I really think at this stage, most Americans look on the candle light vigils and the expressions of sympathy and support as really nice and up lifting. However, ( those who are in favour of military action ) believe that while expressions of support are wonderful, it is time for European governments to put their money where their mouth is and show their support in more concrete terms. Italy said yesterday for example, that while they condemm the terrorist attacks, they will not coperate with the US in any military actions the US takes. They think that this is America's fight and not their own. I wonder will they still think that, if the next plane to be hikacked is an Italian one ? So having a nation wide moment of silence in your country is a lovely thing, it ISnot going to get the job done against the terorists. I don't think pro or anti American feelings are causing European nations to react as they do to possible military actions. I think it is simply whether or not they are willing to get their hands dirty to wipe out a threat that affects us all. Some will be, some won't be....simple as that. Plus I really feel a lot of this so called anti-American sentiment is based largely on resentment, based on America wealth and power. They resent America for having such an abundance of riches when they are living, if not a hand to mouth exhistance, at least a less luxurious one. America is percieved as the big, ugly kid in the corner who can boss people around simply because they can. Then are then disliked and picked on, when in fact they may be simple and peace loving as the rest of us. Every time I go home to Ireland, I get little digs from friends and family about my jet set life style and my fabulous standard of living, simply beacuse I live in America. I mean it is ridiculous. They have no clue what my life is really like and, that it is on many levels, just as hard as theirs. But that little bit if resentment is always there. It drives me nuts. I really think a lot of this sentiment has its roots in WW2 too. The USA bailed Europe out of a big ole nasty mess 50 years ago, and then gave Europe a ton of money to rebuild itself. This messed with Eropeans sense of their own self worth as they needed a vulgar, upstart of a nation to save their butts 50 years ago. No one likes the feeling of being permanantly beholden to someone. If they can take a little dig at America and how messed up its foreign policy is, then maybe in some sad little way, it ressures them that they are not just one tiny, little European country.....but that they are still the great colonial power from 100 years ago. They hate the fact that the US has a larger role to play in world affairs than they do and resent them as a result. I'm sorry if my thoughts sound vague or disjointed. I'm getting ready to go to an Aerosmith concert, as I type. I had been looking forward to it for weeks, but now I'd give anything not to go. Concerts seem so trivial now...... somehow....sigh.....

Excellent summation, Beth. I've thought that for a long time. Makes them appear even more petty in my mind. I doubt the US wants all the countries/peoples of the world that we've help to feel beholden to us, but at least they can act like friends rather than enemies, sniping at everything we do. Try factoring in a longer-term perspective. There have been many world powers, countries whose influence has extended beyond their borders. Some have conquered other peoples. Some only exert economic influence. These date back to the beginning of time. The US's standing as a global power has only been for a mere 50 years or so. Think about how long there was a British Empire or a French empire. If our culture has overwhelmed others, at least it is not due to military occupation. This afternoon, while driving around, I was trying to come up with equivalents, i.e., if the commercial jetliners had crashed into symbols of other countries. I thought about Italy or France but could only come up with symbols of their past. If our so-called allies do not support us, this is one time I would definitely advocate picking up our ball and bat and going home. Rots a ruck.

This afternoon, while driving around, I was trying to come up with equivalents, i.e., if the commercial jetliners had crashed into symbols of other countries. I thought about Italy or France but could only come up with symbols of their past. I thought of this too. The only place would be a football match, perhaps a qualifying World Cup Match. That thought is scary. Milan's stadium holds 84,000 people. Italy said yesterday for example, that while they condemm the terrorist attacks, they will not coperate with the US in any military actions the US takes. That was a rumour. I believe that the Italian Gov. has stated that they will support the US with their military, planes, ships etc. Berlusconi supports Bush and the US. Luckily, his coalition have a majority in the Senate and the House. This would not have been the case had the Socialist won the last election.

Moon One can have anti-american views and be appalled... Moon, it's not just that at least not in the UK, Tony Blair has repeated time and again in interviews that the UK Government is behind the US in whatever it takes and I do believe that this time the UK Public is right behind the government, urging caution, not just because of the US but for democracy and the fact that what happened in NY could happen in London. In fact it wasn't many years ago that the John Major cabinet in Downing Street was attacked by Rockets fired by the IRA.

Ann, I never doubted the UK's backing or Italy's for that matter. I am more worried about France, Belgium, etc.

(Moon)The only place would be a football match, perhaps a qualifying World Cup Match. That thought is scary. Milan's stadium holds 84,000 people. But a football match, while upping the casualty toll, is not symbolic. Two days before the WTC and Pentagon were hit, there were three major sports events taking place within a few miles of eachother--nearly 80K at a Jets game in East Rutherford, thousands at the US Open Tennis Tournament in Queens, and I believe the Yankees played at home in the Bronx. Yankee Stadium holds about 60K. You've got around 175,000 people concentrated in three easy-to-hit targets within less than 20 miles. bin Laden wasn't going for large numbers of people.

Italy said yesterday for example, that while they condemm the terrorist attacks, they will not coperate with the US in any military actions the US takes. At today's press conference with Secretary Powell, a journalist told him that rumor and he denied it. Said his Italian counterpart would be in Washington in a few days.

Hi all I got BAD news for anyone worried about the Taliban response. According to our local daily the Taliban is moving Scud missiles (the sort that hit Israel in the Gulf War)around and has called up 20000 fighters to fight any ground war. Are you sure you got the right targets, because God help the Western world and anyone who fell into cahoots with the United States if you have not. There are two kinds of war - the undeclared war like this one where military strikes are carried out but no official declaration of war, and a general war involving the mobilisation of the armed forces and the cancellation of diplomatic relations by declaring war. On to other things. Let me be absolutely clear, I am not trying to undermine the greiving process or the determination to retaliate when I write the following. I support the impending war insofar as the right targets are hit and that it give the appearance of the international coalition being united. What I do not support is an all out war (a world war would not be impossible in this case), because I am pretty certain no one wants mushroom clouds and radioactive darts doing a sinister ballet across the skies. You may ask what has Colombia got to do with anything at the moment, but have you honestly ever considered the fact that unwanted involvement on the part of the CIA and Pentagon in places like Colombia has fuelled the conflict there to the point that it has the capacity to possibly engulf neighbouring countries? Or how about the International Monetary Fund in African countries where the nebulous Multinational Corporations that have corporate HQ in New York ply their trade at dirt cheap rates? The IMF will not allow financial aid to these countries while corruption and other problems are rife in them. Fair enough. But to sort out those problems in part requires IMF help. So what does all this have to do with anything? Well, that coupled with things like the $30 billion National Missile Defence system and things like withdrawing from international environmental protocols (I know that the Climate Protocol is dogged by not knowing whether warming is cyclical or not), has a few countries fuming (pro-US and anti-US)because they see the United States as using them for it's own gain and every western country including New Zealand is guilty to some extent. Still not a reason to attack the WTC, but the faceless cowards that did probably used something like this to justify their attack. Maybe Bush can soften his stance on trade and thing like the environmental protocols since they are designed to protect our offspring, and open dialogue with North Korea before Kim Il Jong decides to restart the missile programme that crippled his nation. I may lose some friends for this, but it is my honest opinion (one that existed well before Bush came to power, but has come to the fore because he has it in his power if he wants to, to change a few things). I do not advocate a general change in foreign policy or a reduction on arms spending and certainly don't want to open the United States to something even worse, but I would look at a couple things long and hard. Rob All arguments to my e-mail. I am certain Marcia did not intend Geo to become a warzone.

Do any of you know of any websites that I can tell her about, that give out info on what supplies are still needed ? I tried the Red Cross website, but didn't get much info.(Beth) Here are a couple of info sites about how to help. http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101010924/help.html http://www.helping.org/

20,000 fighters? Is that a typo? The $30 billion National Missile Defense system has been rendered less relevant. This might better be spent on counter bioterror measures.

Rob, you may post anything any time in anything I have anything to do with. Your statistics are staggering. Columbia, of course!!! We have a long litany of nefarious deeds in the name of "Patriotism". Anthrax, anyone? What a horrible way to die! It will be conventional because any other kind of war will kill mankind and every other living thing... That is why I posted a ribbon on Geo's front page...

Subject: Monday morning Date: Monday, September 17, 2001 12:57 PM From: Womack, Jack Yes, Monday morning. Took longer than usual to go as far as 72nd as the local is now running on the express tracks and the express is running on the local tracks. Have assumed, as with everything that has so far occured, that this condition is now permanent. Here at work my colleague Dee Dee is back at work today; she came in with her husband, Gavin. It's a typical story, now: he was on the 104th floor of the South Tower. When the first plane hit the other tower three guys in his office got up and immediately went downstairs, catching the elevator to 75 and then taking the express down. By the time the three guys got to the lobby the second building had been hit. Her brother-in-law called her sister twice, the second time to say smoke was filling the floor and he was on his way down. "He fucked up," Dee Dee's brother kept saying. He was working in the World Financial Center, across the West Side Highway from the Trade Towers, was outside when the second plane hit. Says that dozens were jumping, you weren't sure what they were at first. When the first tower collapsed everybody, he said, started to run. Uncontrolled mass panic on the part of everyone, swarming up along the river walk to the highway. (There've been plenty of reports of injuries suffered by people trampled in the two stampedes away from the collapsing buildings). By the time he got to the Village, the second tower collapsed. As you might imagine he's got a combat-level thousand yard stare; I'd forgotten but now remember older brothers etc. looking like that, back in the late 60s and early 70s, after they came back from Vietnam. My neighbor, across the hall, a young Latina woman (and her seven-year-old son) is fine, although she worked in a building across the street from the Towers. Again, she was outside when the first one started to come down; her particular crowd streamed eastward as far as they could go, then up. "I guess you'll be seeing me around the apartment the next few weeks." Friday night Valeria read what I'd written so far. "You are describing events," she told me. "Not emotion." And she's absolutely right. So let me say how I'm feeling this morning, and how I've been feeling. The first thing I want to make clear is how gratified I was to know that V was all right, last Tuesday; how overwhelmed with happiness, how comforted. We weren't sure we were going to see each other that day, but once the trains to Brooklyn began, she was able to get back. We have spent as much time as we have together, since. I feel deeply blessed, and feel as guilty. When I think of what Ellen and Ellie & all those of our friends who live south of 14th went through (and in the case of Ellie, still going through; her place might not be accessible again for weeks, at the least; she's headed up to New Hampshire.) I know we came out very, very lucky. We came out easy, in fact. I'm feeling terrible nostalgia for buildings that I never found attractive, except sometimes at a distance. I think of all the times I went through the mall underneath the towers, on my way to the PATH station to go visit Valeria when she still lived in Jersey City. During the past three years I became very familiar with everything down there. I remember V & I meeting her mother down there, at the head of the escalators that went up from the station. She'd stand and wait in front of Godiva, which was next to an HSBC branch. I remember being down at the Border's WTC back in June (last time I was there, in fact) when Gaiman had his tour kickoff appearance. I remember walking with Katya & Carrie & Robert Legault across the bridge that led between the towers & World Financial Center, en route to Ellie's apartment, for the wake after the memorial service for Jenna, April 6. The orchid show was going on, and the bridge and Palm Court downstairs (also destroyed, pretty much, though the palms are still standing) were full of orchids. On our refrigerator is a little card of a Boston bull terrier Carrie sent us a month or so ago, thanking us for brunch; she'd bought the card in the mall underneath with Ellie. Any of us might have been there, and but for the grace of God, or synchronicity, or something, we weren't. Not this time, at least. This isn't a comforting feeling, still. Familiar landmarks vanish constantly in NY -- they're getting ready, or have been getting ready, to build a new Columbia building around the corner from me at 110th where D'agostino was -- but never before have so many vanished so quickly, so awfully. I cannot begin to imagine what the place will look like, once it has finally been cleared. I haven't looked at a newspaper since Saturday morning except just to glimpse headlines & pages(I did save them, though); I haven't turned on any of the news programming except at the request of others when they've come to visit. The more I saw the worse I was feeling -- jittery, irritable, unable to focus or concentrate, all the anxieties that signify low-level signs of PTSD -- so I stopped watching. This morning I read the Daily News on the way down, and have been keeping up with things on the Internet. I think I'm probably able to handle print again but I'm not sure if that will last. This weekend I ramped up my dosage of Wellbutrin (an antidepressant) from 75 mg back to 225, and depression in some sense -- the chemical, I'd ordinarily say, but in this case who knows? -- has lifted. Last night, in a dream, I looked up through the sunroof of an automobile and saw a thin dark tower three times taller than the Trade towers. I'm terribly sad. And I'm terribly angry, and nowhere of course to strike out with said anger. And ergo have the same sense that I suspect everyone has, that of being buffeted by events. This of course exacerbates the sorrow, and if turned inward, becomes depression automatically. The emotion I'm feeling now that is the strongest and most disturbing because newest is fear. Fear of a very particular sort. I was just too young to consciously remember the Cuban missile crisis (although some of my most powerful memories in my life are of the Kennedy assassination, a year later) so have no direct familiarity with genuine, immediate, and justified fear over ongoing current events. For years of course we all grew up with the possibility, however remote at times it seemed, of their being nuclear war, but that was always something at the back of the head (although I think that fear, suspicion, call it what you will, influenced the middle of the last century far more than has been understood or admitted). This, however, is a different situation. The fear of a nuclear, chemical or biological event that *may very well, and probably will, happen,* somewhere, if not New York. Fear that genuine, and in our new context justified, will influence this century as greatly. This doesn't have entirely bad effects. It may sound like a cliche, or at least reminiscent of what our parents or grandparents have told us, but I really haven't felt so alive in my life. But this past weekend --- on Friday night, V & I stayed in, and friends from across the street came over. We fixed pasta and then watched Tarkovsky's SOLARIS, at least as far as the journey along the freeway to which you'd alerted me. Saturday we went to Grand Central (which seems now like one of those temporary buildings erected for the Columbian or Pan-Pacific Expositions, looking solid though made of chicken wire and spackle) and caught the train up to Wave Hill, a former estate on the Hudson in Riverdale, in the Bronx. It is open, it is distant, it is beautiful, and we had several peaceful hours there. On the way back we walked from Grand Central down 42nd as far as 72nd & Broadway. The main thing noticed in Times Square is that presently it's no more crowded there than it would have been years ago; the tourists have, at this point, mostly either left town or are at the airports waiting to get out of town. No wonder there's less traffic, fewer people on the streets even today, when things are about as much back in shape as they're going to be any time soon. Rather than having one tremendous drop-off place for flowers etc.(I gather Union Square's is pretty good sized), there sprang up all throughout town, at various places -- on 42nd between 6th & 7th, at the Maine Memorial on Columbus Circle, in Riverside Park -- places where pictures of the dead were put up, candles were left, single flowers; the shrines are spontaneous, and of human size. (On Riverside drive, Sunday morning, three candles were left burning just outside a delivery entrance at one of the apartment buildings.) Sunday we had friends over for brunch -- Ellen, Carrie, Robert -- and then went for a walk through Riverside, the drive & the park. Ran into Peter Straub & his wife and we talked for awhile. At Fairway, a fine supermarket at 74th, we all went our separate way for today. It's getting harder for me to talk about what has happened, when friends call (Judith Clute called last night). There just isn't anything more to say about what happened; only what will happen. I noticed that among the movies not shown this weekend as they were scheduled to be shown (INDEPENDENCE DAY, on NBC, and I wonder if that will ever be shown again; AIRPORT, on TCM) was GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA, on AMC. A response equivalent to suspending 6-year olds for bringing fingernail clippers to school, I think, but perhaps not. The most fascinating thing about all this is that today, for the first time, I can feel, I know, that the event has become contextualized; that we now expect smoke in the air, train delays, the papers full of rising body counts (though still @5,000); that the fear in the front of our heads has settled into the middle; that the bar has been so lifted for imagination as to be scarcely understandable, still. That these are aspects of reality that are, now, real and therefore not as shocking in some very real way as they initially were. But, as you were saying when you told me about the person you knew who'd just come back from the Buddhist retreat, the event taken as history is extremely different from the event experienced as reality. In the eulogy I wrote for Jenna, back in March, after she died so suddenly, I noted the following: Borges spoke of how his father once remarked that he realized it was impossible to remember his childhood. He had, he said, come to understand that what he had always believed to be his memories of events, or scenes, or people, were in fact memories only of the last time he had had the memory. That each time the shade of the memory came to mind, its underlying actuality receded ever further into the irretrievable past. Today we might use the metaphor of a videotape, duped infinite times, over endless generations, until only the blurriest outline remained of a crystalline vision. But the kind of memories seared into the head last week, I think, are of the kind that remain painfully sharp, and clear. I remember my second grade teacher clapping her hand to her face when the principal came on over the loudspeaker and said the President had been "ambushed in Texas," and the immediate thing that came to my mind involved cowboys, sagebrush, and horses. I remember my mother & grandparents wandering through the house, the TV on constantly in the background, obviously as dumbfounded as we all are now. I remember in fact watching TV almost constantly, the black and white blurs, the constant reiteration. I remember how it poured rain, all day, throughout the east on Saturday, the day after the assassination. I remember hearing my mom saying "what happened?" when Ruby shot Oswald. I remember the drumming, all day long, on Monday; and I remember them playing Taps in the background at the very end, around suppertime on Monday. I remember my mom saying to my grandmother, "turn it off. Just turn it off." The TV, meaning. In this instance too I suppose memory will offer no relief, as parts of it will never fade.

Subject: The Weekly PoliTicker Date: Monday, September 17, 2001 9:49 AM From: PoliticsOnline To: Special Edition: Analysis of the Role of the Internet and the Attack on America Note From: Phil Noble (phil@politicsonline.com) President, PoliticsOnline 843 853 8190 office phone 843 296 1490 mobile PoliticsOnline has received many calls from journalists and others about what role the Internet is playing in the current crisis. To respond we have 1) developed this Special Report that outlines the six key points in understanding the developments and, 2) created a special section on our web site (www.PoliticsOnline.com) to track these developments and provide a research and reference source. The attack on the Pentagon is indeed ironic when we remember that it was the Army that started it all way back in 1969 with a project called ARPNET. They wanted to design a system that would allow computers to communicate in times of national disaster. They were planning on missile attacks from the Russians, not civilian airplane attacks from terrorists. As one analyst noted, during this crisis people turned to the Internet for what they needed and wanted, just as they began doing with the telephone many years ago. Recently the focus has been on the crash of the tech stocks and the success and failures of e-commerce. This week the Internet stories were about the technology was incorporated into the daily life of average citizens in these extraordinary times. This week the Internet truly became The People's Channel. 1. What the Net does best is Communications and Connections In this crisis, the Internet did what it does best - communicating and connecting. For those personally caught up in the crisis, it was a means of communications when other means failed. People stranded in the World Trade Center Towers sent e-mails and instant messages to their loved ones; Blackberrys and pagers came through when mobile phones and land lines failed. Hundreds of online groups formed to do all the things people wanted to do - reach out to each other, share their grief, search for friends and loved ones. * NY.com (www.ny.com) created an interactive database listing survivors from the Trade Center collapse. Within 24 hours they had 2,600 listings. * Hundreds of people posted prayers, related prayer circles and discussions groups on Beliefnet (www.beliefnet.com), a popular non-denominational site. * United (www.ual.com) and American Airlines (www.americanairlines.com) posted information and listed phone numbers for people to call looking for more information on their crashes. * People used Yahoo Groups to create numerous discussion groups to share information, express grief and vent their anger. Survivor Databases Offered by NY.Com and Prodigy (InternetNews) Ny.com, a Web site that calls itself the "paperless guide to New York City" and Prodigy, the national ISP, are offering interactive databases listing survivors of Tuesday's World Trade Center collapse. http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,,3_882651,00.html Web Offers Both News and Comfort (New York Times) The major news Web sites were quickly overloaded. Many links to the not-so- major news Web sites stopped working. But more than news, what people all over the world craved in the wake of yesterday's terrorist attacks was connection to each other, and many of them found that most easily achieved by going online. http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,,3_882651,00.html After Attack, the Net Reassures and Informs (USA Today) As phone systems faltered in the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist attack, the nation clung to the Net, reaching out to friends and loved ones, praying, spreading accusations and gossip, and overwhelming news and information sites. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001/09/12/more Net Offers Lifeline Amid Tragedy (CNET) People in New York City and around the globe turned to the Internet on Tuesday to communicate with their families and to grasp the horrific sequence of terrorist attacks that transformed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon into disaster zones. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7132246.html Internet Performs Global Role, Supplementing TV (Online Journalism Review) History expands. Terribly. In 1914, two bullets fired at an automobile driving through the streets of Sarajevo killed the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophia, his wife. Their deaths led to World War One. http://ojr.usc.edu/content/story.cfm?request=637 Web Acts as Hub For Info On Attacks (CNET) Moments after airplanes separately crashed into both towers of the World Trade Center, and then later the Pentagon, Web sites for the major news outlets were swamped by an overflow of traffic. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7129241.html E-Mail Indispensable as Phone Systems Jam (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) As the World Trade Center collapsed and planes plunged from the sky, sending and receiving e-mail -- the most popular Internet activity -- became the indispensable communication tool during the attacks. (September 12, 2001) http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/terrorism/atlanta/0911email.html Net Helps Connect People in Distress (ZDNet) People in New York City and around the globe turned to the Internet on Tuesday to communicate with their families and to grasp the horrific sequence of terrorist attacks that transformed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon into disaster zones. (September 13, 2001) http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5096867,00.html?chkpt=zdhpnews01 International E-mails Show Depth of Shock at Attacks (Sky News) Everyone from city governors to newsreaders and presidents have expressed their shock at the scenes in America. (September 11, 2001) http://www.sky.com/skynews/storytemplate/storytoppic/0,,30000-1029113,00.html 2. The Net created a Helping Network After connecting and communicating, the second big use of the Internet is helping - people reaching out to help in any way that they can. The ability for instant response is one of the greatest strengths of the Internet and the crisis is a perfect demonstration of the potential. Within minutes of the first reports sites were set up to provide mechanisms for people to help. * Amazon (www.amazon.com) converted its first page into an appeal for help to its 35 million customers. According to a ticker on their site, by 3pm Friday 128, 000 people had contributed $4.7 million. * Numerous sites linked to the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org) site that was reporting 50 million individual visits within the first day. In addition to taking contributions and directing people where to go to give blood, they also provided extensive news coverage about relief efforts. * AOL/Time Warner and their Foundation are using their many channels to direct people, most notably their effective Helping section (www.helping.org) that became a pop-up window on AOL's front page. * MSNBC (www.msnbc.com) and others are using their site to promote relief efforts with on-screen solicitations to various organizations as well as separate banner ads for such organizations as the Salvation Army. * Members of Congress eager to get involved are also using their sites to channel people's efforts. George Washington University's Democracy Online Project (www.congressonlineproject.org) distributed a special edition of their newsletter on how members of Congress can use their sites to help. America Under Attack: How to Help (MSNBC) To help the victims, offer tips to the police or get information on loved ones, check the provided links. (September 14, 2001) http://www.msnbc.com/news/627095_asp.htm?0cm=c30 Web Sites Take Red Cross Donations (MSNBC) Web site operators, including Yahoo and Amazon.com, have set up virtual donation baskets to collect relief funds in the wake of horrific attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. More than 40,000 people had contributed over $1 million on Amazon.com by Wednesday afternoon. http://www.msnbc.com/news/627761.asp Make A Difference On The Net (ABC News) Web site operators including online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. have set up virtual donation baskets to collect relief funds in the wake of horrific attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/wtc_onlinecontributions010912.html 3. The Technology Worked Unquestionably, this week was the biggest test to date of the Internet in its 32-year history - and it worked. It creaked and it groaned; it was often slow and congested; a few major sites went down, but only briefly. In short - it worked. As Tim Blair of the Online Journalism Review noted, "Princess Diana's car crash and Bill Clinton's Oval Office follies suddenly seem minor markers in the evolution of the Net..." Most communications networks, of almost any type, were swamped with unprecedented traffic. * For a recap of website response time for the major news sites, see PoliticsOnline's Key Stats (http://www.politicsonline.com/pol2000/tragedy/tragedy.asp). * Many sites had to add additional servers or stripped down their pages so that they would load faster. * The day of the attacks, CNN reported 9 million hits per hour as compared to its usual daily average of 11 million. CNN received offers of excess server capacity from several US and international companies. CNN executive producer Mitch Gelman said they declined the offer but he took down their number just in case. * MSNBC reported a ten-fold increase in traffic and many international sites such as the BBC reported record numbers. * Cingular Wireless, the second largest US wireless carrier reported a 400% increase in calls attempted in the Washington area and 1000% in New York. * The nation's largest long distance company, ATT, had twice the normal workday traffic. Internet Lessons Will Be Learned From U.S. Attacks (Washingtonpost.com) Although the events of this terrible week will probably never be forgotten, the disaster recovery issues that companies have had to face in the aftermath of the multiple disasters across the U.S. will help firms and organizations in the future, an Internet expert said today. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170053.html High-Tech Industry Plods On In Wake of Attacks (Washingtonpost.com) Technology companies across the country opened for business today as industry leaders vowed not to be paralyzed by the terrorist attacks that struck the Pentagon and World Trade Center on Tuesday. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170023.html Internet Buckles Under Demand for Attack News (CNN) Internet traffic buckled and major Web sites were jammed as surfers crowded online for details on the airplane attacks in New York and Washington D.C. http://asia.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/asia/09/11/ny.internetcrumbles/index.html Internet Traffic Soars Following U.S. Attacks (Reuters) Internet news traffic soared on Tuesday following attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., slowing retrieval times on popular Web news sites and forcing online publishers to cut back on graphics and interactive features. (September 13, 2001) http://www.reuters.com/fullstory.jsp?type=internetnews&StoryID=212755 Internet Reacts to America Under Attack (U.S. News) As America reacts to apparent terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and other possible targets, millions turn to the Web for information. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/misc/internet.htm News Sites Endure Overload After Attack (CBS News) Devastating attacks on the U.S. strained and brought down the nation's leading news Web sites on Tuesday as millions of people logged on to catch the latest updates hitting the Internet. (September 11, 2001) http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo&siteid=yhoo&d%20ist=yhoo&guid=%7B4994600C%2D3ACC%2D4A3A%2DAF5B%2D1F91B6BC0067%7D Traffic Jams Internet In Wake of Attacks (Nando Times) Internet traffic slowed and major news Web sites were slow to load as people craving details on Tuesday morning's World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks went online. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/77130p-1082111c.html Scrambling for News (ABC News) A rush of Internet users seeking the latest news on the series of attacks on buildings in the United States snarled major European news sites today. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/WTC_internet010911.html Tech Sites Pick Up the News (Wired) Personalized Internet radio stations and technology websites abandoned their normal news-delivery operations as major Internet media outlets wilted under the crush of traffic following Tuesday's attacks in New York and Washington. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,46716,00.html 4. The Net as a Tool of Investigation Almost immediately after the attack, the FBI and other law enforcement people turned to the Internet for help in tracking down the terrorist and thoes who support them. For the first time, they used the Net as a tool of investigation and called upon people to use the net to respond, and respond they did from all parts of the US and around the world. Also, in an action that is sure to draw a response (even if delay for a while) from privacy advocates, the FBI stepped up monitoring of email traffic. * Attorney General John Ashcroft asked people to send information to the FBI online through The Internet Fraud Complaint Center site (www.ifccfbilgov). The site had received only about 10,000 complaints since it was established last year and the response crashed the site. It was still down as of late Friday afternoon. * The FBI issued search warrants to some of the nation's largest ISP's to get information on email address and other information about suspected terrorist and their communications. AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo, Earthlink, and Excite@Home were all contacted and are cooperating. * The FBI has been installing "Carnivores" (now renamed DCS1000) which are Fed computers that are placed at an ISP's core to electronically monitor the ISP's electronic communications. Scouring Cyberspace for Clues on Attack (ABC News) In the effort to find those responsible for the horrific terrorist attacks on America, the FBI is searching everywhere - including cyberspace - for clues. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/WTC_netsearch010913.html FBI Utilizing Internet for Clues (Nando Times) The FBI is issuing search warrants to major Internet service providers to get information about an e-mail address believed to be connected to Tuesday's terrorist attacks. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/77995p-1092583c.html FBI Web Site Overwhelmed (MSNBC) Attorney General John Ashcroft asked that anyone with information about terrorist attacks contact the FBI via a Web site - but that site was jammed within seconds of Ashcroft's announcement Tuesday night and has been inaccessible since. http://www.msnbc.com/news/627693.asp?0si=- 5. Cyber Security - Electronic Pearl Harbor To date there does not seem to have been a cyber-attack on companies or the government in coordination with the attack in New York and Washington. But, it is widely expected to happen at some time if not now. The warning and alarm bells about our vulnerability to an electronic Pearl Harbor have filled the tech press since the attack. * Terrorist organizations are noted for their skill in using the Internet and communications technology in general. NewsFactor Network reported "Experts say that terrorists have made a practice of putting encrypted messages, including maps of targets, inside seemingly innocent internet chat rooms, bulletin boards and other web sites." * Some new sites report that cyber activist sites are calling for cyber- counter attacks on sites of governments friendly to known terrorist groups. * Internet security sites and related security company sites have reported a dramatic increase in contacts from business seeking help with protecting their site and companies from a possible attack. Cybersecurity Seriousness Escalates (Federal Computer Week) A Senate hearing originally scheduled to examine the security of the critical cyber infrastructure took on extra meaning as Congress and the nation attempted to respond to Tuesday's terrorist attacks. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2001/0910/web-sec-09-13-01.asp How Terrorists Use the Internet (NewsFactor Network) The same advantages the Internet and advanced technology bring to the general public and to business -- speed, security and global linkage -- are helping international terrorist groups organize their deadly and disruptive activities. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/7731.html U.S. Attack: Companies Warned About Possible Cyber Attacks (InfoWorld) Government and private-sector security experts fear that Tuesday's attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are only the beginning of a wave of assaults that could include cyberterrorism. http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/09/12/010912hncyber.xml Companies Urged to Prepare for Cyber Terrorism (Industry Standard) Government and private-sector security officials warn that the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon may be followed by a wave cyberterrorist assaults. http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,28947,00.html?nl=mg 6. The Dark Side Emerges: Hate, Scams and Sickos "The Internet, like American society itself, is a virtual reflection of the best and worst that humanity has to offer, say reporters for internet.com - and they are right. The disaster has brought the rats out of the sewers and they are spamming the Net with phony contribution come-ons and spewing racist bile. * Anti-Arab hate speech was the first to surface. Sites related to Arab groups or simply those of some of the ordinary 7 million Americans of Arab descent have been targets both online and offline. * So-called Christian evangelist Jerry Falwell linked the attack to the ACLU, gays, pro-choice activist and those who wanted to ban school prayer. * Numerous scams to get credit card donations in the name of the tragedy have been launched; many use the name of the Red Cross and other reputable organizations. * Some people tried to sell pieces of the rubble and other "souvenirs" of the disaster on E-Bay. The company has since barred any such sales. * A video game called WTC Defender has appeared where users can shoot down planes flying toward the twin towers. Scam Artists Capitalize On Tragedy (MSNBC) Consumer protection advocates are warning Internet users that scam artists are trying to take advantage of Tuesday's terrorist attacks. http://www.msnbc.com/news/628230_asp.htm Growing Number of Internet Scams Mar Relief Efforts (InternetNews) The Internet, like American society itself, is a virtual reflection of the best and worst that humanity has to offer. http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,,3_884031,00.html Web Vents Open on U.S. Muslims (Wired) As the volume of anti-Arab hate speech on the Internet cranked to full blast Wednesday, U.S. Muslims reported rampant harassment on- and offline. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,46778,00.html "Purge Our Society," Online Bigots Shout (Salon) While most online reactions have focused on expressions of emotional support and pleas for calm, there is also evidence that in many online communities, Muslim-Christian relations already are breaking down -- as posters, assuming the attacks are the work of Islamic radicals, lash out. http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/09/11/net_hate/index.html Whew!

Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 22:18:52 -0700 From: William Meyers To: terry@spring.net, paul@spring.net Subject: more Paul, Here's another fragment: As soon as we got to work that morning word went around that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center -- and soon after that, another one. Then the rumor took flight that there were five more hijacked airliners in the air. There was the distinct thought in the collective mind that at any moment we could be vaporized too -- that so far we were simply among the lucky ones, and no different from those whose luck had just run out. I took a walk around midtown Manhattan at mid-day, through the herds of people streaming up the avenues and through the park toward their uptown apartments -- strangely silent and subdued, preoccupied and fearful, many stopping off and lining up at their ATMs to tank up for future uncertainties. Down at the end of Sixth and Fifth Avenues, where the twin towers used to be, a thick volcanic cloud of smoke and ash was roiling up in a dome -- falling like a gray snow on downwind Brooklyn later in the afternoon. All the cops you could see were already wearing flak jackets -- not a one without one -- and carrying shotguns. Hundreds of firefighters and medical rescuers were killed after the first blast when rushing to help -- that was the most disturbing part. Not that the thought of those poor people trapped in those planes was any less disturbing. I was in my office most of the day, listening to people's radios and checking the Internet bulletins/images on my computer. We knew our building could just as easily have been on fire and crumbling to the ground. It was a day of palpable grief, most of those who showed up leaving early, and work moving along at close to a standstill -- very heavy emotions welling up in everyone. "It could just as easily have been me" was the prevailing compassionate thought for all the victims. heavy emotions welling up in everyone. "It could just as easily have been me" was the prevailing compassionate thought for all the victims. At any rate, enough fear and grief was inflicted to keep the anguished and vengeful spirits who perpetrated the deed happy in their disembodied misery. What did they prove, though, but that even at the Pentagon they're just another bunch of vulnerable protoplasmic beings wishing they were happy. Luckily we had made our reservations for another round-trip flight to San Francisco just the day before -- we couldn't have managed it any later. They were for a Thanksgiving trip. Maybe by then we'll start to feel better again about flying. There's a new, more explicit message from the Dalai Lama today, calling for a nonviolent response to the tragic events. But I can't send that on to you until tomorrow. Wm

Italy said yesterday for example, that while they condemm the terrorist attacks, they will not coperate with the US in any military actions the US takes. It wasn't exactly a rumour - maybe a partial misquote: Italian defence minister rules out Italian troop role ROME, Sept 16 (AFP) - Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino on Sunday said Italian troops would not take part in any US retaliation after the terror attacks and that use of the term "war" was inappropriate. "The term 'war' is inappropriate. It is not a conflict between states and Italian troops will not go anywhere," Martino told the RAI television station. "I feel I am in a position to categorically exclude calling on the army," he said. The defence minister warned that "nobody had better strike randomly," adding that 100,000 Italian soldiers were involved in various peacekeeping missions abroad. He said the US would certainly take military action once the perpetrators of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon had been identified, and only then "will we see what we are called upon to do." Asked about Saudi-born extremist Osama bin Laden's role in the attacks, Martino said "the idea that one man is behind this tragedy is misguided." In an interview with the daily Il Messaggero published Sunday, Martino urged the US not to act alone in the event of a military operation. _________________ Monday, 17 September, 2001, 09:01 GMT 10:01 UK Italy ready to retaliate against terrorists The Italian defence minister has made it clear that his armed forces are ready to take part in any action that may be agreed in retaliation against the attacks on the United States. The minister, Antonio Martino, told the BBC that he was misquoted when he appeared to have suggested yesterday Sunday that no Italian troops would take part in such operations. Mr Martino said that intelligence would first have to show clearly who the real culprits were, but once that was done, Italy's commitment would be total and absolute. From the newsroom of the BBC World Service

I am beginning to burn out on this. I put a ribbon on my front page (Geo's) Please feel free to borrow it for wherever you wish to place it.

Hi all IT IS WAR. OFFICIAL. THE TALIBAN HAS DECLARED A HOLY WAR IN AFGHANISTAN AGAINST THE UNITED STATES. 20000 FIGHTERS STAND READY TO DIE FOR WHAT THEY PERCEIVE TO BE A GREATER CAUSE AND WHAT WE PERCEIVE TO BE MADNESS. Source: Television One New Zealand. See http://www.stuff.co.nz for more on the New Zealand coverage. I absolutely had to post this for everyone to read. See more at Stuff.co.nz - Canterbury (not sure where under Canterbury it will get posted). It was written by a nine year old school boy and featured on the front page of the Press edition for September 18, 2001. by Charles MacDonald, a pupil at Mount Pleasant Primary School In America on a Tuesday morning An EVIL force struck without warning Planes hit the buildings, people screamed A terrible accident so it seemed The towers and Pentagon both took hits The 1st tower fell and smashed to bits. The terrified bystanders choked by the smoke While the Palestinians thought it a joke Reality of it all came clear As another plane smashed in the middle of nowhere The fear and drama continued hour after hour As down came the 2nd tower The attack had cost many lives Heart-broken men cry for their wives. We DON'T want war but PEACE instead only to feel safe in our bed. Rob

Sorry my friends, but this appears to be war. The Taliban has said ANYONE HARBOURING UNITED STATES BASES ARE ALSO ON THE HIT LIST. Marcia, dear, the drumbeat of Mars is getting louder, the brass is getting more and more menacing. I for once think the possibility of a big Middle East war involving EVERYONE is not so far of after all. Rob

More from William Meyers CALCUTTA, India, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama urged the United States on Monday not to respond militarily to last week's devastating attacks, saying only nonviolence could combat international terrorism. "While I express my sympathy, I have appealed to the U.S. president not to respond with more violence as violence is not an appropriate answer," the Tibetan Buddhist leader told a news conference in Calcutta. The Dalai Lama fled from his homeland to India with thousands of followers in 1959, nine years after the Chinese army entered Tibet and overthrew the Buddhist theocracy there. The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate's comments came after Pope John Paul appealed on Sunday to the world not to allow the attacks on New York and Washington to lead to more violence, and not to allow "a spiral of hate and violence" to prevail. The United States has pledged to avenge the attacks by hijacked airliners that slammed into the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon near Washington last Tuesday. NONVIOLENCE ONLY ANSWER "Most cases of violence only cause destruction...these things will have to be prevented the nonviolent way. Only nonviolent means can counter terrorism in the long-term," the Dalai Lama said. The United States has said Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, harbored by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, was the prime suspect behind the attacks in which some 5,000 people were killed or are missing. Bin Laden, a 44-year-old multimillionaire, has denied he was responsible, saying Afghanistan would not permit it. The Dalai Lama said he believed there were numerous causes for the attacks. "Every event has many causes...you can't just pick up one individual -- Osama bin Laden -- and say he was responsible. That is not realistic," said the Dalai Lama, whose exiled government accuses China of repression in Tibet. "The economic gap between the rich and poor nations is one factor (that could have been responsible)," he said. But the Dalai Lama said the attacks could not have been sanctified by any religion. "The essence of all major religions is compassion, forgiveness, contentment, self-discipline and brotherhood," he said. "Some people may only be using the name of religion to justify their actions."

"Niaz Naik, a former Pakistani Foreign Secretary, was told by senior American officials in mid-July that military action against Afghanistan would go ahead by the middle of October." http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1550000/1550366.stm That's not the only rumour coming out of Pakistan : "Reuters news agency quoted a Pakistani army captain as saying the Taliban had moved a large number of weapons, including missiles, to positions near the Pakistani border." http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1549000/1549700.stm

Who would've ever thought watching Dave Letterman would be a gut-wrenching experience as it was last night. And to see Dan Rather break down twice. Really makes you wonder how those newscasters have managed over the past week. It's apparent to me that, in working 18+ hrs a day, they've been unable to deal with it on a personal level.

Dan Rather is human. He's 70 years old. Taliban declares a jihad against the US: "I would like to tell my people that our jihad will be formally resuming against the Americans," the deputy chairman of the Taliban Council of Ministers, Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhond, said in a speech broadcast late on Monday. Akhond said it was unimaginable that the "terror attacks" against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had been committed by the Taliban or by Osama bin Laden. Also from MSNBC: <http://msnbc.com/news/629304.asp?cp1=1

This is just a subjective thought on my part, but I feel strongly about this. I think that bin Laden has a politcal agenda that is much larger than just getting the US out of the Middle East region. He's using religion to "cloak" that agenda. Has anyone thought what he might do if his first objective was ever realized? I think he would then turn his "holy wrath" to Middle Eastern governments who did not agree with him. The first one would probably be Saudi Arabia, since he is supposedly persona non grata there. I feel that his utlimate aim is to create a Middle Eastern theorcracy with himself, his son, or lieutenants at the helm.

I disagree, Toyce. This is Jihad. And it is against the West. The Italian defence minister has made it clear that his armed forces are ready to take part in any action that may be agreed in retaliation against the attacks on the United States. Is Italy the first allied country to offer this? Where are the other allies? Bin Laden has many cells in Europe. The French intelligence discovered a plan to blow up the Eiffel Tower recently and where able to stop it. As Karen has said, in Europe there are many buildings that they could blow up but not as many people would die because they are not skyscapers. The Vatican on Sunday when the Pope holds his outdoor mass. That would be disastrous. Italy is on high alert.

Terry, you miss my point. (Moon) As Karen has said, in Europe there are many buildings that they could blow up but not as many people would die because they are not skyscapers. You also miss my point.

You also miss my point. It's two against one, Karen. ;-) So will you leave us hanging?

re toyce's comment, I read one explanation about Bin Laden's actions that said something like (and I paraphrase) its not as simple as a Holy War because he's not just anti the west, he's anti other Muslim nations who don't agree with his particular brand of totalitarianism. Dunno if that's right, but it does make a bit of sense in the light of his exile from Saudi Arabia. the thing that puzzles me is, he's said to be so phenomenally rich, where did all that dosh come from? And maybe I'm being dim here, but isn't a contradiction in terms to be a multi-millionaire and be anti capitalism?

Rachael. I doubt he can explain it either.

(Moon) As Karen has said, in Europe there are many buildings that they could blow up but not as many people would die because they are not skyscapers. (Karen) You also miss my point. I get your point. Moon, did you see my last post? These terrorists were not merely after mass casualties.

Moon, did you see my last post? I did. And I agree with you, Eileen. The Twin Towers were a symbol as the Eiffel Tower and the Vatican are. Had the Twin Towers been struck later in the day the casulaties would have been higher. I do think that countries would have a stroger reaction to deaths of their citizens rather than the destruction of a symbolic building empty. The worse case is for both at once as in the Twin Towers or God forbid, the outdoor mass at the Vatican. Hugh stadiums in Europe have also become symbols and that is why I used that example yesterday.

Europe may not have as many huge skyscrapers as we do over here, but they do have some. A hit on Canary Wharf in London for example, would probably result in thousands of deaths. However, to Londoners, that is just a very tall building. It lacks the national symolism that a hit on something like Buckingham Palace would have. Jeez, I can't believe I am sitting here calming talking about blowing up buildings as if I'm playing battleships or something....this is all very weird. Rachael....bin Laden is the son of a Saudi construction billionaire. His father was the Donald Trump of the Arab world in the 40's and 50's and is/was filthy rich. His family in Saudi Arabia have apparantly long since disowned him, but we presume he was still able to get his hands on some of the family loot, to use for his evil purposes.

Quite right, Eileen and Beth, the targets had to be symbolic (financial evils or government evils), with loss of life secondary. That's why the Eiffel Tower hardly qualifies or a mere football stadium. (Moon) Had the Twin Towers been struck later in the day the casulaties would have been higher. Ensuring the timing of the attack was first and foremost, as opposed to hitting the towers at peak occupancy. They did that by using the first transcontinental flights of the day where the likelihood of delays was minimized. All the planes had to be in the air at approximately the same time and not sitting on runways waiting for approval to take off.

Rob, thanks for your eloquence as usual. Nothing is as deadly as a "holy War" whhx makes it so terrifying. From the crusdades onward ([probably before that, too) we have fought over which of Abraham's sons was his rightful heir. We have missed God in all this infighting. Tha same Father but human sons who continue to perpetuate animosity and death in His name. The West will certainly suffer. What can be done other than arguing with former friends and wringing hands. It is not time to be divisive. Surely our survival supercedes all the little dlaws one sees in the other's interpretations of all that is too horrible to contemplate. God help us even if you don't believe...

(Karen) All the planes had to be in the air at approximately the same time and not sitting on runways waiting for approval to take off. Yet for all their in-depth research, the terrorists couldn't get the flight from Newark in the air with the others. It pulled away from the gate at 8-ish (same as the other flights) but waited in line for takeoff for more than 30 mins. This type of delay is so common at EWR one has to wonder if this was built into their plan or if it had an effect on the outcome. I get a strange sense of comfort from the latter. I also read or heard early flights were likely selected because they were relatively empty--less passengers to control.

(Karen), That's why the Eiffel Tower hardly qualifies That is a symbol of the industrial revolution, which in a sense started us on this Godless path. I would say it is a symbol.

(Moon)Is Italy the first allied country to offer this? Where are the other allies? This is long, but an excellent round-up of countries and reactions. Key Nations' Reactions to Attacks Tuesday September 18 9:32 AM ET Countries Take Action on US Attacks By The Associated Press, International actions and events connected with the U.S. campaign to find and punish those responsible for attacks on New York and Washington. EUROPE: - ALBANIA: Declared it stood on the side of the United States and its Western allies in the fight against terrorism, offered use of Albanian airspace, ports and airports to the United States and its allies. - AUSTRIA: Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said his country would allow the use of Austrian airspace and provide whatever support it can, but Austrian soldiers would not become involved in military action because that is banned by Austria's constitution. - BELARUS: President Alexander Lukashenko, who had often lashed out at the United States, sent his condolences to the American people. Belarus did not join Russia and other European nations in observing a moment of silence last week, and some officials said the terror attacks had been prompted by arrogant U.S. policies. - BELGIUM: Organized an anti-terrorist sweep following the attacks, holding two suspects on charges of possible involvement in planning an attack on U.S. interests in Europe. As current president of the European Union (news - web sites), it has also played host to emergency meetings of EU foreign ministers to show support for the United States. - BOSNIA: Stepped up security for U.S. citizens and property. ``This country will offer any kind of assistance the United States government may ask for,'' said Foreign Ministry spokesman Amer Kapetanovic. - BRITAIN: Urged its citizens to leave parts of Pakistan amid fears that U.S. retaliation might target neighboring Afghanistan (news - web sites). Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites), who has pledged British support for U.S. action against the terrorists, called President Bush (news - web sites)'s handling of the attack and its aftermath ``absolutely right'' and praised the U.S. administration's consultations with allies. BRITAIN: The Bank of England cut its key lending rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.75 percent as part of a coordinated global effort to boost consumer borrowing and spending in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks. Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) spoke by telephone with Chinese President Jiang Zemin (news - web sites) in an effort to build support for international action. BULGARIA: Prime Minister Simeon Saxcoburggotski pledged support for an international campaign against terror. Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi said his country, which is applying for NATO (news - web sites) membership, was ``ready to act as a (virtual) NATO ally'' in the campaign. -CROATIA: Supports United States against terrorism. However, Prime Minister Ivica Racan expressed concerns Monday that the European Union countries may now seek to impose tougher measures on their borders to prevent entry of potential terrorists, isolating non-members, including Croatia. CZECH REPUBLIC: Security was increased at the country's airports and other sensitive points such as nuclear power plants and dams. All unscheduled flights were forbidden. The government expressed its full support to the United States for military action against the terrorists. - DENMARK: As a NATO member, Denmark supports a joint action against terrorism, and the government asked intelligence agencies to track down possible supporters in Denmark. The Faeroe Islands and Greenland, both semiautonomous Danish territories, sent letters of condolence late Tuesday and held two minutes of silence on Friday. - ESTONIA: Was quick to condemn the airborne attacks, and the Foreign Ministry said the nation was ``prepared to provide to the United States any assistance within the scope of its capabilities.'' Estonia and its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania also expressed concerns that the crisis might put NATO enlargement on the back burner. FINLAND: Has beefed up security at borders, airports and outside embassies and increased air surveillance. Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen said ``the likelihood of terrorist attacks against Finland or Finnish targets abroad is very small.'' - FRANCE: Defense Minister Alain Richard said France was confident the United States would react responsibly to last week's terror attacks, but he cautioned against using force alone to retaliate. ``We must use it in a way that doesn't provoke other elements of instability,'' he said. - GEORGIA: Officials have said they were ready to offer any help to the United States in its efforts to find and punish the perpetrators of the attacks. - GERMANY: Interior Minister Otto Schily called for a review of ``our entire intelligence strategy'' after three men who lived quietly in Hamburg for years were implicated in the terror attacks in the United States. - GREECE: Pledged its full support to American and European Union actions to combat terrorism. Greece plays host to a large U.S. Navy (news - web sites) base on the island of Crete. Ministers and officials have also begun re-evaluating security measures for the 2004 Olympics, to be held in Athens. - HUNGARY: Expressed solidarity with the people of the United States and full support for the fight against terrorism. ``The essential thing is that the political readiness is there; we are supportive of the victims and will do our part in the struggle to eradicate terrorism,'' Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi said. - ICELAND: Foreign Minister Halldor Asgrimsson said the airport at Keflavik was available for any U.S. operations. - IRELAND: Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has said America would be justified in retaliating, so long as the military action fell within the United Nations (news - web sites)' definition of self-defense. He said a large-scale attack on Afghanistan would be wrong: ``It's an easy thing to bomb territories where people are in famine. But that will not do much to crush international terrorism.'' - ITALY: Has vowed an ``all-out battle against terrorist organizations,'' adding, ``we must concentrate our forces now in the Atlantic Alliance ... and the European Union.'' Italy's Supreme Defense Council - consisting of the country's president, prime minister and top Cabinet ministers - convened an emergency session Friday for the first time since Libya fired missiles toward the Sicilian island of Lampedusa in 1986. - LATVIA - Condemned the attacks, and has said it will back any U.S. response. Defense forces were put on alert and security was tightened around the U.S. and Israeli embassies. - LIECHTENSTEIN: The Banking Federation said it will consider setting up a task force to investigate whether the country's financial institutions were used by anyone with terrorist links, but it says there is no evidence of this so far. - LITHUANIA - President Valdas Adamkus, a former American citizen, was visiting Washington during the attacks and spoke on national television about seeing the Pentagon (news - web sites) burn. He said his countrymen had to think about how they could aid the United States. ``Until now, we have always tended to think only that America needed to protect us,'' Adamkus said. - THE NETHERLANDS: Dutch police, with the Belgians, stepped up a joint operation against suspected members of Muslim radical groups. Rotterdam police took four men into custody on Thursday. Prime Minister Wim Kok, while lending full support to the fight against terrorism, was one of the first to caution the U.S. administration to be mindful of ``democratic values.'' - NORWAY: Strongly condemned ``evil put into a system'' and backs its ally the United States through NATO. - POLAND: President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek have appealed for a concerted international effort in fighting terrorism, and pledged to fully participate in any NATO action. - PORTUGAL: Has pledged total cooperation with the United States in all areas, including military support for a retaliation. Portugal next year takes over the presidency of the 55-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation (news - web sites) in Europe and says the fight against international terrorism will be a priority. Portugal has tightened security at airports, embassies and U.S. companies. - SLOVAKIA: Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda has condemned the terrorist attacks and expressed Slovakia's determination to support the United States and NATO in all actions against terrorism around the world. - SLOVENIA: President Milan Kucan, in a letter to the U.S. president, declared his country's support in the fight against terrorism. - SPAIN: Defense Minister Federico Trillo said U.S. forces could use Spanish military bases for any retaliation. - SWEDEN: Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson canceled the so-called Progressive Summit of 14 center-left leaders that was to have been held in Stockholm on Sept. 14-15. The Swedish government also has expressed concerns about a backlash against Muslims, meeting with Islamic leaders and stepping up security around Stockholm's mosque. - SWITZERLAND: Switzerland, which had already frozen all bank accounts linked to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, said one of the suspected hijackers of the planes used in Tuesday's attacks bought two knives in Switzerland using a credit card. One Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s many siblings, a half-brother who has distanced himself from the exile Saudi, has lived in Geneva since 1973. - TURKEY: Would allow the use of Incirlik air base for a possible military response. Incirlik is the base used by U.S. and British warplanes enforcing a no-fly zone over northern Iraq and was a launching pad for U.S. attacks on Iraq during the Gulf War (news - web sites). - RUSSIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) ordered a nationwide moment of silence for victims of the attacks, offered help in rescue efforts and called for a global effort to uproot international terrorism. At the same time, Russia, where one of every seven residents is Muslim, is unlikely to risk internal unrest by joining any U.S. retaliation. Russian officials have also made it clear that Moscow does not want former Soviet republics in Central Asia to be used as bases for such operations. - UKRAINE: Called for a coordinated international fight against terrorism. The parliament called the attacks on the United States a ``challenge to all of civilized humanity.'' - YUGOSLAVIA: Leaders declared support for a global fight against terrorism. But with memories of the 1999 NATO air war against Yugoslavia still fresh, officials have not openly supported a possible U.S. campaign against suspected perpetrators. AFRICA= ANGOLA: Condemned the attacks and expressed its sympathy with the victims' families. Elite police were stationed outside the U.S. Embassy in Luanda. - BURKINA FASO - President Blaise Compaore expressed sympathy for the American people. ``Burkina Faso condemns these terrorist attacks in the same way it condemns all forms of terrorism,'' he said. - BURUNDI - President Pierre Buyoya expressed his condolences to all Americans, especially those living in Burundi. - CAMEROON - President Paul Biya sent a letter to President Bush offering condolences over ``the horrifying tragedy.'' Security has been tightened around Western diplomatic missions in Cameroon, with traffic diverted around the U.S. Embassy. - CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - The government condemned the attacks and sent two Cabinet ministers to sign a condolence book at the U.S. Embassy. Security has been tightened at the embassy and at the international airport. - ETHIOPIA: Offered condolences and condemned the attack. - GHANA: Said it was ready to help hunt down those responsible. ``We consider the attacks as a strike against humanity and civilization all over the world,'' Foreign Affairs Minister Hackman Owusu-Agyemang said. - GUINEA: President Lansana Conte expressed sympathy over the attacks on a visit to the U.S. Embassy, where security was tightened. - IVORY COAST - President Laurent Gbagbo condemned ``with the utmost firmness these acts, which no human reason could possibly justify.'' Security was tightened at the U.S. Embassy and extra soldiers deployed at the international airport. - KENYA - President Daniel arap Moi offered condolences, but appealed for restraint. Security at Nairobi's main airport was tightened. Moi said Kenya would join the international fight against terrorism because of the U.S. Embassy bombing in Kenya in 1998. - LIBERIA - Liberia said it was prepared to join an international coalition against terrorism and declared three days of national mourning. ``Today the hands of evil have struck America,'' President Charles Taylor said at a prayer service. ``Tomorrow it could be any other nation.'' - LIBYA: Leader Moammar Gadhafi condemned the attacks, called on Muslim aid agencies to offer support for the victims and said the United States had the right to take revenge, but asked ``will this put an end to the problem?'' ``There is nothing in Afghanistan,'' and if the United States occupies Afghanistan, ``it will not be in its interests,'' he said. - MADAGASCAR: Prime Minister Tantely Andrianarivo condemned the attacks, saying the people of Madagascar stand in solidarity with the American people and its government. Madagascar has provided additional police and military security personnel to help protect U.S. government buildings. - MALAWI: President Bakili Muzuli, a Muslim, described the attacks as acts of ``barbarism'' and said they went against the teachings of Islam. ``We all worship God to go to heaven and we cannot kill in order to go there,'' he said. - MAURITANIA - Government spokesman Rachid Ould Saleh condemned ``these horrible attacks.'' - MOZAMBIQUE: Mozambique condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the United States. President Joaquim Chissano urged the United States to think first before reacting and to be responsible in its actions. - NAMIBIA: President Sam Nujoma condemned the ``cowardly terrorist attack,'' and said the world should reaffirm its commitment to peace and ``to strengthen the fight against all forms of international terrorism.'' - NIGERIA - While a few radical Muslims initially celebrated the attacks, most Muslim and Christian groups mourned the U.S. deaths. President Olusegun Obasanjo promised support for measures to bring the terrorists to justice. - REPUBLIC OF CONGO - President Denis Sassou-Nguesso offered to help bring those responsible to justice. ``All people of the world have to organize themselves to fight terrorism and enable the values of peace, freedom and development to triumph,'' he said. - RWANDA - President Paul Kagame expressed ``deepest condolences'' to Americans, their leaders ``and the families who lost their loved ones, at this hour of profound national catastrophe.'' - SAO TOME and PRINCIPE: The two-island nation off West Africa encouraged the United States to fight the perpetrators of the ``barbaric'' attacks. Elite troops were placed on guard at the port, airport and Voice of America offices. - SIERRA LEONE: President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah said his government and people ``hope and pray that the almighty God will give the injured people speedy recovery and the bereaved families succor and solace in this period of grief.'' - SOMALIA: President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan expressed his condolences for the attack. - SOUTH AFRICA: President Thabo Mbeki offered humanitarian support to help the United States. Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the United States' reaction should be focused and should not entail war against countries. Countries should instead work together to root out terrorism, he said. - SWAZILAND: Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini condemned the ``monstrous acts'' and sent condolences to the victims. ``But as in war ... we must carry on in our work, striving to ensure that good triumphs (over) evil.'' - SUDAN: President Omar el-Bashir's Islamic government has been treated as an international pariah for the last 10 years, but was quick to condemn the attacks on Washington and New York. A Foreign Ministry statement said Sudan ``rejects all kinds of violence.'' El-Bashir said the attacks showed that no nation, even the powerful United States, was completely secure. - TANZANIA - President Benjamin Mkapa condemned the attacks, and the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, ``We sincerely hope that the perpetrators of this heinous crime will be tracked down, apprehended and brought to justice.'' In 1998, Tanzania was the site of one of the twin U.S. Embassy bombings linked to bin Laden. - UGANDA - President Yoweri Museveni offered condolences and condemned the attack. ``The Ugandan government has always been warning the world about the actions of terrorists which are always either cowardly or misguided,'' he said. - ZAMBIA: President Frederick Chiluba promised his country would ``stand with the United States to fight international terrorism for preservation of Christian values and democracy.'' - ZIMBABWE: President Robert Mugabe wrote to President Bush expressing horror at the attacks and his people's solidarity with America. The attacks appeared to be the work of ``the most remorseless and hardened enemies of the United States government and people, and indeed, of all the peace-loving people of the wider world,'' he wrote. MIDDLE EAST= BAHRAIN: The crown prince, Sheik Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa condemned the attacks as ``unjustifiable under any conditions.'' The island nation, home base to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, has close ties to the United States. Sheik Salman said Bahrain hasn't received any requests from Washington, but ``in a time of need, we stand by our friends.'' - CYPRUS: President Glafcos Clerides has expressed support for action against terrorists. Government protested formally to the United States that a claim by former NATO commander Wesley Clark that Cyprus sheltered terrorists ``is absolutely unfounded and violates truth and real facts.'' - EGYPT: President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites) denounced the attacks as ``horrible and unimaginable,'' and that they ``led to the deaths of many innocent civilians.'' Mubarak also repeated his call for holding an international conference for combating terrorism. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher reiterated Egypt's full cooperation with United States in the investigation. EGYPT: The Arab Organization for Human Rights warned that some of the language used by U.S. leaders after the terrorist attacks was fueling assaults on Arab-Americans. The human rights group singled out the term ``crusade'' - used by President Bush (news - web sites) to describe what he said would be a new kind of war against evil. The group also accused U.S. authorities of focusing suspicions solely on Arabs and Muslims. - IRAN: Iran, an opponent of Afghanistan's Taliban leaders, closed its 562-mile border to prevent Afghan refugees from crossing in the event of U.S. attacks. The U.S. State Department has said it would consider welcoming Iran into an international coalition to fight terrorism. Iran has not indicated that it would join. - IRAQ: Said attacks resulted from aggressive U.S. policies, and said Americans should feel and learn from the pain they have inflicted on other people, including Iraqis and Palestinians. Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) urged United States to use wisdom, rather than force, in responding to attacks. - ISRAEL: President Bush pressured Israel to hold truce talks with the Palestinians as America seeks to build an international anti-terror coalition that would include Arab countries. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) compared Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) to Osama bin Laden and said he would permit high-level talks only after 48 hours without violence. Sharon said Monday that Israel had been invited to join the anti-terror coalition. - KUWAIT: Defense minister Sheik Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah pledged to work ``hand in hand'' with Washington to eliminate terrorism. Politically strong Muslim fundamentalist groups also condemned the attacks but said the world should not forget the ``suffering of our Palestinian brothers from Jewish terrorism.'' - LEBANON: Has condemned the attacks, from President Emile Lahoud down to leaders of political and religious groups. Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said Wednesday he would support U.S. action against those proven to be the perpetrators. The Hezbollah guerrilla group has expressed regret for the loss of life, but warned against ``taking advantage of the attacks to practice aggression and terrorism against those who committed aggression and terrorism.'' - OMAN: Oman's leader, Sultan Qaboos, condemned the attacks and said his country would stand ``side by side'' with the United States to fight terrorism. A Foreign Ministry statement said Oman is ready to cooperate in the U.S. effort, but did not say what type of cooperation it would offer. - QATAR: Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani said in a telephone call Friday with Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) that Qatar condemned the attacks and is willing to cooperate in fighting terrorism. However, Qatar has not said whether it would join any anti-terrorism coalition, - SAUDI ARABIA: Said it will cooperate fully with the United States on its investigation into the attacks. It has condemned the attacks, but said they are partly the result of U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East. - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: The United Arab Emirates has condemned the attacks, has offered to help the United States fight terrorism and has launched an investigation to determine whether an Emirati national, Marwan Alshehhi, is the same man that German police have said is one of the 19 suspects in the attacks. Emirates President Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan warned in a letter to NATO ambassadors that without a solution to Middle East conflict, terrorism cannot be eradicated. - YEMEN: Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi said his country rejects terrorism ``and Yemen will cooperate in fighting terrorism.'' Yemen has said it would be willing to join an international coalition to fight terrorism, but only under the umbrella of an international organization such as the United Nations. SUBCONTINENT/CENTRAL ASIA AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban leaders have refused to hand over the prime suspect, Osama bin Laden. The Taliban said they were fortifying bunkers and installations in preparation for a possible U.S. military response. Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar received the support of senior clerics. All foreigners were ordered to leave, and many Afghans began to flee. - ARMENIA: Condemned the attacks and offered to send salvage experts to the United States. Armenian officials have called for coordination of international efforts to fight terrorism. - AZERBAIJAN: Azerbaijani President Geidar Aliev denounced the attacks as ``the most monstrous event in modern history,'' ordered a nationwide mourning for its victims and offered his nation's help in tracking down the organizers of the attacks. - INDIA: Intelligence officials said they have given the United States information about Islamic extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including evidence describing how bin Laden and other Muslim militant leaders were financing guerrilla groups and running training camps. - KAZAKSTAN: Kazakstan, the largest of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, has condemned the attacks and sent condolences to Washington. But officials have been nervous about possible U.S. strikes in Afghanistan, fearing they would destabilize the region and trigger a flow of refugees. KAZAKSTAN: The former Soviet republics of Kazakstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia agreed to cooperate with the United States in fighting terrorism. Kyrgyzstan said if requested, it would ``supply the FBI (news - web sites) with all materials it is interested in,'' while Uzbekistan said it was willing to discuss all forms of cooperation including the deployment of U.S. forces. Tajikistan said it was ready to cooperate with the Americans. - KYRGYZSTAN: Kyrgyzstan, separated from Afghanistan by a thin swath of mountainous Tajikistan, expressed condolences to the United States and called for stronger action against international terrorism. Officials have made no commitments to assist the United States. - PAKISTAN: Declared its ``full support'' for U.S. retaliation against the Taliban, and was sending a high-level delegation to Kandahar on Monday to demand the Taliban hand over bin Laden to the United States or risk a massive retaliatory assault. Hard-line Muslims, who oppose Pakistani cooperation with the United States, demonstrated nationwide. - TAJIKISTAN: Ruled out the possibility of launching any Western-led reprisal attacks from its territory, which borders northern Afghanistan. Prime Minister Akil Akilov had indicated he might consider a U.S. request to provide air corridors, but only with approval from Russia and the international community. - TURKMENISTAN: Turkmenistan, which borders Afghanistan, has condemned the terror attacks and offered support to the United States. However, President Saparmurat Niyazov has been noncommittal about any possible assistance to the United States for staging strikes on Afghanistan. - RUSSIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a nationwide moment of silence for victims of the attacks and called for a global effort to uproot international terrorism. At the same time, Russia, where one of every seven residents is Muslim, is unlikely to risk internal unrest by joining any U.S. retaliation. Russian officials have also made it clear that Moscow does not want former Soviet republics in Central Asia to be used as bases for such operations. RUSSIA: Chairman of the Russian parliament's foreign relations committee told the U.S. ambassador he opposes letting United States use bases in Central Asia for the fight against terrorism because he fears the Americans may stay. A U.S. delegation begins talks Wednesday with Russian officials on how to combat terrorism. UZBEKISTAN: The Foreign Ministry said Monday that it was ready ``to discuss any form of cooperation in the struggle against international terrorism in our region, including the deployment of U.S. forces.'' The predominantly Muslim nation, which borders Afghanistan, has itself faced attacks by Islamic extremists allegedly linked with the Taliban. ASIA/PACIFIC= AUSTRALIA: Agreed to a U.S. request to keep its frigate HMAS Anzac stationed in the Persian Gulf for eight days longer than planned. It had been due to leave the area, where it had been enforcing sanctions against Iraq, on Sunday. Australia has invoked its defense treaty with the United States, clearing the way for military participation in any U.S. retaliatory strikes. - BRUNEI: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, absolute ruler of the tiny, oil-rich enclave on Borneo island in Southeast Asia, expressed shock and sent a message of condolence to President Bush. - CHINA: President Jiang Zemin (news - web sites) called Bush a day after the attacks to express condolences and say China wanted to collaborate with the United States on anti-terrorism activities. A deputy foreign minister said China wanted to be consulted before Washington or NATO countries took any military action outside their territories. - INDONESIA: President Megawati Sukarnoputri condemned the attacks before she left Monday for the United States to meet Bush and address the U.N. General Assembly. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, where some hard-line Islamic groups are waging separatist conflicts that threaten the secular government. - JAPAN: The Japanese government pledged to help the United States in its war against terrorism ``in whatever way we can.'' The nation's pacifist constitution prohibits it from engaging in offensive military action, but Tokyo has promised help with transport and medical operations. - MALAYSIA: Security has been tightened at the world's tallest buildings, the Petronas Twin Towers, after a bomb scare. Government officials promise to investigate reports that one of the hijackers who crashed a plane into the Pentagon met a suspect in the USS Cole (news - web sites) attack at the Kuala Lumpur's airport in October. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad warned against retaliatory violence, saying the result will be more terror. - SOUTH KOREA: Observed a national day of mourning on Friday. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung (news - web sites) said the two Koreas should issue a joint statement against terrorism in reconciliation talks now under way in Seoul. The North has not commented on the proposal. - TAIWAN: President Chen Shui-bian offered to ``provide any necessary assistance'' to the United States against terrorism. Chen ordered security to be stepped up at airports, ports and nuclear plants, and appointed a panel to study how the attacks would affect the world's economy. - THAILAND: Pledged to help the United States ``just as we did in the past.'' During the Gulf War against Iraq, Thailand was used by U.S. military aircraft as a refueling stop. The government has pledged to exchange intelligence on terrorists and will support any United Nations resolution against terrorism. - VIETNAM: President Tran Duc Luong sent a message to Bush expressing shock at the attacks. ``Vietnam consistently rejects terrorist actions which cause loss of life and suffering to civilians,'' he said. THE AMERICAS= ARGENTINA: The only South American country with a special status in NATO has fully backed the United States in its promised war on terrorism. Argentina committed troops to the Gulf War a decade ago, but has not yet specified what form of support it would provide. - BOLIVIA - The Bolivian government issued a statement offering its support to the United States after the terrorist attacks. Most Bolivians condemned the attacks, though certain union leaders, including Indian leader and former guerrilla Felipe Quispe, have said that the ``imperialist'' politics of the United States led to them. - BRAZIL: Proposed that the Organization of American States formalize support for the United States under a 1947 treaty that considers an armed attack on any member as an attack on all. Foreign Minister Celso Lafer said that for now the support was diplomatic and not military, but he declined to say whether Brazil would endorse an eventual U.S. military response. - CANADA: Will be part of a ``global response to a global threat,'' Prime Minister Jean Chretien said Monday, but he has so far refused to commit Canadian troops to any ground fighting. Opposition leader Stockwell Day of the Canadian Alliance said, ``If and when the need arises for military action ... we must be willing and we must be prepared to provide it.'' - CHILE: Condemned the attacks and expressed firm support for the United States, though cautioning that any response should be within the frame of international law and avoid harm to innocent people. - COLOMBIA: President Andres Pastrana prayed for the victims in a chapel in the presidential palace. Just as the global drug scourge cannot be defeated without every country's cooperation, all nations have a ``shared responsibility'' to combat terrorism, Pastrana said. Firefighters in Cali and Medellin also marched or prayed in support of New York City firefighters. - COSTA RICA: Foreign Minister Roberto Rojas announced on Friday that Costa Rica, which holds the presidency of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, will convene a meeting of the council in Washington on Wednesday to analyze the repercussions of the attacks. - CUBA: Cuban President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) condemned the attacks and offered medical assistance to the United States. He also cautioned against getting ``caught up in the desire'' for revenge. - ECUADOR: Police and army intelligence are investigating the possible presence of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terrorist organization within the country, Foreign Minister Heinz Moeller said Monday. - EL SALVADOR - President Francisco Flores condemned the attack and suspended all Independence Day celebrations. The Congress declared three days of national mourning, and Flores said that ``anything El Salvador (news - web sites) can do to collaborate (in the investigations) it will do.'' - GUATEMALA - The Guatemalan government declared three days of mourning and lowered flags at government buildings to half-staff. President Alfonso Portillo condemned the attacks in his annual Independence Day speech on Saturday and said he supported the international fight against terrorism and organized crime. - HONDURAS - Seven Central American countries are tentatively scheduled to meet in Honduras on Wednesday to adopt a common strategy against terrorism in the wake of the New York attacks, the Honduran government announced Monday. Honduran officials said their country ``is most willing to participate in the fight against terrorism.'' - MEXICO - Fresh from a visit to Washington, President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) said his country is ``ready to collaborate with all those countries in a proposed alliance to fight this evil.'' Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda told the Mexican Congress that the United States ``has every right and reason to seek reprisal'' and that ``we can't deny them our support.'' - NICARAGUA - The Nicaraguan government said it deplored the attacks and promised to lend whatever help was necessary to fight terrorism within the framework of the Interamerican Reciprocal Assistance Treaty, a mutual defense treaty for the Western Hemisphere. The government said it also would help with the investigations in whatever way possible. - PANAMA: Reinforced protection of the Panama Canal, the U.S. Embassy, oil refineries and the main airport. President Mireya Moscoso sent the U.S. government a message of support and solidarity. - PARAGUAY - Paraguay has stepped up controls along its borders with Brazil and Argentina, a thriving trade corridor that is home to a large Arab community. The area has been suspected in the past of being a conduit for shadowy Islamic groups. - PERU: President Alejandro Toledo expressed support for the United States against the ``demented'' terrorist attacks that affect ``not only the United States but also the democratic conviction of the world.'' Foreign Minister Diego Garcia Sayan pressed for an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States to adopt a resolution backing all measures in the fight against global terrorism. - URUGUAY: Foreign Secretary Didier Opertti says Uruguay ``will support the collective decisions taken because it understands that this aggression is not just an aggression against the United States, but against the lifestyle of our countries.'' - VENEZUELA: President Hugo Chavez said OPEC (news - web sites) member Venezuela would do ``everything possible'' to guarantee steady oil supplies. He appealed to President Bush not to wage a ``World War III'' that could trigger global, even nuclear, conflict. Defense Minister Jose Vicente Rangel said Venezuela could cooperate in U.S.-led military action but won't promise ``carte blanche'' help in a conflict with Muslim nations, with which Venezuela maintains ties based on oil. MORE: CHINA: China pledged to join the United States and the world in considering ``any proposals'' to eliminate terrorism but stressed that retaliation should be weighed carefully and follow international law. China expressed its willingness to discuss at the U.N. Security Council any proposals against terrorism. FRANCE: President Jacques Chirac was scheduled to meet Tuesday evening with Bush at the White House. Chirac has said the French would be ``totally supportive'' in the fight against terrorism once those responsible for the U.S. attacks are identified. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin cautioned that France would need support from its parliament before engaging in retaliatory action for the attacks. IRAQ: President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) said the United States was using the Sept. 11 attacks as a pretext to settle old scores with Muslim countries. He also accused Washington of using ``sheer terrorism and blackmail'' against several countries to force them to support its campaign. JAPAN: Japan's central bank lowered its key interest rate from 0.25 percent to 0.10 percent, a largely symbolic gesture of solidarity with the United States and Europe, and took other measures to make more money available in the market. Japan's ruling coalition also outlined a new push to allow the country's military to help guard U.S. bases in Japan, while a top Japanese official said his nation should provide logistical support and medical services, not just monetary aid. -

excellent and useful summary, thanks suzee UK news today has been reporting Blair doing major diplomatic stuff to get countries to agree to united action (in particular 6 African states, and China); also that he will be in the US to meet Bush on Thursday, clear implication being discussing military action. Top brass military have apparently been in Downing St. what hasn't been on the news, but I'm not the only one noticing it, a couple of friends have said the same in other parts of the country, there's been lots more movement of military aircraft around here the last couple of days than would be normal.

ITS HARD TO BELIEVE WE HAVE CRETINS LIKE THIS IN BUSINESS IN AMERICA People like what? People like one Bill Schrempf. He's the CEO of NCCI Holdings, Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida. NCCI is a company that compiles workers compensation insurance data. How exciting. They have about 850 employes in its Boca Raton offices. It seems that some of the NCCI employees are proud of their heritage and proud of their country. In the wake of the terrorist attack some of these NCCI employees decided that they wanted to display an American flag on their desks. At that point the dynamic Bill Schrempf swung into action. The orders went out to his managers and they immediately fanned out throughout the workplace confiscating the American flags. Schrempf, it seems, is afraid that some of the workers in the NCCI offices might find the display offensive. So, NCCI boss Bill Schrempf finds himself in the same rouges gallery as John Smeaton, the vice provost of student affairs at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Smeaton ordered flags removed from campus busses for fear that foreign students might be (gasp!!!!) offended!!! The one difference between Lehigh and NCCI is that at Lehigh there was someone above Smeaton who actually possessed an ounce of sense and some feelings of patriotism. Smeaton's order was countered in minutes. At NCCI Schrempf is the boss! There IS nobody above him (unless the Board of Directors calls a quick meeting.) How's this for a workplace rule. Nobody works here who is offended by the American Flag. Period. If the American Flag offends you then you are a virtual cancer in this workplace. Pack your stuff and don't let the door knob hit you in the ass on your way out. Let me put it another way. If I have a flag on my desk and you try to confiscate it because you are offended -- then you have a damned good chance to be the subject of one of those statistical records that NCCI collects. DAMN -- this just pisses me off. Sorry, can't hide it. I wish I had the money to buy that company just so I could send Schrempf packing. Now -- it just happens that I don't have any need for a company that compiles workers compensation data. In the interest of all fairness -- since I have slammed Bill Schrempf and his company -- don't you think its only fair that I list the company name and phone number? I mean -- just in case you happen to agree with Bill Schrempf and would like to call and congratulate him! So, for that purpose only .... NCCI HOLDINGS INC 901 PENINSULA CORP CIR BOCA RATON, FL (561)893-1000 And here's a link to the story from the Palm Beach Post. http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/saturday/business_3.html ANY CONNECTION TO THIS NCCI? Last evening (Sunday) I spent a good amount of time trying to find an Internet site for NCCI. No luck. This caused me to expand my search and, with the help of a Nuze reader came with some interesting items. We found two websites this morning. One, ( http://www.ncci.com ) appears to be for the Palm Beach company. The other, ( http://www.ncci.sa.com/ ) is for the NCCI (National Corporation for Cooperative Insurance) that was established by Royal Decree No. M/5 of 17/4/1405H as a Saudi Joint Stock Company. That's right --- a corporation wholly owned by the government of Saudi Arabia. It seems this Saudi Arabian company is in the same business -- insurance. In searching both websites I could find no interlocking references. This doesn't mean no connection exists --- but the coincidence is somewhat amazing. Both with the "NCCI" in their name, both in the insurance business. I wonder who the stockholders of the Palm Beach company are?

Every possible resource has been posted on a special page by Google.com plus important contacts and news sources world wide. http://www.google.com/news/

This page is an excellent resource. I'm going to make it my home page.

marcia, you may post the ribbon in all of our conferences--and terry, can we get it on our main page?

Sure thing!

Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 10:56:24 -0700 (PDT) From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com Subject: The Big Picture? Cc: lauren@pfir.org "You will say you lose your freedom. Freedom is an illusion. All you lose is the emotion of pride." -- Colossus "Colossus: The Forbin Project" (1970) "There seems to be a definite pattern emerging." -- The Psychiatrist (G. Wood) "Harold and Maude" (1971) An interesting pattern does seem to be emerging. I do not suggest that it's the result of a conspiracy, but rather the result of long-term trends that have been self-reinforcing. Still, like the images in a kaleidoscope, complex-appearing structures can seem to easily appear from independent actions. We start with media consolidation on a grand scale. The range of content providers and distribution operations -- TV, cable, newspapers, magazine, Internet, and so on, are primarily in the hands of a tiny cadre of gigantic firms. This consolidation seems likely to continue to even more intense levels. Such concentration of media power provides the ability to present a highly unified message both to the population at large and to Congress through lobbyists. A slogan like CNN's "America's New War" can be applied across a range of related properties and environments, instead of merely being sandwiched between "EnerX" commercials. Next step: Institute a mindset and legal structure that marginalizes all rights to information except those of copyright holders (most of the widely-used content will be under the control of those few media conglomerates we discussed above, of course). The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) helps enormously at this stage to accomplish this goal. Send violators to prison along with the rapists, murderers, and terrorists. Finally, a way to fill those jail cells being emptied out in California from the new "treat drug offenders rather than jail them" program. Gotta keep the momentum going. Outlaw the sale or providing of *everything* --hardware, software, communications, impure thoughts, or what have you-- relating to digital technologies that cannot be directly controlled by those concentrated media forces. The SSSCA (Security Systems Standards and Certification Act) should do nicely. To sweeten the deal, point out that since only SSSCA-approved security systems would be legal, it could provide a dandy mechanism to make the use of strong encryption in the private sector illicit. All that's needed is to ensure that such strong crypto systems are not compatible with the SSSCA-approved mechanisms (or refuse to certify anything that contains those undesirable systems). The approved security system will of course contain the appropriate backdoors for data access by the powers-that-be (and sufficiently resourceful hackers). The level of civil disobedience likely to result will probably be the highest since prohibition, but hey, prohibition didn't have any nasty side-effects that weren't trivial to control, right? And to tie this all up in a nice neat bow, be ready to take advantage of any catastrophe, tragedy, or horror to assert your agenda while emotions run high and knee-jerk reactions are the order of the day. Voila! Mission accomplished. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren@pfir.org or lauren@vortex.com or lauren@privacyforum.org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy "Reality Reset" Columns - http://www.vortex.com/reality

Subject: [risks] Risks Digest 21.66 Date: Monday, September 17, 2001 10:13 PM From: RISKS List Owner Reply-To: risko@csl.sri.com To: RISKS-LIST: Risks-Forum Digest Monday 17 September 2001 Volume 21 : Issue 66 FORUM ON RISKS TO THE PUBLIC IN COMPUTERS AND RELATED SYSTEMS (comp.risks) ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy, Peter G. Neumann, moderator ***** See last item for further information, disclaimers, caveats, etc. ***** This issue is archived at and by anonymous ftp at ftp.sri.com, cd risks . Contents: 11 September 2001 in retrospect (PGN) Abridged info on RISKS (comp.risks) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 16:27:43 PDT From: "Peter G. Neumann" Subject: 11 September 2001 in retrospect *********************************** *********************************** ** 11 September 2001 ** *********************************** *********************************** "THE RISKS ARE OBVIOUS." BUT PERHAPS NOT OBVIOUS ENOUGH. 11 September 2001 will be painfully remembered by most of the planet's population for the coordinated hijacking of four jetliners and the ensuing surprise attacks on New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon, with thousands of lives lost and enormous consequential after-effects. Our hearts go out to everyone close to those who were so irrevocably affected -- including the crash victims, the firemen and other emergency workers in New York City, and especially the UA93 passengers whose efforts evidently saved the lives of others. We are once again reminded how fragile our lives and civic infrastructures are, and how interdependent we all are. Although violent and sudden large-scale termination of people's lives has previously been all too familiar in many countries of the world, many of us have hitherto largely taken too much for granted. Hopefully, the aftermath of this fateful day will dramatically increase public awareness of some of the vulnerabilities in our lives and risks to our freedom. However, the events should come as no surprise, because many warnings have been widely ignored. For example, the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection of the previous U.S. Administration identified serious vulnerabilities in telecommunications, electric power and other energy sources, transportation, financial services, emergency services, and government continuity. It noted how interdependent these critical infrastructures are, and how they are all related to information technologies. It also observed difficulties in coordination among and within different infrastructures, and perhaps most relevant, a general lack of public awareness. In many respects, complacency has been seen across the board in response to that report. In addition, the White House Commission on Safety and Security (the Gore Commission) identified many serious risks in aviation. (Also, see my paper , presented at the January 1997 International Conference on Aviation Safety and Security, co-sponsored by that commission and George Washington University.) Various analyses of commercial aviation and air-traffic control over the past 18 years within the Department of Transportation have identified potentially serious vulnerabilities that merit closer attention. More recently, a U.S. General Accounting Office report identified many serious problems in airport security. But, perhaps because the risks and threat levels seemed low, or possibly because institutional bureaucracy is so deeply entrenched, very little action was deemed necessary. Unfortunately, some of the issues recognized therein have now come home to roost. As a society, we in the U.S. seem to be unwilling to take certain prudent precautions -- perhaps because they would cost too much, or be too inconvenient, or would seriously degrade service. Apparently, we suffer from a serious lack of foresight. The Risks Forum has persistently considered risks associated with our technologies and their uses, but we often note that many of the crises and other risk-related problems have resulted from low-tech events, misguided human behavior, or malicious misbehavior. In short, the typical search for high-tech solutions to problems stemming from social, economic, and geopolitical causes has frequently ignored more basic issues. Over-endowing high-tech solutions is riskful in the absence of adequate understanding of the limitations of the technology and the frailties and perversities of human nature. Whereas there are high-tech solutions that might be effective if properly used, we should also be examining some low-tech and no-tech approaches. One pervasive theme in the Risks Forum over the past 16 years has been the ubiquity of systemic vulnerabilities relating to security, reliability, availability, and overall survivability, with respect to human enterprises, society at large, and to systems, applications, and enterprises based on information technologies. Evidently, we still have much to learn. Let us seek to build a better world, and remain true to our human values and constitutional foundations. Also, let us beware of seeming solutions -- technological or otherwise -- that result in further escalation of the risks. Sadly, because of the inherent vulnerabilities in those seeming solutions, we are always at risk, whether we realize it or not. Peter G. Neumann ------------------------------

Subject: To the day Date: Tuesday, September 18, 2001 11:07 AM From: Womack, Jack As I start to write this, I look at my watch and realize that one week ago, just now, I'd just seen the first tower go down. Here in the new world it seems like a year, two years, a hundred years. Time has taken on a rubbery quality. Toward the end of Burn's The Civil War documentary, years ago, there was a single phrase read aloud; written by either a Yankee or Confederate some time after the war, thinking back on his experience, and I keep hearing it in my head: "Were these things real?" Even as I go through each day, so much of it still refuses to settle into anything remotely resembling reality. Last night we watched Letterman, who was on for the first time after the late news, and it was extremely strange, and vaguely unsettling. He didn't make any jokes, of course, but this most hard-shelled of all contemporary performers revealed depths of sadness, and fear, and uncertainty, and anger; and then Dan Rather came out as his guest and broke down in tears twice. Extremely unreal. Yet, on the other hand, V & I went over to Jersey City late yesterday afternoon to have dinner with her mother and celebrate the new year (praying, as every year, to have one more year). While I expected huge backups at the bus terminal, we somehow managed to hit it right, and got from Port Authority to Summit Ave. in Jersey City in half an hour. On the way, as we went up Palisades Avenue, which runs along the top of the Palisades (which, in this area, are utterly urbanized) and so I saw all of lower Manhattan from the Jersey side, and the absence of the Towers, and the smoke that continues to rise therefrom. That, conversely, now seemed normal. Valeria's mother, who is 68, was extremely happy to see us. Jersey City has a large Arab population (and Indian, and Phillipine, and...) and she was more than usually suspicious -- relating stories of how two had been arrested (I have heard this on the news as well), etc. She's holding up very well, though; of course, this is a woman who grew up in Soviet Russia during the Second World War, and under Stalin, and didn't leave the USSR until 1981, so she's had considerable experience, living life under conditions that are only now beginning to become imaginable. Besides the absence of the Towers from a distance there are many things that are beginning to seem normal to me now. Leaving the house fifteen minutes earlier because my subway now becomes express at 96th, and therefore no longer stops at 50th (unless I transfer). Seeing at least one policeman at every subway station, and many more at the larger stations. Hearing, along with the occasional airplane (I gather airports are becoming rather ghostly, at present), the occasional F-16. Phone service, especially long-distance & cellular, that comes and goes. Police barricades along Fifth, metal barriers at the Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center, the sight of US flags everywhere, attached to car aerials, hanging from windows, photocopied and taped onto doors. The occasional Army humvee parked on Broadway. New York crowds, thinned out to a level I haven't seen since the late 70s and early 80s, when no one wanted to come to NY on a bet, save for the likes of me and my people. I'd recommend the new New Yorker. The cover is by Spiegelman, and brilliant. In the News, this morning, an article about NY's Afghan restaurants, and how no one is eating at them, and how they're quickly going to go broke; the people who run them are, of course, in nearly all cases immigrants who came here to escape the war during the 80s, or the Taliban since. And the new total of people still missing is a little over 5,400 -- evidently the additional 700 weren't reported until yesterday; I imagine many relatives, companies, etc., were still holding out hope. A friend in Australia has told me 100 Aussies have been killed; a friend in Germany says anywhere up to 200-some Germans were killed; and of course 500 Brits. 100 Russians. And U.S. citizens who, being New Yorkers, were of every possible background, every color and creed. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus.. An attack on Civilization, period. I need to talk to my father again tonight, to see how he is doing. Two weeks ago, tomorrow, my stepmother suddenly died, as you and some others know (she was 52). Her funeral was September 8, and then 3 days later...thoughts of her vanished from my mind, mostly, since last Tuesday, and that makes me feel sad, but even so I can only move forward. I know I didn't come close to processing her death, but at some point I suppose I will -- or maybe I already have, in this new world. I honestly don't know. I'm not as scared today as I was yesterday. I can't imagine this will last; today is Ros Ha'shanah, NY is quiet yet again -- this time, for better reason then has recently been the case -- and, clearly, something is in the air. But I don't know what, and until that something occurs, I can only do what I have been trying to do for some years -- since I came down with the TB, really, back in early 1997; and again, after Jenna died, back in March -- and that is, live one day at a time. The thing is, I have been *trying* to do this; and I think, now, I finally am. It is the most real of all unreal feelings, to be doing so. Jonathan Carroll has just sent the following, which I pass along. Friends, I had an idea today and it may be nuts but maybe not. I know you're all in touch one way or another with people in the computer community worldwide and they're in touch with others, etcetera. Here's my idea, for what it's worth. Computer hackers are often thought of as nasty little shits who fuck up everybody's day for no reason(s) other than to be annoying. But what if for once they put their minds to a real and important task-- what if that hacker community worldwide tried in break to the computer networks of the terrorists? The Greatest Challenge, the greatest "game" ever posed them and any results would be, well, heroic. What if this message or something like it was sent out far and wide to these computer experts? A genuine call to arms to people who believe nothing justifies what was done in New York the other day and now knowledgeable, talented people must do what they can to fight it far and wide. For hackers that means crack their systems, figure out what they're saying, give the results to the people who can put it to good use, etcetera. Do exactly what they've been doing all along--hack the system-- but this time do it for something that means saving lives everywhere. I leave the thought in your hands, Jonathan

*Arthur Kroker Vents His Feelings With Such Untoward Eloquence That They Threaten To Make Common Sense *8-/ Subject: Event-scene 97 - Terrorism of Viral Power Date: Tuesday, September 18, 2001 2:18 PM From: CTHEORY EDITORS Reply-To: CTHEORY EDITORS To: _____________________________________________________________________ CTHEORY THEORY, TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE VOL 24, NO 3 Event-scene 97 09/18/01 Editors: Arthur and Marilouise Kroker _____________________________________________________________________ Terrorism of Viral Power ======================== ~Arthur and Marilouise Kroker~ The 20th century took place under the sign of nuclear superpower: a cold war with bloc to bloc political confrontations; a military rhetoric of graduated escalating respnses; a strangely comforting illusion of "mutually assured destruction." Deterrence was everywhere. Dissuasion was the code. A bored culture living in the shadowland of apocalypse now. That ended September 11th. The field of power flipped. The triumphant era of the last superpower suddenly gave way to the contagious logic of viral power. In place of the certainty principle of nuclear stalemate, there emerges now the radical uncertainty of the terrorism of micro-power. The always suspended fantaticism of technological holocaust is challenged by the fanaticism of religious zealotry. The logic of deterrence no longer functions. Deterrrence only works in a deadly game in which adversaries have a primary interest in preserving their own lives. Sacrificing one's own life is the first gambit, and real psychological fuel of suicide commandos. Dissuasion is inoperative. Again, the code of dissuasion is intimately linked to a politics founded on preserving territory. However, viral power is terroristic precisely because it occupies only the imaginary territory of symbolic exchange. The religious ecstasy of a sudden, unexpected, devastating strike against the symbolic capital of the American empire: the trinity of the World Trade Center, Pentagon and the airlines of America. The terrorism of the new age of viral power has these symbolic qualities: It is a micro-power, not a superpower. It is low tech, not high tech--and thus invisible to the optical scanners of the ruling technological regime. Paradoxically, the (technological) weakness of viral power is its strength. It is subterranean, secretive--driven by a crusading spirit equal to the religious zeal of the Middle Ages. Breaking the rules of publicity culture, it claims no responsibility and thus speaks clearly to the cultural imagination of the suppressed and powerless everywhere. It is a matter of biological violence, not physics. Flowing invisibly through the rhetorical screen of the 'anti-ballistic missile system,' viral power adopts the strategy of the attacking parasite: invading the body of the host (the American homeland), bleeding its tactical intelligence (those flight schools in Florida), circulating in its commercial bloodstream (American airlines), and imploding in a violent fatal metastasis that has as its aim the infiltration of the mediascape through its apocalyptic effects. Viral power avoids conflict with the real military assests of the host nation because its actual intention is a strategic media strike. Viral power is understandable only in the language of the media: the twin spectacles of sadness and terror; the doubled language of fascination and dread. In the days ahead, the media spectacle will shift to the viral language of rage and revenge. Tragically, the real missiles were those American people taken hostage in the air. The real targets were not hardened missile silos, but the dominant symbols of American power. The real terrorism was the destabilization of the American government. The real war is the coming war on civil liberties as the price for combating terrorism. The real 'ground zero' was provoking America to acts of vengeance that will only fast-feed the future rage of viral power. The scenario of terrorism, then, as a mutating virus that copies itself to American rage on its way to revenge against the host-scapegoat. Viral power goes into the sea, the sky, the earth. It cannot be defeated by the normal methods of nuclear warfare. It can only be copied. The virus of terrorism is about to enter the American bloodstream, taking democracy hostage. Listen to House of Representatives Minority Leader Richard Gephardt: "We are in a new world. We have to rebalance freedom and security. We can't take away people's civil liberties. But we're not going to have all the openness and freedom we have had." The implosion of American democracy, then, as the ultimate objective of the suicide commandos. The 'war on terrorism' may have finally begun, but the first casualty may well be American freedom as it was envisioned before September 11, 2001. _____________________________________________________________________ Arthur and Marilouise Kroker are the editors of CTHEORY.

From: Stewart Brand <sb@gbn.org Subject: not-terrorism Dave, the following set of thoughts is from Kevin Kelly, who spent four months in Afghanistan in the late 70s, more months in northern Pakistan, and a long time in Iran (during its revolution). I think its balanced inquiry might be of interest to IPers. --Stewart Brand The Taliban are kind of like Nazis to the Afghanis, but we should remember that while the Nazis had resistance and passive obedience among the Germans, they also had supporters. And so do the Taliban. But it's true most of the Afghanis, like the Germans, are just getting screwed. The other important point is the the Taliban are not bin Laden, and bin Laden not the Taliban. Bin Laden is a foreigner who is barely tolerated by most rural Afghanis, since the Afghanis are very xenophobic. I think bin Laden is far more sophisticated, complex, and cosmopolitan than the Taliban. Few Taliban have ever left their home province. Bin Laden is a world savvy. For another thing, he is brilliantly creative, and known among his supporters as 'imaginative." You can't say that about the Taliban. HIs idea of using American know-how to bomb itself, using no resources of his own, is sheer genius. He is one of the few Islamics to bridge the great cultural gulf between and among the Arabs. Remember that the Afghanis are NOT Arabs. They are Caucasians, their language is "Indo-European" and they are culturally Persians. The Afghanis don't even like Arabs. Yet bin Laden is able to speak to and appeal to them as well as North Africans, Lebonese, Egyptians, Iraquis, Palestinians, Iranians, Pakistanis, Kashmiris -- which is simply remarkable. More so, he has bridge the religious differences among the Muslims, although he still has a way to go. Just getting Shiite and Suni Muslims in the same room is itself a remarkable achievement. That fact that bin Laden appeals to married, 43-year old residents of America with pilot licenses willing to give their lives, says to me there is something large and non-marginal about this. Bin Laden may be Hitler, but it does no good to think of Hitler, or bin Laden, as "fringe" or even as a terrorist. This is a main stream, middle of the road skirmish. Radical Islam will become the new communism, if it isn't that already. It has a deep appeal, even to those subjugated to it. There are aspects about that even supporters don't like and can't stand, but they will submit to it because they believe it is better overall than the alternative of "western capitalism." And like communism it will be very hard to eradicate it, should we attempt to. The Arab countries we are now asking to take sides, will probably take sides with us, but this will kill and maim them because they are essentially taking sides against many of their own citizens, who may be better organized and committed than the government itself. The key question for me is: will this revolutionary style -- a sort of mafia, suicidal, networked, globally guerilla insurgency -- be imported by other non-muslim radicals? Will bin Laden become the Che Guevera of this century? Will the resident antipathy towards America in other spheres be cast in the same style. Will all anti-global-capitalism become clones of bin Laden? Like communism this can spread. And like communism I think its a very bad idea in practice, though it sounds good in theory. So I am in favor of halting it, and I believe that it needs to be combatted early and often. But the danger of radical Islam becoming the new communism is that anyone who is not against them becomes branded a communist, or "terrorist," themselves. That worries me because I am not so eager to label bin Laden a "tinpot terrorist." He is not second rate, and he may not even be a terrorist. This is a new kind of war. There has been no demands made, like in most terrorism. There is nothing we have that they want. Their intent is not to terrorize. This is only a side product. Their intent is to destroy the prevailing mono-system. But they are not a state government, but a pan-national network that is growing. We've done little to eradicate them in 20 years. They are stronger now then ever before. At first I thought that the World Trade airbombing would need to be followed through by another attack to have lasting meaning, but as the depth and sophistication of the network of the radicals is revealed I think we have already reached a critical moment. I think we need a new framework for understanding them. I would ban the use of the words "terrorists" and "terrorism." A better old word is "revolutionary." Our chief concern should be that there is nothing we have they want. They don't want recognition. They don't want our trade. They don't want our culture. They don't want our aspirations -- democracy, free choice, high technology. They don't want our values. They don't want our wealth. Actually, they would like our literacy (for males) and health care, but that is not enough. I think we need to enlarge western civilization so that we have something to offer them that they want. For all their differences, the Chinese and other Asias share aspirations with us. They would like to have much that we have. This is true of Latin America and even Africa to some extent. They want it in their own way, and on their own terms, and with their own improvements, but there is a sense of of a common goal. The Radical Islamics don't share that goal. And for the first time since communism, there is a competing destiny in the world. It is not the end of history as far as they are concerned. We in the west look at radical Islam and blink in disbelief that anyone could possibly WANT this? Are you serious? Yes. They are as serious as the World Trade Towers. Does it work in practice? Well the few examples we have (Afghanistan, Iran, etc.) do not give us much hope. But it took many decades for the practicality of communism to sink in. There were plenty of bombs dropped and people killed in western capitalism's battle against communism, but my own view of all that warring is that very little of it made as much difference in the end as the simple fact that the west, through its own improvement, came to offer many things that those in communist countries wanted. And when we had something they wanted, communism collapsed. We don't have much radical Islam wants right now, but we should. Providing it will be the only way, and the only honest way, to triumph. Needless to say, even if Bush was Churchill (ha!) this would not happen during his term. It's gonna take many many years. In the meantime, hug an Arab. -- --kk Hug an Arab, please. _______________________________________________________________________________ Kevin Kelly kk@well.com www.well.com/user/kk 149 Amapola Ave, Pacifica, CA 94044 USA +1-650-355-7676 home office +1-650-359-9701 fax

Suicide terrorism: a global threat Traditionally viewed as a problem affecting the Middle East and South Asia, the threat posed by suicide terrorism is spreading around the globe. Rohan Gunaratna assesses the nature of the threat, preventive and reactive security measures, and examines future trends. (...) The threat Suicide terrorism is the readiness to sacrifice one's life in the process of destroying or attempting to destroy a target to advance a political goal. The aim of the psychologically and physically war-trained terrorist is to die while destroying the enemy target. In the 1980s suicide terrorism was witnessed in Lebanon, Kuwait and Sri Lanka. In the 1990s it had spread to Israel, India, Panama, Algeria, Pakistan, Argentina, Croatia, Turkey, Tanzania and Kenya. With enhanced migration of terrorist groups from conflict-ridden countries, the formation of extensive international terrorist infrastructures and the increased reach of terrorist groups in the post Cold War period, suicide terrorism is likely to affect Western Europe and North America in the foreseeable future. There are now 10 religious and secular terrorist groups that are capable of using suicide terrorism as a tactic against their governments and/or foreign governments. They are: the Islam Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad of the Israeli occupied territories; Hizbullah of Lebanon; the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) and Gamaya Islamiya (Islamic Group - IG) of Egypt; the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) of Algeria; Barbar Khalsa International (BKI) of India; the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of Sri Lanka; the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) of Turkey; and the Osama bin Laden network (Al Quaida) of Afghanistan. There were also four pro-Syrian, Lebanese and Syrian political parties engaged in suicide terrorism in the 1980s, but they are currently inactive in the terrorist front. These groups staged around 25 suicide attacks in Lebanon. As more than one group claimed some of the attacks, perhaps to diffuse the threat to the group, it is difficult to identify the group responsible. The groups engaged in suicide operations in Lebanon alongside Hizbullah were the Natzersit Socialist Party of Syria; the Syrian Nationalist Party; the Lebanese Communist Party; and the Baath Party of Lebanon. There are two types of suicide operations: battlefield and off the battlefield. In battlefield operations, suicide bombers are integrated into the attacking groups. Most off-the-battlefield operations have involved single suicide bombers. In the case of the LTTE and Hamas, there have been multiple suicide bombers. The targets have been static and mobile, against infrastructure and humans. Suicide bombers have destroyed military, political, economic and cultural infrastructure. They have committed terrorist attacks by killing civilians in buses, crowded places and in buildings. Suicide bombers have also assassinated political and military VIPs. Key characteristics Examination of suicide terrorism across a range of groups has revealed that terrorist groups use suicide bombers when they are both strong and weak. In terms of military and economic power, Hizbullah and the LTTE lead the list of suicide operations. In terms of numbers, the LTTE has conducted the largest volume of suicide operations, followed by Hizbullah, Hamas and the PKK. In terms of range, only some of the groups have operated beyond their territories. As well as abortive attempts to conduct suicide operations in Israel, Hizbullah has successfully conducted suicide operations in Argentina. The LTTE has conducted one suicide operation in India. It is the only group to have killed two world leaders - the former prime minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, and the president of Sri Lanka, Ranasinghe Premadasa - using male and female suicide bombers. The Egyptian groups have conducted suicide operations in Croatia against a police station and in Pakistan against the Egyptian embassy. Al-Qaeda used at least one Egyptian suicide bomber in the 1998 East African embassy bombings. All the other active groups have conducted suicide operations within their own territory. The PKK has threatened to conduct suicide operations in Germany where there is a large Kurdish diaspora. All the suicide terrorist groups have support infrastructures in Europe and in North America. Leaders and members of these groups are known to travel to the West, and key activists live either in Europe or in North America distributing propaganda, raising funds, and in some instances procuring weapons and shipping them to the various theatres of conflict. Suicide-capable groups differ in form, size, orientation, goal and support. A review of the key characteristics of the 10 suicide-capable groups reveals that any group can acquire suicide bomb technology and engage in suicide terrorism: a Al-Qaeda is a mix of several associate groups that are internationally dispersed. From Afghanistan, Bin Laden provides the overall direction to the organisation. Al-Qaedaefforts are primarily directed against the USA ('Great Satan') and Israel ('Little Satan'), and their allies. More recently, Al- Qaedahas directed its efforts against India on the issue of Kashmir, a territory disputed between India and Pakistan. The USA has directed its resources to disrupting Al-Qaedasupport operations in the USA, especially after the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. a The Indian counter insurgency specialist, K P S Gill, broke the backbone of the Sikh insurgents in Punjab, northern India. BKI is fighting for an independent 'Khalistan' in the predominantly Sikh state of Punjab. It has a small presence in the target country - India - but enjoys a significant presence in the diaspora - UK and Canada. In January 2000, when BKI was planning to conduct its second suicide operation, the Indian security forces apprehended the bomber. a The GIA has staged only one suicide operation as part of its fight to establish an Islamic state in Algeria. a Hizbullah, responsible for suicide bombing the US Marine Corps barracks and the headquarters of the French paratroopers in Lebanon in 1983, is fighting to oust the Israelis from southern Lebanon. Hizbullah is supported by Iran, a steadfast state sponsor. Today, Hizbullah is also a political party. a Hamas and PIJ, operating in Gaza and West Bank, have vowed to destroy the 'Zionist state of Israel'. Currently, Hamas and PIJ are controlled by the Palestinian Authority under its President, Yasser Arafat. Shin Bet (the Israeli security agency) and the Mossad (the Israeli external intelligence agency) have regulated the efficacy of these two groups by removing their key operatives and military leaders. In a deep-penetration operation, Shin Bet agents placed a micro explosive device in the mobile phone of the Hamas suicide bomb maker, Yahiya Aiyyash, killing him. Due to the efficiency of the countermeasures adopted by Israeli police, military, intelligence and security organisations, the number of fatalities and casualties caused by Hamas, the PIJ and Hizbullah bombing has steadfastly declined. Towards the last few bombings, the explosions only killed the bomber. Although Hamas is likely to retain a military capability, the group will probably join the political mainstream in the foreseeable future. The PIJ became weak after the Mossad assassinated Shikaki, its military and political commander in Malta. a The two Egyptian groups - IG and EIJ - are fighting to establish an Islamic state in Egypt. The leader of the EIJ, Dr Ayman Al-Thawaheri, lives in Afghanistan and works closely with Bin Laden. a Until the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK fought for an independent Kurdistan in southeastern Turkey. Today, the PKK is demanding autonomy and equal cultural rights. a The LTTE is fighting for an independent Tamil state in northeastern Sri Lanka. As the quality of targets chosen by the LTTE is high, it has a sophisticated training programme that lasts for about a year. As well as training the bomber, the LTTE research unit tests the effects of explosives on dogs and goats to ensure that the attack is successful. The list of Sri Lankan VIPs killed in suicide attacks includes one president, one presidential candidate, the State Minister of Defence, the Navy Chief and various area commanders. No country has lost so many leaders in such a short period of time as Sri Lanka has to the LTTE suicide bombers. (...) NUMBER OF SUICIDE ATTACKS BETWEEN 1980-2000 The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka and in India 168 Hizbullah and pro-Syrian groups in Lebanon, Kuwait and Argentina 52 Hamas in Israel 22 The Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) in Turkey 15 The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Israel 8 Al Quaida in East Africa 2 The Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) in Croatia 1 The Islamic Group (IG) in Pakistan 1 Barbar Khalsa International (BKI) in India 1 The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in Algeria 1

Below is a list of STICTLY FORBIDDEN items to be carried on board the cabin of any BA flight. DRS pages are being updated individually, but you can use this as a guideline when informing clients. Most are for obvious reasons, but something most of us never thought of previously. * Toy or replica guns (plastic or metal) * Household cutlery * Knives with blades of any length (including steel nail files) * Paper knives * Razor blades (shaving or other) * Tradesmen's tools * Darts * Scissors of any size * Hypodermic syringes* * Knitting needles * Sporting bats (including rackets, cricket bats and golf clubs) * Billiard, snooker, or pool cues * Catapults (slingshots) * Corkscrews with blades attached *Customers who require the use of hypodermic needles for medical reasons (for example, diabetics and customers with allergies), will be asked for proof of medical need. Please be advised that customers carrying any of the above items (with the exception of hypodermic needles) will be asked to place it in their hold baggage. Customers carrying hand baggage only will be asked to surrender the item for disposal.

Breakdown of people who are missing and presumed dead by nationality (per Reuters): Australia 78 Bangladesh 50 Brazil 30 Britain 300 Canada 78 China 53 Columbia 199 Ecuador 34 Egypt 4 El Salvador 73 Finland 50 Germany 104 Honduras 1 Indonesia 16 Ireland 103 Italy 5 Japan 24 Lebanon 3 Mexico 166 Philippines 435 Russia 100 South Africa 25 South Korea 18 Switzerland 288 Thailand 3 The remainder are Americans.

Link for the Reuters casualties by nationality figures above: http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20010918/wtc_casualties_graphic.gif The original source of the numbers is FEMA as of 9/17.

I hope not, but here's the rumor: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAGB8LISRC.html Relevant section: "Authorities have grown increasingly certain - from intelligence intercepts, witness interviews and evidence gathered in hijackers' cars and homes - that a second wave of violence was planned by collaborators. They said Sept. 22 has emerged as an important date in the evidence, but declined to be more specific. Tuesday's attacks were "part of a larger plan with other terrorism acts, not necessarily hijacking of airplanes," said Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Those acts were going to occur in the United States and elsewhere in the world." The FBI said it has issued an advisory to fire departments across the country to increase security and guard against the theft of any ambulances or fire trucks, which could be used in bombing attacks. The bureau said the warning was precautionary. " For more on your air travel safety, go to this site and read ALPA Security Alert Bulletin 2001-2, detailing such important items as the use of the emergency axe in the cockpit against suicidal hi-jackers and planning for emergency depressurizations and violent aircraft maneuvers to disable and disorient hi-jackers: http://www.awalpa.org/

World Leaders List Conditions on Cooperation New York Times September 19, 2001 by PATRICK E. TYLER and JANE PERLEZ (Excerpt) WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 � After a week of unconditional support from abroad, the Bush administration confronted its first significant difficulties today in building a broad international coalition to support using military power and other means against a still-faceless terror network rooted in Afghanistan and elsewhere. A procession of world leaders was either on the way or on the phone to Washington seeking to convince the White House that only a multilateral approach based on consultation, hard evidence and United Nations support would justify the use of military power in response to the devastating attacks last week. Today, President Jiang Zemin of China telephoned Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain and President Jacques Chirac of France as each prepared for meetings with President Bush. He admonished his Western counterparts to tell Mr. Bush that "any military action against terrorism" should be based on "irrefutable evidence and should aim at clear targets so as to avoid casualties to innocent people," according to official news reports from China. Mr. Jiang also telephoned President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, and although the two leaders denounced "terrorism in all its forms," they spoke just of cooperating with each other and the United Nations to "develop a mechanism for fighting terrorism," the reports said. As the Bush administration sought through White House consultations and overseas missions to strengthen the sinews of an antiterror effort whose scale and objective remain unknown, a number of countries began to calculate the potential cost of their taking part, and to try to exact a price for it from the United States. For a number of Middle Eastern countries, the price was straightforward. The United States has to become more deeply involved in ending the violence and in reinvigorating the Israeli-Palestinian peace effort. But it was clear that a convulsion in Israel, the West Bank or Gaza could threaten Washington's efforts to maintain support in moderate Arab countries, a problem that Mr. Bush's father faced in the 1991 coalition that defeated Iraq in Kuwait. "The people that we expect to work with closely in combating terrorism," a spokesman for the State Department, Richard A. Boucher, said, are "interested in the Israel- Palestinian situation," and their attitudes toward America's war on terrorism are "linked in people's minds" to America's commitment to Arab-Israeli peace. Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia, is due to arrive on Wednesday with a large contingent of Saudi intelligence officers and their files on Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network. But other potential American allies raised urgent economic and political agendas that officials said Washington was beginning to address. Pakistan, in exchange for whatever bases or rights to fly in its air space that it provides, would like an agreement to end 11 years of sanctions, to restore the flow of American arms and to reduce a punishing debt load. Russia, if it is called on, has a clear set of grievances over NATO expansion toward its borders and criticism of its military campaign in Chechnya. Foreign Minister Igor D. Ivanov arrives on Wednesday. Administration officials said they were eager to establish Moscow's price to open the northern corridor to Afghanistan through Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic. A number of Russian generals have questioned whether Russia could join an American-led antiterror campaign whose operational objectives remain unclear. One high- ranking military officer told a newspaper, Vremya Novestei, that "fighting terrorists is like trying to rid oneself of roaches in a block of flats." "You do it in one flat," the officer said, "and they go to another." Nowhere was the sense of alarm over American plans more apparent than in the warning of one of America's staunchest Middle East allies, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. In remarks broadcast on Monday night, he implored the United States not to undertake military action that might kill innocent civilians, divide Christians against Muslims and further inflame attitudes against American policy in the region. Mr. Mubarak, like Mr. Jiang, urged that "hard evidence" be the basis for any military action and that "countries not be punished" for the actions of "individuals." He called on the United Nations to organize an international convention against terrorism that would develop a common program of action for all countries. His remarks were echoed by other leaders in the region where Washington has yet to establish a firm diplomatic beachhead in dealing with intractable and volatile conflicts. While Egypt and Jordan were both crucial allies in the 1991 coalition against President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, diplomats from both countries said they did not expect to be called on to provide bases or other direct military support. Both said they were providing intelligence information on terrorist groups to the Central Intelligence Agency under longstanding agreements. Beneath the veneer of solidarity and support in Europe, misgivings can be heard about how Mr. Bush plans to proceed. Germany has repeatedly called for a multilateral approach to the problem and warned against America's going it alone. Speaking at the White House today, Mr. Chirac pointedly declined to accept Mr. Bush's characterization of the fight against terrorism as a war. "I don't know whether we should use the word `war,' " the French leader said. Diplomats noted that Mr. Bush sent a high-level State Department envoy, John R. Bolton, to Moscow on Monday to push forward on American missile defense plans, even though a decision by Mr. Bush to withdraw unilaterally from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 would raise questions of a return to a "go it alone" ethos in international affairs. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/19/international/19DIPL.html

Hi all MSG 436 sums up just about every country capable of providing aid bar New Zealand. Do we not exist? Last I looked 3.81 million New Zealanders, 46 million sheep as well as Kiwis, Takahe's Pukeko's Kaka, Kereru, among other birds, reptiles, fish, spiders and insects can be found on two large islands and a host of smaller islands grouped together under the popular name "Godzone". On to more relevant matters though. New Zealand has offered intelligence assistance but nothing else as we seem to be preoccupied with Air New Zealands struggle to stay afloat and the fact that our armed forces have been degraded so badly that the East Timor peace keeping operation is about as far as we would get anyway. We could have offered more if so much money was not being lost in ideological changes to governing structures for everything everytime Labour and National swapped places in the Beehive. I mean ideally we could have bought the 28 F-16s the United States was prepared to give us but Helen Clark's excuse was they have never been used so why keep them? So what if they were not used, having them meant our servicemen were technically competent, that we could participate in defence exercises and have a small but modern air combat force. We could have gotten one or two frigates that Labour was talking about but I suspect they sold out to the Greens. Typical. So here we are with a poorly equipped airforce that just lost the "force", and a downsized Navy. Great. Rob

(Rachael) what hasn't been on the news, but I'm not the only one noticing it, a couple of friends have said the same in other parts of the country, there's been lots more movement of military aircraft around here the last couple of days than would be normal. It's the same over here. The skies over the greater DC area are humming.

Thanks for the lengthy list of positions by country, Suzee. Everybody, time to put those tax refunds back in the mail to Washington. It's going to cost us jillions to *morally* convince some of these countries. :-(

Tamim Ansar (cited above) is supposed to be on Charlie Rose sometime and was on NPR being interviewed by Bill Moyers the other night. Pat Holt has a piece on him http://www.holtuncensored.com/members/index.html Robert McNeil who left the Newshour in 95 has come out of retirement to help with their coverage. His first interview was today http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/foreign_correspondence/july- dec01/terrorism_9-18.html One exchange: ROBERT MACNEIL: Steve Erlanger, how is Mr. Bush's leadership and his rhetoric perceived where you are, in Germany? STEVE ERLANGER: A little worrying, quite honestly. People are being very polite, but they see, often, the kind of terror in Mr. Bush's eyes when he goes off of his script. They worry he will feel too much political pressure to react too soon and in the wrong way. They are hopeful that he will listen to his senior advisers, and they think that he will, and they have a little bit of odd relief, almost, that for an administration that, so far, has regarded relations with Europe as very much secondary, if not tertiary, it is now discovering that, as usual, in a crisis America's best friends are on this continent.

Robin McNeil interviewed four overseas New York Times bureau chiefs. McNeil: Can I ask each of you how Washington's leadership and behavior is perceived where you are? Warren Hoge, after the first wave of solidarity and sympathy [the British bureau chief had said the British felt particularly targeted by the attack, with some 300 UK citizens probably dead], which was so apparent in western Europe, and particularly in Britain, where the queen led a service in St. Paul's-- You've all reported some degree of second thoughts, backpedaling, a little--voices of caution raised. How has that been affected by Mr. Bush's leadership, his rhetoric, the actions he's taken so far. Does that inspire confidence and reassurance? Hoge, NYT London Bureau Chief: I think Colin Powell inspires more confidence. Many Britons have said to me they feel much more comfortable with George W. Bush now that Colin Powell seems to be permanently at his side. Colin Powell speaks the language of diplomacy; he is somebody who understands both the capabilities and the limitations of military power-- this is what the British think. So they have a much higher degree of comfort with his kind of talking than the more bellicose language of President Bush. So, they're hoping for Bush, they're behind Bush--this is a very pro-American place in Europe--but there's a little bit of worry that he's untested, and also that he's surrounded by some other people who might have a little more hotheaded reaction to what must be done now than Colin Powell seems to be having. McNeil: And Steve Erlanger, how is Mr. Bush's leadership and his rhetoric perceived where you are, in Germany? Erlanger, NYT Hamburg Bureau Chief: A little worrying, quite honestly. People are being very polite. But they see, often, the kind of terror in Mr. Bush's eyes when he goes off of his script. They worry that he will feel too much political pressure to react too soon, and in the wrong way. They are hopeful that he will listen to his senior advisors, and they think that he will. And they have a little bit of odd relief, almost, that for an administration that so far has regarded relations with Europe as very much secondary, if not tertiary--it is now discovering that as usual, in a crisis, America's best friends are on this continent. McNeil: And in Moscow, Michael Wines, how is the Washington leadership under Mr. Bush perceived? Wines, NYT Moscow Bureau Chief: Well, I think that there has been a great deal of uneasiness with the unilateralism that the Russians think that the United States has displayed, mostly in the last year, but again going back to Yugoslavia. And I think in this case there is great hope, among, certainly among Russian people, and among the leadership, that this will turn out to be something of a turning point in American-Russian relations: a chance for the Americans to consult with the Russians in reality, for a change. The Russians here feel like they're somewhat ignored in national relations. And so they're hoping for a much more cooperative attitude. But, I have to say, so far, there's great suspicion, and I think they're waiting for the Americans to come up with a plan. And when they see that plan, I think they'll have a better idea. McNeil: And in Cairo, Neil McFarquhar, how is Mr. Bush's leadership perceived there? McFarquhar, NYT Cairo Bureau Chief: Across the Middle East the one exception in this thing has been Iraq, which has been attacking the United States, what it calls its "cowboy policies". But the one thing that's upset the Arabs is, apparently, in one speech Mr. Bush used the words "crusades", and that word is fraught with a lot of terrible memories in the Middle East, because of course the Crusades were used to attack the region. So there has been a lot of discussion, that if this is a new Crusade, they don't want to be part of it

I couldn't believe Bush used the words crusade! Reminiscent of Dan Quayle there. Thanks for the lengthy list of positions by country, Suzee. Everybody, time to put those tax refunds back in the mail to Washington. It's going to cost us jillions to *morally* convince some of these countries. :-( Yes, Thank you Suzee. The U$ barganing table is open and the odd thing is that the price of gold is not reacting. Is there a conspiracy to keep the price of gold stable? What is going on there? My very good friend lost a friend on the Fl#11 and my brother has many friends that are missing at WTC. And now we are told that Sept. 22nd is a date to watch out for. :-( I do not sleep well at night.

A Washington Post article on the threat of bio-terrorism: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41225-2001Sep16.html

Wolfie, I tried, and since I am not listed on your other conferences as having access, I could not add them. I did put it on SpringArk. I like the ribbon on that Google.com site, too. I wish it lead back to that site and I would install it in a second. Terry, the programming in my cfconfig file is easy enough to copy and paste. Have at it!!

Breakdown of people who are missing and presumed dead by nationality (per Reuters) Does that include confirmed dead? A young Polish woman journalist died there, too, on her honeymoon. Her husband is fighting for his life in a NY hospital.

on the threat of bio-terrorism The unexplained, mysteriously spreading and still not defeated outbreak of foot and mouth in the UK may be a testing ground.

http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,552749,00.html Comprehensive and unreported in US news sources.

As for Afghanistan, check out:http://www.iranian.com/Opinion/2001/June/Afghan/index.html for a brilliant description of that country by an Iranian film make

Why? from The Independent (London), by Robert Fisk, 8/29/01: http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=91066 and again, eighteen days later, 9/16/01: http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=94254

interesting to read what Warren Hoge said - I think its fair comment; have to say, one of the things that impressed me in the first few days was the way that very senior people seemed to make themselves available for lengthy and open press conferences - I'm not sure you'd see that here (in the UK). And yes I'm impressed with Colin Powell - the fact that he has such experience makes him seem very reassuring - don't know if Americans feel the same. for info (mainly to UK people) today's paper hads a full page ad for the World Trade Centre Disaster Fund www.wtcfund.org.uk and says "This is an hour of need for our friends in America. Let's show them that our actions are as loud as our words" If you're not already a Red Cross contributor, the website might be worth a visit. One of the saddest things I read today was about the families of some of the British victims flying into NYC, and my heart goes out to all those of whatever nationality who are dealing with this unimaginable heartbreak. My 12 y o was in NYC with her father a couple of months ago, and has been very distressed this week - tonight she said "I can't believe that something I've seen that was so big and amazing just isn't there now".

There is a quote in this weeks edition of Newsweek by a Wall St employee " I never thought I'd see the day when the World Trade Center would pass me by in a dump truck " It's funny in a sad, sad, kind of a way. AOL is reporting that the actor James Woods was on Flight 11 Boston to LA on Sep 4th, the same one that crashed, a week later. He was in first class with only 4 other passengers. They were all Arabs. They spoke to no one, ate nothing, drank nothing, read nothing and watched no movies. He said they all just sat in their seats starring off into space. It creeped him out, so he mentioned it to a stewardess. She shrugged if off, but when they got to LA, he reported it to the FBI. The FBI in LA are confirming this. So it looks like they did a "test run" the week before.

Peggy Noonan writes about how "we live in such unprecedented comfort! But can it last!" http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=95001157 During the summer, when you were a kid, your dad worked a few towns away and left at 8:30; Mom stayed home smoking and talking and ironing. You biked to the local school yard for summer activities--twirling, lanyard making, dodgeball--until afternoon. Then you'd go home and play in the street. At 5:30 Dad was home and at 6 there was dinner--meat loaf, mashed potatoes and canned corn. Then TV and lights out. Now it's more like this: Dad goes to work at 6:15, to the city, where he is an executive; Mom goes to work at the bank where she's a vice president, but not before giving the sitter the keys and bundling the kids into the car to go to, respectively, soccer camp, arts camp, Chinese lessons, therapy, the swim meet, computer camp, a birthday party, a play date. Then home for an impromptu barbecue of turkey burgers and a salad with fresh Parmesan cheese followed by summer homework, Nintendo, and TV --the kids lying splayed on the couch, dead eyed, like denizens of a Chinese opium den--followed by "Hi Mom," "Hi, Dad," and bed. Life is so much more interesting now! It's not boring, like 1957. There are things to do: The culture is broader, more sophisticated; there's more wit and creativity to be witnessed and enjoyed. Moms, kids and dads have more options, more possibilities. This is good. The bad news is that our options leave us exhausted when we pursue them and embarrassed when we don't. . . . If someone does the big, terrible thing to New York or Washington, there will be a lot of chaos and a lot of lines going down, a lot of damage, and a lot of things won't be working so well anymore. And thus a lot more . . . time. Something tells me we won't be teleconferencing and faxing about the Ford account for a while. The psychic blow--and that is what it will be as people absorb it, a blow, an insult that reorders and changes--will shift our perspective and priorities, dramatically, and for longer than a while. Something tells me more of us will be praying, and hard, one side benefit of which is that there is sometimes a quality of stopped time when you pray. You get outside time.

Answers hidden in lost former black Seminole village By SCOTT MCCABE, The Palm Beach Post An AP Member Exchange BUSHNELL � Forty-five minutes west of Walt Disney's make-believe history, archaeologists dig for real artifacts. Hunched over a shallow, square excavation, they search for Peliklakaha, the largest Black Seminole village known to historians, a place where different cultures joined in a fight for freedom more than 200 years ago. Until now, say University of Florida archaeologists, Peliklakaha existed only in the writings of military leaders and a painting commissioned by the U.S. general who had burned it down. Archaeologists hope to unearth clues that documents can't provide, secrets about the life of a hidden people. They hope Peliklakaha will reveal whether the inhabitants developed a unique lifestyle with their new status as free people in Florida. "The story of the Black Seminoles is a tremendous story about a successful effort by slaves gaining their freedom before the Civil War," said Delray Beach archaeologist Bill Steele, who discovered the site in 1993. "That's why Peliklakaha is so significant." The dig could establish a new focus in archaeology on cultures that combine African and Native American influences, said Terry Weik, the UF graduate student heading the excavation. more... http://www.naplesnews.com/01/09/florida/d648785a.htm

The James Woods thing, if real, has all kinds of ramifications? When did he callthe FBI? What date? Was this a dry run or an aborted attempt? Did the hijackers make any calls on their Airphones? And were any of these men on the actual suicide hijacking missions? Now James Woods will be a witness if any of these men are apprehended, after sitting on a flight with them he could surely identify them. Pretty creepy, alright.

Subject: Waiting Date: Wednesday, September 19, 2001 11:29 AM From: Womack, Jack Waiting, today, for whatever is going to happen next. It does seem as if considerable thought is going into whatever the response will be. Reports from Indian & Pakistani newspapers are saying that the special force units (Rangers, SEALS, Green Berets, several other groups including one we have never heard of before, "Night Stalkers." -- this goes into my phrasebook of new terms, along with "Frozen Zone") are already moving into place. I suspect something along the lines of the following will happen, whenever it happens: 1. Ground forces at this stage will consist solely of those guys, or some of those guys. More are preparing to go over, it's said, but I can't help but think that the US is keeping in mind what happened to the USSR during their ten-year war. (It would be absolute madness to send a large number of soldiers into Afghanistan, but that doesn't mean it won't happen, sooner or later.) 2. Bombing from the air will occur prior to the guys going in; I have a suspicion that for appearance's sake if nothing else, this will be Dresden/Tokyo-size bombing although there isn't much left to bomb. From today's Times: "When we looked at Afghanistan before, the sense was we were going to bomb them up to the stone age," said one former Clinton administration official familiar with the planning of past military strikes against Mr. bin Laden's terrorist network. The FBI is now saying that not long prior to the event, the pilot of the plane that first struck the Towers met with an Iraqi intelligence agent. Iraq is vigorously denying this and evidently claiming this story came from the UK. If they're in the process of ascertaining that Hussein was in any way connected (it's hard not to suspect that he is, if only because the opportunity to get back at Bush Sr. by way of Bush Jr. would I think be pretty hard to pass up) they're keeping it *way* under wraps. Because -- 3. If Hussein was even minimally involved, it's a pretty safe bet Baghdad will also get the Dresden/Tokyo treatment, and totally without warning. After that, it's anyone's guess -- anything from ongoing small operations for the next five, ten, twenty years, to World War III. One view in the Russian papers is that if this were to be handled in the traditional Central Asian way, the Taliban themselves would kill bin Laden, and then turn over his body claiming that Western intelligence forces did it. Ah, the Russian mind....being capable of Russian-level cynicism, and possessed of the ability to endlessly extrapolate negative transactions, it's easy for me to imagine one scenario being the US setting off a nuclear bomb in northern Afghanistan in the midst of ground assaults, air bombing, etc.; thereafter claiming that the bomb belonged to the terrorists, that we found out about this just in time, clearly they were going to use it, and that therefore we have ample cause to do whatever the hell we want, beginning with taking out the capitals of Iraq, Iran... It is, of course, fortunate that I am not President. Enough punditizing, and back to the home front: the windows of the stores on Fifth & 57th filled with flags, or memorial bunting, or black curtains. Police cadets (having not yet been graduated) keeping an eye on traffic in midtown, and regular police as ever, everywhere. Military humvees heading down Fifth Avenue along with delivery trucks and stretch limos. I saw my therapist yesterday for the first time in two weeks (I see her on Tuesdays, but had no Sept. 11 session), and talked to her about depression, anxiety, the new numbness of being which I am beginning to think may have a certain permanence about it, now; about my stepmother's death the week prior to last, forgotten in the rush of events; about anger, and rage. (A minor interruption just now as a workman came into my office. "Just checking your electric outlet," he said. "The plates." Then, as he leaves. stated from over his shoulder, "Don't want you to get blown up.") I've always been an *extremely* angry person. For most of my life I automatically turned this inward, with the result being (as noted yesterday, I think) fairly deep and ongoing depression (which is also, at least partially, hereditary/chemical) With four years of therapy, beginning after I came out of the hospital back in 1997, I have managed to be able to get a lot of what was in, out; and feel much better for it. For the past year I've been doing much better at getting anger out before it becomes internalized rage. Unfortunately, if anger has no ready focus; or if anger rises toward a number of situations, or people, or whatever, very suddenly, it can't help but be turned inward, at least initially. And it grows, and it grows, and it grows; and it either stays inside, and becomes depression (which is what has been happening, I'm sure not only to me) or comes out in -- well, random acts of senseless violence. And on a national scale... But I am only going to speak now of what has made me angry, this past week. I am furious at the perpetrators of this horror. At the hijackers and at all who consciously helped them. I am furious at the US, for having let intelligence slip to such a level that this could have happened. I am furious at airlines that cut corners on security and hired guards at six dollars an hour. I am furious at pundits, who are presently coming at us from all directions; whether they be Jerry Falwell saying that liberals and gays brought about these events, causing God to turn Its back; or Susan Sontag saying in this week's New Yorker that courage is "a morally neutral virtue," and that the hijackers were, in context, courageous; or Howard Fineman in Newsweek writing about how baby boomers, such as himself, have always been too prone to self-loathing, prior to his saying immediately thereafter that the rest of our lives are going to be miserable and we deserve it for having been miserable selfish bastards; or the local idiot newscaster on Channel 2 (a notorious idiot, who has bounced from station to station for the past twenty years, always landing on his feet) who said "we've got a heartwarming story coming up," immediately prior to going to the burn unit at Cornell Hospital; or that coke-addled reprobate Taki in the NY Press saying that we wouldn't have this trouble with the Arabs if it wasn't for the Jews. I am furious at God, if God there be. I believe there is God, in some form. God leaves us to our own devices. And I believe there is good and evil. That most of the time, things are a mixture of both, to one degree or another; but that some people, some actions, some events, contain nothing but evil, in the truest and classical sense. I believe that what happened last Tuesday was an evil act, unjustified and in no way the moral equivalent of anything the US government has done in the past or is doing now. Valeria and I had an extremely long discussion last night that often became an argument, lasting until one AM. "What about Hiroshima? or Nagasaki? or slavery, or what happened to Native Americans?" Yes, the US has done terrible things in the past. Some have arisen from arrogance, some from ignorance, some from both. Some, such as slavery, or giving smallpox-laced blankets to the Cherokees, should not have been justified in the past and cannot be justified now. Some, such as dropping the bombs on Japan, seemed to be the only thing to do at the time. Perhaps it was, perhaps not; strong arguments can be made on both sides, and will be made from now for the next hundred years. Some, such as rounding up Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor, was a dreadful action that even at the time some (though not enough) felt to be wrong. "They [meaning the hijackers, specifically] believed we're evil," Valeria said. "It's the way they see things. We have to understand that." To which, really, I could only say the easiest of responses: "Hitler believed Jews are evil. It's the way he saw things." Point being that yes, you could say the hijackers believed themselves to be justified. You could say Hitler believed himself to be justified, or Lenin and Stalin believed themselves to be justified. And in historical context, their rise to prominence can be understood; the reasons why they did what they did can be comprehended, at least in basic outline; their actions demonstrate intelligence, and purpose, and rationale. You could call them all geniuses, in their own particular ways, and not be technically incorrect. But the premises from which they began were horribly, horribly wrong; and at some point, through their actions, they crossed the line that separates all of Civilization, however small or advanced the civilization -- whether it be Western, Eastern, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Asian, African, Australian -- from the monstrous. Making a conscious decision, at some point, to stop seeing people as people (whether they be enemy or not) to seeing people as disposable tools, or vermin; or to seeing them not at all -- not simply for the duration of an emergency, or a war, but forever. Seeing light, yet choosing dark, thereafter actively working to switch off light wherever it may be found. Because that's where these actions differ from others. That once the choice is made, that's the end of discussion. The US has at least tried to correct the wrongs it has done in the past, however belatedly, however ineptly, however badly; or however well, or however thoroughly. (As have many if not most other countries as well, some of course doing so far more effectively than others.) In other words, we realized we were wrong, and did awful things believing they were right, *and then began trying to make amends for what, many times, was unforgivable.* And thereafter at least tried to do better, the next time. Were we not to have at least partially learned from some of our mistakes, for example, the government would today be issuing edicts to round up all Arab-Americans, to be resettled in the deserts in the West. *All.* But that isn't happening, neither will it happen under present circumstances. And were it to be tried, even in what has become wartime, the protests would be enormous, and effective. We are, slightly, more civilized than we were; and considering human history, this is progress. By 12:30 AM V & I finally began to understand each other again, and went to sleep at peace. We are married, and happily married, yet the discussion of these things is hard, painfully hard; and angry, at times. It is remarkable, I think, that the discourse thus far has been as restrained as it has been, imbecile NY Post editorials and certain pundits notwithstanding. I hope I've not come across as either an imbecile or a pundit, writing this. By having written this, I am feeling much less angry.

Terry, I am gonna e mail you the James Woods article. My copy and paste fuctions never work here at Drool. Its very odd. So I'll just e mail it to you and, you can decide if you want to post it here.

I found something on http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover.shtml Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001 9:38 a.m. EDT Twin Tower Terrorists May Have Made Dry Run Did terrorist hijackers who slammed two Boeing 767s into New York's Twin Towers on Tuesday stage a dress rehearsal a week before the attack? That's the intriguing question raised by the account of actor James Woods, who is reportedly telling friends that he saw a suspicious group of Middle Eastern men behaving in a "clandestine" manner during the earlier flight from Boston to Los Angeles. Exactly a week before the devastating attacks, Woods boarded a plane at Boston's Logan Airport, the same departure point the terrorists used. Woods sat in first class, according to friends, two of whom repeated his account to the New York Post's Cindy Adams. He was alone except for four other passengers - all Middle Eastern males. The actor immediately noticed the men behaving "bizarrely." They neither drank, nor ate a morsel nor spoke out loud for the entire flight. There was no reading, no slouching, no nodding off. "They were clandestine. Spoke only to each other in audible tones. And stared straight ahead," Adams was told. "They were clearly very uptight," Woods' friends quoted him as saying. The actor was sufficiently troubled by their behavior to report it to a flight attendant - but she shrugged the incident off. When Woods landed he informed authorities on the ground, who reportedly "seemed unwilling to become involved." The day after the attacks on New York and Washington, Woods called the FBI. At 7 a.m. Thursday investigators summoned the actor for an immediate interview.

I don't quite understand how they could not speak out loud and speak to other other in audible tones at the same time. I'm still wondering how authentic this story is, waiting for Bethanne's email to find out more. It should be in the Ne York Post in Cindy Adams column it sounds like.

From the horses mouth, NY Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams: September 18, 2001 -- Actor's travel tale is plane-ly chilling MOVIE STAR James Woods met with the FBI this week on the events that happened last week. It was a real-life scenario. It was chilling. Jimmy is devoted to his mom, whom fans will recall was his date at the Oscars. She lives in Boston. He lives in Los Angeles. He sees her often. He thus makes the Logan-LAX run regularly. Exactly one week before Terrorist Tuesday, Jimmy made the identical flight from Boston's Logan Airport to L.A. He related this episode to two friends of mine Sunday. Both repeated it to me almost verbatim. As we go to press I have been unable to reach James Woods, whom I know. I therefore repeat this story using his words as they were told to me. James Woods sat in first class. The section was empty except for four other passengers. All male. All Middle Eastern. He was acutely aware of them because of what he termed their "bizarre" behavior. On this entire flight which crosses the whole country not once did one of them partake of a single morsel. Not one even had a sip of water. They did not read. Did not nod off for an instant. Did not slouch down. Did not make themselves comfortable. Did not say a word to the attendants. Did not speak aloud. They were clandestine. Spoke only to each other in inaudible tones. And stared straight ahead. Jimmy is quoted as saying, "They were clearly very uptight." An actor reads body language. An actor is trained to see into someone. To silently probe their psyche. An actor's laserlike slice into the heart of a foreign situation or human being is what enables him to don the mantle and play that other person. An actor's insight into behavior and manner can be as telling as a photograph. Award-winning James Woods felt uneasy. Sufficiently concerned to mention what he'd noticed to a flight attendant who shrugged it off. He also mentioned it to ground authorities who seemed unwilling to become involved. Wednesday, the day after the World Trade Center hit, Jimmy rang the FBI to report his experience. They said thousands of tips were coming in and they're checking all out as fast as they can. Thursday, 7 a.m., they called and said they're coming to see him. Like now. A team arrived at his door. They said something to the effect of, "We cannot tell you anything. We cannot answer any of your questions. You can think whatever you choose to think. Now tell us every detail you remember." As is now known, not the airlines, not Logan security - which Woods supposedly said, "was so lax that I particularly noted it" - not our own intelligence operation picked up vibes in advance of Terrorist Tuesday because, ostensibly, the strike was so swift. However, this would appear that, in fact, somebody should have picked it up because it was not so swift. Because these men had made a dry run exactly the week before. Multiple men. Non-American nationals. Traveling in one group. Arabic names. Foreign passports. Reportedly paying cash. This does not trip some computer somehow, somewhere, someplace? And barring an omniscent all-seeing, all-noticing James Woods being a fellow passenger, might similar advance teams not have replicated this same type trial run on at least four other planes?

I watched all ofthe PBS programs last night. It wasn't exactly the most cheerful evening - I am going to try to be less attentive to the tv tonight. The White House has been trying to backtrack on the "crusade" comment. The root-em-toot-em cowboy image seems to have been reinforced by the "dead or alive" comment also. Even Blair seems less than thrilled with that one. Tuesday September 18 3:46 PM ET White House Apologizes for Word WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush (news - web sites) regrets using the word ``crusade,'' with all its historical connotations of religious war, to describe his campaign against terrorists, his spokesman said Tuesday. Bush only meant to say that his is a ``broad cause'' to stamp out terrorism worldwide, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) said. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010918/us/attacks_crusade_3.html ---------------- No 10 fails to echo 'dead or alive' call By George Jones, Political Editor (Filed: 19/09/2001)(The Telegraph) BRITAIN refused yesterday to endorse President Bush's declaration that he wanted Osama bin Laden "dead or alive". Tony Blair's official spokesman said the Prime Minister wanted those responsible for the atrocities "brought to account". http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/19/nbrit19.xml

Feedback for Freedom We find ourselves surrounded by cries for retribution ringing out in response to the attacks on the East coast. Fanned by the media, this primitive urge to make others suffer equally or more will have its political and military effect. We are probably on the horrific spiral envisioned by the perpetrators of the attack. My engineering experience warns me that this is not a "converging" situation - it will not settle out in stability, but will thrash madly about until so much is destroyed that nothing can continue. If we want the situation to achieve stability we should consider some principles of feedback design. An engineer designing a feedback system takes an "active element" capable of exerting the maximum force needed and tames it by placing it within an environment that guarantees operation within the intended parameters. For an oscillator, the environment will say: "do anything you want, but only at this frequency". For an amplifier, the message is "do anything you want, but only if the output is in this proportion of the input". Taking this metaphor further, if we want a world of stability we must surround those elements capable of exerting force with environments in which the force is limited and directed. Not by meeting force with greater force, but by depriving force of support when wrongly directed. This applies not only to obvious kinds of military force but also to all the sorts of power which leave people at a disadvantage in their lives. Applying this approach, it is clear that the US should be applying massive pressure upon Israel and the Palestinian Authority to settle up, even if it's not the ideal unattainable by either side. This would remove a serious motivating and disrupting factor from the situation. We should be applying all possible means to change the environment in Afghanistan so that the people are empowered to overthrow the Taliban. Foreign invaders do not fare well in that country - the only people who can effect change are the Afghanis themselves. We should turn many of the billions appropriated by Congress to the alleviation of poverty in the poor nations of the world, especially the Mideast, through education and micro-lending, for example. Work from the bottom up, changing the political and economic environment for the better. And the "we" here also means we as individuals and groups, not simply the government. Citizen initiative can be powerful. We can use it to make cracks in the image of a monolithic passive, compliant populace perpetuated by the media. Cracks like this have a way of propagating. All of this would be profoundly subversive to systems of power. That is the point. Building feedback loops around those power structures will protect not only ourselves but our world. (Lee Felsenstein, , is an electronic design engineer and EFF Pioneer Award winner who played a part both in the early development of personal computers and in the Free Speech Movement in Berkeley. Permission is granted to reproduce this work only in its entirety, including this notice.)

I wonder how many "test runs" these guys made. James Woods Reports Suspicious Passengers to FBI September 19, 2001 Reuters Woods declined to publicly discuss his experience, first reported by New York Post columnist Cindy Adams and confirmed by his spokeswoman, Susan Madore. In a brief statement, the actor said, "I think it prudent not to comment on this and let the FBI continue do their job ..." Article: http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=entertainmentnews&StoryID=231786

Secret Plans for 10-year War THE TIMES (LONDON) THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20 2001 BY MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR Generals rule out 'D-Day invasion' AMERICA and Britain are producing secret plans to launch a ten-year �war on terrorism� � Operation Noble Eagle � involving a completely new military and diplomatic strategy to eliminate terrorist networks and cells around the world. Despite the mass build-up of American forces in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, there will be no �D-Day invasion� of Afghanistan and no repeat of the US-led Operation Desert Storm against Iraq in 1991, defence sources say. The notion that a US-led multinational coalition would attack Afghanistan from all sides for harbouring Osama bin Laden, the wealthy Saudi dissident leader and prime suspect for the terrorist outrages in New York and Washington, has been rejected in Washington and London. The sources also say that the planned campaign is not being focused on just �bringing bin Laden to justice�. The build-up of firepower by the Americans in the region, notably the two aircraft carrier battle groups that are to be joined by a third carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt, is seen as a major display of available military capability. While it is important for these assets to be in the right place in case of a political decision to launch a strike, there are no plans for a �short-term fix�. The dramatically different anti-terrorism campaign is being planned to meet what is now regarded as the most dangerous threat to global security, known as asymmetric warfare. �We�re expecting it to last from five to ten years,� one source said. New ideas are needed to counter small groups armed with the minimum of weaponry, whether conventional or non-conventional. Such groups have the capability to attack a nation as powerful as the United States, which is equipped with the full range of modern weapons and professional Armed Forces. Old doctrines for fighting wars, based on lining up tanks and artillery and layers of troops, are being thrown out and replaced by a more subtle and wide-ranging doctrine which seeks to defeat the enemy at its own game. �The aim is not to go for the enemy�s strengths, but its weaknesses,� one source said. American and British planners are working on the basis that military strikes will take place only as part of a broader global counter-terrorist operation, embracing every other type of international action � diplomatic, economic and political. Most of the focus of the ten-year campaign plan, the sources say, is on using military action as a potent back-up to all the other strands of Operation Noble Eagle. However, President Bush, conscious of the demand for �revenge� from the American public, might sanction shorter-term military operation by special forces, or airstrikes, but only if there is sufficient intelligence to guarantee a sucessful outcome. �There�s no point in firing a lot of missiles at bin Laden if they miss their target, or launching Tomahawks at bin Laden training camps if they are empty,� one source said. Complete Article: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2001320010-2001325231,00.html

From Screendaily: US theatres plan Sept 11 charity day next Tuesday (Mike Goodridge in Los Angeles) Theatre circuits across the US are banding together to create a "Victims Benefit Day at the Movies" next Tuesday (Sept 25) on which 100% of ticket and concession sales will be donated to the September 11th Fund of the United Way and the American Red Cross. 50% of the proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross and 50% to the United Way. Among participating circuits are AMC, Carmike Cinemas, Cinemark USA, Hoyts Cinemas Corp, National Amusements, Regal Cinemas and United Artists Theatre Co. � Joe Roth�s Revolution Studios has announced that it will donate all proceeds from the planned re-release of America�s Sweethearts this weekend to the September 11th Fund; the company is also adding its summer comedy hit The Animal to the re-release at selected sites.

An article in the Nation reports that Russian television has been saying that Russian security services believe the next attack will be on a nuclear power plant: http://www.thenation.com/docPrint.mhtml?i=special&s=bivens_wtc_20010916 We better step up security at our nuclear facilities. Now.

In other news, BBC is reporting that the Afghanistan shura (meeting of clerics) has decided to ask Osama bin Laden to voluntarily leave the country. But who would take him?

It is now being reported that Mossad warned the Bush Administration in August that about 200 people on their watch list of suspected terrorists were slipping into the United States, and that a "big target" was going to be hit.

The James Woods story gets a notch more credibility. Unfriendly Skies for James Woods By Scott Huver, Hollywood.com Staff Hollywood.com Exclusive! Actor may have shared "trial run" flight with terrorists The always-intense actor James Woods may have found himself near the center of the real-life drama that led to the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center. The 54-year-old actor was questioned by the FBI following his report that while on a commercial flight from Boston's Logan Airport to Los Angeles one month prior to the devastating attack, he may have shared the first class section with the same box cutter-wielding terrorists responsible for hijacking American Airlines Flight 11. The four men are now believed to have been enacting a "trial run" of their suicide assault on NYC. According to Woods in a story confirmed by his publicist, he was on a flight back to L.A. after visiting his mother's home in Boston. He was alone in the first class section, except for a quartet of Middle Eastern men who, in Woods' estimation, were behaving bizarrely. The actor noticed that they never ate or drank, never spoke to the flight crew and only addressed each other in hushed tones. For the majority of the cross-country flight the men sat and stared stone-faced straight ahead. Perhaps playing all those movie bad guys and killers gave the Oscar-nominated actor some kind of subtle insight: After picking up on the group's odd demeanor and tense body language, Woods actually mentioned it to a flight attendant, who dismissed it, and reported it again to airline authorities on the ground, who didn't seem to want to pursue it. It wasn't until about a month later, on the Wednesday following the attack, that Woods again called authorities--this time the FBI--to report his experience once more. This time, in less than 24 hours, Federal agents arrived on his doorstep looking to examine every detail of his story. Although the agents didn't share any information on their investigation with the actor, out of the thousands of tips the FBI received, they certainly seemed to take Woods' tale extremely seriously. The actor kept his experience quiet until it was leaked to a New York Post columnist, who mistakenly reported that it occurred only one week prior to the deadly attack. "I think it is prudent not to comment on this and let the FBI continue to do their job, which they seem to be doing superbly right now," Woods said in a statement to Hollywood.com. Laura Bosley, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles, could neither confirm nor deny this report, but she did tell Hollywood.com that many individuals nationwide are coming forward with information and that the FBI is taking all these reports into account. Woods recently starred in Scary Movie 2 and appears in the upcoming Drew Barrymore film Riding in Cars With Boys. He recently signed to play former studio head Alan Hirschfield in the film version of David McClintock's book Indecent Exposure, which chronicles David Begelman's check-forging scandal while heading Columbia Pictures in the late 1970s.

the Afghanistan shura (meeting of clerics) has decided to ask Osama bin Laden to voluntarily leave the country. But who would take him? If OBL gave himselp up, it would aid all those cells he has all over by centruting the attention on him. This is so complicated because it is not just him. In Israel everyone has gas masks, I think it would be prudent on our side to to the same.

centruting should be concentrating.

The Taliban have issued an edict that asks OBL to leave Afghanistan: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/010920/80/c4q2r.html

I work for an airline company. It's the saddest day in my company today. 25% of people in my department are leaving (most of them have already left by now). I've survived at this time but don't feel happy at all! People, whom I worked with for years and some of them became very good friends, are let go. Tears in many people's eyes no matter they stay or go. I'm feeling so depressed. It feels like an airplane just hit the building when I work (which is the headquarter of the company). Just think that we had several new positions opening for hire a week before the attack. I may survive for this cut but who knows the next time I'd survive?

janes.com: 19 September 2001 Who did it? Foreign Report presents an alternative view Israel�s military intelligence service, Aman, suspects that Iraq is the state that sponsored the suicide attacks on the New York Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington. Directing the mission, Aman officers believe, were two of the world�s foremost terrorist masterminds: the Lebanese Imad Mughniyeh, head of the special overseas operations for Hizbullah, and the Egyptian Dr Ayman Al Zawahiri, senior member of Al-Qaeda and possible successor of the ailing Osama Bin Laden. The two men have not been seen for some time. Mughniyeh is probably the world�s most wanted outlaw. Unconfirmed reports in Beirut say he has undergone plastic surgery and is unrecognisable. Zawahiri is thought to be based in Egypt. He could be Bin Laden�s chief representative outside Afghanistan.

Re: the James Woods story Just because something is repeated does not, in itself, make a story credible. Let's look at who the 'reporters' are. Cindy Adams: a gossip columnist, relating heresay. I do not doubt James Woods saw what he saw and reported it as described, but how can it be concluded these *were* the same terrorists? Or even terrorists at all? Did he positively ID them? 'Reportedly paying cash'--how does James or Cindy know this? She also blames Logan Security when security at the Portland, Maine airport is also culpable. Scott Huver, Hollywood.com (c'mon, H'wood.com? We're not exactly talking 60 Minutes here): Scott essentially re-writes Cindy's story except he states Woods took the flight one month before 9-11 whereas Cindy said it was one week. He then embellishes with some common knowledge quotes. IMO one should not jump to conclusions based on this level of reporting and should use the term 'credible' with care.

Just because something is repeated does not, in itself, make a story credible... IMO one should not jump to conclusions based on this level of reporting.(Eileen) Good point, but I think it applies to every "level of reporting" right now. (Especially right now.) There have been quite a few stories circulated that turned out to be incorrect even in the "main stream" press. I do think it makes sense that the terrorists would have made "trial runs" to check out the exact conditions on the flights.

(Suzee) I think it applies to every "level of reporting" right now. Good point right back at 'cha, but I'd like to think things are settling down in the true mainstream press. Last week it was mass hysteria.

Just because something is repeated does not, in itself, make a story credible... IMO one should not jump to conclusions based on this level of reporting.(Eileen) Good point, but I think it applies to every "level of reporting" right now. (Especially right now.) There have been quite a few stories circulated that turned out to be incorrect even in the "main stream" press. I do think it makes sense that the terrorists would have made "trial runs" to check out the exact conditions on the flights.

I'm taking the Woods story with the grain of salt it deserves, but if true has much broader consequences. This is an article on the international system used to move money to the terrorists and the moves to stop it. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/20/business/20MONE.html

Finally, a major, reputable news source has picked this James Woods thing up. Reuters. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010919/en/people-woods_1.html Pretty much the same information in this Reuters piece with the exception of this elaboration: Woods declined to publicly discuss his experience, first reported by New York Post columnist Cindy Adams and confirmed by his spokeswoman, Susan Madore. In a brief statement, the actor said, ``I think it prudent not to comment on this and let the FBI continue do their job, which they seem to be doing superbly right now.'' Woods, 54, who studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before pursuing an acting career, is best known for playing heavies and misfits.

It's now being reported the Woods flight was a month before not a week as reported in the gossip column.

At least two of the "hijackers" supposedly found alive and well. Doubts emerge over identities of hijackers in US attacks WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (AFP) - US officials are investigating whether some or all of the 19 hijackers on the four hijacked aircraft used in last week's terror attacks used stolen identities, possibly complicating efforts to link them to Osama bin Laden. The doubts started to emerge when at least four men with names matching those on an FBI list of the hijackers turned up alive in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, according to newspaper reports. An unnamed senior US official told Thursday's Washington Post that there was now uncertainty over the list of names. "There may be some question with regard to the identity of at least some of them," he said. ......... FBI director Robert Mueller said last week as he released what he said were the names of the hijackers that his bureau had "a fairly high level of confidence" that they were their true identities. But at least one Arabic newspaper, the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat, said this week it had found two of the Saudis named on the list, Abdelaziz al-Omari and Said Hussein Gharamallah al-Ghamdi, alive and well. Article: http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/technology/afp/article.html?s=asia/headlines/010920/technology/afp/Doubts_emerge_over_identities_of_hijackers_in_US_attacks.html

i heard about the stolen identities too. prayers and love to all....

Plus the families of two of the hihackers have said, their relative was not one of the hijackers, including this Mohammad Atta dude. They are claiming identity fraud too. A bit hard to belive when you consider Atta has been on the FBI's list of suspected criminals, for a long time.