Pro-Humanist FREELOVER Daily

W e d n e s d a y ,
O c t o b e r 1 0, 2 0 0 1

Manhunt From the Skies - Next Phase of U.S. Military Efforts

Excerpts of details on the second phase of the military response in Afghanistan to the September 11 attack on America:

- - - begin excerpts - - -

The most intensive hunt for Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda associates hiding in Afghanistan is about to be launched using American and British reconnaissance aircraft.

With the skies now judged to be safe after three days of airstrikes, the world’s most advanced airborne cameras and listening devices are moving in to try to find bin Laden. These cameras can peer into secret mountain spots from more than 100 miles away.

While the airstrikes have been going on, American and British military specialists have been monitoring “indicators and warnings” — any sign of movements on the ground during or after the raids that might point towards the general location of bin Laden and other key al-Qaeda or Taleban figures.

World attention has been focused on the airstrikes, but the real military effort has been concentrating on building up a comprehensive picture of Afghanistan both from the air and on the ground where American special forces units, backed by a small contingent from the SAS, have been gathering intelligence.

The airstrikes may continue for several more days “to appease the American public”, as one defence source put it. But it will be the success of the airborne surveillance rather than the bombing raids that will dictate the timing of any ground-troop action.

This intelligence picture will be expanded with the deployment into Afghan airspace of a large fleet of reconnaissance aircraft, using what one British source described as the most awesome display of high-tech surveillance equipment yet seen.

The future ground force strategy is expected to involve a co-ordinated operation using special forces units from the US and Britain, and possibly from Australia, France and Germany. Experts said each would be given their own area of Afghanistan to operate in “to avoid blue on blue” (friendly fire casualties).It would be a valley-by-valley search, based on the comprehensive intelligence picture provided by the reconnaissance aircraft, and protected by fighter aircraft.

Although forces operations may at first be launched from a neighbouring country, the plan would be to find suitable spots inside Afghanistan from which makeshift launchpads for helicopters could be set up in concealed area. Large numbers of troops would be needed only after the special forces and airborne surveillance pictures had pinpointed the key suspects.

- - - end excerpts - - -

Source:

The Times [link inactive]

Colder Weather and Agriculture Led to Better Economies

Excerpts from scientific theory that colder weather is a primary factor in determining the success of agriculture and the wealth of societies ...

- - - begin excerpts - - -

Two economists have come up with a startling and provocative explanation for why countries in colder climates tend to enjoy so much more economic prosperity than countries in tropical areas.

The answer, they say, is Jack Frost. ... Economists have struggled for many years to explain why so much of the world's wealth is concentrated in countries located in temperate rather than tropical regions, and many have suggested that weather must play a part, but this is the first time that economic progress has been linked directly to frost.

The economists conclude that frost plays a powerful role in two critical areas. It suppresses diseases such as malaria, and it improves agricultural yields.

"It has been possible for people to become quite civilized and have lots of population growth even in tropical regions," Masters says. "It's just that they've had a hard time getting rich."

... cold weather kills off many disease-carrying germs and insects, thus giving countries in higher latitudes a better chance of keeping deadly killers like yellow fever and malaria under control. That frees up more resources for other purposes, like cultivating crops. And the crops do better, he adds, because frost enriches the organic material in topsoil.

"In the tropics, that matter is broken down by insects and microbes very quickly, and the nitrogen and carbon in the dead plant material evaporates into the air or is leached into the ground by rainwater," he says. "In a temperate zone, that nitrogen and carbon builds up and remains in the soil in the form of organic matter."Winter freezing also traps more moisture in the topsoil, preparing the way for spring growth.

The researchers are quick to admit there are exceptions to the frost-produces-riches hypothesis. North Korea and Mongolia are in temperate zones, but both are poor. However, "they have totalitarian governments and exist in isolation," Masters says.

Hong Kong and Singapore enjoy great wealth in the tropics, but both are major trading centers. Notwithstanding those exceptions, "if you look around the world, you can see that most of the poor countries are in the tropics. The exceptions have been able to get out of this low-level productivity trap by opening up to trade and not relying heavily on agriculture," McMillan adds.

If what the economists are saying holds up to further scrutiny, it really means that humans haven't changed much since the beginning of civilization. ... the road to civilization began when humans first learned that they could grow crops and domesticate animals instead of hunting and gathering. Agriculture forced humans to settle down in villages, instead of roaming the land in search of food, and it freed up some members of the clan for other pursuits.

... without agriculture, humans would never have had the time to shape the first instruments of war out of metal, nor would they have domesticated horses to carry them off to battle, nor would they have developed the implements of industry that brought us to where we are today.

So during that long journey those who were successful at farming became rich and powerful, conquering much of the world. One might think that disparity between the haves and the have-nots would subside over thousands of years, but it hasn't. "What we are finding is a 1 or 2 percent per year difference in growth rate," Masters says. "So year by year, a society with frost seems to grow 1 or 2 percent faster."

"People are very strongly invested in the idea that a country can pull up its socks, as the British say, get its act together, and get the right institutions like the ones that we believe helped make us rich, and that's the road to riches. "Institutional factors do matter hugely," he adds, but in the end, old Jack Frost is still going to have a say in who gets rich, and who stays poor.

- - - end excerpts - - -

Source:

ABC News [link inactive]

FBI 'Most Wanted' Terrorist List

In an announcement made today, via "The Rewards For Justice Program" the United States Department of State is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of any of the FBI's Top 22 'Most Wanted' terrorists displayed below (of note, the reward for the apprehension of Bin Laden is considerably higher).

The FBI asks anyone with information about these individuals to call the nearest United States Embassy or FBI field office.

Usama Bin Laden

Usama Bin Laden