The New American articles from January 2002

The New American archives from January 2002

Shedding Light on Kinkade. (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
January 14, 2002... William F. Jasper's article on Thomas Kinkade ("A Beacon in the Night," December 17th issue) allows Mr. Kinkade the opportunity to slander, however unintentionally, people who are in fact his Christian brethren. Some of the most vigorous...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
January 14, 2002... A key word was inadvertently left out of a phrase in "Fighting Terrorism or Building a Police State?" in the December 31st issue of TNA (page 7). The phrase should have read that Congressman Ron Paul was "one of only three Republican members of...

EU Defends Terrorists. (Insider Report).(European Union)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Even as they continued to work on a continent-spanning police state in the name of fighting terrorism, European Union (EU) leaders took care to express solidarity with Palestinian Authority (PA) ruler Yasser Arafat, the world's senior...

EU "Harmonizes" Repression. (Insider Report).(European Union)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... European Union (EU) leaders gathered at the Royal Palace in Laeken, Belgium, in mid-December to put in place plans for a new "global superpower." According to the December 16th Washington Post, the EU summit launched "a constitutional...

EU Seeks Internet Sales Tax. (Insider Report).(European Union)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... "European Union finance ministers have agreed to impose a tax for the next three years on music, software and games from outside Europe that are downloaded from the Internet by EU citizens," reported the December 15th Bloomberg News. The sunset...

Beijing Basking in the Bahamas. (Insider Report).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Ahhhh, the Bahamas. Beautiful, romantic beaches, palm trees, azure skies, the People's Liberation Army. Yes, the PLA. Communist China's military-industrial-espionage complex, has invaded paradise in a big way. The huge, recently completed...

American Grain Goes to Cuba. (Insider Report).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... On December 16th, ships carrying U.S. grain and frozen chicken docked in Havana, breaking a 40-year U.S. trade embargo with the Communist regime. The shipments are part of a $30 million purchase of U.S. food by the Cuban government in the wake...

IRA's Gerry Adams Visits Cuba. (Insider Report).(president of the Irish Republican Army)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Gerry Adams, the president of the Irish Republican Army's political arm, Sinn Fein, made a three-day visit to Communist Cuba in December. One of his purposes in making the trip was to unveil a memorial to the IRA "martyrs," 10 terrorists who...

ICC Ratifications on the Rise.(United Nations International Criminal Court)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... As the world focuses on terrorism, the proponents of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have stepped up the pace of national ratifications. During the 80-day period from September 11th to November 30th, nine nations ratified the ICC. (In...

United Way Funding Terrorists?(terrorism, United States)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... The September 11th Fund, which was established by the New York Community Trust and the United Way to aid victims of the 9-11 terrorist attack on New York City, is coming under close scrutiny for some very troubling fund dispersals. In November,...

Throwing Out the ABM Treaty. (Insider Report).(defense policy, United States)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... To the immense relief of millions of Americans, President Bush announced on December 13th that he would be pulling the United States out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. For nearly three decades, that misbegotten treaty has...

U.S.-Russia Convergence. (Insider Report).(Washington Institute for Near East Policy )(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... In the aftermath of the September 11th terror attacks, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) has assumed increased prominence, with its spokesmen garnering considerable face time on the network news and plenty of ink in the...

UN Employs Genocide Suspects?(United Nations)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... In two separate stories previously carried in this column (see our "Insider Report" items "'Genocidaire' on UN Payroll" in our March 12, 2001 issue, and "UN Investigator Charged with Genocide" in our July 2, 2001 issue), THE NEW AMERICAN has...

House Approves "Fast Track".(trade laws, United States)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Following months of intense arm-twisting by President Bush and his Trade Representative, Robert B. Zoellick, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation granting "Fast Track" authority to the president. In a razor-thin 215-214 vote,...

The Emerging Police State: With the threat of terrorism as a convenient cover, the push is on to centralize police-state powers in the hands of a strong executive branch. (On the Home Front).(internal security, United States)
January 14, 2002... Attorney General John Ashcroft's recent rebuke of the Bush administration's civil libertarian critics is setting off alarms all across the political spectrum. Ashcroft, speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 6th, accused critics...

Terror Tribunals: If President Bush prevails, oppressive "Star Chamber" courts of the past could take on new life as unaccountable military tribunals. (On the Home Front).
January 14, 2002... Former Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork is unique among defenders of President Bush's controversial plan to try accused terrorists before special military tribunals. Most defenders of the president's proposal have emphasized that it limits the...

The Un-American Patriot Act: The new USA Patriot Act, enacted in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, could pose more of a threat to personal liberty than to terrorists. (On the Home Front).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Some weeks back -- no one remembers exactly when -- an early draft of the USA Patriot bill containing a section entitled "Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus" showed up at the House Judiciary Committee. Newsweek's Jonathan Alter wrote that...

Secrets of Biological Warfare: Despite some glaring flaws, Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War is an informative introduction to the 20th-century history of biological warfare. (Book Review).
January 14, 2002... Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War, by Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, and William Broad, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001, 382 pages, hardback, $27.00. For the critical reader capable of discounting the terrible policy...

Bach to the Future: Violinist Anastasia Khitruk is using the free market and the power of the internet to bring the works of the great classical composers to a modern audience. (Cultural Currents).
January 14, 2002... As a professional musician, Anastasia Khitruk is on the front line of the culture war. Born in Soviet Russia and brought to the United States as a child, she is grateful for the many blessings this land of opportunity affords her. Now 26, this...

Good Stewardship Update. (The Goodness of America).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Last year (see THE NEW AMERICAN for February 26, 2001, page 33) we described a unique charitable endeavor conceived by Rev. Denny Bellesi of the Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo, California. For many years he and his wife, Leesa, had...

Keeping a Promise. (The Goodness of America).(terrorism, United States)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Nancy Turner is principal of White Knoll Middle School in Columbia, South Carolina. In the wake of September 11th, White Knoll students were anxious to help the recovery effort. Since dozens of rescue vehicles had been destroyed, they settled...

Helping Hand. (The Goodness of America).(attack on America, 2001, aftermath)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Many other humanitarian projects related to the September 11th tragedy were conducted by students throughout the nation. In Boston, for instance, students and staff of the William Monroe Trotter Elementary School raised funds to help the family...

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: Although they were ultimately overwhelmed, the Jews involved in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising fought valiantly to regain their freedom and escape Nazi oppression. (In Light of the Past).
January 14, 2002... A premonition of death hovered over the medieval section of Warsaw. Surrounded by a 10-foot wall of brick and barbed wire, the most rundown section of Poland's capital was packed with some 500,000 Jews, nearly 10 times the number of people it...

Perfect Score. (Exercising the Right).(robberies)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Roy Pogue of Woodside, Utah, is a former Marine who learned to shoot during his military service. The part-time rancher operates Woodside Services, a convenience store and service station. Since opening the store in 1994, Pogue has faced a...

Violent Voyeur. (Exercising the Right).(self-defense)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... At around 4:10 a.m. on November 22nd, Charles Reed, 42, kicked in the basement door of an apartment building in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, then ran up the back stairwell and into a first floor bedroom occupied by a couple in their late fifties....

Coin Flip. (Exercising the Right).(self defense cases)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for November 28th reported the bizarre apprehension of a clumsy burglar. Derrick Van, 36, of Smyrna, Georgia, was looting a home in south Fulton County at around 11 a.m. after gaining entry by using a...

The Right Answers.(mail)
January 14, 2002... Q. What exactly is "ecstasy," and what are its medical consequences? W.B., Beech Grove, Ind. A. Ecstasy is an illegal drug that has become associated with "raves," or all-night parties, because it can overpower the need to eat, drink,...

War Against Some Terrorists. (Correction, Please!).
January 14, 2002... ITEM: Following a suicide bombing in Israel, for which Hamas claimed responsibility, the US. government froze the assets of one of the largest Muslim charities in this country. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times for December 5th: "'Money...

Intimidation as a Tactic. (Correction, Please!).(arm build -up in North Korea)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... ITEM: North Korea "threatened to build up its military forces in response to Washington's 'strong-arm 'policies against the unpredictable communist state," reported the Financial Times for December 4th. Continued FT: "Any sign that North Korea...

Fix Is In for Argentina. (Correction Please!).(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... ITEM: "Fears of a huge debt default were revived in Argentina after the International Monetary Fund blocked the release of a $1.3 billion (920 million pound) loan instalment [British spelling] that would have helped to stave off a financial...

Who Really Stands with Terrorists? (The Last Word).(regulation of firearms industry as part of terrorism prevention efforts)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2002... Al-Qaeda terrorist Ziad Jarrahi, who was among the hijackers of United Flight 93, cynically used America's freedoms to acquire military-caliber training that he later used in an attempt to kill hundreds of Americans. While living as a "sleeper"...

UN Tribunal for World Debt? (Insider Report).(United Nations proposes International Debt Court)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... Here it comes: a new campaign for an International Debt Court (IDC), an International Bankruptcy Tribunal (IBT), or some such creature. The advocates: the one-wonders at the New York Times, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Wall...

Italy rains on Euro Parade. (Insider Report).(European Union currency introduction)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... Italy was not a pretty picture on "Euro Day," the January 1st kickoff of the new euro currency. The BBC reported on January 4th that "Italy's conversion to the euro is proving to be by far the most chaotic of any eurozone country. By Wednesday...

"Gay" themes win acclaim for HBO. (Insider Report).(Home Box Office/Sex in the City/Queer as Folk)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... HBO (that's Hedonist Box Office) is receiving more showers of media praise for its Emmy award-winning Sex and the City, a sex-com (that's sex comedy) revolving around the pathetically vacuous lives of fashionable Manhattan jezebels. Besides...

Computer export limitations eased. (Insider Report).(United States international trade)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... President Bush informed congressional leaders on January 2nd that he was easing Cold War restrictions on exporting of high-speed computers to China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and other countries classified as "Tier 3" under federal policy. Under...

Federal role in education expands. (Insider Report).(George W. Bush, Leave No Child Behind Act)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... In his February 27, 2001 address to Congress, President Bush reiterated his continuing support for "local control of schools" and insisted: "We should not, and we will not, run all schools from Washington, D.C." A little less than a year later,...

Permanent normal trade for China. (Insider Report).(with the United States)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... By granting Communist China "permanent normal trade status" (formerly "Most Favored Nation" or MFN) in late December, President Bush ended "a quarter-century policy of using access to U.S. markets as an annual enticement to the communist giant...

War crimes suspects released. (Insider Reported).(Sefer Halilovic, Yugoslavia)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... Last December, the UN's war crimes tribunal in The Hague "provisionally" released four senior Bosnian Muslim military officers accused of war crimes, including one who threatened a "war on tenor" against the West. The suspects, who were...

Fifty-year War on Terrorism. (Insider Report).(analysis, United States)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... According to an item in the December 31st-January 7th issue of Time, White House aides are preparing for a 50-year war on terrorism. Calling the approach "taking a long view," administration officials are already drawing parallels with the Cold...

Going for the (Taxpayers') Gold: The Olympic Games have produced a gold rush of federal subsidies -- and some of the nation's wealthiest corporate leaders are among the biggest winners. (Olympics).(United States)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2002... The Olympic torch will have passed through 46 states and 80 cities by the completion of its 13,500-mile odyssey to Salt Lake city for the 2002 Winter Olympics. The familiar Olympic ritual has a special resonance for Americans this year, as the...

From Euro to Union: The launch of the new European currency is just one step in a decades-long journey to submerge the once-proud states of Europe in a continental government. (Europe).
January 28, 2002... The U.S. and European media heralded the New Year's Day launch of Europe's new euro currency as a glorious event. Images of smiling, joyous consumers admiring and handling the new currency notes and coins dominated news coverage of the...

OKC Bombing: Precursor to 9-11?: Evidence links the OKC bombing to Middle Eastern terrorists, and the failure of officials to examine this evidence in 1995 may have set the stage for the September 11th attacks. (Terrorism).(Oklahoma City Bombing, 1995)
January 28, 2002... The Black Tuesday terror attacks on America have prompted some journalists to take a look at the abundant evidence of Middle Eastern terrorist involvement in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the possible connection of that event to the more...

Eco-fraud Exposed: Government biologists were caught planting evidence that could have resulted in further land-use restrictions in vast national forests. (Environment).(biocentricism, United States)
January 28, 2002... According to federal officials, it was excessive zeal for accuracy, rather than an intent to commit fraud, that prompted seven field biologists to plant hairs from an endangered wildcat species in three national forests. This explanation has...

Family "Friend". (Exercising the Right).(Tracey Roberts in self-defense)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... On the afternoon of December 13, 2001, Dustin Wehde, 20, rang the doorbell at the home of Robert and Tracey Roberts in Early, Iowa. The couple had befriended him months earlier. He told Mrs. Roberts that he was looking for odd jobs, but since...

No Way! (Exercising the Right).(Erin Moul in self-defense)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... Businesswoman Erin Moul, 34, of Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania, owns Cover to Cover Books in Carlisle. Shortly before 6:00 p.m. on December 4, 2001, a man entered the used bookstore and asked Moul if she sold comic books. After she told him she...

South African shootout. (Exercising the Right).(Hilgrad Trouw in self-defense)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... Last December 4th in Bronkhorstspruit, South Africa, Hilgrad Trouw was about to leave for the golf course where he works when five men approached, pulled him from his pick-up truck, and forced him into his house. His wife, Hester, was in a...

The Stockdale Paradox. (The Goodness of America).(Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale/In Love and War)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... Retired Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale, who celebrated his 78th birthday on December 23, 2001, served on active duty in the Navy for 37 years, most of them as a fighter pilot aboard aircraft carriers. As a combat pilot in Vietnam he led the...

Secret Santa. (The Goodness of America).(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... Though only a few family members and close friends know his secret identity, a wealthy businessman in the Kansas City, Missouri, area has become something of a legend since 1979, when he first began handing out cash to persons in need,...

Tolkien's Tale Bears Ring of Truth: Set in Tolkien's own mythical Middle-Earth, the Lord of the Rings thrillingly contrasts the ageless desire for freedom and peace with the unquenchable lust for power and control. (Cultural Currents).
January 28, 2002... Once upon a time, in a far-off land long ago, a simple farmer found a golden ring inside a cave. He found to his delight that the ring had the power to make him invisible when he was wearing it. After the farmer discovered the golden ring's...

Rings runs circles around Rowling: Christian in its worldview, Tolkien's lord of the Rings is a literary masterpiece far superior to Rowling's occult-laden, morally ambiguous Harry Potter series. (Cultural Currents).
January 28, 2002... There's no accounting for taste. To read the reviews of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (the movie, that is), one would think director Chris Columbus had brought us an eye-candied, fantasy equivalent of Gone With the Wind. The film...

The right answers.
January 28, 2002... Q. Have more Americans gone on the welfare rolls since the economy has taken a downturn? M.P., Clawson, Mich. A. The economic downturn has had a mixed impact on the welfare rolls. Nationally, between March and September 2001, as the...

Correction, Please!
January 28, 2002... Shooting Down Defense ITEM: Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge, under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said the Defense Department on December 14, announced that "the Navy Area Missile Defense Program has been...

What the EU can teach America. (The Last Word).(Brief Article)
January 28, 2002... At the outset, the European Union's (EU) champions presented it as a plan to increase trade and lessen restrictions on travel among the nations of Western Europe. But the EU's leaders have forged it into a powerful political force, swallowing...