The A-Z of Terror
Osama Bin Loaded | 27.10.2001 23:02
Baffled by corporate media coverage of the war in Afghanistan? Not to worry, here is our very own idiot-proof guide to the modern Middle East.
The A-Z of Terror
A is for Afghanistan, the country that no-one can invade (except Alexander the Great, on his way to India in the fourth century BC). The Russians tried it in 1979 and were still trying in 1985, when the total number of casualties was seriously beginning to affect Gorbachev's bald patch.
B is for Blair, the vice-president of America. B is also for bombing, ballistics, bonkers and bloodbath.
C is for collateral damage, as in 19,000 civilians killed each day by US-led neo-liberal trade policies, an item that doesn't even make the evening news (see also Racism). C is also for Congo, Chile, China and Chechnya.
D is for dead, as in "dead or alive". See Karadzic.
E is for Echelon, a sophisticated spy technology that allows the government to eavesdrop on private conversations. I wonder if they can hear what we're saying?
F is for fundamentalism. Since Sep 11, everyone has become a Cup-a-Soup expert on Islamic fundamentalism. Forget the history, the theology and the legal niceties; it all boils down to one thing - they're beardy scroungers who obviously deserve a kicking.
G is for George Bush senior, who whipped Saddam's ass in 1991. It took 6 months to assemble the coalition which finally "liberated" Kuwait - 5 and a half months for the president to find Kuwait on the map, and fifteen minutes to write out a big cheque to the Saudis (see Saudi Arabia).
H is for Hindu Kush, which literally means "Hindu Killer", a ruddy big mountain in the middle of Afghanistan where Osama and friends can see out the winter.
I is for Infinite Justice, the original name for the military strikes. The operation was renamed "Enduring Freedom" after protests from Muslim clerics. Presumably these clerics can now sleep safe in their beds while thousands of tons of high explosives rain down on civilian homes, schools and hospitals.
J is for Jack Straw, the deputy foreign secretary of the USA.
K is for Karadzic, the former president of the Bosnian Serb republic. Has been on the UN's Most Wanted List for the past 6 years, indicted with crimes against humanity. Persistent attempts to apprehend this dastardly criminal have come to naught, in spite of his home address appearing on a UN website. What hope for Bin Laden?
L is for Lockheed-Martin, the "defence" company recently awarded a $200 billion contract for new "stealth" fighter aircraft (no, this is not a typo!) By the year 2015, the US and Britain will have an all-stealth attack capability, just in case there's anyone left with a working radar to bomb.
M is for Milosevic. What on earth does the former president of Yugoslavia have to do with Afghanistan, I hear you ask? Well, quite a lot as it turns out. In March 1999, the US and friends launched a war against Milosevic over Kosovo. Milosevic is now on trial for war crimes in the Hague. Unfortuntely, there is very little to connect these two enticing facts. The literature on regime displacement could do with beefing up - for now, let us admit that comparing Yugoslavia with Afghanistan is rather like comparing apples and pears.
N is for New York City, where 5,000 civilians were killed in the Sep 11 attack, although it could be half that number, because the lists aren't very reliable. (Does that mean we're only going to bomb half of Afghanistan?: Ed.)
O is for Osama bin Laden. Well no, actually, O is for oil. You see, there's lots of it in central Asia that the US would like shipped to the Pakistani border in a nice shiny new pipeline. The problem being these pesky Taliban keep getting in the way.
P is for politics, as in "war is a continuation of politica activity by other means", which is all very well if we had a policy to start with. Maybe someone should call the president.
Q is for al-Qaida, which means "the base". The bombing of Afghanistan is meant to destroy Osama bin Laden's base of operations in the Middle East. Rendering the country uninhabitable is probably going to be the easy bit. In the long run, there are hundreds of "terrorist" organisations working out of dozens of countries. Disrupting terrorist networks is nothing new - shutting them down altogether requires a political solution (which in itself requires a viable Afghan opposition).
R is for racism. If Osama bin Laden were hiding out in Paris, we'd have to extradite him. Happily enough, Afghans (like Congolese, Chileans and Chechens et al) don't matter because they're wogs/spics/coons/hottentots etc. THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE; Colin Powell is the Secretary of State and he is (allegedly) black. THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE. THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE. If you repeat this a hundred times inside your head, you might actually come to believe it.
S is for Saudi Arabia, the place where all the oil comes from. Corrupt as hell, it's an Islamic Emirate run by a bunch of bloodthirsty sheikhs who spend most of their spare time repressing women and cutting off people's heads. A key Western ally in the region, and absolutely nothing like Afghanistan, no sir thankyou very much.
T is for Taliban, which means "religious students". Thatcher always did say that students were trouble. The Taliban came to power in 1996, owing to the failure of the previous regime to provide any semblance of authority. Although their human rights record is non-existent (since there are no human rights in Afghanistan), many aid workers are grateful from the respite from banditry and general lawlessness.
U is for Uighurs, the Islamic minority within China. They're fighting for a separate state and Beijing ain't too pleased, which is why they've signed up for the bombing, especially since there isn't a Chinese embassy in Kabul.
V is for victory, something that we're unlikely to see in my lifetime.
W is for, erm, Dubya, the president who couldn't identify the leader of Pakistan in the run-up to the 2000 election.
X is for ex-servicemen, who constitute roughly one quarter of London's street population. As if it wasn't bad enough getting your head shot off for Queen and Country, the bastards let you freeze to death when the fighting's over.
Y is for WHY? US officials and pundits have publicly admitted that the "war on terror" will last 100 years. They are willing to create a century of mayhem, destruction and intra-communal blood-letting, all to avenge the deaths of a few thousand Americans. THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE, you must repeat, THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE.
Z is for Zionist entity (that's Israel to you and me). Zionism (which is not a form of racism) was recently dealt a body blow when the world's most unsavoury tourism minister was topped by the PFLP. Since then, Israel has embarked upon the usual round of incursions into Palestinian territory, retaliatory assassinations, blowing up people's houses and random snipings of schoolgirls. No doubt the Men in Black will want a few words with Ariel Sharon (who is emphatically not a war criminal) when all this Afghan business is over.
A is for Afghanistan, the country that no-one can invade (except Alexander the Great, on his way to India in the fourth century BC). The Russians tried it in 1979 and were still trying in 1985, when the total number of casualties was seriously beginning to affect Gorbachev's bald patch.
B is for Blair, the vice-president of America. B is also for bombing, ballistics, bonkers and bloodbath.
C is for collateral damage, as in 19,000 civilians killed each day by US-led neo-liberal trade policies, an item that doesn't even make the evening news (see also Racism). C is also for Congo, Chile, China and Chechnya.
D is for dead, as in "dead or alive". See Karadzic.
E is for Echelon, a sophisticated spy technology that allows the government to eavesdrop on private conversations. I wonder if they can hear what we're saying?
F is for fundamentalism. Since Sep 11, everyone has become a Cup-a-Soup expert on Islamic fundamentalism. Forget the history, the theology and the legal niceties; it all boils down to one thing - they're beardy scroungers who obviously deserve a kicking.
G is for George Bush senior, who whipped Saddam's ass in 1991. It took 6 months to assemble the coalition which finally "liberated" Kuwait - 5 and a half months for the president to find Kuwait on the map, and fifteen minutes to write out a big cheque to the Saudis (see Saudi Arabia).
H is for Hindu Kush, which literally means "Hindu Killer", a ruddy big mountain in the middle of Afghanistan where Osama and friends can see out the winter.
I is for Infinite Justice, the original name for the military strikes. The operation was renamed "Enduring Freedom" after protests from Muslim clerics. Presumably these clerics can now sleep safe in their beds while thousands of tons of high explosives rain down on civilian homes, schools and hospitals.
J is for Jack Straw, the deputy foreign secretary of the USA.
K is for Karadzic, the former president of the Bosnian Serb republic. Has been on the UN's Most Wanted List for the past 6 years, indicted with crimes against humanity. Persistent attempts to apprehend this dastardly criminal have come to naught, in spite of his home address appearing on a UN website. What hope for Bin Laden?
L is for Lockheed-Martin, the "defence" company recently awarded a $200 billion contract for new "stealth" fighter aircraft (no, this is not a typo!) By the year 2015, the US and Britain will have an all-stealth attack capability, just in case there's anyone left with a working radar to bomb.
M is for Milosevic. What on earth does the former president of Yugoslavia have to do with Afghanistan, I hear you ask? Well, quite a lot as it turns out. In March 1999, the US and friends launched a war against Milosevic over Kosovo. Milosevic is now on trial for war crimes in the Hague. Unfortuntely, there is very little to connect these two enticing facts. The literature on regime displacement could do with beefing up - for now, let us admit that comparing Yugoslavia with Afghanistan is rather like comparing apples and pears.
N is for New York City, where 5,000 civilians were killed in the Sep 11 attack, although it could be half that number, because the lists aren't very reliable. (Does that mean we're only going to bomb half of Afghanistan?: Ed.)
O is for Osama bin Laden. Well no, actually, O is for oil. You see, there's lots of it in central Asia that the US would like shipped to the Pakistani border in a nice shiny new pipeline. The problem being these pesky Taliban keep getting in the way.
P is for politics, as in "war is a continuation of politica activity by other means", which is all very well if we had a policy to start with. Maybe someone should call the president.
Q is for al-Qaida, which means "the base". The bombing of Afghanistan is meant to destroy Osama bin Laden's base of operations in the Middle East. Rendering the country uninhabitable is probably going to be the easy bit. In the long run, there are hundreds of "terrorist" organisations working out of dozens of countries. Disrupting terrorist networks is nothing new - shutting them down altogether requires a political solution (which in itself requires a viable Afghan opposition).
R is for racism. If Osama bin Laden were hiding out in Paris, we'd have to extradite him. Happily enough, Afghans (like Congolese, Chileans and Chechens et al) don't matter because they're wogs/spics/coons/hottentots etc. THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE; Colin Powell is the Secretary of State and he is (allegedly) black. THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE. THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE. If you repeat this a hundred times inside your head, you might actually come to believe it.
S is for Saudi Arabia, the place where all the oil comes from. Corrupt as hell, it's an Islamic Emirate run by a bunch of bloodthirsty sheikhs who spend most of their spare time repressing women and cutting off people's heads. A key Western ally in the region, and absolutely nothing like Afghanistan, no sir thankyou very much.
T is for Taliban, which means "religious students". Thatcher always did say that students were trouble. The Taliban came to power in 1996, owing to the failure of the previous regime to provide any semblance of authority. Although their human rights record is non-existent (since there are no human rights in Afghanistan), many aid workers are grateful from the respite from banditry and general lawlessness.
U is for Uighurs, the Islamic minority within China. They're fighting for a separate state and Beijing ain't too pleased, which is why they've signed up for the bombing, especially since there isn't a Chinese embassy in Kabul.
V is for victory, something that we're unlikely to see in my lifetime.
W is for, erm, Dubya, the president who couldn't identify the leader of Pakistan in the run-up to the 2000 election.
X is for ex-servicemen, who constitute roughly one quarter of London's street population. As if it wasn't bad enough getting your head shot off for Queen and Country, the bastards let you freeze to death when the fighting's over.
Y is for WHY? US officials and pundits have publicly admitted that the "war on terror" will last 100 years. They are willing to create a century of mayhem, destruction and intra-communal blood-letting, all to avenge the deaths of a few thousand Americans. THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE, you must repeat, THE US IS NOT A RACIST STATE.
Z is for Zionist entity (that's Israel to you and me). Zionism (which is not a form of racism) was recently dealt a body blow when the world's most unsavoury tourism minister was topped by the PFLP. Since then, Israel has embarked upon the usual round of incursions into Palestinian territory, retaliatory assassinations, blowing up people's houses and random snipings of schoolgirls. No doubt the Men in Black will want a few words with Ariel Sharon (who is emphatically not a war criminal) when all this Afghan business is over.
Osama Bin Loaded
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Further aids to Understanding The War
28.10.2001 11:47
TERRORISTS: Supposed leader is the spoiled son of a powerful politician, from extremely wealthy oil family
US GOVERNMENT: Supposed leader is the spoiled son of a powerful politician, from extremely wealthy oil family
TERRORISTS: Leader has declared a holy war ('Jihad') against his 'enemies'; believes any nation not with him is against him; believes god is on his side, and that any means are justified.
US GOVERNMENT: Leader has declared a holy war ('Crusade') against his 'enemies'; believes any nation not with him is against him; believes god is on his side, and that any means are justified.
TERRORISTS: Supported by extreme fundamentalist religious leaders who preach hatred, intolerance, subjugation of women, and persecution of non-believers
US GOVERNMENT: Supported by extreme fundamentalist religious leaders who preach hatred, intolerance, subjugation of women, and persecution of non-believers
TERRORISTS: Leadership was not elected by a majority of the people in a free and fair democratic election
US GOVERNMENT: Leadership was not elected by a majority of the people in a free and fair democratic election
TERRORISTS: Kills thousands of innocent civilians, some of them children, in cold blooded bombings
US GOVERNMENT: Kills (tens of) thousands of innocent civilians, some of them children, in cold blooded bombings
TERRORISTS: Operates through clandestine organization (al Qaeda) with agents in many countries; uses bombing, assassination, other terrorist tactics
US GOVERNMENT: Operates through clandestine organization (CIA) with agents in many countries; uses bombing, assassination, other terrorist tactics
TERRORISTS: Using war as pretext to clamp down on dissent and undermine civil liberties
US GOVERNMENT: Using war as pretext to clamp down on dissent and undermine civil liberties
TERRORISTS: Weapon of choice: a three-dollar box cutter
US GOVERNMENT: Weapon of choice: a billion-dollar B1 bomber
Daniel Solnit
"A" is for.........?
28.10.2001 14:22
"A" is for 'the' answer to eliminating terrorism and war without military intervention:
Lets keep it simple:
"Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them."
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
--
Daily Mail & Guardian
Johannesburg, South Africa.
January 13 2000
Preventing war with consciousness-based defence
Preventing war in the world is as easy as a shift in perspective, and adopting transcendental meditation, argue DR DAVID LEFFLER and LEE LEFFLER
NO enemy, no war. The key to peace is preventing an enemy from arising. Mozambique's government recognised this in 1992 while attempting to end civil war. They prevented enemies from arising within their borders using a new
"secret weapon" -- consciousness-based defence. This technology helped Mozambique, and could offer hope to all nations struggling with enemies inside and outside their borders.
Warfare is more dangerous than ever. Weapons of mass destruction are easily available on the world arms market. Building up arms and powerful weapons incites fear in friends as well as foes. A novel solution is needed.
The root cause of war is the build-up of stress and tensions in collective consciousness in a nation. Collective consciousness is the sum of the
influences created by its individual members. This collective consciousness
affects the thoughts and feelings of those same individuals.
If a nation's collective consciousness is full of tension and fear, then disorder erupts. Social injustice and unfavourable economic conditions thrive
in such chaotic environments. Unresolved religious, territorial, political and cultural differences add to the unrest. This creates a frustrated and
dissatisfied population, further destabilising society.
Therefore, raising collective consciousness by reducing stress in society prevents the conditions that lead to enemies, conflict, and war. An ancient
system of defence, revived by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, raises collective consciousness by reducing stress. Using a simple, non-religious mental technique called the Transcendental Meditation (TM) programme, collective
consciousness is raised starting on the level of the individual.
Individuals practice the TM technique daily in large groups. Extensive
scientific research indicates that practitioners of the TM programme experience increased coherence and higher states of consciousness. The
consciousness of the individual affects the group, and the group creates a super-radiance effect. Super-radiance means the coherence of the individuals
and the group radiates into the surrounding population.
Tensions in the population of Mozambique were running high in 1992 after
decades of war. The damage to human life and property was high. After the
General Peace Agreement was signed, the country remained in a precarious
situation. Although a United Nations mission would soon be coming into the
country, fighting could have easily broken out again at any time.
President Alberto Joachim Chissano and other representatives of the
Mozambique government were contacted by Maharishi Vedic University. Maharishi
Vedic University, based in Vlodrop, Holland, felt that Mozambique was a good
candidate to implement Maharishi's system of defence. The University gave a
detailed presentation on the TM programme and cited research published in
leading scientific journals. These journals included The Journal of Conflict
Resolution, Social Indicators Research, International Journal of
Neuroscience, Journal of Crime and Justice, and Journal of Mind and
Behaviour.
After serious and critical study of the programme by the Mozambique Armed
Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, these leaders implemented the programme. The
goal was to create the Maharishi Effect in the country. The Maharishi Effect
happens when the number of people practicing the programme reaches a critical
mass, creating coherence, peace and harmony throughout the nation.
The TM technique was taught to different police and military units including
the Ground, Naval and Air Forces. More than 16 000 people learned the TM
programme, and many practiced it daily in large groups. Additionally, more
than 3 000 went on to learn the advanced TM-Sidhi programme and Yogic Flying,
which is even more powerful.
Learning TM takes a few hours over several days. Then, the meditation is
practiced for about twenty minutes, twice a day. The military merely added
two more duties to the members' daily routines. Since the military by its
nature is disciplined, it was an ideal choice for participating in the
meditation project. The military's job is to protect society. By practicing
the TM programme, the military fulfills its duty without violence.
After the programme was under way in 1993, positive trends were noticed.
Peace was maintained. Crime, which is normally expected to increase at the
end of a war, actually decreased, as predicted by Maharishi Effect
scientists.
The next year, the military began to be demobilised. The Commander of the
Armed Forces, Lieutenant-General Tobias Dai, who is now the General Secretary
of the Ministry of Defence, noticed a sudden change. "What is very clear is
that once the positive effect is created, if group practice is stopped, the
previous tendencies of higher collective stress, as determined from the crime
indices and the tense situations in the country, began to rise again. In
1994, there was a remarkable decrease in coherence in the country as a result
of decreased participation in the group practice of the Transcendental
Meditation and TM-Sidhi Programme ..."
Dai attributed the dip in coherence to the demobilisation of the troops and
anticipated ending of TM courses for future police officers. He also said in
1994 that "until now, although with several difficulties, the maintenance of
peace has been possible during these two years, and free and just elections
have been carried out ..." Coherence-creating groups of meditators were
recreated. A year later, the United States National Defence Council
Foundation dropped Mozambique from the list of conflicts in the world, and
stability has since been sustained.
The Maharishi Effect apparently strikes at the most fundamental strategic
point -- the level where enemies arise -- stress in collective consciousness.
If enemies do not arise, there are no battles. Warfare and violence become
obsolete.
Maharishi's consciousness-based strategy may be the first truly defensive
system for maintaining peace. Any nation that has only allies becomes
invincible. If the Maharishi Effect is real, military experts in this
technology could create permanent peace.
Jane's Defence Daily, the highly regarded source for defence and police
information, recently printed advertisements announcing the strategy. A
Jane's spokesperson quoted in the Londoner's Diary said: "We checked these
advertisements with our company board. They are defence related and don't
contravene the Geneva Convention because they don't advertise torture
weapons, napalm or weapons of mass destruction." The spokesperson indicated
that a new trend may be emerging. "We haven't had a chance to test the
system, but spiritual defence systems could be the next generation of
weapons."
Due to the success of TM programme on many fronts, Dai met officials at
Maharishi Vedic University a few weeks ago. They finalised plans to train 7
000 military personnel in the TM and TM-Sidhi programme. If the success in
Mozambique is repeated by other militaries, fear-based defence strategies
could disappear. The Mozambique military is setting an example for the rest
of Africa and the world.
President Chissano states: "First I started the practice of Transcendental
Meditation myself, then introduced the practice to my close family, my
cabinet of ministers, my government officers, and my military. The result has
been political peace and balance in nature in my country. People ask me if
this is a religion. I have explained to them that I may keep my religion but
I should take advantage of this science and make maximum use of it. We will
not stop praying in our churches, we will not stop praying in our mosques, we
will not stop praying in our synagogues, but we will make an appeal to the
support of nature through the application of this technology (of conscio
usness)." Chissano expressed his willingness to endorse his experiences to
any government which inquires. Why not South Africa?
-- The Mail & Guardian, January 13 2000.
==ends===
How to eliminate terrorism permanently?
Its our choice now. The time for 'conservative' thinking is over. A
scientifically proven method of peacefully eliminating terrorism and war
already exists, and it can be implemented straight away if the necessary
desire is there.
See:
(Includes references from in the Journal of Conflict Resolution)
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* American Public TV broadcast on terrorism:
"How to effectively eliminate the root cause of terrorism and war", a new video featuring Major General Singh, a 35-year career army veteran, and John Hagelin PhD, award-winning quantum physicist, speaking recently on APTV throughout the USA:
See:
[Streaming video - requires media player such as RealPlayer]
See also:
[Includes peer reviewed research published in respected publications such as Journal of Conflict Resolution]
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