In a London Times opinion piece Aug. 11, “Muslims unite! A new Reformation will bring your faith into the modern era,” author Salman Rushdie begins by applauding Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, for admitting that… Read moreSalman Rushdie calls for “Islamic Reformation”
Kosovo’s Albanian-led interim regime has issued a “Plan B” for administrative decentralization following the recent rejection of the original pilot project by local Serb leaders. Kosovo’s minister for local self-government, Lutfi Haziri, said Serb objections had been taken into account,… Read moreKosovo still divided; more bodies unearthed
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline reports Aug. 10 that three opposition parties—the Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, and a wing of the Socialist Party—issued a statement protesting limitations on freedom of the press in Tajikistan. The statement said that “political… Read morePress crackdown in Tajikistan
The Washington Post reports Aug. 8 that the Pentagon “has devised its first-ever war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country,… Read moreWashington Post: Northern Command to lead domestic terror response
Cindy Sheehan of California, mother of Spc. Casey Sheehan, killed in action in Baghdad, April 4, 2004, has written an open letter to George Bush, and is currently maintaining a vigil at the gates of Bush’s ranch in Crawford, TX,… Read moreBush snubs mom of slain soldier
Iran has resumed operations at its Isfahan plant to enrich uranium ore for reactor fuel. The plant will convert yellowcake, or uranium ore, into uranium hexafluoride gas to be fed into centrifuges for uranium enrichment in the still-closed neighboring Natanz… Read moreHalliburton tied to Iran nuke program?
More fodder for the conspiranoia mill is supplied by yesterday’s front-page New York Times story (online at TruthOut) providing further confirmation that at least some of the 9-11 hijackers were under surveillance by the government. Washington – More than a… Read moreGovernment spied on 9-11 hijackers: more evidence
An interesting development in the extremely contentious Valerie Plame affair: Deputy Attorney General James Comey, the only Justice Department official overseeing special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the leak scandal, is leaving to take a job in the private sector…. Read moreSkull & Bonesman to oversee Valerie Plame case?
The annual Hiroshima Peace Declaration, delivered this year by the city’s Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, explicitly calls the nuclear powers to task for not living up to their committments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The historic 60th anniversary of the dawn of… Read moreHiroshima Peace Declaration: nuclear powers “jeopardize human survival”
TruthOut offers the following tidbit from Newsweek on a National Intelligence Council finding that, contrary to Bush’s dearest dreams, Iran “is not in a prerevolutionary state.” We wonder if this document was drawn up before several cities in western Iran… Read moreNational Intelligence Council: Iran stable
AP reported Aug. 2 that federal investigators used provisions of the USA Patriot Act to search and bug a 360-foot tunnel under the US-Canadian border, and eavesdrop as hundreds of pounds of British Columbia-grown marijuana was brought through it. Agents… Read morePatriot Act protects Americans from hydroponic marijuana
At least three are dead in a land dispute between Tzeltal Maya ejidos (collective farming communities) in Mexico’s conflicted southern state of Chiapas. More than 20 families have been displaced following the violence between the ejidos of El Chamizal and… Read moreLand, resource conflicts in Chiapas
