26.01.2002

The struggle for our land
"The crisis currently gripping Zimbabwe has its roots in Britain's racist colonial policies, the refusal of a previous Labour government to act against the dictatorship of the white minority and the failure of Britain to stick to its promises after my people finally won independence 20 years ago. But instead of acknowledging their own responsibilities and helping overcome the legacy of the past, the British government and media - and their friends in the white Commonwealth - are fostering a flagrantly partisan mythology about the conflict in the country, while intervening in support of a privileged white minority and international commercial interests." writes George Shire.
Stop the ejection of poor peasants from their land!

The Anti-imperialist Camp is condemning in the strongest terms the recent attack of police and paramilitary forces on poor farmers in South Hashtnagar, Charsadda, NWFP, Pakistan leaving several injured and ejecting hundreds from the land which they work and on which they depend for their livelihood.
Islamic feminism: what's in a name?
Islamic feminism is on the whole more radical than Muslims' secular feminisms, argues Margot Badran. "What's in a name? What's behind a name? What is Islamic feminism? Let me offer a concise definition: it is a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm. Islamic feminism, which derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur'an, seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence. Islamic feminism is both highly contested and firmly embraced. There has been much misunderstanding, misrepresentation, and mischief concerning Islamic feminism. This new feminism has given rise simultaneously to hopes and to fears. We shall look at who is producing it, where, why and to what end."

25.01.2002

The numbers game
The civilian death toll in Afghanistan is higher than the number of victims in the WTC. Pointing this out gets you attacked, as Stephen Glover reports in The Spectator.
Killing to be kind?
"To understand why anybody who loves liberty under law, and loathes medical paternalism, ought to oppose physician-assisted suicide, we must ask and answer the question: why do people need the help of doctors to kill themselves with drugs? The answer is obvious: because the trade in drugs useful for killing oneself is illegal and anybody interested in terminating his or her own life with a drug needs a doctor to supply it."
A sad day for fun in football
The referee Brian Savill, who scored a goal for Wimpole 2000 against Earls Colne Reserves, has been suspended for seven weeks by the Essex County Football Association. He chose to resign in protest of the decision.
Confronting Empire
This review by George Anthony certainly makes me want to buy Eqbal Ahmad's book.
Buy the book here.

Campaign for Kurdish grows
PKK: "Demand of education in mother tongue is a demand for democratisation in Turkey. In this respect it interests not only Kurds but everybody living in Turkey and yearning for democracy. Therefore it should be reclaimed by democracy forces. In fact it can be a step towards democracy."
Stand-off in Afghanistan
American Special Forces are in a stand-off against a Taliban army of 4500.
Hobeika's convenient death
Now why would anyone want to kill a key witness against Ariel Sharon just two days after he agreed to testify in Belgium? Robert Fisk reports.
Off with their beards! Brendan Hughes, former republican prisoner writes: "We learned this week that the Yanks had shaved off the beards of their Taliban prisoners. Not a new tactic. The Brits did it with us in the H-Blocks in 1978. Why? The blanket protest, no-wash, no shaving was a way in which we could highlight our case to the wider world that we were not criminals. We lay unwashed, we grew long beards, we put our own shit on the walls of the cells. These extraordinary lengths we went to in order to make ourselves heard over and above the British imposed silence - we were not criminals. When that was not enough we went further and ten men died, bringing the attention of the world to Ireland and shattering the British myth."

24.01.2002

16 held as farmers ejected
This is an update on the situation in Charsadda, as reported below.
555-LIST
This will never come in handy: a directory for 555-numbers.
Afghanistan lapsing into tribal conflict
"A fresh outbreak of fighting between Northern Alliance factions highlights the continued ineffectiveness of Afghanistan's central government. Warlords who have a stake in the government are behaving only long enough to receive international aid while those outside the government are motivated to cause its collapse.

The Afghan Islamic Press reported that clashes occurred Jan. 20 and 21 between forces belonging to ethnic Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum and ethnic Tajik fighters in the northern Kunduz province.

The violence is further evidence that Afghanistan is rapidly devolving into the factionalism and warlordism that gripped the country a decade ago. Those groups that are represented in the new interim Afghan government will attempt to keep a lid on ethnic infighting only long enough to receive Western aid while those factions left out will encourage the use of violence to expose the government's frailty.", reports Stratfor.

23.01.2002

News from Hashtnagar
I just received this email from the Communist Workers-Peasants Party (CMKP) of Pakistan:

"THERE IS IMPORTANT NEWS FOR YOU. POLICE SSP LIAQAT ALI
OF CHAR SADDA HAS RAIDED HUSHT NAGAR FOR EJJECTMENT
OF PEASANTS.THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY THIRTY FIVE HUNDERED
POLICE MEN,AND THEIR WERE FOR ONE THOUSANDS PEASANT WOMEN
TO FIGHT AGAINST THEM.THERE WAS SEVEN HOURS WAR BETWEEN THE
PARTIES AND THREE PEOPLES ARE INJURED.GOVERNER NWFP IS
BEHIND THESE EJJECTMENTS.

KINDLY CONVEY THIS TO ALL THE PARTIES OF THE WORLD
ALONG WITH SOME SHORT STORY OF HUSHT NAGAR AND TELL
THEM TO FAX THEIR CONDEMNATION AGAINST THESE
EJJECTMENTS TO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICE.

FAX NO IS 051-9211018 THIS IS VERY URGENT.

REGARDS SYED AZEEM"

In Hashtnagar the CMKP has liberated areas, which the police is now trying to evict the peasants from. This has been a long going battle, as reported in this story. The CMKP has strong support in this region, just look at these election results.

The fax number is to the Government of Pakistan, and people should ask them to stop these actions against the peasants.
Belgium: Child murders 'could provoke new revolution'
"The [Dutroux] case led to the downfall of the corrupt party system that had run the country since the Second World War.

For the reformist government of Guy Verhofstadt, the prime minister, the trial has become a test. Seventy per cent of Belgians say they have no confidence in the criminal justice system."
We did not have spy gear, say spotters
"A GROUP of British planespotters facing trial in Greece said yesterday that they feared they would not receive a fair hearing because of false allegations that they had used surveillance equipment."
The warbloggers
Justin Raimondo takes on the 'warbloggers', among them Bjørn Stærk who made the template I'm using for this 'blog'.
'Today it's just pure naked bigotry' "It is the peace process that has failed Northern Ireland, not the people. Some might see the rising sectarianism as history repeating itself or something in the blood. Others might see it as a timely reminder that, whatever the solution is, it won't be imposed by the Whitehall, Washington and Dublin elites."
An interesting article on the results of the 'peace process in the occupied six counties of Ireland.
Somalis cheer Black Hawk Down
Yes, but not for the reasons the moviemaker wanted...
Huh? Nynorsk and Bokmål?
If you want to know more about the Norwegian language situation this article, Norwegian as a Normal Language, by Peter Trudgill is a good start.

22.01.2002

Norway gives away island
A small piece of land is turned over from Norway to Finland. Read about it here.
No English heritage in Cornwall!
Cornish nationalists want English Heritage signs out of Cornwall, reports the Celtic League.
On Globalisation and Communalisation of Education
This is an interesting article from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Red Flag
Hip-hop and the war
Instead of "Fight the power!" rappers now shout "Draft me!"