H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
federal law enforcement officials have arrested 830
people but have failed to develop evidence that anyone now in
custody was a conspirator in the Sept. 11 attacks. thedifference//UPGRADEmag// oct 23 2001 The UPGRADEmag (the Upgrade Emag, or just the "UP") is a global edutainment news round-up, ‘broadcast’ weekly to =[10,583]= Trance// New Age// Alternative// Activist// Zippy folks who have been recommended to the Parallel YOUniversity/ Megatripolis Dance Dept as "showing signs of life". Since many recipients choose to forward it to their own lists, we estimate 26,500+ recipients. Further, because of its less 'specialist' content, it's increasingly being posted on a variety of sites worldwide, making a total weekly ‘readership’ of 275,000+ H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H MAKE THE UPGRADE FIT YOUR SCREEN BY CLOSING ANY BOX ON LEFT "The UPGRADEmag is rapidly becoming the best compendium of topical sanity around." William Robertson, West London Yogashala "A fascinating mixture of information, speculation and controversy" Green University. ONLY 60 BOMMDROPPING DAYS TO CHRISTMAS!! http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/21/national/21DETA.html # COINCIDENCES/ Date of attack: 9/11: 9 + 1 + 1 = 11. dear fraser as usual you provide a fascinating mixture of information and speculation and controversy... I found especially interesting the information that the CIA had already gone into Afghanistan before the Soviets invaded (as reported in the interview with Brzezinski) thomas daffern / green university / uk # TERRORISTS/BAD - supposed leader is the spoiled son of a powerful politician, from extremely wealthy oil family. US GOVERNMENT/GOOD - supposed leader is the spoiled son of a powerful politician, from extremely wealthy oil family. COINCIDENCES/ State of New York - The 11th State added to the Union. ___________________________________________________________________ LETTER OF THE MO- MILLENNIUM? THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AMERICA AND AMERICANS by a True American Although this seems almost too obvious to point out, there are significant differences between the government of the United States, informally called "America," and the people it purports to represent, "Americans." As individuals, Americans are generally well-liked, at least that's what most of them report after travelling to other countries. With the occasional exception of an obnoxious tourist or businessman, Americans do a good job of representing the values we hold dear. Yet it often seems that the leaders of our republic go to great lengths to contradict our most cherished beliefs, for example: · America props up tyrants the world over in its quest for cheap oil. · America refuses to accede to orders of the World Court or to follow UN resolutions it doesn't support. · America is now striking out like a terrified, blind giant against the hapless people of Afghanistan who have taken no part in attacking our shores. · America has surely set its sights, intentionally or not, on provoking such a war. · the leader of America is calling it "the first war of the 21st century." This list of differences between America and Americans grows longer with each passing day. Some say this is the reality of life, it has always been this way. Perhaps that's so, but if September 11th taught us anything at all, it's taught us we must change the way we think if we are to survive as a nation. In particular, we must change the way we think about the state-sponsored violence that is called war. In recent weeks, the American soul has been hijacked by America's leaders into believing that launching million dollar missiles at ten dollar tents is a smart move. Before the murderous criminal attacks of September 11th, America boasted of its elite Special Forces and highly trained Seal teams. Why have they not been sent to capture the criminals who massacred thousands of innocents? Why instead does America insist on sacrificing thousands, perhaps even millions, of innocent lives through full-scale war and the mass starvation sure to follow? What's wrong with America, and why are Americans going along with the misguided policies of its rulers? Even school children realize that for every bin Laden we kill a hundred more will spring up in his place. Terrorism will never be eliminated by more terror. Children in the United States are now living with the terror of possibly contracting a deadly disease, and children in Afghanistan live with the terror brought about when the ground shakes as a stray bomb falls on a nearby Red Cross food warehouse. If our species has any hope at all of surviving, we must bring an end to these ongoing cycles of violence. And we must do so very soon! There are solutions to the complex problems we have created, but these solutions will require both hard work and personal sacrifice on the part of all Americans. Some of these sacrifices must come in changing the way we live our lives at the expense of the less fortunate. Undoubtedly, Americans enjoy lives enhanced by inexpensive gasoline, shoes, and clothing. But these items are inexpensive only because we are paying significantly less for them than their true cost. What is not being added to the prices we pay is a fair wage for a worker's labor and the cost of repairing the environmental damage caused by unsustainable production methods. Who cannot understand a Muslim's anger in Indonesia who labors for only one dollar a day, sometimes being forced to work a 36 hour shift, making shoes and clothing for well-to-do Americans? You'd be resentful yourself if placed in that situation. If we are to live up to the standards of fairness and justice in which we believe, we must find better ways to distribute the wealth that's now concentrated in the hands of so few. America, thus far, has not been willing to work on this problem. Only time will tell whether or not Americans have the courage to make the changes in their life-styles that must obviously be made if we are to build a better world. he most important task for Americans at this moment, however, is to regain control of America before it completely engulfs the world in war. Although Americans firmly believe in the theory of democracy, the majority of us no longer care enough about our country to even cast a vote. In the last U.S. presidential elections, less than one-half of the eligible voters participated. And of those who did vote, less than half of them voted in favor of the men who are in power today. Yet the fact of the situation is that the main characters who are leading us into an open-ended, world-wide war are the same ones who organized the Gulf War. The Bush family, of course, is now represented by a son, but Cheney and Powell are still there. It has been ten years since America began its war on the Middle East, and today the same men are still calling the shots. The work all Americans must now undertake is to quickly restore democracy to America, for a moment of truth is bearing down upon this nation like an out of control freight train. I am speaking of the national elections in 2002 and 2004. Out of the entire U.S. Congress there was only a single dissenting vote cast against our unilateral attack on Afghanistan. Only one person in over five hundred, Representative Barbara Lee of California, had the courage to call for an end to the cycles of violence that threaten to destroy much of civilization. She is the only person we should vote to return to the next Congress. If Americans are to have any hope of regaining control of America, we must begin with a clean slate in Washington. The time to organize is now. All of the incumbents but one should be voted out of office, for they have surrendered their responsibilities to a ruling clique that does not faithfully represent the majority of Americans. We should send a loud and clear message to the world that this warlike persona of America is not our true nature. And we can do this by seeing to it that the men and women now holding positions of power in Washington are removed from office by an overwhelming majority of the popular vote. There is no doubt that such a move would cause a momentous realigning of the policies of America with the will of the American people. Let's begin our work today, for there is no time left to waste. Lawrence Hagerty (see Matrix Masters website for other Larry Hagerty's views: (http://www.matrixmasters.com) YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU Dear American Friends, let's ALL begin our work today by sending a copy of Larry's letter to every American we know. YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU # COINCIDENCES/ September 11th is the 254th day of the year: 2 + 5 + 4 = 11. TERRORISTS/BAD - supported by extreme fundamentalist religious leaders (Taliban) who preach hatred, intolerance, subjugation of women, and persecution of non-believers. US GOVERMENT/GOOD - supported by extreme fundamentalist religious leaders (Religious Right) who preach hatred, intolerance, subjugation of women, and persecution of non-believers. u have my full support man - i find it difficult to know what's really going on, what with all the spin, propaganda and downright lies being fed to me through the media right now... but in my gut i know it's wrong to go killing thousands of innocent little brown people to get revenge (and stimulate the weapons economy). all we can do is hope for a ray of sanity to shine through and stop this mess b4 we all get bombed/anthrax/etc... keep up the good vibes fraser you're doing a wikked job love from liz (holistic hippy) / liverpool # COINCIDENCES/ The first plane to hit the towers was Flight 11. ONE OF THE UK
LABOUR MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO REFUSE TO SHUT UP ABOUT
George Galloway MP"AN ABSURD AND POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS WAR" Wars are usually 'popular' when they kick off. Why? Because government and all government-controlled or -influenced media set the stage. So the fact that 74% were in favour of the war last week actually means that 24% are VERY DEFINITELY AGAINST THE WAR. Of the 74%, most will be tabloid readers who know infinitely more about football and will change their minds when they see the suffering their opinions are causing (especially the women), some will have said what they thought the posh interviewer wanted to hear, some will have supported the war because they think that's the majority, and probably a hard core of 30% are conservative types who support war in general. The opinion polls in america before war started were massively in favour of war "IF IT CAN BE PROVED THAT BIN LADEN DID IT". Oh right then, george, all we need is "proof" - that's easy!!! In exile in Switzerland, shortly before the Russian revolution, Lenin opined that "there are decades when nothing happens; and there are weeks when decades happen". We are living through such weeks. It's hard to remember a time when political instability, civil strife and the roar of bombs and missiles have so scarred the international landscape. Governments like Norway's fall, others like Australia's cut and run for a khaki election. General Musharraf, Pakistan's self-appointed military strongman, admits he's forcing through a policy rejected by 83% of his compatriots. General Sharon's Israeli government, riven between hawks and superhawks, now appears to have embarked on a Doomsday Option, possibly including the assassination of Arafat, following the slaying of the world's least attractive "tourism" minister. The "soft centered" European governments are beginning to squirm, and the Labour benches in the British parliament are turning queasy at the slaughter of the world's poorest by the world's richest. Coalition comrades, India and Pakistan, are shelling each other across the line of control in Kashmir. Aid agencies are in "emotional" revolt and, like Mary Robinson, are having to be ordered back into their box by Clare Short. Muslim streets are burning from Gaza to Jakarta. In Parliament, former defence ministers, Labour right-wingers like Gwyneth Dunwoody and MPs with large Muslim electorates have swollen the ranks of the usual 'peaceniks;' - those like me, who have opposed all the wars of the new imperialism. Internationally, the coalition is shakier still. The Arab League, echoing NATO leaders, has declared that any attack on an Arab country will be regarded as an attack against all of them. The Saudis, having denied the US use of their bases and declined a visit by Tony Blair, are now questioning the basis of the whole campaign - even openly doubting the involvement of Bin Laden in the crimes of September 11. Meanwhile, the phone-in lines to Arab television stations are jammed with opponents of the war and blood-chilling threats of mayhem in revenge. Bush and Blair may not be "at war with Islam", but "Islam" is now at war with them and we will be lucky if that is not soon visible on the streets of northern English cities. A MIDDLE EAST
FIT FOR HEROES?
Nowhere is that more evident than in the reaction
to the "Middle East Fit for
Heroes" the
Anglo-Americans
are promising. The
Arabs
simply don't believe it. Perfidious
Albion, after all, has a track record.
The
Palestinian
tragedy was authored here in the building in which I'm writing this.
During the Great
War, while
Lawrence of
Arabia was rallying the tribal hordes to
support our jihad on the
Turks -
with the promise of Arab
independence - over in
Downing
Street Mr.
Sykes
and Monsieur
Picot
were carving up the area into
British
and
French
colonies. And in
1991,
Britain
and
America
offered the
Arabs to
force
Israel
to implement international legality if they backed the fight against
Iraq.
Promises made and broken with a
"gentleman's
handshake." Seldom can a western war drum have sounded more hollow. Seldom can the prattle of Labour ministers - many of whom I can still see sporting their CND badges as they shuttled around looking for safe seats in the 70s and 80s - about 'command & control centres', 'air defences' and 'radar capabilities' have seemed so obscenely stupid. The Afghans have none! Kabul airport is no more than a collection of shacks, whose telephones couldn't even make outgoing calls. And the statement, delivered with all the gravitas that only a Defence Secretary can call upon, that we had achieved "air-superiority" over Afghanistan - over a Flintstones-style air force which couldn't even leave the ground - will live forever as one of those stories you really couldn't make up. So what are the "allies" bombing? The four UN mine-clearing staff, the shepherds and their families in the village of Khorum, the Red Cross compound in Kabul, the residents of Kandahar, the trucks full of terrified refugees. More of these human and public relations disasters will conspire to "bury" the government's message. Never mind among the 1.3bn Muslims nursing their wrath, an already restless audience here will not sit through this unequal fight with equanimity, and with Xmas coming up. And without a change of policy, the winter snows and Ramadan will soon begin to tilt this disaster into an international catastrophe. "WHAT
SHOULD
WE DO, THEN?"
"What
should we do,
then?"
ask the remaining subalterns of the
war party's thin red line. As the Irishman famously replied:
"If I wanted to get to Dublin, I
wouldn't have started from
here." The government was
repeatedly warned of the grisly consequences of its tango with
Islamic
fundamentalism in Afghanistan. I accused
it on the eve of the fall of
Kabul of
having opened the gates to the barbarians and of the long dark night
which would follow. Many of us have since described the rising tide of
radical
Islam, buoyed by our double standards
towards
Palestine
and
Iraq,
and our buttressing of stooge kings,
generals and
99%-of-the-vote
presidents of the
Muslim
world - now laughably lined up behind
"Operation Enduring
Freedom".But even for those who have brought us to this terrifying cusp in world events, There were alternatives. More squeeze could have been kept up on the Taliban - 3 weeks is hardly a long time to secure extradition on a capital offence, especially without providing evidence to the country concerned. The judicious waving of carrots to tribal chiefs could well have achieved the betrayal of Bin Laden. And if military action was seen as unavoidable, the target should have been the Arab legions in the mountains, not the poor ragged Afghans they've colonised, who never invited them in - we did - and have no way of making them leave. This and a Lockerbie-type trial, in a neutral country and including Muslim jurists, would have been one way to show how "civilised" we were. Instead we've answered savagery with savagery. On the home front, there are disturbing signs of the Downing Street general staff losing their nerve. Careless talk circulates about members of parliament being carpeted, media appearances vetted, ultimata issued. This would be the ultimate surrender to democracy's enemies. Throughout World War Two, Aneurin Bevan subjected the line of the Churchill coalition government to excoriating criticism and withering examination - as Churchill himself had done with Chamberlain. Both would have scorned the idea of their actions being licensed by whips, as if Members of Parliament were circus dogs there to perform tricks for the ringmaster. I too have now been summoned to see the chief whip. Next week, over tea and biscuits at 11 Downing Street, I will have to courteously explain to my old friend Hilary Armstrong that I, for one, will not be gagged. This bombing has to stop - and the war is too important to be left to ministers and generals in conclave. George Galloway is Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin and can be reached at gallowayg@parliament.uk # TERRORISTS/BAD - 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/GOOD - 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. COINCIDENCES/ New York City - 11 Letters. Fraser, You are slowly making an impact on this oil business. Email read out today (17-10-01) on Irish national radio current affairs programme covered the Caspian oil topic, and I for one have forwarded some other info I've collected (via yourself) to the same show. They've committed on air to getting an oil business expert on air asap to discuss. The tide is turning... Well done, my man! The truth will out... Stiof / ireland # COINCIDENCES/ 119 is the area code to Iraq/Iran. 1 + 1 + 9 = 11. David Spangler, visionary philosopher, writes: Late Wednesday afternoon after the attack, I was contacted by a being with whom I've had prior contacts and who appears to me to be one of many beings whose function is to nourish the ongoing evolution and well-being of America. I suppose I think of this being as an agent of the Soul of America. ... What this being said and showed me could be translated like this (understand that it takes me more words to express it than it did the being to communicate it !) "What has taken place is an act of sacrifice and a gift given by the Soul of America to the world at large. To understand this, you must know that whenever a death occurs, for whatever reason, whether peacefully or in violence, an energy of spirit is released. An incarnational portal is opened, just as it is at birth. This energy is unformed. It is a gift that flows between the worlds, and its shape is up to those who receive it, as well as the one whose death has released it. When a death occurs peacefully or as an act of courage and sacrifice, or when the one dying does so in a loving or blessingful way, then this energy is given a spin in a certain direction and can be a source of blessing for others. It lends itself to being shaped in positive ways. If the death is violent and hateful, a different spin is given, and this energy can more readily be shaped to hateful ways. However this is not a rule and even hateful and violent deaths can generate an energy that will ultimately be shaped in loving, healing, or transformative ways. "Think of this energy as a kind of inheritance. It is a gift from the dead, a gift from the dying. It is a gift to life, a gift of life that can add to and bless those who remain physically embodied Not all inheritances are spent wisely, not all gifts are used with grace and blessing, but the gift itself is there nonetheless. "The giving of this gift is an automatic act of soul. It is really an act inherent in the boundary between your world and ours, a result of crossing that boundary. To release this energy and give this gift is not a conscious decision on the part of one who has crossed the portal, but someone who dies in a mindful and loving way will greatly add to this gift and turn it from an unconscious energy into a consciously positive one. "Also, if love is present in the last moments, even if the death is violent or the result of hateful acts, this gift can emerge untainted by the hate that may have caused the killing. Many of those who died in this event did so with thoughts of love and courage. We can see this and the importance of this cannot be underestimated. They have left a powerful gift of energy. "As you know, there is a reservoir of fear and pain, suffering and anger, hatred and separation in your world. Why this is so is not of concern at this moment; suffice to say that it is ancient in origin and that all peoples contribute to it, and suffer from it, whatever nation they belong to. It is a human problem and not a national or tribal one. "There are energies of hatred and violence circling your world, so to speak, looking to land, and all nations, including your own, are contributing to this because simply people contribute to it in millions of small and mindless ways. That this particular energy landed in your nation in this way was partly a matter of consequences returning for certain patterns and actions you have set into motion. You cannot avoid paying a price for your own acts of violence in the world. But in spite of what many may say about America's responsibility, this action was not primarily one of retribution or of paying a price. It was an act of sacrifice, a deliberate taking on a portion of the world's hatred and suffering because the soul of America has the capacity to receive this hatred and transmute it. "You must understand this. The Soul of America is far more than its government or any one group of people. Even if your government or members of your citizenry react with hatred and see simple revenge, this does not mean that everyone reacts that way, nor that a deepening of spirit has not taken place. "The energy behind this event needed to be received by humanity, much as the energy in a storm needs to be discharged by lightning. It could have been much worse; its effects were greatly mitigated, in no small measure by the fact that it was taken on by this country. It is also true that even worse acts of violence have been and are being contemplated. It is the hope of the Soul of America and of all who serve that great Being and serve this country from the realms of spirit that by taking on the release of the energy behind this event, as well as the release of the transformative power of the sacrificial act, the potential of these worse acts will be greatly lessened or dissolved. "A sacrificial act made by the Soul of America? Did those killed have any choice in the matter? What we see is that many who perished had indeed made an agreement at a soul level to participate in this sacrificial act, to make it their portal for entry into our world; others did not but were drawn into the event for a great many reasons personal to them and their destinies. They could not have avoided it. "But many had not chosen this way to die nor were bound to the event by chains of attraction or consequence, and they were not touched, sometimes for miraculous reasons but mostly because of how the event actually unfolded in time and space. In any event, all who died were immediately embraced by the love that led the Soul of America to offer itself in this way, and their entry into our world was graced and blessed by this spirit. "And in the opening of the portal so powerfully by the deaths of so many, this gift of life from death, even though initiated by hatred of a few, became a channel for an outpouring of the love that is at the heart of America. It is, I know, a painful gift, but it is a gift nonetheless. It is for you who remain to take that gift and reshape your world with it. It is a precious thing, and it can remake your world. I bless you." # COINCIDENCES/ Flight 11 - 92 on board - 9 + 2 = 11. COINCIDENCES/ Flight 77 - 65 on board - 6 + 5 = 11. Hi again Fraser....your emag is absolutely excellent.... not just because you published my letter a few weeks ago (oct4th) as letter of the week… thanx for that… cheered me up a massive.. but because it is the only place i know that real issues and the truth of what is going on are aired in the most natural and human way. I really enjoyed your spat with the angry twat djfatkat this week.. especially i appreciate the way that people like that are given space to reveal their own psypuke and show themselves to be sick but hopefully not incurable. U treat the poor spoilt American baby with compassion while he insults you.. the highest form of hippiness is turning the other cheek. Excellent! Now that the world has changed for the worst, your mag, which was always relevant, has become indispensable. More power to your elbones, mate! It's more important now because the precious things which grow in peace are threatened....and one of the most precious is the sanity of our political ideas. The parallelYOU is .....sanity. paul hithersay # TERRORISTS/BAD - leadership was not elected by a majority of the people in a free and fair democratic election. US GOVERMENT/GOOD - leadership was not elected by a majority of the people in a free and fair democratic election. Understanding the Taliban (assuming your mind is not completely closed by 2 years of government demonisation) Images of the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York reminds one of the rubble of thousands of buildings and houses in Kabul. The Afghan Mujahedeen - recruited, organized, trained, financed and armed by the US - created this rubble with US-supplied weaponry after the departure of the Soviet army. Hundreds of thousands of Afghan men, women and children had died when the rubble was first created. Thousands were maimed on account US-supplied landmines planted liberally across Afghanistan by the Mujahedeen. Most of these maimed men, women and children had taken shelter in the rubble of Kabul. As US missiles and bombs turn this rubble upside down, hundreds of them have died. The treatment being meted out to Afghanistan shows how little the world understands the unfortunate war-ravaged country or the Taliban. The Taliban may be the bad boys in the eyes of the west and the drawing room liberals in Pakistan, but they have to be credited with imposing absolute peace in the 90 percent of the country under their control. They have also to be credited with abolishing the cultivation of poppy and eliminating the sources within Afghanistan of heroin production and smuggling to the West. One may not agree with Taliban laws, but they have to be acknowledged for instituting the rule of law. Despite widespread hunger, robberies and holdups are rare. Truckers can drive from one end of the country to another without anyone accosting them for money or any favours. The Taliban regime is also egalitarian in many respects. Ministers' offices are modest and they sit on the floor and share their meals with their chauffeurs, the head of Kabul airport commutes to work on a bicycle, and so on. Most of all, women are safe. They can walk alone on the streets, albeit in a burqa, without any fear of being harassed. None of these claims can be made for the territory controlled by non-Taliban forces. There are significant minuses, however, in the Taliban account. Internally, no serious attempt has been made in the last half a decade of their rule to rebuild the infrastructure. The only buildings that have been repaired are mosques and government offices. The continuing civil war is a reason for diversion of resources, but no effort, whatsoever, has been made towards national reconciliation. Their abject rigidity in the face of mass starvation and deprivation of their people is unforgivable. Their apparent egalitarianism is contradicted by policies in key areas. They have reversed the land reforms of the 'communist' era and the lands distributed to poor peasants have been reverted to the feudal lords and tribal chiefs. Their treatment of women has been harsh and inhuman. For a war ravaged country, where one in seven household does not have any adult male or an able bodied male, the ban on women's work amounts to condemning these families to starvation. Externally, the Taliban violated every law of civilization by providing safe haven to mafroors (absconders from law) from sundry Muslim countries, including Pakistan. All one had to do to qualify for Taliban hospitality was to sport a beard, don a turban and profess to fight for Islam. Even by 19th century standards, the Taliban are an anachronism. It is, however, necessary to see how has the Taliban phenomenon come about. The US decision to engage the Soviet Union in Afghanistan by mobilizing the Islamic clergy in Afghanistan and Pakistan ordained death and destruction for millions of Afghans. Millions more streamed as refugees into neighbouring countries. Amongst them were hundreds of thousands of orphans. These orphans were collected in scores of madrassahs in Afghan refugee camps and in Pakistani cities run by the same clergy. These orphans grew up through childhood, adolescence and youth in an environment completely devoid of women. They have never known the love and care of mothers and older sisters. They have never seen the benign smiles of grandmothers or aunts. They have never played with younger sisters or female cousins. These products of the madrassahs - the Taliban -- are thus a unique breed of men. Their harshness towards women, towards their opponents and, indeed, towards themselves should be seen in this context. They are the by-products of the human destruction wreaked by the US-USSR clash in Afghanistan. They are certainly not men who will be cowed down by US display of its awesome firepower. The Taliban phenomenon was also facilitated by socio-cultural conditions in Afghanistan. Prior to the outbreak of conflict in 1979, Afghanistan was a dual society. Whatever semblance of modernization there existed was limited to the city centres of Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat. The modernized elite, who wore western dresses and sent their daughters to universities, was narrowly centred around the royal family and the military officer class. Outside of this island of relative modernity, Afghanistan existed in the medireview age. Mountain tribes had no experience with electricity or telephones or with education or health facilities. In the world that they knew of, girls never went to schools and women never went to hospitals because there never ever had been any school or clinic in their village. A lot has been made of the women being forced to observe purdah. However, 99.9 percent of the women were already purdah-observing and Taliban edicts did not affect their lives in this respect at least. When these mountain tribesmen gained the reins of power in Kabul, they could not but impose a social and political order that they were aware of and familiar with. What really occurred was that the Afghan hinterland arrived in and took over Kabul. Since these tribesmen were madrassah "educated", it was natural that they would operate under the banner of Islam. In reality, what has actually occurred in Afghanistan is not Islamization but tribalization. Many or most of the policy actions of the Taliban have little to do with Islam. The fact that several of Taliban edicts are not rooted in Islamic tenets is borne out by the fact that some of them have been changed to conform to the exigencies of the modern world. At the time the Taliban took over Kabul, they drove out all the women from hospitals. Several months later, a hospital epidemic killed several scores of children in a matter of days. Shocked, the Taliban sought WHO assistance. In the process, they not only allowed women back into the hospitals, but also unofficially allowed male doctors to treat women patients. The same year, the UN conducted a house to house sample survey to assess food needs. The survey was conducted by ten Afghan women in each city under the supervision of male expatriates. When explained the necessity of training, the Taliban actually allowed the supervisory team to enter the women's quarter in the UN office to train the women surveyors in administrating the questionnaire. During the survey, six armed Taliban guards accompanied the survey team, one of their tasks being to ensure that the male supervisors and the women surveyors only communicated in the presence of an English speaking Afghan. At the end of the survey, the guards warmly embraced the supervisors. One of the Urdu speaking guards sheepishly apologized to the team leader for their strictness, adding that they were merely following orders. It dawned on the team that the Taliban are human too! The Taliban leadership may consist largely of 11th century minded tribals, but there are significant elements within, which are painfully cognizant of the need to reform and reconstruct their ravaged country. They do not approve of the militancy of their colleagues, do not relish the pariah status in world, and are aware of the need to be accepted by the world community. The destruction of the Buddha statues had much more to do with the internal battles between hard-liners and moderates than with a display of Islamic zeal. However, sanctions and missile attacks have only served to compromise the moderates and strengthen the hard-liners. The latest US attack has sunk the moderates altogether. Pakistani authorities were correctly opposed to UN sanctions and were trying to convince the world to engage the Taliban instead. Such a course would have strengthened the moderates and brought about the kind of positive change that has occurred in Iran. For unexplained geo-political reasons, however, a conscious decision appears to have been taken several months ago to strengthen the hard-liners. Such a course allowed the US to demonize the Taliban and demolish them whenever an opportunity arose - like the September 11 attacks. US expediency in world affairs is a known reality. Kaiser Bengali # TERRORISTS/BAD - kills thousands of innocent civilians, some of them children, in cold blooded bombings. US GOVERMENT/GOOD - kills (tens of) thousands of innocent civilians, some of them children, in cold blooded bombings. A A A A A A A A A A A A ADVERTISING G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G The Complete Guide to the Kabbalah Will Parfitt NEW BOOK! How to apply the ancient mysteries of the Kabbalah to your everyday life Rider £12.99, ISBN 0-7126-1418-4 Available November 2001 Please order either through your favourite bookshop (if you place an order they are more likely to stock the book and purchase extra copies, thus helping promote my book more widely) or through amazon books (www.amazon.co.uk or your local amazon division) (where their discount on the cover price basically means you get free post and packing. The more copies they sell, the higher up the search chart it will go so more people will notice the book.) A A A A A A A A A A A A ADVERITSING G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G Wish to thank you for keeping us all informed. I get your e-mag every week and forward it on to friends too. Keep shining the light man - we need it... Love, Melanie x # COINCIDENCES/ Ramzi Yousef - 11 Letters (convicted of the 1993attack on the WTC) Fraser - Lot's of interesting stuff, especially about Caspian oil. I'm doing a documentary about the energy crisis in Tbilisi, Georgia. can u fill in some details then? all those former colonies that must be getting bribed to the hilt with dollars up the ass, uno much about all that? :) Some thoughts: you'd be PRAYING that the United Arab Republics would learn the lesson, would not start murdering more of your people, and would start the long redress of all the iniquities heaped upon america. The idea that we could "learn the lesson" from the World Trade Center implies there is some justification. AT LEAST as much as sharon has right now for hitting the pals, no? or the other way round. I believe we here in New York must reject that idea outright as simply being too dangerous. am afraid it's MUCH more dangerous what u r doing. anthrax is just a beginning if you continue in this direction. all your own home-bred crazies are coming out of the woodwork. plus every alienated soul everywhere will be sending white powder and whatever else they can think of. you've stirred up a hornets nest and it's probably already too late. luckily for us europeans i think it'll be mostly u guys at the receiving end, and you can't say this time you weren't warned. oh boy, is america in for deeper and deeper trouble. am sorry but am doing all i can to stop such developments. If there is a lesson to be learned, there is another lesson to be taught: If not it's Bye Bye Empire State Building and another few thousand New Yorkers bite the dust, literally. we can't know, i suppose, but i'd rather believe that it was a Big Warning to mend your ways (by no means the first, just the biggest yet) thus if you hadn't chosen your present path they would have laid off. of course the injustices have to be dealt with to turn everyone around and there are some really really deep and embittering injustices that will need really really big redresses: like the 3 million palestinian refugees will have to be allowed back into israel. whew! but i suppose america is not ready yet to face these terrible facts. it will come, i am feeling more and more certain of that as the first body bags come home and half your infrastructure closes down and it's just beginning. There is NO JUSTIFICATION for the WTC attack. We take this position as a matter of self-defense in time of war. i keep hearing this 'justification' argument like a mantra or something. forget 'justification' and call it karma or whatever u like, but it HAD to come and some of us have been predicting similar things for DECADES now so you can't say the arabs haven't been patient. In my opinion, seeking justification is dangerously beside the point anyway. Osama did not do this for Palestine, he did not do this to protect holy lands from infidels, he did not do this for Iraqi children. I believe he did this for one reason only: POWER. For one day, at least, Osama was the most powerful man on Earth. He sucker punched the King of the Hill and disrupted the entire planet in the process. THAT is why he did it. All the other "justifications" are simply a way to focus those who follow him. your americanism is showing through here, paul. i actually believe he's a courageous and (by his own standards) an honourable man, kind of a robin hood who sees himself as fighting on behalf of his religion and his people. i can even identify with him in that i live in a democracy and have been struggling peacefully for decades now against the corruption and abuse WE are doing around the planet. he's doing it in a much much tuffer position than i, and he sees no alternatives even beginning to happen, and i can't see many signs that would suggest he is wrong, can you? i mean the guy has been fighting superpower attempts at hegemony for most of his adult life. he's given up being a millionaire - how many americans do you know who've done that?! hell, most of us in the west would sell our mothers for a record deal and be proud of it! :) what kind of power does he have in some cave in bluddy afghanistan!? i'd call that a hermit's cell or a revolutionary's hideaway but not much power. and, anyway, i would give odds of 10:1 that he didn't even know it was happening until it had happened. but certainly he seems to be a living inspiration for many many young, intelligent, thinking, middle class muslims and arabs, and in that sense will have inspired it. Orwell taught this in 1984: Power is the only goal. All else is a means to this end. The nature of governments is to acquire Power. "the only purpose of government is to defend the people from any individual or group who would try to dominate them" tim leary. To expect otherwise, is to expect the scorpion not to sting. The information about pipelines in Afghanistan is no surprise. In fact, if this is the case, then years from now, Osama may ultimately be perceived as a fool, who played right into the American government's hands, giving them "justification" to construct an Afghani government in their image. they had the plan sitting on the shelf awaiting a pretext. if it hadn't been osama it would have been some cooked-up gang-bang story about the terrible taliban don't worry 'bout that, paul :) now they'll have to do it in the full glare of world public opinion and media spotlight. meanwhile america has been taught that their actions have consequences ON THEMSELVES - which is about as important a lesson as needed to be learned anywhere on the planet right now at the beginning of this new millennium. The money generated from pipelines running through Afghanistan may one day help rebuild lower Manhattan, long after Osama is dead. it built the twin towers in the first place, as well as a large chunk of your prosperity. imho the price of oil (in a free market which is what america is supposed to believe in but it's only for THEMSELVES) the price of oil should have been thrice what it's been since the war. spend a second contemplating the difference that would have made to the world. and then ask yourself again if the twin towers were 'justified' from a still penniless arab's point of view. This may be the legacy of someone who destroyed much and built nothing. i have a hunch that, like saddam, osama will be around long after george bush has been forgotten. certainly in history he might very well become the most famous "revolutionary idealist" of the 21st century. i apologise if, living in new york at this time, makes it almost impossible to perceive the broad sweep of history. thanks for writing and debating, i respect that, fraser. Paul Devlin # COINCIDENCES/ Afghanistan - 11 Letters. COINCIDENCES/ The Pentagon - 11 Letters. //YOU FEEDBACK ON ASAMA'S FATAL ATTRACTION Attractive as others appearing on telly could be. Meeting him could be different. Western TV creates characters overlaying true identities, especially, it seems, over those who speak a different language and produce a different culture. He a product already. Mass distributed. Like a T-shirt. (not just women are attracted by him, as we know). Isn't he more like Bruce Willis to an average American woman than the person he is? Who is he? If you're living by a stereotypically american mentality (CNN kinda target) and if it's true that 90% of americans want bombings on Afghanistan it seems coherent that american women admit they fancy BinLDN. The fact he has some power, probably enhanced by bombings, by this ratio wouldn't make him less attractive. You simply don't like his looks. Plainly, he is a good looking man. I don't see amorality in this. I see hypocritical talk in saying he is not, and the danger of terrorism winning. If you don't find him attractive either you are lying or you are not curious enough, so YOU are more amoral than your fe-mates: I mean if we have to understand 'these people' and not bomb them (in my view we shouldn't, in case you're interested) maybe it would be positive to consider the attraction someone might feel about him as an interesting point. This if you think we should solve the problem and not just speculate economically on a global war the US&Co are promoting and have promoted. We need to understand who he is, what he thinks. What mentality does he represent with the people he attracts? Where does he fit in the US mentality and where is he different? Of course this doesn't mean you have to like his politics. I don't, in case you suspect I do. Talibans? PASSIVEAverageStereotypicalPEOPLE..? They inspire the same terror in me. regards Krill # COINCIDENCES/ After September 11th there are 111 days left to the end of the year. Hey Fraser - keeping busy? I re-posted your description of the march to media-squatters list today and have just had the first reply. It was just what was needed to shut up some webjourno git who was taking the 'The BBC showed this disgusting propaganda' line. Keep it up fellah - we're almost there! mason mckibben wrote: Fabulous Jules! This quote is what it's all about: "The best thing was seeing all the arab/muslims experiencing democracy and being surrounded by lots of (decadent?) westerners of every age and background - i saw democracy letting off steam exactly as the theory goes that it should. and now a variety of middle easterners gazed down from the big lions of empire upon the kids splashing happily in the fountains, mums and dads picnicking on the floor, freeks playing guitars while ghetto blasters mixed in all the sounds of the underground. ravers, elderly peace campaigners and family, middle easterners, green wellies, distinguished older hippies, squatters, old soldiers, all nationalities, it's easier to think of who wasn't there!" This is what the rioting people in Pakistan should see. I hope Al Jezzera got some footage of this! # TERRORISTS/BAD - operates through clandestine organization (al Qaeda) with agents in many countries; uses bombing, assassination, other terrorist tactics. US GOVERMENT/GOOD - operates through clandestine organization (CIA) with agents in many countries; uses bombing, assassination, other terrorist tactics. London
Supporters include: Kevin Danaher, Naomi Klein, Prof Saskia Sassen; Prof Andrew Samuels, David Korten, John Sweeney (AFL-CIO), Wei Jinsheng, Prof Cornel West, Louay Safi, Moctar Tayeb, Naomi Wolf, The Nation, People Centred Development Forum, Co-op America etc). Michael Lerner is a veteran political activist - as president of Berkeley Students for a Democratic Society the FBI's J Edgar Hoover called him 'one of the most dangerous criminals in the US' when he was indicted as one of the 'Seattle Seven' for organising anti-war demonstrations. Rabbi Lerner has been described by some as America's pre-eminent Jewish intellectual, and was chosen by progressive journal Utne Reader as one of America's 100 most visionary thinkers. His principled position on negotiating peace with the Palestinians has recently led to death-threats from rightwing Jewish settlers and a boycott of the progressive political magazine he edits, Tikkun (www.tikkun.org). Friends House, Euston Road, NW1 (opp Euston rail/Underground; with disabled access). 7pm, Donations. tel 07957 787847. politicsofmeaning@yahoo.co.uk www.meaning.org/frame_what.html # COINCIDENCES/ Twin Towers - standing side by side, looks like 11. or at least # COULD FACTOIDS MAKE U PARANOIDS? FACTOID: In a normal terrorist event, the terrorists can't wait to take credit, in order to link the violence to the socio-political intent of the terrorist organization. Yet the prime suspect in the New York Towers case, ex(?) CIA asset Osama Bin Laden (whose brother is one of George W. Bush's Texas business partners), has issued only two statements regarding the September 11th attacks, and both of those are denials of any involvement. Huge problems are emerging in the official view of events. It's known that the United States was planning an invasion of Afghanistan long before the attacks. Indeed the attacks perfectly fit the timetable of an invasion by October stated by US officials just last summer. FACTOID: The 19 names of suspected hijackers released by the FBI point, not to Afghanistan, but to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates; all across the middle east without a focus in any one region. FACTOID: Even as the FBI was admitting that its list of 19 names was based solely on identifications thought to have been forged, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister insisted that an investigation showed that the 5 Saudi men were not aboard either of the four jetliners. "It was proved that five of the names included in the FBI list had nothing to do with what happened," he told the Arabic Press at the White House. A sixth identified hijacker is also reported to be still very much alive in Tunisia, while a 7th named man died two years ago! FACTOID: The BBC recently reported that the transcript of a phone call made by Flight Attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney to Boston air traffic controls shows that the flight attendant gave the seat numbers occupied by the hijackers - but these were NOT the seats of the men the FBI claimed were responsible for the hijacking! <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1556000/1556096.stm> FACTOID: We are invited to believe that the crack team of terrorists who breezed past four airport security systems in perfect synchronicity wound up leaving so much evidence in its wake that they resemble less a crimes scene, and more a "B" detective movie set, with vital clues always on prominent display for the cameras. FACTOID: We're being told these men were such fanatical devotees that they willingly crashed the jets they were flying into buildings, yet we're also supposed to believe these same men spent the night before their planned visit to Allah drinking in strip bars! Thereby committing not just one but two mortal sins which would keep them out of Paradise forever! Truly devout Muslims would spend the day before a suicide attack fasting and praying. Not only does drinking in strip bars not fit the profile, but witness reports of the men in the bars are of men going out of their way to be noticed and remembered, while waving around phoney identifications. What little we do know is that the hijackers went to a great deal of trouble to steal the identities of Muslims, and to make sure those identities were seen and remembered, then to leave a plethora of planted clues around, such as crop dusting manuals, and letters in checked baggage that "somehow" didn't get on the final, fatal, flight. Because of the faked IDs and stolen identities, we don't really know who planned the World Trade Towers attacks. We only know who they wanted us to blame. FACTOID: Right now there are a lot of people who want war. Oil companies want Afghanistan's petroleum products. Our corporations want "friendlier" markets. The CIA wants all that opium. And all those war-mongers, with all their greed and agendas, will not hesitate in the least to pour your tax dollars and your children's blood all over Afghanistan, to get those "friendlier" markets, oil, and opium. FACTOID: Take a good look at the map of Eurasia, plot out where the United States has military deployments. They march in a straight line through the middle of Eurasia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan. The United States is prepared to cut the Russian Federation off from the oil rich middle east, and to control transportation routes from China and India into the Middle East. POSTSCRIPT: Looks like the Russians are on to it! See <http://english.pravda.ru/main/2001/10/08/17401.html> # TERRORISTS/BAD - using war as pretext to clamp down on dissent and undermine civil liberties. US GOVERMENT/GOOD - using war as pretext to clamp down on dissent and undermine civil liberties. COINCIDENCES/ and that's not a11. YOU 2609 H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H * YOUR PLANET NEEDS //YOU! this HipList grows by recommendation. RECOMMEND SOMEONE 2DAY!!!!!!!!!! * TO DEBATE ANYTHING in the UPGRADE, visit the GroupMind Debating Board on www.parallel-youniversity.com * WE NEVER HAVE SPACE to publish everything, so check the EMAG on our site for the longer, deeper stuff * YES, YES, SEND US EDUTAINING NEWS’N VIEWS no need to ask! :-) * FOR MORE ON RAVE CULTURE& THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT VISIT http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/fraserclark/ * TO BE REMOVED from our HipList, simply hit REPLY with the word REMOVE (or BUZZ OFF") in the SUBJECT box H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H Fraser Clark fraser@parallel-youniversity.com http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/fraserclark/ Parallel-YOUniversity, Box 833, London NW6, UK. www.parallel-youniversity.com IMPORTANT WARNING: This email may contain information that is unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humour or absurd religious beliefs. 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