham Ravitz said "we want the changes to remain unfelt, so that leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians outside the fence will not cause them to feel isolation and inability to function." | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 9:39 am Post subject: London Bombers Were Angered by War in Iraq |
| London Bombers Were Angered by War in Iraq By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI, Associated Press Writer Fri Jul 15, 5:32 AM ET Shahzad Tanweer, the 22-year-old son of a Pakistani-born affluent businessman, turned to Islam, the religion of his birth, a few years ago. The transformation was gradual, but then his relentless reading of the Quran and daily prayers became almost an obsession, his friends told The Associated Press. He became withdrawn and increasingly angry over the war in Iraq, according to those who knew him best. The U.S.-led war was what likely drove him to blow himself up on a subway train last week, said his friends. "He was a Muslim and he had to fight for Islam. This is called jihad," or holy war, said Asif Iqbal, 20, who said he was Tanweer's childhood friend. Another friend, Adnan Samir, 21, nodded in agreement. "They're crying over 50 people while 100 people are dying every day in Iraq and Palestine," said Iqbal. "If they are indeed the ones who did it, it's because they believed it was right. They're in Heaven. "Have you ever been inspired in life?" he asked. Tanweer and three other bombers detonated their backpacks on a bus and three subway trains in London on July 7, killing at least 53 people, themselves included, and injuring more than 700. Tanweer turned to religion before the war in Iraq began in 2003. His friends don't know the reason, but said they didn't see anything wrong or unusual about it. "He always told me to read the Quran and said Islam is the way (of life)," recalls Iqbal. Everyone interviewed in his neighborhood — those who knew him well like Iqbal and Samir, who were schoolmates, or those who saw him in passing — described Tanweer as pleasant and kind. "He was a nice lad. I don't know how many times he served me fish and chips," said Peter Douchworth, 58, a Beeston resident for over 30 years. "He went out of his way to help." Tanweer sometimes worked at his father's fish and chips shop, but an employee there said he hadn't worked there for a while. The family's white house — which has been cordoned off by police since Monday — stands in stark contrast to the surrounding gritty red-brick Victorian row houses. Two fancy cars are parked in the parking lot at the back. A devoted athlete, Tanweer studied sports science at Leeds Metropolitan University and planned to get involved in sports professionally. He showed up twice a week for pickup soccer games, said a teammate who gave his name only as Saj. He had a younger brother and two sisters and always lived in the working-class multiethnic Beeston area of the city of Leeds in northern England. Media reports said he was arrested once for shoplifting. His uncle, Bashir Ahmed, said Tanweer traveled to Lahore, Pakistan, this year to study Islamic religion. He said his family believed he was attending "some religious function" on the day of the bombings. Forensic evidence has linked Tanweer to the blast on the Underground train near Aldgate. Friends Iqbal and Samir claimed ignorance as to how their friend became involved in Islamic militancy and how he became a prey to terrorist recruiters. "All Muslims are connected," Iqbal said. The friends said they had never been approached by anyone trying to indoctrinate them into militant Islam. Where would Tanweer and his co-activists meet or plan their attacks? "How do football fans get together and talk about football? It's the same thing," said Iqbal. Tanweer's friend, Hasib Hussain, is another of the bombers identified by police. At 18, the handsome, 6-foot-tall soccer player was the youngest of the bombers. He was also the youngest of four children, two sisters and a brother. Like Tanweer, his family came from Pakistan. Hussain, suspected of carrying out the suicide attack that claimed 13 lives on a double-decker bus, was known for his sense of humor and style. He sometimes wore blue contact lenses and long hair parted in the middle, according to a friend. Some people said Hussain became more religious two years ago but never abandoned his boyhood friends for radicals. Mohammed Sidique Khan, 30, born in Pakistan and another of the suicide bombers, is known in his neighborhood as an exemplary community worker. A father of an 8-month-old baby girl, Khan was a popular former teacher of children with learning disabilities. Documents belonging to Khan were found in the debris of the Edgware Road subway blast. Former students at the Hillside Primary School said Khan left for Pakistan last December to look after his ailing father. It was not clear when he returned to Britain. "I liked him. He was nice," said Billy Sandersen, 13. He and other former pupils said they were shocked when they saw his picture in the papers as one of the suspects. However, they said they still liked him. "Just a little bit, but not for what he's done — killing innocent people," Sandersen said. "I still like him," said Sean Woodham, 13, another former pupil, "because he always helped me with my homework." Maroof Latif, an unemployed Beeston resident, said he knew Khan since he was a child and believes if he took part in the terrorist bombings of the subways it was because of his anger over the war in Iraq and the U.S.-British occupation. | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:58 pm Post subject: Palestinian boy killed at Gaza checkpoint |
| From: BGJDAVID Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 16:53:10 EDT Subject: Palestinian boy killed at Gaza checkpoint You can bet that this story won't make Headline News tonight, or for that matter, even make it to the newsroom. And we won't hold our breath to see if Condi Rice makes 3 calls to Ariel Sharon to halt the violence like she did with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas shortly after this last suicide bombing. We should have all learned by now that Israel's most crucial allies include America's mass media. Together with top officials in Washington, news outlets keep reinforcing the assumption that the Israeli government can do little wrong, even when it slaughters innocent 13-year-old Palestinian boys. http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/07180000aaa02632.upi&Sys=rmmiller&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20News Palestinian boy killed at Gaza checkpoint GAZA, July 18 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old Palestinian youth was killed by Israeli Army gunfire at a roadblock in Gaza, Palestinian medics said Monday. The boy was struck by a fatal bullet at the Abou Houly roadblock that separates northern and southern Gaza and died en route to a hospital, the medics said. The roadblock has been closed for five days causing long queues of Palestinians at checkpoints trying to reach their homes or their place of work. | |  | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |