More Than 200 Die in Nigeria Religious Riots

Excerpts from an article describing religious conflicts in Kano, Nigeria:

- - - begin excerpts - - -

More than 200 people have been killed in two days of religious clashes in the northern Nigerian city of Kano triggered by protests against U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan, residents said Sunday.

Most of the killings took place overnight as rival Muslim and Christian gangs rampaged in heavily populated districts on the outskirts of town despite a night curfew and orders to police to shoot protesters on sight.

One of the worst hit areas was Zangon district outside the city center, a Muslim stronghold with a significant Christian minority. Those fleeing were Christians.

"People were slaughtered in Zangon. There cannot be less than 200 killed last night," said one of many residents ferried in buses under military escort to Sabon Gari where most non-Muslim immigrants live.

"As I speak with you now I can see a body burning in the street," said a Sabon Gari resident speaking by telephone. "He appears to be a Muslim who strayed into Sabon Gari."

... Religious riots over the past two years has claimed hundreds of lives.

... Heavily armed soldiers guarded the few churches which held Sunday services, witnesses said.

... Obasanjo's two-year-old civilian government, which took over from military rulers, has been struggling with a spate of religious violence in the predominantly Muslim north.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation, with over 110 million people divided almost evenly between Muslims and Christians.

Analysts say the upsurge of sectarian violence followed the introduction of strict Islamic sharia penal code by some northern states, despite protests by non-Muslims.

The clashes in Kano are potentially the most dangerous for oil-producing Nigeria as Kano is the biggest urban center in northern Nigeria and a hotbed of Islamic radicalism. ...

- - - end excerpts - - -

Source:

• ABC News / Reuters [link inactive]

One Week Into the War in Afghanistan

Excerpts from article detailing the status of the U.S. and British military campaign against islamist extremist terrorism in Afghanistan, one week after the campaign began:

- - - begin excerpts - - -

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, George Bush declared a "war on terrorism".

One week into the military phase of hostilities, how is that war going and to what extent have the alliance's objectives been met?

... The target set used by the planners appears to have begun, predictably enough, with those Taleban assets that can pose a threat to the US and coalition forces themselves - surface to air missiles, radar facilities and command and control functions - what is known as a counter-air campaign.

... Much has been written of the special forces' role to date, but it is in the next phase that special forces - or more broadly elite units - may make a decisive contribution, possibly through quite extensive search and destroy missions against suspected terrorist and Taleban strongholds. ...

- - - end excerpts - - -

Source:

• BBC

11 of 19 Hijackers 'Conned' In Suicide / Murder Missions?

Excerpt from an article describing the likelihood that 11 of the 19 hijackers thought they were merely hijacking the planes rather than embarking on mass suicides / mass murders:

- - - begin excerpts - - -

FBI investigators have officially concluded that 11 of the 19 terrorists who hijacked the aircraft on 11 September did not know they were on a suicide mission, Whitehall intelligence sources said last night.

Terrorists - American Airlines Flight 77
(left to right - Khalid Almihdhar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf Alhazmi, Salem Alhazmi, Hani Hanjour)

Terrorists - United Airlines Flight 93
(left to right - Saeed Alghamdi, Ahmed Al Haznawi, Ahmed Alnami, Ziad Samir Jarrah)

Terrorists - American Airlines Flight 11
(left to right - Satam Al Suqami, Waleed M. Alshehri, Wall M. Alshehri, Abdulaziz Alomari, Mohamed Atta)

Terrorists - United Airlines Flight 175
(left to right - Marwan Al Shehhl, Fayez Banihammad, Ahmed Alghamdi, Hamza Alghamdi, Mohand Alshehri)

Unlike the eight 'lead' attackers, who were all trained pilots, they did not leave messages for friends and family indicating they knew their lives were over.

None of them had copies of the instructions for prayer and contemplation on the eve of the attacks and for 'opening your chest to God' at the moment of immolation, which FBI agents discovered in the luggage of Mohamed Atta, the man believed to be the hijackers' leader, who flew the first plane to destruction in New York.

It is understood the FBI has found evidence suggesting the 11 men expected to take part in 'conventional' hijackings - with the planes flown to distant airports, and the passengers and crew taken hostage while the hijackers presented demands.

Items found among the 11 men's possessions suggest they had been preparing themselves for incarceration. One source said: 'It looks as if they expected they might be going to prison, not paradise.'

The FBI analysis concludes the 11 may have believed the purpose of the hijackings was to free the perpetrators of previous extremist terrorist attacks on the United States, such as the first World Trade Centre bombing in 1993.

Other clues suggest the purpose for the 11 was to provide 'muscle': to overwhelm the passengers and crew. They had arrived in the US only recently and had not had pilot training.

Atta's final instructions, with their pleas for divine forgiveness, indicate that even the most fanatical fundamentalist had to make considerable psychological preparations before setting off to cause thousands of civilian deaths. Selecting those ready to carry out such a mission would not have been easy.

By keeping a majority of the hijackers in the dark as to their real purpose, these problems were avoided, the sources said.

... Western security chiefs say another suicide hijacking of a passenger aircraft would be far more difficult: assuming their fate to be death, passengers would probably deal swiftly with an attempt.

However, sources say they do fear other types of airborne attack, such as with hired executive jets. It is thought al-Qaida has up to 50 trained pilots who could mount attacks of this kind. ...

- - - end excerpts - - -

Source:

• The Observer

Controversy Regarding Young Girls Used as Fashion Models

Excerpts from an article regarding the controversial use of girls as young as nine as fashion models:

- - - begin excerpts - - -

The fashion world has been accused of trading in pornography after girls as young as nine were paraded down a Paris catwalk wearing plunging necklines and high hemlines.

The heavily made-up children, whose modesty was barely covered by a tiny ruffle of material, were used to model the latest designs of French designer Stella Cadente.

One observer likened the models to Jodie Foster's child prostitute character in the film Taxi Driver, branding their appearance a sick publicity stunt.

... Journalist Mary Kenny, writing in Britain's Daily Mail, said that while haute couture once relied on great designs to sell its wares, it was now reduced to using cheap gimmicks.

"Some of the little girls are presented like tarts, which is precisely what you find in pedophile porn in which the child is posed as provocative," she wrote. "The fashion industry is notorious for its decadence and its irresponsibility."

Young Fashion Model at Paris Catwalk

- - - end excerpts - - -

Source:

• Sydney Morning Herald [link inactive]

Excerpt from article describing the anthrax events in Florida, New York, and Nevada:

- - - begin excerpts - - -

US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson has described the outbreaks of anthrax in the United States as an "act of terrorism".

But he said there was no direct evidence yet to link the anthrax-contaminated letters to the 11 September suicide attacks.

United States officials are trying to calm fears of a public health risk after a letter sent to an office of software giant Microsoft in Nevada was found to contain anthrax.

Anthrax cases have been confirmed in Florida, New York and Nevada, all at media-related organisations. Robert Stevens, a photo editor at American Media Inc's Sun tabloid, died from anthrax on 5 October.

Lab tests - Five more employees of American Media Inc are being tested for anthrax exposure and conclusive results are not expected for several days.

Anthrax Investigators

"It certainly is an act of terrorism to send anthrax through the mail," Mr Thompson said. He advised all Americans to check their mail and to contact the authorities "if it's leaking, if it's got wires, if it's oblong".

Attorney General John Ashcroft added to the calls for vigilance. He said it was "very likely" that some of the terrorists connected with 11 September or other attacks were still on American soil. The authorities are still looking for 190 suspects in the United States. ...

- - - end excerpts - - -

Source:

• BBC

Some Reasons for Living (short list)

If you're ever in a melancholy mood and in need of a short list of "reasons to live" to help you to snap out of it, feel free to peruse the following to help you view life as a worthy endeavor simply by virtue of your presence and effort to make the most of it or face challenges head on or investigate and explore the possibilities which lay before you ...

Source:

• Pro-Humanist FREELOVER

Polaroid Goes Bankrupt

Excerpt from article describing the sad demise of the innovator and initial implementor of instant photography, Polaroid Corporation:

Spice Girl's Polaroid Ad Campaign

- - - begin excerpts - - -

The Polaroid Corporation, once one of US industry's technological leading lights, filed for bankruptcy yesterday, ending an era when its instant photography was considered state of the art.

The new age of digital cameras has rendered it almost obsolete, and most experts predict that Polaroid will never emerge from Chapter 11 - the section of the US Code that covers bankruptcy.

The news did not shock Wall Street, where analysts have watched the company's stock sink and debts soar as digital cameras hurt Polaroid's core instant photography business. But it brought a wave of sadness nonetheless.

... When Edwin Land and George Wheelwright formed Polaroid in 1937, its future seemed assured.

Land was a scientist whose ideas for a lens that could polarise light - that is, make light rays move in parallel - formed the technological underpinnings not only of instant photography, but of glare-free sunglasses and goggles that World War II pilots used to spot submerged submarines.

Wheelwright was a consummate salesman who built the business around the products.

Scientists respected the company for its devotion to research; investors respected it for the popularity of its products.

Indeed, Polaroid was one of the "Nifty 50", the big companies that in the 1960s were seen as the bellwethers of the US economy. ...

- - - end excerpts - - -

Source:

• Sydney Morning Herald [link inactive]