Issues of Global Import

17 February 2003


Usama Asks Poor to Die in His Cause
Usama bin Laden's latest tape has taken America by storm, the way a zillion garage bands could never hope to do. The talking heads were all putting it in context for us on every channel, but they seemed to miss the vital point. Usama is a rich kid whose idea of amusement is to get poor people to die for him and his new recording proves what a self-absorbed toff he is. Click here to read Kensington's Opinion.

NATO Rift Healed, France Isolated
The British nuclear force and the special relationship with the US has allowed the UK to "punch above its weight class" as an ex PM used to say. The French have just discovered what fighting out of one's class feels like. The kerfuffle over NATO sending defense systems to Turkey to see off an Iraqi attack is over, and France has lost. Click here for more.

Peace Rallies Tell Bush "No," He Ignores Them
If protesting could really change things, it would be illegal. Perhaps that is overly cynical, but the response of the American government to hundreds of thousands of protesters suggests that the war wagon has driven off, and the protests are as relevant as Gerry Ford's WIN buttons. Click here to read why.