--------------------- BEGIN CUT AND PASTE -------------------------- http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/10/28/inv.attacks.calls.reut/index.html NEW YORK(Reuters) -- Among almost 1,000 people being held in the United States in connection with the hijacked-airliner attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are people who made congratulatory telephone calls minutes later, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions. Although transcripts of the phone calls have not been made available, the Times reports that officials have said some of the calls were "congratulatory, even gloating." These suspected associates of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda organization are among 977 people held on various charges related to the September 11 attacks, which killed almost 5,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The paper said it had been unable to determine whether those who made the jubilant calls were participants in the hijack plot or merely rejoicing over the attacks. FBI agents intercepted telephone calls, moved in and made arrests, holding the bulk of those arrested on immigration or criminal violations and a smaller group on material witness warrants, the newspaper reported. Their identities and those of most of the people being held have not been released by the Justice Department. The newspaper said officials would not say how many people were detained through the telephone intercepts, nor would they discuss evidence that any of them proved to be members of the group organized by bin Laden, Washington's prime suspect in the attacks. ------------------------- END CUT AND PASTE ___________________________ The obvious questions that come to mind are (1) How is it that the FBI was listening in on the calls of a thousand people at that time, and, (2) with this story in hand, how many of these poor victims will try to assert their [obviously violated] 1st A rights? -- Yours, J.A. Terranson sysadmin@mfn.org If Governments really want us to behave like civilized human beings, they should give serious consideration towards setting a better example: Ruling by force, rather than consensus; the unrestrained application of unjust laws (which the victim-populations were never allowed input on in the first place); the State policy of justice only for the rich and elected; the intentional abuse and occassionally destruction of entire populations merely to distract an already apathetic and numb electorate... This type of demogoguery must surely wipe out the fascist United States as surely as it wiped out the fascist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The views expressed here are mine, and NOT those of my employers, associates, or others. Besides, if it *were* the opinion of all of those people, I doubt there would be a problem to bitch about in the first place... --------------------------------------------------------------------