i) Walzer does concede that all wars can strategically draw upon the usefulness of generating terror within a populace, albeit with different methods. The differences in method are presumably marked by the degree of specific and random targeting of people that is involved. If generating terror within a populace at large becomes a military strategy in a conventional or guerrilla war situation, it might well become the strategy of an army systematically to kill some civilians in a brutal fashion or systematically make all civilians suffer by the threat of say, cutting food supplies or displacing them from their homesteads, or simply by the uncertainty of being inadvertently affected by the targeted attack of certain combatant forces (carpet bombing). One would need to ask whether the mass terror that is generated by such targeted warfare is different from that which is generated by the random attack warfare of terrorism.

ii) As an addendum to (i) one must ask whether it is possible to conceive of any warfare where mass terror is not generated and where some random casualties (however unwillingly this comes about) are not expected? In realistic terms this seems unlikely.

iii) If one does accept that some civilians will be randomly killed in a war situation, the moral distinction from Walzer's description of terrorism might have to rest on interpretation of intent; whether casualties occur inevitably; despite the best efforts being made to keep them to a minimum or whether they occur because exactly this result was deliberately engineered. One would need to establish how we could distinguish between consequences that are similar even though the intentions that are claimed as causing those consequences might be quite different – even diametrically opposed.

Besides an amnesty and de Menezes's return as president, the deal provides for the creation of a new government of national unity.

It also pledges "the scrupulous respect of the principle of separation of powers", a "national forum to listen to political parties and civil society" and "the transparent management of public resources and the respect of financial rules".

The oil industry is to be placed under the authority of the National Assembly, which is to pass a law on oil resources.

Working with the first national youth federation (or umbrella as they call it here in Somaliland) with a structure that represents various regions of Somaliland, a structure that requires collective decision making and follows the majority rule policy is new to the youth leaders and to Somaliland. There is no other structure that gathers representatives of various regions coming from different organizations and allows a bottom up flow of decision-making process. This in itself proves to be a great challenge to the umbrella and its leaders.

[...]

My office was full of youth leaders tonight, we started the meeting at 7pm, I was surrounded with mainly young men and a few women. They debated, discussed, threw accusations at each other, raised the clan issue, raised issues such as manipulation and domination among others. I was in the company of SONYO leaders from Galbeed region attended by almost 20 leaders. Mostly with strong personalities, loud voices some have perfected the art of throwing sarcastic remarks. It is not easy when you are caught in the middle and you act as the facilitator.

[...]

"Democracy is new, this is democracy at work" those words served as my mantra all throughout the meeting. In a short discussion with my boss prior to the meeting, I told him, democracy is not only taught in lecture halls, this is democracy in action, one has to experience it. True enough, after 4 gruelling hours they agreed, we summarized the decision points and left the room with everyone satisfied.

“We killed 2 last National Council meeting, and another 2 last National Executive meeting and now the Galbeed Regional committee meeting, so how many lives did we kill tonight?” asked Mohamed. I just smiled and retorted “No you didn’t kill me tonight.”

What they do not know however, is that every time the group resolves a conflict and end up peacefully I become energized. My tired body is comforted with the thought that however hard it is, we are making progress, change do not happen overnight.

Representations against State Police bordered on the fear of abuses to which State Governors may subject their Police. These fears included those of intimidation and harassment of political opponents and perpetuation of electoral frauds. References were made to the experiences in the Country during the former Regional Governments when the authorities put the Regional and Local Authority Police to abuse - a development which led to occasional breakdown of law and order. The fall of the first Republic was partly blamed on the ignoble use of the Regional and local Police. It was, therefore, feared that it was too soon in the life of Nigeria’s nascent democracy for the idea of State Police to be entertained.

As you probably know, this week George Bush is visiting Africa. Starting with Senegal, he arrived this morning at 7.20 PM and left at 1.30 PM. Let me share with you what we have been through since last week: More than 1,500 persons have been arrested and put in jail between Thursday and Monday. Hopefully they will be released now that the Big Man is gone; The US Army's planes flying day and night over Dakar; The noise they make is so loud that one hardly sleeps at night; About 700 security people from the US for Bush's security in Senegal, with their dogs, and their cars. Senegalese security forces were not allowed to come near the US president; All trees in places where Bush will pass have been cut. Some of them have been there for more than 100 years; All roads going down town (were hospitals, businesses, schools are located) were closed from Monday night to Tuesday at 3 PM. This means that we could not go to our offices or schools. Sick people were also obliged to stay at home; National exams for high schools that started on Monday are postponed until Wednesday.

Bush's visit to the Goree Island is another story. As you may know Goree is a small island facing Dakar where from the 15th to the 19th century, the African slaves to be shipped to America were parked in special houses called slave houses. One of these houses has become a Museum to remind humanity about this dark period and has been visited by kings, queens and presidents. Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, and before them, Nelson Mandela, the Pope, and many other distinguished guests or ordinary tourists visited it without bothering the islanders. But for "security reasons" this time, the local population was chased out of their houses from 5 to 12 AM. They were forced by American security to leave their houses and leave everything open, including their wardrobes, to be searched by special dogs brought from the US. The ferry that links the island to Dakar was stopped and offices and businesses closed for the day.

According to an economist who was interviewed by a private radio, Senegal is a very poor country that has lost huge amounts of money in this visit, because workers have been prevented from walking out of their homes.

In addition to us being prevented from going out, other humiliating things happened also. Bush brought his own arm-chairs, and of course his own cars, and meals and drinks. He came with his own journalists and ours were forbidden inside the airport and in places he was visiting.

Only 134 people survive from the group of nearly 1,000 who were shipped from Italy to an Army camp in Oswego by the United States government in the summer of 1944, and many of them were gathered here today at the home of Judy Goldsmith, daughter of a deceased camp survivor, to reconnect and reminisce.

[...]

Compared with living one step ahead of the SS it was heaven, the survivors said. Each family had its own barracks, plenty of food and eventually access to education. After a one-month quarantine, Mr. Greenberg and the other children were allowed to attend classes at Oswego's elementary and high schools. Social workers came to teach their parents English. And the people of Oswego were endlessly generous.

Nevertheless, the experience of being rounded up and enclosed behind a fence topped with barbed wire left its mark.

Opponents of the prosecution of Pitcairn Islanders for alleged sex offences are selling goods on the Internet emblazoned with images of a lawyer wearing a red wig and fake breasts.

Auckland prosecutor Simon Moore, along with his assistant Christine Gordon and barrister Gray Cameron, were photographed wearing the wig and fake breasts on a boat that took them from the island after they laid charges against nine men in April.

Mr Moore said last week that the trio agreed to don the costume briefly after the boat's captain told them it was a ritual with charter parties.

Now a United States-based website, authorised by a group calling itself Pitcairn Justice, is selling images of Mr Moore embossed on T-shirts, singlets, cups, mugs and teddy bears.