Peter M. Johansen og Magnus E. Marsdal; Verdens lengste rulleblad, Klassekampen 19.11.2001

Den unge staten USA har gjennomført flere felttog enn Romerriket klarte i løpet av hele sin historie. Vi presenterer ei liste for perioden etter 1945.

USAs militærutgifter for 2000 var 343 milliarder dollar, 69 prosent høyere enn de samlede utgiftene til de fem neste landene på statistikken. Russland, som har det nest største militærbudsjettet, bruker mindre enn en seksdel av USAs utgifter. Til sammenlikning bruker seks land USA anser som fiendtlige - Irak, Libya, Nord-Korea, Cuba, Sudan, Iran og Syria - 14,4 milliarder dollar samlet til militære formål, Iran står for 52 prosent av totalen.
posted by Tom Kristensen at 7:48 am [permalink]

Dag Herbjørnsrud; De som forakter Amerika, Aftenposten 15.11.01

Vårt land hjemsøkes av en særnorsk bespottelse av USAs kultur og politikk. Forakten kan virke forunderlig, men den forener Hamsuns og Bjørneboes klassiske Amerika-kritikk.

Skal vi så elske USA for at det reddet oss fra Milosevic og nå prøver å verge oss mot nye tyranner? Eller bør vi hate amerikanerne fordi de med sin uendelige selvrettferdighet nok en gang dreper barn? Svaret er nok at hat og kjærlighet burde reserveres for annet enn kultur og politikk. Følelsene våre har det med å skumme over. Det gjør aldri fornuften.
posted by Tom Kristensen at 10:19 am [permalink]

Ignacio Ramonet; Unjustified means, Le Monde diplomatique November 2001

With the United States now fighting the first major war of the 21st century in Afghanistan, it seems reasonable to ask what are its war aims. One was stated in the immediate aftermath of the attacks of 11 September: dismantling the al-Qaida network and capturing dead or alive Osama bin Laden, the likely perpetrator of thousands of deaths no cause could justify. This is easier said than done. And the military circumstances are unusual. There is a massive disproportion between the opposing forces. This is the first time that an empire has gone to war not against a state, but against an individual.
posted by Tom Kristensen at 6:33 pm [permalink]

Éric Rouleau; Terrorism and Islamism - Politics in the name of the Prophet, Le Monde diplomatique November 2001

The West, in ignorance and suspicion, has confused and simplified the many kinds of political Islam, and presumed a false link between terrorism and the religion of Islam.
posted by Tom Kristensen at 6:32 pm [permalink]

Marc Laimé; Will we have to sell our personal data?, Sand in the Wheels (n°103), ATTAC Weekly newsletter - Wednesday 07/11/01

After September 11, some Western nations rushed to adopt new laws aimed at strengthening surveillance of Internet exchanges. On October 30 the French Parliament is likely to pass an amendment requiring Internet access providers to store communications data for one year. Civil liberties organizations in France and other countries protest these measures, which they describe as ''dealing a deathblow'' to freedom of expression. And the European Parliament has just announced that, ''in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights and in keeping with decrees issued by the European Court of Human Rights, all forms of electronic surveillance, general or exploratory, conducted on a large scale are prohibited.'' This is high-flown hypocrisy.
posted by Tom Kristensen at 8:49 am [permalink]

Economists Appeal for a new Globalization, Sand in the Wheels (n°103), ATTAC Weekly newsletter - Wednesday 07/11/01

At the instigation of the United States of America, Canada and the European Union, the WTO has surreptitiously reintroduced the four points held on to since the previous WTO conference in Singapore. The majority of the Third World countries do not wish these points to appear on the agenda: they relate to investments, trade competition, market transparency, and the liberalisation of trade, and have become the main subjects to be contained within the new round. Southern hemisphere countries are equally against the discussion of these topics.
posted by Tom Kristensen at 8:48 am [permalink]

Ignacio Ramonet; An enemy. At last, Le Monde diplomatique, October 2001

On 11 September aircraft were diverted from their normal flight routines. With fanatics at their controls, they headed for the heart of a big city, intent on destroying the symbols of a hated political system. In the explosions that followed, buildings were shattered. Survivors fled the wreckage. The media were on the spot broadcasting live. I am not talking about New York in 2001 but Santiago de Chile on 11 September 1973. With the complicity of the United States, General Pinochet staged his coup against the socialist government of Salvador Allende, which began with the bombardment of the presidential palace by the air force. Dozens of people were killed. It was the start of a regime of terror that was to continue for 15 years.
posted by Tom Kristensen at 1:15 pm [permalink]

Jon Katz; Globalization, Slashdot 30.10.01

Globalism is one of those notions much kicked around and little understood, shrouded in hysteria and knee-jerk cant. People with a host of grievances against technology, multinational corporations and capitalist democracies have made globalism a dirty word, at the same time that many social scientists and economists argue that the equitable spread of technology and a free-market economy is the planet's best hope. Either way, September 11 makes it clear that globalization - pitting fundamentalism against cosmopolitan tolerance - is one of the most important issues in our lifetimes.
posted by Tom Kristensen at 1:15 pm [permalink]