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Monday, May 13th, 2002

Subject: Police: Suspect planned smiley face bomb pattern Time: 10:52 am.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/05/09/mailbox.pipebombs/index.html Police: Suspect planned smiley face bomb pattern May 9, 2002 Posted: 12:37 PM EDT (1637 GMT) RENO, Nevada (CNN) -- Accused mailbox bomber Lucas Helder told authorities he was planting pipe bombs in a pattern to show a happy face during his five-state weekend cross-country spree. Helder made the admission to an undercover officer present at his arrest, according to Lt. Thom Bjerke of the Pershing County, Nevada Sheriff's Department. "He seemed kind of carefree or amused about what was going on, " Bjerke told CNN's Paula Zahn. Helder has admitted he planted 18 pipe bombs in five states, knowing that people would be injured when they exploded, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday. During the first court appearance for the clean-cut, 21-year-old college student and one-time rock band member, assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Denney said police seized a shotgun loaded with a single round from Helder's car following a high-speed chase on a Nevada highway. Denney said the suspect told authorities he purchased the gun intending to take his own life. Police also found six pipe bombs found in the trunk of Helder's car, Denney said. Meanwhile, several pipe bomb-like devices found in mailboxes in eastern Indiana do not appear to be connected to pipe bombs planted in five other states over the weekend, federal authorities said Wednesday. (Full story) In the Reno hearing, U.S. District Judge Robert McQuaid agreed with the prosecutor that Helder should be detained without bond, saying he posed a danger to the community and an escape risk, despite defense pleas that he be released to the custody of his family. The judge said he believes Helder "suffers from some apparent mental health problems" -- a reference to his suspected suicidal intentions. Denney said Helder waived his Miranda rights before admitting he planted the bombs in five states -- pointing out the towns on a map. Six people were injured by explosions in Iowa and Illinois. Notes with anti-government messages were found in the rural roadside mailboxes where the pipe bombs were placed. McQuaid ordered Helder moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he faces two federal charges, the first of several filed since Tuesday night. (Read the criminal complaint -- PDF) One count accuses Helder of using an explosive "to maliciously destroy property affecting interstate commerce." The other charges him with "using a destructive device to commit a crime of violence" that wounded a woman when she opened her roadside mailbox in rural Tipton, Iowa. If convicted on the latter charge, he could be sentenced to life in prison. Similar charges were filed against him by a U.S. attorney in Illinois. In Nebraska, he faces another federal charge of interstate transportation of explosives. In Nevada, he faces a charge of possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime. No timetable was mentioned for his transfer to Iowa. Helder, dressed in orange pants, T-shirt and jacket stenciled with a black jail insignia, stood by a podium next to court-appointed public defender Vito Dela Cruz for the duration of the 25-minute hearing. He appeared relaxed and at ease, though tired. Before the hearing, he occasionally smiled while talking with his lawyer. During the hearing, he was casual and matter of fact. As the session began, the judge asked if Lucas John Helder was his true name. "Yeah, that's correct," Helder answered. "Do you understand that you don't have to make any statements," McQuaid asked. "Most definitely," the suspect responded. "If you do make a statement, it could be used against you," the judge said. "For sure," Helder replied. Cell phone leads to suspect Helder's admissions to the FBI were made public earlier in the day in an FBI affidavit filed in Omaha, Nebraska, where the suspect allegedly assembled some of his pipe bombs. The affidavit said Helder admitted "manufacturing eight pipe bombs in his apartment in Wisconsin" and 16 more at a hotel near Omaha. The affidavit said eight pipe bombs were left at locations in Illinois and Iowa, where six people were injured in explosions. Another eight bombs were placed in Nebraska and one each in Colorado and Texas, the affidavit said. Authorities were tipped to Helder's identity Monday night when the art student's adoptive father telephoned the police chief in Menomonie, Wisconsin, the college town where Helder lived and attended the University of Wisonsin-Stout. Cameron Helder "called us and said he had received a letter from his son and the contents led him to believe his son may be involved," Menomonie Police Chief Dennis Beety said. Helder's arrest near Reno Tuesday afternoon marked the end of an intensive manhunt that included a high-speed chase through a stark Nevada landscape. He spent the night under suicide watch in the Washoe County Jail. Authorities located Helder by tracking a pair of cellular phone calls he made to friends in Minnesota, said Sheriff Dennis Balaam of Washoe County, Nevada. In another criminal complaint filed in Iowa, FBI Special Agent Scott B. French said the two friends said Helder admitted he was responsible for the mailbox bombings. After pinpointing Helder, agents negotiated for his surrender as he drove through Nevada. Balaam said the chase reached speeds of between 85 mph and 100 mph before Helder pulled over on Interstate 80. Stopped three times before arrest The complaint filed against Helder in Iowa said police had stopped him three times since Saturday. All three stops were made before authorities got the tip from his adoptive father. Two were speeding stops near St. Edward, Nebraska, just after midnight Saturday, and in Fowler, Colorado, before 3 p.m. Sunday. The third was a stop for failure to wear a seat belt about 2 p.m. Saturday near Watonga, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma trooper also cited Helder for an expired driver's license. The first Nebraska trooper to stop Helder reported he told him he "didn't mean to hurt anybody" as he approached. The Colorado trooper said Helder "appeared to be very nervous and had very watery eyes like he was going to cry." Helder had a 10-minute conversation with his parents Wednesday morning and they assured him they still supported him, Balaam said. His parents also allowed agents from the FBI and the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to search their home "for public safety reasons." The parents told authorities that financial considerations meant they probably would wait until their son is transferred from Reno before they visit him. Federal charges against Helder Illinois Use of an explosive to maliciously destroy property Use of a destructive device to commit a crime of violence Iowa Use of an explosive to maliciously destroy property affecting interstate commerce Use of a destructive device to commit a crime of violence Nebraska Interstate transportation of explosives Nevada Possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime Helder background Name: Lucas John Helder Age: 21 School: University of Wisconsin-Stout Class: Junior Major: Art/industrial design Hobbies: Guitar, Internet Favorite band: Nirvana

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Subject: Analysis: 'Axis of evil' capabilities Time: 10:34 am.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1975000/1975588.stm Thursday, 9 May, 2002, 10:16 GMT 11:16 UK Analysis: 'Axis of evil' capabilities In January President Bush described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an 'axis of evil' and accused them of seeking to develop nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Now a senior US official has added Libya, Cuba and Syria to the list. Iraq President Bush's pointed reference to Iraq in his State of the Union address suggests that he intends to take some kind of action against Baghdad before the end of his presidency. Despite years of weapons inspections by the United Nations and international sanctions, Iraq is suspected of still wishing to pursue programmes to develop nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and missile developments. Analysts suggest the US would need to deploy at least 250,000 troops to seriously threaten Iraq's 383,000-strong army. Iraqi forces are likely to be more resilient than in the Gulf War if the US objective is the removal of President Saddam Hussein. Iraqi soldiers are already reported to be digging trenches in preparation, and the country's air defence systems have also been upgraded. Back to the top Iran Although moderate elements have emerged in Iran and there are some signs that Washington seeks a reappraisal of relations, deep hostility and suspicion between the two countries remains. Iran remains on the US State Department list as a state sponsor of terrorism. And Washington is also concerned that Iran has regional ambitions. The US believes Iran is developing long-range ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction and will probably have them by 2015. President Mohammad Khatami's support among moderates is strong, but hard-liners control the military, intelligence, judiciary and security forces. Iran also has a strong enough navy to "stem the flow of oil from the Gulf for brief periods," according to US Defence Intelligence Agency Chief Vice Admiral Thomas Wilson. But, according to a report from the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, while Iran's conventional forces are large, much of its equipment is dilapidated and obsolescent. Back to the top North Korea Washington perceives that the most serious threat from North Korea comes from its long-range ballistic missile programme. Pyongyang is reportedly an exporter of sensitive ballistic missile technology to states like Iran, Libya, Syria and Egypt. North Korea is said to have ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States by 2015, and may have the plutonium to build one or two nuclear weapons. Pyongyang, however, is complying with an agreement to freeze aspects of its nuclear programme, and the country remains beset by a famine. In its final years, the Clinton administration appeared to make progress in attempts to engage North Korea in dialogue. However, 37,000 US troops remain deployed in South Korea to counter the threat from the North's one million strong army, and President Bush seems to have put any hopes of further rapprochement firmly on ice. Back to the top Syria Syria has never shown serious interest in producing nuclear weapons, but the country is said to have a well-developed chemical weapons programme. This is reported to have started in earnest after clashes with Israel in 1982. By 1984 Syria had set up two chemical weapons plants producing significant amounts of nerve gases such as Sarin and VX. Syria currently has a range of medium range surface-to-surface missiles, including Scud B mobile launchers, Russian-built SS-21's and longer range Scud C missiles. While the army is large, with about 235,000 active troops, much of its equipment is relatively obsolete. The Syrian air force is also considered largely out-dated, with a token strength of exported MiG-29 and SU-24 strike attack aircraft. Recently, there have been fears that Syria has started to develop biological weapons - but details of the level of advancement and delivery systems of such programmes are not known. Back to the top Cuba Cuba does not possess nuclear or chemical weapons, and shows no sign of attempting to acquire them. The country is believed to have a limited biological warfare research programme - but the scope and extent of this are not known. In 1990, Cuba possessed perhaps the most advanced air force in Latin America, with about 150 Soviet-built MiG 23 and 29 fighter aircraft. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union - and loss of Soviet subsidies - decimated each branch of Cuba's armed forces. The army currently has about 60,000 active troops - compared to more than 200,000 in 1994. Back to the top Libya In the 1970s, Libya's apparent determination to acquire nuclear weapons alarmed the West. This was compounded by the Libyan leader Colonel Gadaffi's often fractious relations with successive US administrations. While its nuclear plans appear to have now stalled, analysts say Libya has continued to develop chemical weapons. A parallel biological warfare project is thought to be in its early research stages. Both programmes have been hindered, however, by a lack of scientific expertise. The Libyan Government denies it is developing weapons of mass destruction. Libya's air force has a number of medium-range Scud missiles and TU-22 bombers. Its army is relatively small, with about 35,000 active front-line troops.

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Subject: Suicide Bomber Blows Up Bus in Pakistan, Killing 13 Time: 5:14 pm.

Suicide Bomber Blows Up Bus in Pakistan, Killing 13 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,52222,00.html KARACHI, Pakistan — A suicide bomber blew up a shuttle bus parked outside a Karachi hotel Wednesday in a thunderous explosion that killed 11 French engineers, their Pakistani driver and a passer-by. Twenty-three people were wounded. Pakistan's government denounced the blast as an act of terrorism aimed at foreigners, and suspicion fell on militant Islamic groups angered by Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's support for the U.S.-led coalition's war in neighboring Afghanistan. There was no evidence linking the attack directly to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Musharraf promised to fight back. "We feel this act of international terrorism has to be met with full force. My government has the complete resolve of meeting this threat," he said without elaborating. "I would appeal to the international community to understand our domestic environment resulting from our cooperation against international terrorism," Musharraf said. French President Jacques Chirac condemned the attack as "vile" and sent his newly appointed defense minister to Pakistan. Wednesday: Volunteers remove a body from the wreckage of a bus in Karachi, Pakistan. The 11 French who were killed were engineers working at the Karachi seaport for a state-owned French marine construction company, the French foreign ministry said in Paris. They were part of a team building a submarine Pakistan bought from France, Pakistani officials said. The bus was parked outside the Sheraton Hotel when the bomb went off -- apparently in a second vehicle driven by the bomber, tearing a large crater in the road and destroying nearby vehicles. "We have recovered a charred body from a car," said Sindh provincial police chief Sayed Kamal Shah, referring to the suicide bomber and the bomb-laden vehicle. "The sound was so loud I think you could have heard it from six miles away," said Munir Sheikh, a police officer who witnessed the explosion. The death toll stood at 14, including the bomber. Ambulances struggled to reach the 23 wounded, weaving through the Karachi's congested streets. A teeming industrial capital of 14 million people, it is Pakistan's largest city. "I took some of the bodies to the hospital. The condition was very bad. It was horrible," said Mohammed Rizwan, an ambulance driver. Gen. Rashid Quereshi, a government spokesman, called the explosion an act of terrorism and an attempt to terrorize foreigners in Pakistan. Wednesday: Police and bomb disposal squad members examine the site of a bomb blast in Karachi. "Those who did this were enemies of the civilized world," Quereshi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. He also said Pakistan would not falter in its support for the U.S. -led coalition's war in neighboring Afghanistan. "Pakistan will continue its support to the international community in the war against terrorism and these terrorist acts will not deter our resolve against terrorism," he said. Several foreigners in Pakistan have been killed in brutal attacks claimed by Islamic radicals, who backed Afghanistan's collapsed Taliban regime and protested Pakistan's support for the coalition war on terror. Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in southern Karachi in January and killed by Islamic radicals protesting the detention of Taliban and Al Qaeda in Guantanamo, Cuba. Four men accused of the killing are currently on trial in the Sindh city of Hyderabad, about 60 miles north of Karachi. Following Wednesday's blast, Singapore Airlines suspended all flights to Pakistan starting Friday, citing the "prevailing security situation." The New Zealand and Pakistani cricket teams canceled a five-day match they were to start playing in Karachi on Wednesday. The two teams were staying in a hotel across the street, where windows were blown out by the blast. Jeff Crowe, manager of the New Zealand team, said his group was going home. "People were screaming in the hotel and I saw a number of dead people lying on the road. It was horrific," said Pakistan cricket captain Waqar Younis. Police were still trying to determine what kind of explosive was used and how it was detonated, Shah said. It's not known whether the car slammed into the parked bus or whether it was parked nearby and detonated. Westerners in Pakistan have been warned to use caution because of threats from militant Islamic groups protesting the war on terror. Musharraf banned five extremist Muslim groups in January and two months later, grenade-hurling terrorists killed five worshippers in an Islamabad church attended by members of the foreign community.

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Subject: Videogame Enrages Israeli Supporters Time: 5:05 pm.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,52268,00.html Wednesday, May 08, 2002 By Michael Y. Park The bomber reveals his explosives... NEW YORK — As in many other video games, the Internet program Kaboom! involves a main character who uses explosives to blow up his enemies, earning more points for more kills. But this isn't your typical videogame hero. And his targets aren't aliens or robots. To many people, the "star" of Kaboom! is an apparent Palestinian suicide bomber who kills innocent men, women and children in Israel. And with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict spilling into the world of interactive entertainment, a number of Israelis, Jewish organizations and at least one New York congresswoman are hopping mad, demanding Kaboom! be taken off the Web. "Kaboom! trivializes the heinous act of killing and maiming innocent people," Rep. Nita M. Lowey, D-N.Y., wrote to newgrounds.com, the site hosting the game. "Even as our men and women in uniform continue to fight against terrorism in many places around the world, this program makes a game of terrorism in the global community, encouraging players to consider suicide bombing a recreational sport, complete with objectives and scores." Lowey isn't alone. "It’s disgusting and sick and it’s offensive, and no matter what your politics are, there can be no kind of justification or rationalization for this kind of hate," Anti-Defamation League spokesman Todd Gutnick said. detonates ... The explosive controversy has even reached the Middle East, where it was reported on in the Jerusalem Post on May 2. A major Israeli radio station that mentioned Kaboom! was flooded with angry calls. One listener, an Israeli who called himself Ron, e-mailed newgrounds.com with what he called a friendly warning. "This might sound like good publicity, but … some people here might not see it as the fun game you've made," he wrote. "Knowing our politicians, some of them are probably already looking into pressing charges against you or some such. … Then there's the hackers — we may be a small country, but we do have some, and they might decide to take matters into their own hands." Newgrounds has refused to take down the game, despite the criticism. "As long as it's not illegal, we don't take the stuff down," Web master Wade Fulp said. "We're just trying to protect (the author's) free speech." Lowey has no plans to take further measures to force Newgrounds to remove the game. But her office was pleased to see Kaboom! enjoying a less prominent spot on the site, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Stanley. "Rep. Lowey completely agrees with (Fulp) about freedom of speech, but she also believes in the rights of the people who have been affected by the suicide bombing," Stanley said in a telephone interview. "It's completely disrespectful." and the game tallies the damage. And Gutnick urged the Web site to adopt a policy about what kind of programs ought to be allowed to stay on the site. Newgrounds is a submissions-based site, where designers send their games to the site via the Internet, and Newgrounds publishes them automatically.. Veteran videogamers might find Kaboom! a fairly unimpressive game. Using a mouse to control a terrorist's movements, the player can move left or right through a vaguely Middle Eastern-looking neighborhood until enough men, women or children are in range. Then, with a click of a button, the terrorist opens his jacket and detonates a crude bomb, killing or dismembering his civilian victims. The current version is only a working demo that will be expanded later. The game's creator would not give his name, but identified himself on the Web site variously as a 21-year-old from Detroit and a 23-year-old from Houston. He said in an e-mail interview the purpose of the game is "to show that suicide bombers are nothing but expendable pawns whose sole purpose is to terrorize innocents," and that "90 percent of the e-mails I've received are from people who loved the game, and a lot of them are from Israel." He said he came up with the idea after reading a Time magazine article on suicide bombers. He eventually plans to expand the game to include terrorist missions to 12 different countries. "I'm not going to try to make any money off the game," he wrote. "I don't make games ... for profit, just for fun." The game creator acknowledged his critics were entitled to their opinions. He insisted, however, that the game "does not center around Israel." He could not explain, however, why the game opens with an illustration of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

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Subject: Reports of mailbox pipe bombs found in Nebraska Time: 12:55 pm.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/05/04/mailbox.pipebombs/index.html Reports of mailbox pipe bombs found in Nebraska Incidents a day after similar devices wound 5 in Iowa, Illinois May 4, 2002 Posted: 3:25 PM EDT (1925 GMT) An investigator takes photos of a crime scene where a bomb exploded after a rural mail carrier opened a mailbox north of Dubuque, Iowa, on Friday. LINCOLN, Nebraska (CNN) -- Authorities are investigating reports that four pipe bombs were found Saturday in mailboxes in four Nebraska counties, a Nebraska State Patrol dispatcher said, a day after similar devices exploded in rural Illinois and Iowa and wounded five people. The incidents Friday had prompted the U.S. Postal Service to call carriers back and suspend Saturday delivery service in the area. There was no word yet on what actions, if any, the postal service would take in Nebraska. "At this point, it appears as though the explosives devices were intended to detonate when they were removed from rural boxes, mailboxes," U.S. Postal Inspector Linda Jensen said Friday. The eight pipe bombs discovered Friday -- placed in primarily rural areas of the two states -- were made from three-quarter-inch pipes with a 9-volt battery attached. Postal officials said the bombs did not go through the U.S. mail and appear to be placed in mailboxes randomly. Each bomb was accompanied by a plastic bag containing a letter filled with anti-government statements and threats of more bombs. (AP) -- The following is the text of the note found in the mailboxes with the pipe bombs on Friday: Mailboxes are exploding! Why, you ask? Attention people. You do things because you can and want (desire) to If the government controls what you want to do, they control what you can do. If you are under the impression that death exists, and you fear it, you do anything to avoid it. (This is the same way pain operates. Naturally we strive to avoid negative emotion/pain.) You allow yourself to fear death! World authorities allowed, and still allow you to fear death! In avoiding death you are forced to conform, if you fail to conform, you suffer mentally and physically. (Are world powers utilizing the natural survival instinct in a way that allows them to capitalize on the people?) To "live" (avoid death) in this society you are forced to conform/slave away. I'm here to help you realize/ understand that you will live no matter what! It is up to you people to open your hearts and minds. There is no such thing as death. The people I've dismissed from this reality are not at all dead. Conforming to the boundaries, and restrictions imposed by the government only reduces the substance in your lives. When 1% of the nation controls 99% of the nations total wealth, is it a wonder why there are control problems? The United States strives to provide freedom for their people. Do we really have personal freedom? I've lived here for many years, and I see much limitation. Does the definition of freedom include limitation? I've learned about the history of various civilizations in history, and I see more and more limitation. Do you people enjoy this trend of limitation? If not, change it! As long as you are uninformed about death you will continue to say "how high", when the government tells you to "jump". As long as the government is uninformed about death they will continue tell you to "jump" Is the government uninformed about death, or are they pretending? You have been missing how things are, for very long. I'm obtaining your attention in the only way I can. More info is on its way. More "attention getters' are on the way. If I could, I would change only one person, unfortunately the resources are not accessible. It seems killing a single famous person would get the same media attention as killing numerous un-famous humans. There is less risk of being detained, associated with dismissing certain people. Sincerely, Someone Who Cares PS. More info. will be delivered to various locations around the country. The note can be found here: http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/05/03/mailbox.bombs.note.ap/ "We looked at the letter that had accompanied the devices and are viewing it as a domestic terrorism incident," said FBI Special Agent James Bogner. "There is indication that there may be other devices." The letters were either the same or contained similar information, he added, and did not indicate how many others may exist -- but it did promise more "attention getters" are on the way. The FBI, Postal Inspection Service and the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have formed a joint task force with the U.S. Postal Service. Explosive devices were found in areas near the Iowa-Illinois border, including Morrison, Mount Carroll and Elizabeth, Illinois, and at Asbury, Farley, Tipton, Anamosa and Scott County in Iowa. No threats were phoned in about the devices to either postal officials or the FBI, officials said. Jensen said it's unclear whether the culprit acted alone or with others in placing the devices. "There are some consistencies among the placed devices that would indicate that there may be some effort that was related, but it's really early in the investigation at this point," she said. One of the bombs detonated in Morrison, Illinois, as a rural mail carrier opened the mailbox to deliver mail, a Whiteside County Sheriff's dispatcher said. The mail carrier suffered lacerations to her arms and face. A plastic bag containing a typed letter was found lying on the ground about eight feet away from the mailbox, the dispatcher said. Around 6:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. EDT), two people in Scott County, Iowa, went outside to get the morning paper and saw wires around the door of their mailbox, said Capt. Mike Brown of the county sheriff's department. The couple opened the mailbox and saw the bomb, which did not detonate, he said. The couple was not injured. Brown said the county bomb squad went to the site and removed the device. A couple of hours later, the sheriff's office discovered the other cases in the region, at which point they began working with the FBI, ATF, U.S. Postal Service and state agencies. Jensen said all carrier or postal customers should be very cautious when opening mailboxes and should take special care if wires, pipe or a letter in a clear plastic bag are found. "Please, please, do not touch the item or slam the box door," she said. Customers who find suspicious items or notice someone putting things in mailboxes are urged to call the local police or the postal inspection service command center in St. Louis at (314) 539-9310 and immediately clear the area around the mailbox.

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Subject: In 'Hidden Vote' for Le Pen, French Bared Unease Time: 9:26 am.

May 3, 2002 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/03/international/europe/03FRAN.html?todaysheadlines In 'Hidden Vote' for Le Pen, French Bared Unease By ALAN COWELL Jean-Marie Le Pen won almost a third of the voters in Schirmeck. CHIRMECK, France, May 1 — This town in the forest is a place of dark secrets — some new, some old and some underscoring the paradoxes that swirl around the strength here of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the extreme right-wing insurgent who will challenge President Jacques Chirac in a runoff vote for the presidency of France on Sunday. Almost a third of Schirmeck's residents voted for Mr. Le Pen in the first round of voting on April 21. Across this prosperous region, Alsace, Mr. Le Pen's share of the vote came to 23.44 percent, compared with Mr. Chirac's 18.36 percent, and was bolstered by a further 4.34 percent for another far-right candidate, Bruno Mégret. In some villages, the Le Pen vote alone reached 30 percent. Yet this Le Pen triumph occurred in a region that is almost a model of the benefits of the European integration he opposes so virulently. At around 5 percent, unemployment in Alsace, along the border with Germany, is just over half the national average of 9 percent — the lowest in France. Up to 60,000 people commute each day to jobs in Germany and Switzerland across borders once molded by armies and now ignored by economies. New factories and industrial parks fringe towns and villages. "We are the crossroads of Europe and people have benefited from that," said Frédéric Bierry, the politically independent mayor of Schirmeck. But, in his view, people here have more somber worries, their expectations of the future colored by the past, from Nazi occupation in World War II to economic depressions in the 1970's and 80's. Even the lowering pine forests all around them, he said, "darken the spirit." "They are pessimists," he said. "They have the impression that — as we say — they are the fifth wheel on the cart, that people don't take their interests to heart." This view — that there is something deep in the French spirit that has helped fuel Mr. Le Pen's rise — seems to reinforce suggestions that the rightist politician's influence in an arc of France stretching from the Mediterranean, through eastern France and onto the rust belt of the northeast, may be more nuanced and less easily predicted than was thought. Usually, the Le Pen vote is ascribed to the influence of high unemployment or high concentrations of immigrants. But here it does not seem to work that way. "It's crazy," said Franck Schwab, a 40-year-old French history teacher escorting scores of students around Struthof, a camp that its custodians call the only Nazi concentration camp on French soil. "There's no insecurity, no unemployment, no immigrants, and yet they voted for Mr. Le Pen." In the first-round vote, Mr. Le Pen maintained a strong showing in big eastern cities with large immigrant populations like Strasbourg and Mulhouse that have long been a stronghold. But he did even better in small, prosperous and virtually immigrant-free rural places like Schirmeck, where logging trucks trundle by the lace curtains of modest, comfortable homes. High above the town, in the pine-clad folds and ridges of the Vosges mountains, a watchtower and wooden barbed-wire gates testify to the World War II past and an era when this region was annexed to Germany and Frenchmen were obliged to bear arms for the German Army. "This was something that people never discussed with their children or grandchildren," said Mr. Bierry. "This was always a secret." The camp known as Struthof or Natzweiler also provided the human raw material for a notorious Nazi doctor, Josef Hirt, to pursue hidden research on the bodies of gassed Jews and Gypsies to support his view that they came from a lower order of humanity. Mr. Le Pen has dismissed places like Natzweiler and people like Dr. Hirt as mere details of history. Despite that huge burden of memory in the hills above them, almost one-third of the people of Schirmeck voted for him — albeit as furtively as Dr. Hirt conducted his research. "This was a hidden vote, hidden in people's hearts," Mr. Bierry said. "I don't know anyone who will admit to supporting Le Pen. No one will say they have his party card. But when they vote they emerge." In the village of Rothau, close to Schirmeck, the Steinheil textile mill looms over the town like a throwback to earlier times. In the mid-1970's, said Marc Gallimard, a staunchly left-wing labor union organizer and supervisor there, some 750 people worked at the plant. Now the figure is 72 — two of them immigrants — and may soon be zero: if new investors do not take over the plant by June 11, he said, it will close. This sort of things causes anxiety, although new economic sectors have emerged in the region. But something deeper is working in Mr. Le Pen's favor, said Christian Claulin, 48, a textile worker. The Alsatian people "like order, even in our work." Order is something Mr. Le Pen promises people in large doses, but he also seems to be able to conjure fears of disorder among people who have nothing to fear, linking violence directly to North African immigrants who live in big cities, not in small towns like this one. That feeling of vulnerability was reinforced across France shortly before the April 21 first-round election when the news media devoted much time to the image of a 72-year-old man, Paul Voise, who had been beaten up in a deeply shocking way. No matter that his assailants, who left him for dead in Orléans south of Paris, were never identified as anything beyond "hooligans." It is the sense that they may be on the brink of an incursion of disorder that they have not yet experienced — an amorphous anticipation of chaos threatening their comfort and prosperity — that stalks the secret Le Pen voters of rural Alsace. Didier Hisler, a 41-year-old left-wing textile worker, said that in his village of 280 people near Schirmeck one-third of voters supported Mr. Le Pen, even though there was no unrest, no violence, no crime. "And we only have two immigrants — and one of them is a Portuguese who's been there for 30 years," Mr. Hisler said. Alain Sébille, an official of Mr. Le Pen's National Front in a troubled automotive center at Audincourt, 100 miles south of here, said: "Even people who do not know insecurity are frightened. And that's why a lot of people voted National Front." Audincourt lives from the Peugeot auto plants of eastern France just as this town used to live from textiles. But the auto industry is precarious and textiles have all but disappeared because of foreign imports. "Jobs are very precarious," said Martial Bourquin, the Socialist mayor of Audincourt. "There's a sense of social exasperation. There's a desire to punish the government and the classic political parties by voting Le Pen." There are more tangled layers. In his own town of 15,500, he said, at least half the population is descended from Polish and Italians immigrants drawn to the auto plants in the 1930's. Some of those same descendants of immigrants now vote for Mr. Le Pen and, thus, against the 15 to 20 percent of the population made up of newer Muslim immigrants from North Africa, Mr. Bourquin said. "In the 1930's," he said, "it was, let us say, Catholic immigration." Now, he added, clearly referring to the arrival of Muslim immigrants, a question of religion has arisen. "What happened in New York, in Afghanistan, in the Middle East has deepened the religious divide," he said. "What we are seeing," Mr. Bourquin said, "is what I call a crisis of horizons. There are people who think they have been forgotten by the system and they vote for the extremes when they see the government has no solution for them."

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Subject: Anti-terror pact set for SE Asia Time: 8:05 am.

http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/05/02/terror.pact/index.html Anti-terror pact set for SE Asia May 3, 2002 Posted: 4:12 PM HKT (0812 GMT) A U.S. soldier in the southern Philippines, where American forces are involved in a joint anti-terrorism exercise aimed at eliminating the Abu Sayyaf JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia, criticized for not being aggressive enough in tackling terrorism and extremist elements, is set to sign a joint anti-terror pact with Malaysia and the Philippines next week. Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told reporters that the pact would be signed on May 7, with Thailand possibly joining later, the Reuters news agency reported. Hassan said that the agreement would allow the nations to engage in cross-border anti-terrorism operations, increase intelligence sharing and joint exercises to hunt down suspected terrorists. He did not elaborate, however, on whether the pact would increase the powers of individual nations to crack down on alleged terrorists or whether it would compel a nation to act on information provided to it about suspects or possible terrorist activities. While Malaysia and the Philippines have arrested dozens of suspected terrorists in recent weeks, Indonesia has been accused of failing to take action on extremists or religious groups with alleged terrorism ties. Several Indonesians have been arrested in the Philippines this year, including a suspect with ties to Jemaah Islamiya (JI) -- a terrorist cell broken in Singapore last December. The FBI has said that was only one cell of a much larger network and has ties to other countries including Malaysia and Indonesia. Singapore officials have charged that terrorists remain at large in Indonesia, while there have been reports that the White House has evidence al Qaeda members have fled from Afghanistan to Indonesia. One of the men arrested in the Philippines was high in the command structure of the Indonesian Mujahadeen Council, investigators said. Singapore and Malaysian authorities say that the head of the group, Bakar Ba'asyir, is the spiritual leader of JI. He has been questioned by Indonesian police, but continues to operate freely. In fact, of all the countries in which JI has links, only Indonesia has failed to arrest any suspected terrorists. Although Singapore has pushed publicly for Indonesia to do more, others say it is more effective to work through back-channels or through an established anti-terror agreement. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population and is just emerging from years of political, social and economic turmoil. Any moves to crack down on religious extremism or enact a more aggressive counter-terrorist policy runs the risk of an anti-government backlash and could threaten to destabilize Indonesia again. In Australia, the federal government is suffering a backlash over proposed tough anti-terror legislation. The laws, if introduced, would allow government authorities to apprehend and detain suspects incommunicado for a maximum period of 48 hours without being charged or having access to a lawyer. They then could be jailed for up to five years if they refuse to answer questions, local media reported. Australian Prime Minister John Howard has defended the proposed laws saying they are necessary for Australia to remain vigilant against threats of terrorism. However, human rights groups and law bodies say that the legislation is excessive and goes against established criminal procedures

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Subject: Saboteurs blow up Madagascar bridge Time: 7:47 am.

Saboteurs blow up Madagascar bridge May 3, 2002 Posted: 7:22 AM EDT (1122 GMT) President Ratsiraka has orchestrated a blockade of roads leading into the capital to cut off its fuel supply ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (Reuters) -- Saboteurs have blown up a fifth bridge in Madagascar to disrupt supplies into the capital, where African diplomats were due to hold talks to resolve a leadership crisis that has split the island. General Ferdinand Razakarimanana told local radio that the bridge at Behenjy, about 40 km (25 miles) south of Antananarivo, was destroyed at dawn on Friday on the main road linking the capital to the south of the giant Indian Ocean island. Four other bridges, linking Antananarivo to the south, southeast and east of the giant Indian Ocean island of 16 million people have been destroyed in recent weeks, reinforcing a blockade of the city mounted by supporters of embattled ruler Didier Ratsiraka. The capital and surrounding region is controlled by Marc Ravalomanana, the charismatic mayor of Antananrivo who was declared winner of disputed presidential polls on Monday. Ratsiraka has rejected the results, and the island is bitterly divided. Diplomats from an Organisation of African Unity (OAU) delegation, which met Ratsiraka on Thursday, was expected to meet Ravalomanana on Friday to try and find a way out of the crisis. Provincial governors met on Thursday and were prepared to declare independence to support embattled ruler Didier Ratsiraka. France condemned moves by governors of at least three of the island's six provinces to break away from the central government of its former colony. Madagascar

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Subject: More than 90 Nepal rebels killed Time: 7:43 am.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/05/03/nepal.maoists/index.html More than 90 Nepal rebels killed May 3, 2002 Posted: 10:33 AM EDT (1433 GMT) Nepal's bloody rebellion has been going on for six years KATHMANDU, Nepal -- At least 90 Maoist guerrillas have been killed in battles with security forces in western Nepal, the defence ministry said. Two army soldiers also were killed and another was wounded in the overnight gunbattles with the rebels, the ministry said in a statement on Friday. At least 40 guerrillas were killed on Thursday night during a gun battle with Nepalese army forces in Lisne, Rolpa district, 200 miles west of the capital, Katmandu, the statement said. The fighting in Lisne started when Maoists attacked a team of security forces patrolling the area. In another incident, at least 50 guerrillas were gunned down by security forces in the village of Bhagal, on the border of Doti and Kailali districts, about 300 miles west of Katmandu, the ministry said. More than 150 guerrillas have been killed in the last week, junior Interior Minister Devendra Raj Kandel said. In November the government imposed a state of emergency and ordered the army to crush the guerrilla insurgency, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives in the Himalayan kingdom. Rolpa is the stronghold of the guerrillas who have been fighting since 1996 to abolish Nepal's constitutional monarchy and impose communist rule. They draw their inspiration from Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Tse-tung. The fighting in Lisne started when Maoists attacked a team of security forces patrolling the area, Kandel said. In the last few days the government has intensified attacks on the guerrillas, after the rebels called for a nationwide strike last week which did not get much public support. During the five-day strike the government continued to impose tight security measures to deter possible rebel attacks. The strike, which began last Tuesday, virtually crippled life in Nepal and led to an upsurge of violence

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