Monday, December 31, 2001

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | US denies bombing Afghan civilians

"If there were any innocent people that were killed there, the numbers being reported, I think, are unfounded."

12/31/2001 11:56:27 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

The Rules of War Can't Protect Al Qaeda

...some international-law scholars suggest that President Bush's plan for military tribunals itself violates international law. This view is based on a serious misreading of international treaties on how wars should be fought.

12/31/2001 11:24:30 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Al-Ahram Weekly | War | The bottom line

Pittman reports that "the Bush administration doesn't need to do anything to censor media outlets; they do it themselves." The Washington Post, for example, reported that CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson ordered news staff to limit reports of Afghan war casualties and use World Trade Center deaths to justify the killing of Afghan civilians by the US military. After the deaths in the US, it "seems perverse to focus too much on casualties or hardship in Afghanistan," Isaacson wrote in a memo quoted by WorkingForChange, which also quoted Brit Hume, anchor for the conservative Fox News Channel, saying that neutrality is inappropriate in covering this war because the enemy are "murderous barbarians."

12/31/2001 11:23:30 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

More Than 100 Reported Killed in U.S. Afghan Air Raid

A Reuters cameraman in the stricken village in eastern Paktia province said he could see huge craters blasted by bombs. Amid the destruction were scraps of flesh, pools of blood and clumps of what appeared to be human hair.

12/31/2001 10:58:37 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Creating in a World Where the Moon Can Fall

These shifts are both instructive and worrisome, Baldessari said. "Are we going to have all horizontal art for a while? Will it get that bad?" he asked. "We live in a fragile world, and it's good that we think about it once in a while. I am continuing to do what I do, because otherwise it would be censorship."

12/31/2001 10:32:32 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Argentina loses second president in ten days

Correspondents say his departure leaves the country without a clear consensus on how to resolve the crisis, which has prompted mass street protests.
Power should have passed automatically to Senate Chairman Ramos Puerta, but he too resigned minutes later on grounds of ill-health.

12/31/2001 10:27:51 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

The New Yorker | A WOMAN'S PREROGATIVE

Elsewhere, the fully empowered Muslim woman sounds like a self-assured, post-feminist type -- a woman who draws her inspiration from the example of Sukayna, the brilliant, beautiful great-granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad, who was married several times, and, at least once, stipulated in writing that her husband was forbidden to disagree with her about anything.

12/31/2001 10:22:01 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

The Times:We will win nuclear war, says India

[George Fernandes, the Indian Defence Minister] warned Pakistan not to consider the use of a first strike, which he said would be tantamout to national suicide. "We could take a strike, survive and then hit back," he said. "Pakistan would be finished. I do not really fear that the nuclear issue would figure in a conflict."

12/31/2001 10:19:01 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Sunday, December 30, 2001

Chicago Tribune: U.S. bombs leave wasteland

"We believe the Americans were always a few hours behind them, dropping bombs on villages they just left," said Habib Rahman, a village elder in the Zamar Khel district, where a huge bomb fell on the house of a man named Akal Khan, killing four family members, including two women.

12/30/2001 06:03:56 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Slate | The Mosque to Commerce

Yamasaki received the World Trade Center commission the year after the Dhahran Airport was completed. Yamasaki described its plaza as "a mecca, a great relief from the narrow streets and sidewalks of the surrounding Wall Street area." True to his word, Yamasaki replicated the plan of Mecca's courtyard by creating a vast delineated square, isolated from the city's bustle by low colonnaded structures and capped by two enormous, perfectly square towers -- minarets, really. Yamasaki's courtyard mimicked Mecca's assemblage of holy sites?the Qa'ba (a cube) containing the sacred stone, what some believe is the burial site of Hagar and Ishmael, and the holy spring -- by including several sculptural features, including a fountain, and he anchored the composition in a radial circular pattern, similar to Mecca's.

12/30/2001 05:57:27 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

The Globe and Mail: Huge weapons cache seized in Pakistan

Chief Suddle said police recovered 124 submachine guns, 248 rifles, one recoilless rifle, two mortars, 342 mortar bombs, rockets and almost 30,000 rounds of ammunition.

12/30/2001 05:31:18 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Radio Australia News - China sentences to death two church founders: rights group

The centre says 46 year old Gong Shengliang was sentenced to death for having founded the group and having been involved in more than a dozen cases of rape and "immoral conduct".

12/30/2001 01:50:48 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

IWon : China's economy grows preliminary 7.3 pct in 2001

"I'm expecting a moderate slowdown next year. I believe seven percent is achievable but it depends on how the global economy will behave and when it will begin to recover," Liao said.

12/30/2001 01:50:10 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Digital Chosunilbo : Press Freedom in 2001

If the Korean press does not work to be even more accurate and even more impartial, then readers in 2002 will ignore the press that beat state authority in 2001. If it does not accept readers' advice, that it abandons its authoritativeness and become more modest; if it does not learn to speak of the dark areas in our society and those who alienated from it, then its hard-earned freedoms will be meaningless.

12/30/2001 01:45:00 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

British reporters smuggle knives on board flights

The smuggled weapons allegedly included a 10cm blade hidden inside a lady's comb, a razor-sharp toughened-metal stiletto concealed in a pen, and a steel cleaver which could be hidden in a wallet.

12/30/2001 01:43:18 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

iWon - Afghans Finalize Deal on Peacekeepers

The deal on Afghanistan's International Security Assistance Force, which the United Nations Security Council authorized to fill the security vacuum after last month's defeat of the Taliban, paves the way for the arrival of about 3,000 troops.

12/30/2001 01:36:18 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Modern Day Rome (washingtonpost.com)

The tone of the poll respondents wasn't an indictment of American power so much as a plea that the United States use this great power to solve problems that create instability. The poll respondents suggested the need to do more to alleviate poverty, for example; they also urged the United States to help create a Palestinian state that would defuse tensions in the Middle East.

12/30/2001 02:37:19 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | AMERICAS | Riots stun Argentine Government

"I put my money in the bank for them to look after it - not to be stolen," read one protester's banner.

12/30/2001 01:59:32 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Chicago Tribune: Groups say police battered 5 journalists

Cuban police beat up five dissident journalists as they tried to cover an opposition event on Christmas Day, a local reporters association and an international press watchdog said Friday.

12/30/2001 01:58:44 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | AMERICAS | Riots stun Argentine Government

"I put my money in the bank for them to look after it - not to be stolen," read one protester's banner.

12/30/2001 01:56:13 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

IHT: Kabul Asks U.S. to End Bombing

Pressure has been growing in Afghanistan for a halt to the American bombing, and Mr. Fahim said there would be no need for bombing once a few remaining border areas had been cleared of final resistance. Earlier, his spokesman said that suppressing that resistance would take no more than three days, after which the bombing must stop.
The United States, though, said it had received no request to stop the bombing, and declined to make such a promise.

12/30/2001 01:54:20 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Afghanistan nurses psychological scars of war

"When a man faces a woman for the first time, some of them suffer from a lack of basic knowledge. This can create sexual problems in the future."

12/30/2001 01:51:20 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

India prepares to camouflage the Taj Mahal amid war fears

Officials at the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said on Saturday they planned to drape the shrine in the northern city of Agra with olive green cloth so that it blended with the surroundings.

12/30/2001 01:49:54 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Saturday, December 29, 2001

CBC News: Civil liberties group calls PM worst offender of the year

It also accuses Chretien of showing contempt for the findings of the APEC inquiry, which examined the treatment of student protesters during Vancouver's APEC summit in 1997.

12/29/2001 09:32:30 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Friday, December 28, 2001

CBC News: Shells fired across India-Pakistan border

The Indian army told some 5,000 people in 17 villages in Kashmir to leave their homes within 36 hours, officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday.

12/28/2001 07:45:58 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Umberto Eco - Language of war claims its own victims - smh.com.au

Early on, Bush let that word "crusade" slip and pandemonium broke loose. Bush was among those who were unaware that the Crusades comprised a "holy war" by the Christians (who were the ones who started it) against the Muslim world (which, by the way, in the end managed to repel the invaders). He retracted the gaffe and then spoke of "infinite justice", which was even worse.

12/28/2001 02:55:20 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Society of Professional Journalists - Asleep at the switch

They justified their actions by opportunistically blaming the American public for a lack of interest in global affairs. In April 1997, CBS News President Andrew Heyward told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that “it’s just a fact of television ratings life that almost without exception it’s very difficult to score a number with international news.” NBC News Vice President Bill Wheatley told the same newspaper that “a lot of foreign news after the Cold War seemed to be less vital ... more complicated, less directly linked to many Americans. How do you cover the former Soviet Union and make sense of it?”

12/28/2001 02:54:02 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Afghan Warlords and Bandits Are Back in Business

Earlier this week, the United Nations' World Food Program said it had been unable to deliver food to Kandahar because militiamen were stopping their trucks and demanding $100 each to pass.

12/28/2001 02:53:02 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

2001 Media Follies - Eat the State! (December 19, 2001)

Afghanistan's women can't vote. The US press goes on about the two women cabinet members in the interim government, but Afghan women don't even have the vote yet, much less any identification papers that would allow them to register to vote, even if it were legal. And there are no protections for women who want to cast off the burqa (the Northern Alliance is as socially conservative as the Taliban). A democracy can't exist with over half its population disenfranchised.
[...]
The Afghan interim president, Hamid Karzai, is a CIA man. This obvious fact is left out of the US media's biographies of Karzai, but the foreign press is quick to point out that he worked for the CIA during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and is working for them now, stirring up the southern Pashtun tribes against the Taliban. And he'll work for them in the future, too.

12/28/2001 02:47:57 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Economist.com | Homeland security

Evidence of ambivalence towards domestic security is everywhere. More than 100 bills have been introduced into Congress with the label "homeland security" on them. Yet compared with the $15 billion doled out to the airline industry, the cash they provide for things like emergency health care is puny. When the governor of California posted troops on bridges in response to a terrorist alert, he was widely criticised for panicking the public.

12/28/2001 01:58:20 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CANOE - Fears of war and separation as tension mounts between India and Pakistan

Tens of thousands of soldiers, squadrons of fighter jets, artillery and ballistic missiles face each other along the border that reaches from the Himalayas in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south. Both sides say they don't want war, but each says it is ready.

12/28/2001 01:47:42 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

RCMP and police from across Canada say goodbye to slain Manitoba Mountie

In all, more than 350 police officers from Canada and the United States made the trip to this community about 100 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg where Strongquill spent 14 of his 20 years on the force.

12/28/2001 01:46:50 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

PM should bid adieu after this term: poll

The SOM-Gazette poll asked: "Do you think Jean Chrétien should seek another term as prime minister?" To this, 39.9 per cent of respondents said yes and 55.5 per cent said no.

12/28/2001 01:45:30 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CNEWS - War On Terrorism: Canadian military crew to head overseas to join war on terrorism

The 75 members are part of the long-range patrol task force, which will support Operation Apollo in operations in the Middle East. The Auroras will do surveillance for the coalition forces off Afghanistan, Robitaille said.

12/28/2001 01:43:15 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

The Globe and Mail: EU publishes terrorist list

Groups on both sides of the Northern Ireland struggle, such as the Real IRA and the Loyalist Volunteer Force, are listed, but the Irish Republican Army, a group formerly considered terrorists by the British government but which has committed itself to the peace process, is not.

12/28/2001 01:33:33 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Soon to be 'citizen of New York,' Giuliani advocates soaring memorial for WTC

"This place has to be sanctified. It has to become a place, when anybody comes, that they immediately feel the power, strength and emotion of what it means to become an American. ... This is too important a place."

12/28/2001 01:31:32 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

FOXNews.com: White House Won't Call Captives POW

Human rights watchdogs have expressed concerns that describing the captives as "detainees" instead of "prisoners of war" could impinge on rights guaranteed by international law, including the right to meet with Red Cross officials, and due process should any of them face trial.

12/28/2001 01:30:20 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Ottawa neglecting military, poll says

"Canadians know that the men and women serving in the military are brave and operate in hostile conditions, but their helicopters don't fly and machine parts aren't available," Mr. Wright said yesterday. "The issue is whether the military is living up to its responsibilities."

12/28/2001 01:29:39 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Palestinian 'suicide bomber' killed

The militant Palestinian group Islamic Jihad - in a faxed statement to Associated Press news agency in Beirut - said the dead man was one of their members and was killed during an attempted ambush.

12/28/2001 01:26:52 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

WorldNetDaily: Child-rape epidemic in South Africa

The trend is worsening. Babies as young as only a few months old are being raped almost daily. Many black South African men infected with AIDS erroneously believe that by having sex with a virgin -- even a baby -- they will be cured of AIDS or their HIV infection.

12/28/2001 01:22:39 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Boston Globe Online: Now serving journalistic steak, scoops

For years, it was scoffed at as ''McPaper,'' that light and fluffy thing that showed up in front of your hotel door bristling with short articles and Larry King's musings. But even in an industry where old reputations die hard, USA Today has emerged - particularly in the post-Sept. 11 world - as a newspaper with ambition, energy, and gravitas.

12/28/2001 01:20:47 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Russian navy journalist guilty of espionage / Nuclear waste case verdict is surprise

The court said the sentence reflected a judgment that Pasko's crime had little impact on the nation's security. His lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, said it reflected both the thinness of the evidence against his client and a political calculation that the lighter sentence would cause less protest.

12/28/2001 01:12:50 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Rules on Tribunal Require Unanimity on Death Penalty

The standard the regulations provide would allow the military judges to consider any evidence that "a reasonable person" would find useful. That means that evidence like the videotape of Osama bin Laden boasting of the Sept. 11 attacks and any intelligence interceptions would be admissible.

12/28/2001 01:11:00 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Monday, December 24, 2001

World Sousveillance Day

At noon on Monday, December 24, 2001, ordinary people all over the world will call into question the growing and dehumanizing effects of increased video surveillance, automated face recognition, and Covernment (Corporate Government) tracking in public places, as well as private places.

I photographed CSIS for World Sousveillance Day. Will post later.

12/24/2001 07:41:23 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CNEWS Media News - Iraqi newspaper: World better off without Bush

"No doubt that the world would be better without some people such as Bush, Rumsfeld, Lieberman and many other U.S. officials because they are corrupt," al-Thawra said in the front-page editorial.
"Those people are war mongers because they have personal interests with oil companies and weapons manufacturers."

12/24/2001 07:35:53 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

allAfrica.com: Attorney- General Shot Dead in Bedroom

The gunmen who may have been waiting in the vicinity then stormed the house and tying up family members, got one of them to lead them uptstairs to the room of Chief Bola Ige where they led his wife and son to an adjourning room and locked them up.

12/24/2001 07:02:26 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

AfricaOnline.com - Mugabe: British government is ‘mad’

Mugabe says he does not expect the Commonwealth to suspend Zimbabwe from membership. In a meeting this week, Commonwealth foreign ministers considered the suspension of the country, citing concerns over human rights and the rule of law.

12/24/2001 06:58:11 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Arafat condemns Bethlehem ban

"The unjust Israeli tanks, cement barriers and guns prevent me from participating with you at our annual celebrations," Mr Arafat told a disappointed crowd.

12/24/2001 06:45:23 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

U.S. resumes bombing raids on Afghanistan

The Pentagon said on Monday that airstrikes resumed on Sunday with a B-52 heavy bomber attack on caves and ammunition dumps north of Kandahar, using precision-guided munitions in the drive against Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network.

12/24/2001 06:42:57 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Anti-Terrorism Legislation Comes into Force

"The threat posed by terrorism remains constant here in Canada and around the world," Minister McLellan said. "The Government of Canada is following through on its commitment to ensure that law enforcement and national security agencies have the tools they need to protect the security and safety of Canadians from terrorist activity."

12/24/2001 06:41:49 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Sunday, December 23, 2001

| KEN . LAYNE . DOT . CON |

Folks, Saudi Arabia attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. It doesn't matter whether the command came from that bloated hog King Fahd or the fanatic religious leadership he can't control. What is obvious to everyone except the Bush Administration is that our ally, Saudi Arabia, harbored, supported and created the terrorists who launched a war against the United States 100 days ago.

12/23/2001 09:42:20 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

One person dead, four wounded after gunfire at wedding in Vancouver suburb

Police - who happened to be at a Christmas party in the same banquet hall - say shots rang out at another function on the lower floor of the building at about midnight. RCMP officers rushed to the chaotic scene where a couple in their 20s had been celebrating their wedding with about 100 guests.

12/23/2001 04:39:25 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Substance in man's shoe on flight diverted to Boston positive for explosives

French police said that Raja - who also goes by the name Abdel Rahim - tried to take the same flight on Friday but was pulled aside by police after raising suspicions.

12/23/2001 04:36:14 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Bangkok Post Monday 24 December 2001 - Ship sunk by Japanese may be spy vessel

Coast guard officials said they believe the ship, built like a fishing boat, may have been sent by Pyongyang as it resembled two suspected North Korean spy vessels chased from Japanese waters in March 1999.

12/23/2001 04:34:11 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Canadian held hostage in Philippines freed

``He's a regular person, not a man of significant financial means, and so it's a puzzle to us and to him particularly that he was kidnapped by this group."

12/23/2001 04:27:18 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

allAfrica.com: Maize Runs Out

"As commercial stocks run out, this shortage will become more and more serious and it can be expected that by mid January, Zimbabwe will have run out of its staple food," said Eddy Cross, the MDC secretary for economic affairs.

12/23/2001 04:23:13 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | AMERICAS | Argentina to suspend debt payments

Mr Rodriguez Saa, a 54-year-old provincial governor, was speaking immediately after being appointed to serve as replacement president for Fernando de la Rua, who resigned last week in the wake of rioting and protests which left at least 25 people dead.

12/23/2001 04:18:43 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

TIME 2001 Person of the Year: Rudy Giuliani, because Time is staffed with cowardly little salesmen

12/23/2001 04:15:08 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

news.telegraph.co.uk - Girl gang-raped as shoppers look on

The town was packed with Christmas shoppers when the victim, who was with a friend, was surrounded by a gang of about 15 youths in the Friary Centre and led to a car park where she was raped repeatedly between 11.30am and 1pm, police said.
A Surrey police spokesman said the girls were surrounded in the shopping centre before being chased by the youths. The rape victim's clothes, including her trousers and underwear, were pulled from her as she tried to escape down an escalator.

The future is coming up Burgess.

12/23/2001 11:47:56 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

'Heroic acts' avert air tragedy

That official said that if the passenger on the American Airlines plane did have plastic explosive in his shoes and was trying to detonate it by lighting a shock cord, "it was a pretty clever attempt to get past the metal detectors by using a bomb that didn't require any metal."

12/23/2001 11:40:54 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Saturday, December 22, 2001

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Marketing & PR | US brands suffer as anti-American feeling runs high

The survey found more than two-thirds of British consumers are concerned the world is becoming too Americanised, while 72% agreed with the statement: "Multinational corporations have grown too powerful".

12/22/2001 05:59:52 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CBC News: 'Mom' Boucher sues Quebec government for $30 million

He says in the lawsuit that he is just a cook who likes to ride motorcyles for fun.
[...]
Boucher is being detained as he awaits trial on 15 counts of first-degree murder.

12/22/2001 05:37:24 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

The Globe and Mail: War support drops outside G-7: poll

"The doubts reflected there should serve as a warning to the U.S. government on the limits of world support should the military campaign extend beyond the borders of Afghanistan," Mr. Riehle said.

12/22/2001 05:27:33 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Montreal man tutored convicted terrorist: CSIS

There was no explanation for why criminal conspiracy charges have not been laid against Ikhlef.
According to documents filed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) with the Federal Court of Canada, Ikhlef was a close associate of Ressam and one of several Algerians who made up a Montreal-based terrorist cell with connections to bin Laden's Al Qaeda.

12/22/2001 04:54:23 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Canada naive on terrorist population, says French judge

Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere told the Montreal newspaper La Presse that dismantling of Ahmed Ressam's terrorist cell is no long-term solution. Other people remaining in Canada have ties to the terrorist network of Osama bin Laden, said the judge, interviewed in his Paris office.

12/22/2001 04:51:44 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CBC News: Hamas and Islamic Jihad declare end to suicide bombings

None of it had any effect on the streets as the shooting continued for several hours.

12/22/2001 04:44:46 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Joint Statement by United States, Canada and Mexico on Argentina

Argentina is our neighbor and friend and we have witnessed recent events with concern and compassion. We hope that all Argentines can come together to find a solution that leads the country back to sustainable growth and prosperity. We applaud the great strength displayed by Argentina's institutions through this period, and reiterate our confidence in the country's standing as one of the Western Hemisphere's leading democracies.

12/22/2001 04:43:30 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

iWon - Police arrest 'God of Garbage'

Mizuo Tamura, 55, a manager in the environmental section in the Kajiki municipal government, was arrested for breaking Japan's Firearms and Swords Control Law early on Thursday, the newspaper said in its online edition.

12/22/2001 04:42:07 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Eight foreigners arrested in Somalia over terrorism links

News reports quoted a high ranking representative for the provisional Somali government as saying on Friday that the eight suspected persons were arrested during several operations and they have been interrogated by the Somali intelligence.

12/22/2001 04:40:28 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Bush signs anti-Mugabe law

"My administration shares fully the Congress' deep concerns about the political and economic hardships visited upon Zimbabwe by that country's leadership," Bush said. "I hope the provisions of this important legislation will support the people of Zimbabwe in their struggle to effect peaceful democratic change, achieve economic growth and restore the rule of law."

12/22/2001 04:39:31 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

TIME.com: Choosing the Person of the Year: TIME Editor Jim Kelly

Question: How could TIME even consider bin Laden for Man of the Year? I'm a TIME subscriber and could not believe they would consider someone of his caliber.

12/22/2001 04:31:40 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Iran: Journalist at Risk (Human Rights Watch Press release, New York, December 22, 2001)

Human Rights Watch today said it was gravely concerned about the detention of Siamak Pourzand, a 73-year-old journalist who was arrested on November 29 and whose whereabouts remain unknown.

12/22/2001 04:29:51 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Republic of Botswana - Journalists must display sense of patriotism

"In the discharge of duties both the government and private media have to exhibit a good sense of judgement and belonging. They have a duty to disseminate the nation building message," Matshediso said.

12/22/2001 04:23:10 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

NATIONAL POST ONLINE | At home with Enza

Throughout the two hours it takes for Enza to get made up and dressed up for the evening's party, I've been trying to ask him if he seriously thinks he has a shot. Over and over again, I ask the same question: "Is this a joke?"
He never quite admits it is but, finally, when I ask him if he understands there's no chance he will win, he says, "Totally. I just want people to enjoy the ride. Political races are always so boring. There's nothing wrong with shameful self-promotion, either. Politicians do it all the time.
"Now, where's my bra?"

12/22/2001 04:14:43 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Karzai sworn in as new Afghan leader

Armed British marines patrolled outside the ceremony to ensure security at the first peaceful and undisputed handover of power in decades.

12/22/2001 04:11:06 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Afghan convoy row grows

Tribal leaders from the eastern Afghan town of Gardez have repeated allegations that a convoy of dignitaries from a neighbouring town was bombed by United States warplanes.

12/22/2001 04:10:05 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Friday, December 21, 2001

Local News - Ottawa - Child, 2, hit with belt in crowded store - Woman tells horrified shoppers to mind their own business

The woman was questioned at length by police and finally released, along with her child, after police officers determined the child had not suffered any visible injuries.

12/21/2001 06:42:38 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

OH MERDE! Furious Sharon demands the resignation of 'anti-Semitic' French ambassador who labelled Israel a 'shitty little country'

"Paris will take any decision about my future." He told colleagues his comment was due to his "grasp of the English language letting me down". The French embassy insisted the comment referred to Israel's geographical size and said the word "shitty" was not used.

12/21/2001 06:27:54 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Six killed in Gaza clashes

Six people have been killed and over 60 wounded in gunbattles with Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip, as the militant group Hamas said it was suspending attacks inside Israel.

12/21/2001 06:26:12 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Gag order placed on spanking case: Pastor, parents no longer allowed to discuss it with the media

A Church of God pastor, a group of Aylmer, Ont., parents and the Family and Children's Services of Elgin-St. Thomas came to an agreement on eight points which include that: no party shall make any statements to the media, parents of the children in question must advise the FACS if they intend to use corporal punishment and that the family make all efforts to ensure the children don't receive e-mail from anyone outside of the Church of God.

12/21/2001 06:20:07 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Infamous Paul Bernardo tapes destroyed

Not only did the tapes depict the brutal rapes and tortures of Mahaffy and French, they also documented a similar attack on Homolka's sister Tammy and a fourth victim identified only as Jane Doe.

12/21/2001 06:18:35 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Thursday, December 20, 2001

Argentine president resigning amid widespread unrest

Earlier Thursday, de la Rua's sent in riot police to quell the violence after 20 people died across the country in two days of rioting sparked by the government's failure to end a punishing recession marked by double-digit joblessness, hunger and rising poverty.

12/20/2001 10:08:06 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | AMERICAS | US denies lawyer to American Taleban

A White House spokesman described the 20-year-old as someone who fought against the United States in an armed conflict and was therefore being treated as a "battlefield detainee" under the Geneva Convention.

12/20/2001 03:15:57 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Wednesday, December 19, 2001

Falun Gong's cult nature proven again, according to China Daily

When questioned by police, Fu, who practised Falun Gong for three and a half years, calmly admitted that he had killed his family members with a kitchen knife, but claimed that the flesh of his family members had "rotted" and he did this to help them "jump out of their bodies" and enjoy "absolute happiness" with him.

12/19/2001 08:12:09 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Statue of Liberty to remain off-limits

The park service plans to allow people into the statue -- one of New York's most popular tourist attractions -- sometime next year, he said.

12/19/2001 06:45:58 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CNEWS - War On Terrorism: Fires finally out at World Trade Center

The fires were fuelled by such things as documents and office furniture. As demolition and rescue crews toiled to clear the debris, air pockets would open, causing flare-ups.

12/19/2001 06:29:30 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CNEWS - War On Terrorism: Bush suggests "unique penalty" for Walker

"Make him leave his hair the way it is and his face as dirty as it is and let him go wandering around this country and see what kind of sympathy he would get," Bush said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

12/19/2001 06:27:02 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

National Assembly rebukes CanWest over editorials

"The National Assembly, in accordance with the unanimous recommendation in the report by the commission on culture and concentration of media ownership, asks the directors of the Southam News enterprise to publish a statement of principle and of commitment to the quality and diversity of news, this in order to maintain and preserve the original character and autonomy of its Quebec daily, the Gazette."

12/19/2001 06:19:26 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

The Globe and Mail: Argentina declares state of siege

In Entre Rios province north of Buenos Aires vastly outnumbered police looked on helplessly as hundreds more looters filled cars and shopping carts with goods and fled with their booty, shielded by smoke billowing from piles of tires set alight by fellow looters.
"There are people in our neighbourhood dying form [sic] hunger," one angry looter told local television. "We've only taken food. It's not much to ask."

12/19/2001 06:10:29 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Captured al-Qaida fighters make escape attempt in Pakistan, 13 killed

Hundreds of al-Qaida - including some top commanders - were allowed to escape by commanders in the Afghan eastern alliance that led the assault on Tora Bora, an alliance official said. Two alliance commanders have been rebuked for conniving to let bin Laden followers flee into Pakistan, the official said.

12/19/2001 06:06:37 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CNN.com - Zimbabwe preps to limit media freedoms - December 19, 2001

"We will not have regional peace as long as the apartheid press is allowed to continue as the leading mouthpiece...We are saying they must now be brought to book, because what they are doing is criminal. They want a region which is at war with itself," Moyo told reporters.

12/19/2001 05:55:23 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | EUROPE | Court throws out case against Nato

The lawyers for the 17 defendants - the European members of Nato - had argued that the human rights court did not have the right to judge because the bombing took place in a country which is not a signatory to the European Convention of Human Rights.

12/19/2001 05:48:32 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Hundreds of Qaeda Fighters Slip Into Pakistan

Al Qaeda fighters who have escaped appear to have blended in with Pashtuns whose tribal lands straddle the Afghan-Pakistani border and who have proved reluctant to alert the army, which is viewed with suspicion, Western and Pakistani officials said.

12/19/2001 05:45:23 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

washingtonpost.com: Kabul's Lost Women

Qasim said that many of the girls were used as concubines by Taliban officers, some of whom kept a dozen or more. He said many others were sold as sexual slaves to wealthy Arabs through contacts arranged by the al Qaeda terrorist network of Osama bin Laden. Proceeds helped keep the cash-strapped Taliban afloat, he said.

12/19/2001 05:40:59 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

A Pitch for Smart Postal Stamps

Waxman is proposing the implementation of a two-dimensional barcode "stamp" that would contain the sender's identity as well as the date, time and place the postage was paid. The technology is currently used by companies that provide Internet mailing services, such as Stamps.com.

12/19/2001 05:30:39 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CBC News: Canada's JTF2 in Kandahar: Eggleton

The Joint Task Force 2 unit was formed as a top-secret unit in the early 1990s to take over the counter-terrorism role previously filled by the RCMP. Its members are some of the army's most skilled troops, including sharpshooters and explosives experts.

12/19/2001 03:33:34 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Tora Bora: Deep Ravines Hide Many Enemies

"The man's name is Abu Abdur Rahman, and he told us Osama was with them until the 28th day of Ramadan," said Mr. Khan. "Osama had told them to pray, then suddenly disappeared."

12/19/2001 01:04:34 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CNEWS - War On Terrorism: Anti-terror bill pushed through Senate

Within the hour it had received royal assent from Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson at a ceremony in the ornate Senate chamber.

12/19/2001 01:28:00 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Tuesday, December 18, 2001

The New Yorker | RECOUNTED OUT

In any case, there is no longer any doubt that more Florida voters intended to vote for Gore than for Bush: according to the Times, some eight thousand Gore overvotes, net, were lost because of bad design (the notorious "butterfly" of Palm Beach) or confusing instructions (the two-page Duval County "caterpillar" ballot, which directed voters to "vote all pages"). But those votes were irredeemably spoiled, and the consortium did not consider them. In terms of those votes that were arguably valid, Florida -- still -- is too close to call. In every scenario, the margins are smaller than the five hundred and thirty-seven votes by which Bush officially prevailed -- and smaller, too, than the margin of error.

12/18/2001 04:43:30 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Legal motions continue in trial for Hells Angels bikers

Gilles Dore, a lawyer for several other bikers, told Quebec Superior Court Justice Rejean Paul he has tried to interest colleagues but they don't want to be tied up in a lengthy trial.
They are also concerned about getting paid because the government has frozen the bikers' assets, claiming they are the proceeds of crime. The bikers are also not eligible for legal aid.

12/18/2001 03:20:39 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Guardian Unlimited Film | News | Hollywood enlists its heroes to lift the spirit of America

"I wasn't trying to find scenes that would fit. When you add up all the images - from a spunky Mary Pickford to Ben Affleck as a heroic soldier, you feel the changing, enduring and endlessly interesting American character"

Would that be the same Mary "America's Sweetheart" Pickford that was born in Toronto, which happens to be in Canada?

12/18/2001 02:59:54 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

ZDNet |UK| - News - Story - Computer experts probe 11 September deals

"There is a suspicion that some people had advance knowledge of the approximate time of the plane crashes in order to move out amounts exceeding $100m," Wagner said. "They thought that the records of their transactions could not be traced after the main frames were destroyed."

12/18/2001 02:53:44 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CBC News: Klein to 'curb and control' drinking after shouting match with homeless

He also told reporters he doesn't believe drinking alcohol has affected his duties as premier.

12/18/2001 01:56:27 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

washingtonpost.com: Capitol Hill Anthrax Matches Army's Stocks

Those matching samples are at Fort Detrick; the Dugway Proving Ground military research facility in Utah; a British military lab called Porton Down; and microbial depositories at Louisiana State University (LSU) and Northern Arizona University. Northern Arizona University received its sample from LSU, which received its sample from Porton Down. Dugway and Porton Down got their samples directly from USAMRIID.

12/18/2001 01:29:14 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

politechbot.com: U.S. phone eavesdropping software open to spying --Fox News

The manufacturers have continuing access to the computers so they can service them and keep them free of glitches. This process was authorized by the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA. Senior government officials have now told Fox News that while CALEA made wiretapping easier, it has led to a system that is seriously vulnerable to compromise, and may have undermined the whole wiretapping system.

12/18/2001 09:29:14 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Monday, December 17, 2001

Thestar.com/Nobody monitoring safety of Ontario water

"We don't know whether they're analysing the data they do have, we don't know what they know, and without reporting to the public, the public can't determine whether the environmental policies that are in place are effective."

12/17/2001 07:11:20 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CNN.com - U.N.: Child sex trade 'a form of terrorism' - December 17, 2001

"The commercial sexual exploitation and abuse of children is nothing less than a form of terrorism -- one whose wanton destruction of young lives and futures must not be tolerated for another year, another day, another hour," UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy told Reuters news agency.

12/17/2001 07:07:24 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Suspect Claims Al Qaeda Hacked Microsoft - Expert

During interrogation, Afroze, 25, also claimed that a member or members of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, posing as computer programmers, were able to gain employment at Microsoft and attempted to plant "trojans, trapdoors, and bugs in Windows XP," according to Ravi Visvesvaraya Prasad, a New Delhi information systems and telecommunication consultant.

12/17/2001 07:05:09 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

amebo: I Have Been Fair to Women, Says Obasanjo

He added that there were certain positions and social roles in the society that were not suitable for women.

12/17/2001 06:37:06 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

washingtonpost.com: National ID Card Gaining Support

Any such proposals in the past foundered on a distrust of centralized government as old as the American republic. Opponents raised the specter of prying bureaucrats with access to databases full of personal information, of Gestapo-like stops on the street and demands to produce papers, and the kind of unchecked police authority that would erode constitutional protections.

12/17/2001 06:06:49 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Ananova - Woman registers poodle to vote

Albert's address was on a card registering "Cocoa Fernandez," the poodle, as a Republican. Cocoa got on the [Florida] voter register in July.

Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose.

12/17/2001 06:00:38 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

ALLNEWS.RU: NEWS: Prosecutor Demands 9 Years For Russian Journalist

[Gregory Pasko] was arrested on November 20, 1998 at the airport of Vladivostok, after his arrival from Japan. Russia's fleet intelligence service accused him of espionage, saying he had divulged information about the combat readiness of Russia's Pacific Fleet to the Japanese television station NHK.

12/17/2001 05:50:04 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | AMERICAS | Haiti gunmen stage 'coup attempt'

The presidential spokesman said that before attacking the national palace, the commandos had attempted to assault the national penitentiary, but had been rebuffed.

12/17/2001 05:44:41 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

cbc.ca: Sept. 11 no longer taboo for American comics

"I checked my bags in. The person said, 'Are these your bags, sir?' Yes they are. 'Did you pack them yourself.' Yes I did. They arrested me."

12/17/2001 05:37:15 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Foreign journalists told to leave Kandahar now

"You are our guests, but it is no longer safe," said commander Gul Lali, who now heads the militia that is trying to bring order to Kandahar after two months of bombing by the United States and more than a week of deadly fighting by rival tribal factions.

12/17/2001 05:21:02 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Ananova - Police enlist tabloid in hunt for sex offenders

The sex offenders have served their jail sentences but have since gone missing and unlawfully failed to notify police of their whereabouts.

12/17/2001 05:20:02 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

AfricaOnline.com - Burkina demonstrators demand explanation of journalist's death

On December 13, 1998, the charred bodies of Norbert Zongo, editor of the newspaper L'Independent and three other people were found in a car, 100 km outside Ouagadougou. The demonstrators were marching to protest the fact that, three years later, no one knows why they were murdered. It is the latest in a long wave of protests touched off by the killings.

12/17/2001 05:17:47 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Not Much Exuberance, Irrational or Otherwise, on Wall St.

"We're going to hear layoff announcements into the first quarter of next year," said Frank Fernandez, chief economist of the Securities Industry Association, a trade group. Mr. Fernandez said that he believed that Wall Street profits would bottom out by the second quarter of next year but that firms might not be ready to expand again for another two or three years.

12/17/2001 05:14:37 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

cbc.ca: Sept. 11 could hurt Canadian charities

"Bowel disease is not sexy," laments Mort Weiseberg of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, as he drops off a bag of bagels to a supporter. "It's very difficult to find people who want to contribute to bowel disease."

12/17/2001 04:52:06 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Book From Cantor Fitzgerald Chief

Howard W. Lutnick, chairman of the bond-trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is writing a book about his company's struggle through the deaths of more than 600 of its 1,000 employees in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

12/17/2001 04:22:57 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Chicago Tribune: Coercive and illegal tactics torpedo scores of Cook County murder cases

Police have obtained confessions from men who, according to records, were in jail when the crime occurred. They have obtained confessions refuted by DNA evidence. They have obtained confessions that contradicted the facts of the crime.

12/17/2001 04:00:19 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Saturday, December 15, 2001

NATIONAL POST ONLINE | Al-Qaeda operatives in Canada

Details of bin Laden's Canadian operations, obtained exclusively by the National Post, show al-Qaeda has suspected supporters in Canada's largest cities, many of them engaged in functions such as fundraising that feed the international Islamic terror network.

12/15/2001 12:56:27 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Friday, December 14, 2001

CBC News: Israel sends planes, tanks into Palestinian villages

Witnesses reported at least seven major blasts.

12/14/2001 01:09:01 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Still Heavily Armed, Ready to Die and Recovering Nicely

Today, in a bizarre penultimate twist in this month's dramatic collapse of the Taliban, those same patients still occupy three adjacent rooms in Ward D. They demand top medical care, but they also stand ready at the slightest provocation to blast themselves and anyone nearby to bits.

12/14/2001 11:12:52 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Afghan 'kamikaze camels' warning

The Afghan mujahideen fighters would strap dynamite to a camel and send it towards a Russian base. Then, as the animal wandered near troops or equipment, they would set it off with a remote detonator, to deadly effect.

12/14/2001 11:05:15 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Ananova - Terror suspect to confess Houses of Parliament plot

"I do not want to engage any advocate to defend me. I have decided to confess on my own. It is also not true that I am mentally sick and I do not want to undergo any psychiatric treatment."

12/14/2001 10:58:21 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

USAF outlines plans for 'military space plane' - Jane's Defence News

The MSP concept envisions a family of systems capable of missions like replenishing on-orbit satellites and surging space-based surveillance assets during a crisis. It could also be used to conduct precision strikes against terrestrial targets.

12/14/2001 10:55:29 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

DEBKAfile: Was Bin Laden Playacting for Incriminating Tape? 14 December

This show of piety and humility sounds very much like Bin Laden playing to the fundamentalist gallery. He meant to impress and inspire the faithful to follow in his footsteps. In another part of the tape, it is claimed that since September 11, the numbers of applicants for places at Muslim study and prayer centers is up. His horrific deed was thus justified in the eyes of his Saudi friend.

12/14/2001 10:39:23 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

The Globe and Mail: Alliance ousts Grey, Strahl

The woman who helped found the Reform Party and became its first MP has been dumped from the movement in a decision Thursday night by the Canadian Alliance's national council.

12/14/2001 10:37:16 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

91 E-Mails From Ground Zero

From: MCDonnell, Gerry
Sent: Tues, September 11, 2001
9:12 AM
To: NY OFFICE
Subject: Plane Crash If anyone is there please call me immediately at extension 7273. I need to check on your safety and to see if there is anything I can do to help you.
Gerry McDonnell

12/14/2001 10:22:14 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Digital Mementos of Terror's Victims

In the electronic age, everything can be deleted with a keystroke. But it turns out that some bits and bytes are no less emotionally charged than mementos like clothing and handwritten letters. Many of those involved in the events of Sept. 11 have done whatever they can to preserve voice mail and e-mail and even instant messages that in some cases are the last electronic imprint of a person's life.

12/14/2001 10:19:48 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

NATIONAL POST ONLINE | South African justice

A starting prosecutor grosses less than $10,000 a year. Mr. Schoenteich says that in one township office, 18 prosecutors share three desks. Many others are not equipped with a computer or a fax machine. Their libraries are out of date and some say it is impossible to access the latest law journals.

12/14/2001 10:06:51 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Neighbour states give Mugabe their blessing

"I will have some difficulty in inviting some white men here," said Mr Mugabe, according to the state-owned Herald newspaper. "I would rather invite Asians or the Caribbeans, but for the EU as a bloc, I doubt."

12/14/2001 09:54:27 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

The Namibian | Local News | Rand plunge, Zim crisis hit Namibia

"If prices of basic foodstuffs like grain and wheat are going up this can have a negative impact on the poor and can have political consequences"

12/14/2001 09:37:57 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

news.telegraph.co.uk: Zimbabwe police detain opposition leader

[Morgan Tsvangirai] said that police had demanded that he produce a licence for a walkie-talkie he used to communicate with his personal security guards.

12/14/2001 09:34:54 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | WORLD | SA ordered to provide Aids drugs

The landmark ruling said that the government had to provide the drug nevirapine to all women giving birth in public hospitals, and institute a comprehensive programme to reduce mother-to child transmission nationwide.

12/14/2001 09:30:59 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Congo students kill three police in campus riot

"People were running for their lives. Two government ministers were stoned and when they tried to leave the campus, the crowd pulled three policemen into the bush, stabbed them and took their AK-47s"

12/14/2001 09:26:06 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

PDF transcription of December 13, 2001 bin Laden broadcast

12/14/2001 09:21:56 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Thursday, December 13, 2001

amebo:Secession Threat Irresponsible, Obasanjo Tells Ojukwu

Said he: "I have no fear that if what Nigeria comes out with from the National Conference is not exactly what we Ndigbo want, we may talk about secession. We do not want to break up Nigeria but if you treat us as a goat, we will behave like a goat, even like a he-goat."

12/13/2001 06:34:06 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

TAP: Web Feature: Afghanistan Rebuilds as Israel Crumbles. by Alyssa R. Rayman-Read and Lindsay Sobel. December 6, 2001.

Very extensive. Via Bushwacker.

12/13/2001 04:44:27 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Surgeon General Orders Americans to Lose Weight

12/13/2001 04:11:38 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | AFRICA | Hands-on sentence in Nigeria

Last week, in a bid to stop his hand being amputated, Mohamed Ali told the Islamic court in Sokoto where he was charged with theft, that he had renounced his Muslim faith, was now a Christian and therefore could not be tried under Sharia law.
But the young man stunned the court on Thursday when he admitted he had lied.

12/13/2001 04:01:48 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Chicago Tribune: Germany uses new law to ban extremist group

The Caliphate State and its imprisoned leader have been closely observed by German domestic security services for years. But only now does the country have the power to dismantle the organization, one of whose aims is to topple the secular government of Turkey and replace it with a fundamentalist Islamic state.

12/13/2001 03:24:08 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Opening of the bridge between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan

The European Union welcomes the announcement of the re-opening of the Friendship Bridge between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. This action by the Uzbek government should allow the volume of humanitarian aid entering Afghanistan from the north to be greatly increased.

12/13/2001 03:22:02 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

allAfrica.com: State Admits Failure to End Violence in Tana River

The Pokomo, a farming community, have protested at the government decision to disarm local homeguards saying it would make them vulnerable to attacks by the pastoralists who have sophisticated weapons.

12/13/2001 03:16:40 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

iWon - Ukraine Journalists Armed with Rubber Bullet Guns

Reporters' representatives were quoted by local media as saying the measure would put journalists in danger and was an admission the government was powerless to defend the press.

12/13/2001 02:56:23 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Guatemala to Reopen Journalist's Case

[Irma Flaquer Azurdia] had drawn the ire of this country's military with her column "What Others Don't Say," in which she openly criticized the government and the army, accusing both of committing thousands of human rights violations.

12/13/2001 02:52:44 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | EUROPE | Russian journalist in treason re-trial

Grigory Pasko is accused of passing classified documents on the combat-readiness of the Russian Pacific fleet to Japanese media.

BBC is loaded with interesting stuff today.

12/13/2001 02:51:16 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CBC News: Background checks, higher fees for Canadian passports

The government is considering a booklet embedded with holograms, a three-dimensional photographic image, and other security features.

12/13/2001 02:21:33 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CBC News: Bin Laden discusses Sept. 11 attacks: videotape

"We calculated in advance the number of casualties from the enemy, who would be killed based on the position of the tower. We calculated that the floors that would be hit would be three or four floors. I was the most optimistic of them all. (...Inaudible...) due to my experience in this field, I was thinking that the fire from the gas in the plane would melt the iron structure of the building and collapse the area where the plane hit and all the floors above it only. This is all that we had hoped for," said bin Laden, according to the translation.

12/13/2001 01:48:41 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | AMERICAS | US withdraws from ABM treaty

"Russia has no fears for its security. Russia can be unconcerned with its defence systems. Maybe other nations should be concerned if the United States chooses to abandon the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty," [Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Kasyanov] told the Associated Press news agency.

12/13/2001 11:41:48 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Parliament suicide attack stuns India

The motive remains unclear. No group has admitted carrying out the attack - which Indian Home Minister LK Advani said was similar to an October strike against the Kashmir state assembly by separatist militants.

12/13/2001 11:34:46 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

War is God's way of teaching Americans geography. -Ambrose Bierce

12/13/2001 02:46:02 AM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Wednesday, December 12, 2001

Iran Judiciary Closes Newspapers

``One of our greatest glories is closure of offending newspapers. Based on our assessments, by doing this, we have done the greatest service to the people,'' IRNA quoted him as saying.

12/12/2001 09:51:50 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

politechbot.com: The odd Usenet trail of "American Taliban" Walker

I plan on selling all of the 200 items listed below as a single package, and I'm not willing to break any of it up. Among these records are many classics, collectors items, and out of print rarities, so please make reasonable bids. If you have any questions about individual records, just ask. I intend to take the best offer I recieve.

12/12/2001 06:57:09 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CBC News: Ottawa considering allowing armed U.S. customs agents in Canada

Canadian officials insist the government isn't bowing to U.S. pressure. They say it's a response to the unparalleled terrorist attacks exactly three months ago.

12/12/2001 01:20:09 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Thestar.com/Terror cell `had base in Canada'

Security expert Norm Inkster, a former RCMP commissioner, said it is the first he's heard that Al Qaeda had a direct presence in this country.
"I haven't read anything suggesting Al Qaeda had cells or people here," Inkster said in an interview yesterday.
"I think it re-enforces the need for Canadians to be vigilant," he said, adding the new information suggests Canada is vulnerable to infiltration by groups like Al Qaeda.

12/12/2001 01:10:16 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Afghan women still wait for liberty

"The men in the crowd listen to us, but the women don't. They need discipline," one soldier said.

12/12/2001 12:52:16 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Tuesday, December 11, 2001

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Defiant Nigeria to import cheap copies of HIV drugs

The groundbreaking decision will infuriate big drug firms which have been trying to coax African governments into de facto recognition of copyright agreements by offering cut-price medicines.

12/11/2001 10:30:28 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

Gazette Newsroom

Welcome to a site put together by some Montreal Gazette reporters and editors on their own time. It is part of a protest against the decision by Southam News to force 12 of its major metropolitan newspapers to run "national editorials" written at the corporate headquarters of parent company CanWest Global Communications Corp.

12/11/2001 08:11:50 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

War on Terrorism Brings Plan to Cut Smithsonian Financing The White House budget director, Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., said last week that the administration would concentrate money on the war and domestic security in drawing up its next budget and would "make all the necessary adjustments in order to fund those new imperatives."

Fortress America, safe and stupid.

12/11/2001 07:34:36 PM shad muegge bookmark

Man whose flying lessons raised suspicion indicted in Sept. 11 terror attacks

The attorney general also announced a list of 23 unindicted coconspirators. In addition to bin Laden, they include bin Laden's deputy, Ayman Zawahiri; all 19 of the Sept. 11 hijackers; a man the FBI has identified as the intended 20th member of the hijack team; and bin Laden's alleged financial manager, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hisawi.

12/11/2001 05:16:49 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

SUBINTSOC.NET: Brain Teaser: Homeland Insecurity

12/11/2001 05:11:20 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

15 reasons to seal the Presidential Papers -- if you're the president

It just might be that, during the Reagan/Bush years, we were visited by creatures from outer space and their meeting with Messrs. Reagan and Bush would be alarming to the general population even 20 years down the road. It is, of course, one of the duties of the very brilliant and very gifted to look out for the rest of us, to provide a shield, if you will..

12/11/2001 02:20:40 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

CBC News: Anti-terror protesters moved from McLellan's office sit-in

They've been in the office since Friday to protest against the government's proposed anti-terrorism legislation, Bill C-36.

12/11/2001 02:03:03 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

BBC News | EUROPE | Milosevic defiant at genocide hearing

"I should be credited with peace in Bosnia, not for war," he said.

12/11/2001 02:00:10 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

WTC UFO sightings page Not in English. Could be saying anything.

12/11/2001 01:59:21 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark

IHT: After Years of Denials, U.S. Links Illness to Gulf War

More than 100,000 U.S. service members sent to the region in 1990 and 1991 have reported a range of maladies, including fatigue, muscle pain, memory loss and sleep disorders. But previous studies had found no definitive links, although several suggested that the ailments might be due to chemical exposures, stress or prophylactic medicines administered to soldiers.

12/11/2001 01:48:51 PM Gabrielle Taylor bookmark </