Terrorism

Anthrax Good News For Irradiaters

In an article headlined "Anthrax attacks have bolstered consumer perceptions of food irradiation," the livestock industy website MeatingPlace.com reports: "American consumers may be warming up to the idea of irradiation, according to a news survey by Porter Novelli. Apparently, news coverage of bioterrorist activity in the United States, combined with the well-publicized news about the use of irradiation technology to eradicate anthrax spores in potentially contaminated U.S.

Was the FBI Told to "Back Off" the bin Ladens?

Special agents in the United States probing relatives of Saudi-born terror suspect Osama bin Laden before September 11 were told to back off soon after George W. Bush became President, according to Newsnight, the BBC's current affairs program. The US strategic interest in Saudi Arabia, which has the world's biggest oil reserves, may have blunted its inquiries into individuals with suspected terrorist connections.

Terror Law a Loss for Freedom

"Rare are the moments in American history when a Congress has surrendered so many cherished freedoms in a single trip to the altar of immediate fear," writes John Nichols regarding the ambitiously named Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act which was recently approved by Congress. In addition to authorizing unprecedented levels of surveillance and incarceration of both U.S.

Squelching the News in Democracy's Name

When the White House, via National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, requested recently that the networks not air any future unedited videos of Osama bin Laden, the broadcast media's top managers meekly complied. "Thanks to the White House and its high-level courtiers in the media, we Americans -- or those of us without the proper hardware -- are now the only people in the whole developed world who can't actually hear what our enemy is saying about us. That's an odd distinction, considering we are also his main targets," writes Mark Crispin Miller.

Terrorists at Pacifica?

Pacifica Foundation vice chairman Ken Ford is playing the "terrorist card" at the formerly progressive radio network, currently in a financial crisis as it faces mounting bills from lawyers and PR firms. Outside vendors are not being paid, employee paychecks are in question, and four lawsuits alleging everything from financial malfeasance to by-law violations are scheduled to go to trial in January. Responding to charges of mismanagement, Ford characterized critics of Pacifica as "zealots," adding, "I see parallels between this group and al Qaeda, the terrorists who bombed New York.

Airport Security Companies Form Trade Association

Within 48 hours of the attacks on the World Trade Center, airport security companies formed their own trade organization, the Aviation Security Association, retained a former transportation department official to lobby for them, and hired international PR giant Burson-Marsteller. According to the Holmes Report, in the past month, B-M has designed a website for the association, written position papers that were distributed to Capitol Hill, sponsored meetings with congressional staffers, and set up editorial board meetings.

Food Irradiater SureBeam Exploits Anthrax Fears

Public Citizen has taken the San Diego-based SureBeam Corporation to task for falsely claiming that its food irradiation technology can kill anthrax bacteria. "SureBeam has made these claims without any supporting scientific evidence that the company's 'electron-beam' irradiation equipment is capable of killing the anthrax bacteria or its spores," states a Public Citizen news release.

Americans Wake Up to Ignorance

Like many Americans, Pam Bottaro reacted to the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington with a mixture of horror and utter incomprehension. Although well educated and politically engaged, nothing she had read or seen on television had prepared her for an anti-American backlash. "Why do these people hate us so much?" was the question she kept hearing all around her. As Americans wake up to the need to better understand the world around us, "teach-ins" have come roaring back into fashion.

How the Airlines Stymied Aviation Security

In the wake of the government's multi-billion-dollar bailout of the airline industry, Public Citizen has compiled a report showing how airlines used aggressive lobbying and campaign contributions to turn the Federal Aviation Administration into its accomplice as it fought for years to stall, scale back and ignore specific security recommendations made by a 1996 presidential commission.

Media Muzzles Itself

Propagandist Osama bin Laden has robbed Americans of one of their most cherished liberties -- media freedom. It might be termed blank-check journalism -- the main news media of the United States sign away their right to make judgment calls because of vaguely hinted national security concerns. At the same time that the five major TV news organizations in the United States have agreed to self-censorship, the leaders of 21 journalism groups in the U.S.

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