The regime of Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan, heretofore attempting to play both sides in the Great Game between Moscow and Washington, appears to have finally and decisively thrown in its lot with the former. From Pakistan's Daily Times, via AFP July 31:

US military evicted from Uzbek air base
WASHINGTON — Uzbekistan has formally evicted the US from a military base that has served as a hub for its combat operations in Afghanistan, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.

A Muslim-owned store in a Leeds suburb was set ablaze the night of July 22 in what police called a racially motivated attack. No one was injured in the fire, which destroyed a convenience store in the suburb of Harehills. But the attack, which occurred across the street from the Bilal mosque in the working-class section of town, is being investigated as a "malicious incident." Iqbal Khan, the owner of the store, said the fire began when four white youths started setting merchandise ablaze, then ran out. He said he was able to escape before the store went up in flames.

Another attempted multiple simultaneous bombing on the London transit system, which fortunately seems to have failed--but not without sparking another death on the Underground, this time at the hands of the police. (Remember when London "bobbies" famously didn't carry guns?) And now police are conducting random searches on the New York subways. (NYT, July 22) A press release from the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) protests the policy as unconstitutional (thank goodness!), but doesn't say they will challenge it in court. From TruthOut:

Terror returns to London
July 21st 2005
From The Economist Global Agenda

Exactly two weeks after the deadly bombings of London’s transport system on July 7th, Britain’s capital has been hit by a fresh wave of attacks—though with few casualties this time. Were the four reported explosions the work of further members of the Islamist group that struck last time—or unrelated “copycats"

Arrested for "spreading hatred"? Sounds frighteningly arbitrary and subjective. From UPI, July 20:

Pakistan arrests 200 extremist suspects
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has detained more than 200 suspected Islamic militants in a new security crackdown this week.

We've been waiting for London's famously leftist Mayor Ken Livingstone to state the obvious about the bombings. Finally, he has. Blair, meanwhile, remains in denial, at least officially. We wonder: is he really this deluded, or just sticking to a political script? Via TruthOut:

A little deja vu hearkening back to the '90s, when the stereotypical terrorist was a redneck—Angry White Male, to use the argot of the day. What's interesting is how much Eric Rudolph's rhetoric mirrors that of the jihadis. From the AP, July 19:

Clinic bomber draws life sentences
Rudolph meets his punishment with defiance
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- By the time he was sent off to prison for life yesterday, serial bomber Eric Rudolph had been compared to Ku Klux Klan killers, murderous Nazis, and the Sept. 11 hijackers.

Egyptian Prosecutor General Maher Abdel-Wahed has indicated that Egyptian biochemist Magdy El-Nashar, arrested in Cairo over suspected involvement in the London bombings, will not be extradited even if he was charged. He said that the country's constitution bans the extradition of any Egyptian citizen accused of committing crimes abroad to any foreign state, the official MENA news agency reported. Nashar had just arrived in Egypt for a 45-day vacation and planned to return to Britain to complete his studies. (Xinhua, July 16) Egyptian Interior Minister Habib el-Adli told al-Gomhuria newspaper that the foreign media had drawn hasty conclusions about 33-year-old El-Nashar, whose Leeds apartment was raided by police. "Habib el-Adli confirmed that Magdy Elnashar had no connection with al Qaeda," said the newspaper, which did not quote the minister directly. (Reuters, July 16) A computer found at El-Nashar's Leeds home is said to have revealed only downloaded music files. (UK Telegraph, July 17)