Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (52155)	9/14/2001 8:47:48 PM
From: Fred Levine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

From the Russian Journal: Russian-US cooperation may be limited MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's magnanimous offer to assist Washington in rooting out terrorism after this week's U.S. calamities belies considerable differences in outlook which analysts say could keep cooperation limited. President Vladimir Putin made the offer within hours of the attacks on New York and Washington, saying they provided further proof of the need to pool efforts against terrorists. Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov appeared even to endorse the notion of a U.S. riposte, saying: "In the fight against terrorism, all possible means are to be used, from political means and if necessary the use of force." The United States made it clear that it wanted Moscow involved in working out an international response, with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage travelling to Moscow next week to discuss cooperation in dealing with Afghanistan. But beyond deep mistrust of Afghanistan's hardline Muslim Taliban leadership, home to Osama bin Laden, chief U.S. suspect in the attacks, the two sides may find little common ground. "If there is to be any cooperation with Russia, it is most likely to be low-key in nature," said independent defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer. "The Americans would surely see a risk of information going into the wrong hands. And that means they will almost certainly act alone or rely on only their closest allies, like Britain." RUSSIAN LINKS WITH IRAN, IRAQ COULD GET IN THE WAY Newly revived Russian interest by Putin's administration in Soviet-era allies like Iran, Iraq and Syria also put a brake on any move to closer joint action, Felgenhauer said. "Russia wants to sell billions of dollars of military equipment to these countries, which would be disapproved by the United States. And Russia would almost certainly reject any call to halt cooperation with Iraq," he said. "It is only on Afghanistan and the Taliban that everyone agrees." Differences with Washington in recent months have focused on U.S. plans to proceed with a missile defence system directed against "rogue states" which include Iran and Iraq. The latest talks on the issue, including U.S. resolve to abandon the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, were postponed after the attacks and will now take place in Moscow next week. With Moscow media speculating that agreement could be reached on staging attacks from ex-Soviet Central Asia, Russian officials hastened to make public the limits they saw to cooperation. Armed forces' chief of staff Anatoly Kvashnin said Moscow was unlikely to join in retaliatory strikes as the U.S. armed forces were "powerful enough to handle the task by themselves". Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said he saw no basis "for even hypothetical assumptions" that strikes could be launched from Central Asia - the area Russia says is most at risk from the influence of Muslim fundamentalism. CHECHNYA CAMPAIGN ALSO A FACTOR Moscow's campaign in Chechnya is another mitigating factor - though Putin's reference to Russia understanding terrorism better than anyone was certainly an allusion to arguments that separatists there are backed by a "terrorist international". Though Western accusations of "disproportionate use of force" by Russian troops in Chechnya have died down in recent months, the issue remains an irritant. "In exchange (for cooperation), Russia might expect the West to be more understanding in its attitude towards events in Chechnya," said Boris Makarenko, deputy director of Centre for Political Technologies. "Russia would also need assurances that this is not merely an agreement of convenience but that it is to be treated as an equal with the West." Analysts also said that U.S. strategists should not forget sensitivities in view of recent Soviet and Russian history. A decade after the fall of communism, many Russian politicians now see little benefit gained from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's decision to join the U.S.-led coalition against Iraq in response to Baghdad's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. And Russia remains deeply scarred by the 13,000 dead from its own 10-year intervention in Afghanistan in support of a leftist government battling U.S.-backed guerrillas. "If we are talking about an attack on Afghanistan, you must understand that Russia is fed up to the teeth with problems in Afghanistan. The so-called Afghan syndrome of the 1980s is still very much with us," said Grigory Bondarevsky, consultant to the Institute of Eastern Studies in Moscow. "Russia, of course, clearly has a key interest in all this. It was the first to point to the involvement of international terrorism in Chechnya and the first to warn of the danger of fundamentalism in Central Asia." fred

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (52155)	9/14/2001 9:17:25 PM
From: Jerome	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

>>>I believe that Muslim raiders contributed the majority of slaves to the slave trade going to the "new world". <<< The vast, vast majority of all slaves were captured by the Portuguese. While Columbus sailed for the new world in 1492, the Portuguese were rapidly exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa. By the time they got to the Zaire River there was a need for slaves in the new world because the Spanish had already used up all the native peoples in the new world. It is estimated that the Portuguese captured about 35,000,000 Africans between 1700 and 1900.Of these 35 million about 25% died intransit.Most of the center of Africa became depopulated. Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean, was the slave capital of the world. The Islands of Cape Verde were used on the Atlantic side of Africa.The Arabs aided the Portuguese, and the Portuguese made it big business. The writings of Livingstone who spend most of his life in Africa substantiate this. The two best books on the matter are: "The White Nile" and "The Blue Nile" both are by Alan Moorehead and were on the New York Times Best seller Lists about 1962. Very good reads. The Arabs did some slaving up until the Crimean War but their take was small percentage wise compared to the Portuguese. Simply put, the Arabs did not have the ships for slave transport and the Portuguese did. I suspect that there is a great deal of information about this in Portuguese archives...for those want to do the research. Regards, Jerome

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (52155)	9/14/2001 9:33:45 PM
From: Sam Citron	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 70976

Zeev, Thanks for this clarification on Sharia's tolerance of the ancient custom of slavery, as well as for pointing out Talmudical support as well. As one Saikh put it: "Islaam has affirmed slavery and slavery is ancient and existed prior to Islaam and was present in the revealed religions prior to it. And it will continue so long as Jihaad in the path of Allaah exists." salaf.indiaaccess.com So is it your point of view that the recent terrorist action is an inevitable result of Islamic jihaad against what are viewed as threatening incursions of western values? If so, do you believe there is any scope for possibility of ending the violence by convocation of scholars and judges of various nations to discuss their differences on these issues that you mention such as rights of women. In my view such a forum might go a long way toward promoting mutual understanding of the differences in our customs and laws, the reasons for these differences, and hopefully a greater tolerence for a diversity of views, or at least a mutual respect for application of "conflict of laws" approach for dispute resolution rather than insistance on the absolutist principles of domestic law. I would expect Soros' organization, Harvard and others would be eager to support such attempts. A moment's reflection on the stormy and relatively recent path toward the abolution of slavery and recognition of female suffrage in US suggests that these parts of the world are just beginning to catch up (or maybe will take different paths) and some trauma and conflict is inevitable. Why can't we lend our expertise and understanding and historical perspective instead of letting the inevitable conflict escalate into unfathomable violence? Sam