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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas M. who wrote (9226)	11/23/2001 3:51:08 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 23908

The Al Ahram article, by Nabil Luka Bibawi, a professor of criminal law, cited extensive passages from the Koran preaching religious tolerance and prohibiting attacks against innocent non-Muslims, calling them attacks against the prophet Muhammad and God. "Terrorists don't know the methods of rational, calm debate . . . terrorists impose darkness on the climate of the intellect because they try to force their backward ideas on public opinion under the veil of religious correctness," Bibawi wrote. "They construe religious thought to suit their political objectives to reach power." He accused such extremists of "disfiguring religious tolerance with insane acts. washingtonpost.com "There can be no worse distortion of religion than that. If world Zionism spent billions of dollars to tarnish the image of Islam, it will not accomplish what the terrorists have done with their actions and words."

To: Thomas M. who wrote (9226)	11/23/2001 4:21:19 PM
From: Yaacov	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23908

You and Gus have formed the "Society of Bin Laden Friends." I will call the FBI on both of you rascals!

To: Thomas M. who wrote (9226)	11/24/2001 5:48:02 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 23908

Thomas, I think the real (big) problem in the current "anti-terror war" is RUSSIA, not Afghanistan.... MIKE THOMPSON: Poverty still rules in Russia Corruption stymies capitalism's potential November 23, 2001 freep.com Excerpt: Democratic capitalism doesn't just happen; it has to be built -- on a foundation that includes such things as enforceable contracts, an absence of corruption, a working infrastructure. Conditions in Russia inhibit commerce. There is no interstate-style highway system to serve a nation that spans 11 time zones. Domestic air travel is a risky proposition. Away from the cities, consumer goods remain scarce, and it is not uncommon to see a shopkeeper using an abacus for a cash register. The human toll of Russia's failure to navigate successfully from communism to capitalism is heartbreaking. It is estimated that 700,000 abandoned children cram the woefully inadequate orphanage system, more than the number in the entire Soviet Union after World War II, a conflict in which 20 million to 40 million Soviets died. Because of chronic alcoholism, smoking and a skyrocketing suicide rate, life expectancy for males over the past decade has taken the largest drop in any country ever. Western efforts to assist have been mixed at best, disastrous at worst. Most notably, billions in International Monetary Fund money that was deposited in the country's central bank was siphoned off by savvy insiders. "How do you help a country that refuses to help itself?" a Western journalist recently asked. As in 1991, Russia stands at a crossroads -- whether to move forward economically or to drift slowly toward becoming a quasi-capitalistic economy within a police state. If the latter happens, the question will become, "Who lost Russia?" The answer, as one observer noted, will be simple: "Russia lost Russia." MIKE THOMPSON is the editorial cartoonist for the Detroit Free Press. He recently spent two weeks traveling in Russia.You can call him at 313-222-6616, or write him in care of the Free Press editorial page, or via e-mail at thompson@freepress.com. ____________________ You see, the US's been successfully strong-armed into the Afghan mess by the Putin-masterminded 911 ploy... But even if the Taliban are eventually tamed and the crisis quelled, do you really think it'll mean the end of Terror Diplomacy? If anything, more terror is to be expected --because Russia won't stop disintegrating and that's the crux of the matter! I can even forewarn you that the Russians will be the first to snafu any tentative pacification of Afghanistan by the US since the Muslim bogey serves Putin's law-and-order agenda only too well... Hence, the priority for the US right now is not "how to catch bin Laden and tame the Taliban" but "how to deal with a degenerating Russia who is more and more relying upon (Judeo-)fascism to prop herself up". Gus