Events, Verisoph

19 March 2001 Bank of Japan adopts quantitative easing ai_extracted 1 cit. On March 19, 2001 the Bank of Japan performed a sudden policy U-turn and officially adopted quantitative easing, a policy it had claimed for a decade was impossible to implement. ●●●●

January 2001 Abolition of the Ministry of Finance (Okurasho) ai_extracted 1 cit. In January 2001 the Okurasho was abolished, ending over half a century of the ministry's dominance and leaving only a rump institution. ●●●●

2001 Japan adopts market value accounting ai_extracted 1 cit. Fiscal year 2001 was the first in which Japanese company books were calculated by U.S.-style market value accounting instead of book value, sharply accelerating the dissolution of cross shareholdings and the shift to shareholder capitalism. ●●●

April 2001 Koizumi becomes prime minister ai_extracted 1 cit. Junichiro Koizumi became Japan's prime minister in April 2001, giving prominence to reform plans such as privatizing publicly owned companies, most notably the post office. ●●●

May 2001 Bank of Japan reflates under Koizumi ai_extracted 1 cit. In May 2001 the Bank of Japan's purchases of commercial paper rose over 500 percent year on year and bond purchases increased rapidly, pushing its liquidity injections back toward the levels of March 1998. ●●

March 2001 Bank of Japan announces quantitative easing ai_extracted 1 cit. The Bank of Japan officially announced quantitative easing in March 2001, and in May 2001 significantly boosted its credit creation in a policy rivaling its record 1998 reflation. ●●●

2001 Enron bankruptcy ai_extracted 1 cit. The 2001 bankruptcy of Enron, followed by other accounting and fraud scandals, blurred the distinction between Asian-style and U.S.-style cronyism. ●●●

2001 German economy slows down ai_extracted 1 cit. When the German economy visibly slowed in 2001, politicians including finance minister Hans Eichel wanted stimulatory policies but found monetary policy in the hands of the independent ECB and fiscal policy constrained by the stability and growth pact. ●●

2001 Japan's national debt reaches record high ai_extracted 1 cit. New government borrowing of over 300 trillion yen during the 1990s pushed total outstanding debt to 522.1 trillion yen by end-2000, and with 2001 borrowing the debt reached a record 582.46 trillion yen, about 120 percent of GDP. ●●

19 March 2001 Bank of Japan announces reserve targeting ('quantitative easing') ai_extracted 1 cit. On March 19, 2001 the Bank of Japan announced it would switch from targeting the overnight call rate to targeting the quantity of banks' reserve deposits, a policy commonly called quantitative easing; its actual credit creation nevertheless fell in the following months. ●●●

15 June 2001 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation founding declaration 0 cit. Declaration by China, Russia, and four Central Asian states founding the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for security and economic cooperation. It has since expanded to include India, Pakistan, and Iran. diplomacy / politics ●●

15 June 2001 Founding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation 0 cit. China, Russia and four Central Asian states found the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, expanding the Shanghai Five border talks into a permanent body for security and economic cooperation across Eurasia. diplomacy / politics ●●●

2 December 2001 Collapse of Enron 0 cit. Energy trader Enron files what is then the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history after massive accounting fraud is exposed. The scandal wipes out employee pensions and leads to the Sarbanes-Oxley reforms. economy / politics ●●●●

11 September 2001 September 11 attacks 1 cit. Al-Qaeda hijackers fly airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. The attacks reshape global security, trigger the war in Afghanistan, and open two decades of conflict in the Middle East. politics / war ●●●●●

11 December 2001 China joins the WTO 1 cit. China becomes a member of the World Trade Organization after fifteen years of negotiation. Its full entry into world trade accelerates globalization, remakes supply chains, and shifts economic power toward Asia. economy ●●●●

13 December 2001 Indian Parliament attack 0 cit. Gunmen attacked the Indian Parliament complex in New Delhi, killing nine people before being shot dead. The attack brought India and Pakistan close to war. politics / war ●●

15 January 2001 Wikipedia launches 0 cit. Wikipedia went online on 15 January 2001 as a free encyclopedia anyone could edit. It became one of the most-visited reference sources in the world and a model of large-scale collaborative media. society / technology ●●●

23 October 2001 Apple releases the iPod 0 cit. Apple's iPod held a thousand songs in a pocket-sized player. It made carrying a whole music library normal and pointed music toward the digital age. technology ●●●●

18 September 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force 0 cit. Days after the September 11 attacks Congress authorized force against those responsible and those who harbored them. The broad wording became the legal basis for a long global campaign. politics / war ●●●●

c. November 2001 The armed drone program begins 0 cit. The United States began using armed Predator drones for targeted strikes during the war in Afghanistan. Drone warfare grew into a central tool of American military and intelligence power. technology / war ●●●

29 January 2001 White House faith-based initiatives 0 cit. President George W. Bush created a White House office to steer federal funds to religious social programs. The initiative deepened ties between government and faith-based groups. politics / religion ●●

11 September 2001 The Gulf and the September 11 Attacks 0 cit. Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers in the attacks on the United States were Saudi citizens, straining ties with Washington. The event intensified scrutiny of Gulf funding for extremist networks. politics / religion / war ●●●●

January 2001 First World Social Forum 0 cit. Activists and civil society groups held the first World Social Forum in Brazil as a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum in Davos. It became a recurring gathering for movements critical of corporate globalization. economy / society ●●

December 2001 China joins the World Trade Organization 0 cit. China acceded to the World Trade Organization in December 2001. Membership accelerated its integration into the global economy and its rise as a manufacturing power. economy ●●●●●

2001 The U.S. passes No Child Left Behind 0 cit. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 tied federal funding to yearly standardized testing and school accountability. It drove a national debate over high-stakes testing and its effects on teaching. politics / society ●●

19 March 2001 to 2006 Bank of Japan launches quantitative easing 0 cit. The Bank of Japan becomes the first major central bank to adopt an explicit quantitative easing policy, targeting the level of bank reserves after interest rates hit zero. economy / politics ●●●●

December 2001 to 2002 The Argentine economic collapse 0 cit. Argentina defaulted on around 100 billion dollars of debt amid bank freezes, riots, and the resignation of several presidents in weeks. Many Argentines blamed years of IMF-endorsed policy, while the Fund pointed to domestic mismanagement. economy / politics ●●●●

2001 Venus razors are named for the Roman goddess of love 0 cit. Gillette introduced its Venus razor for women in 2001, named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. culture / economy / religion ●●

17 January 2001 School of the Americas is renamed WHINSEC 0 cit. Amid protests, the School of the Americas was replaced by the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Critics called the change mostly cosmetic. politics / society ●●

11 September 2001 The September 11 attacks and the blowback debate 0 cit. Al-Qaeda's attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and reopened debate over how the Afghan war's aftermath fed the group's rise. Scholars stress the documented chain of consequences, not a direct US plot to build al-Qaeda. religion / war ●●●●●

c. 1 January 2001 The "CIA created al-Qaeda" claim is contested contested 0 cit. A popular claim holds that the CIA directly created Osama bin Laden or al-Qaeda, but historians and declassified records do not support a direct link. The documented reality is blowback, US aid to Afghan factions that later fed movements it neither controlled nor intended. politics / society ●●●●

2001 Germany reels from the PISA shock 0 cit. When the first PISA results ranked German students below expectations, the shock triggered national debate and reform. The episode showed how the OECD rankings could drive policy change inside a country. politics / society ●●●

2001 Finland tops the first PISA rankings 0 cit. Finland's strong results in the first PISA tests drew global attention to its equity-focused system. Delegations from many countries came to study Finnish schools. politics / society ●●●

2001 The US passes No Child Left Behind 0 cit. No Child Left Behind tied federal funding to annual testing and accountability targets for schools. It made standardized tests central to US education and stirred debate over teaching to the test. politics / society ●●●●

26 October 2001 The PATRIOT Act expands US surveillance 0 cit. Passed weeks after the September 11 attacks, the USA PATRIOT Act broadened government powers to collect communications data. Parts of it later underpinned the bulk collection Snowden exposed. politics / war ●●●

18 February 2001 Robert Hanssen arrested for espionage 0 cit. FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union and later Russia over more than 20 years, one of the most damaging espionage cases in US history. He pleads guilty and receives a life sentence. The case exposes major gaps in the FBI's internal counterintelligence vetting. politics ●●

c. October 2001 Stellar Wind warrantless surveillance program begins 0 cit. Weeks after the September 11 attacks, President Bush authorizes the NSA to intercept international communications of people inside the United States without the warrants ordinarily required under FISA. The program, code-named Stellar Wind, remains secret until reported by the press in 2005. politics / technology ●●●

26 October 2001 USA PATRIOT Act signed 0 cit. President Bush signs the USA PATRIOT Act, expanding the surveillance and investigative powers of the FBI and NSA in the wake of the September 11 attacks, including broadened use of national security letters and roving wiretaps. Several provisions face repeated legal and congressional challenges over the following two decades. politics ●●●

c. 7 October 2001 First armed drone strike by the CIA and Air Force 0 cit. Shortly after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan began, an armed MQ-1 Predator drone was used in one of the first strikes carried out by an unmanned aircraft in the history of warfare. The Predator had earlier been fitted with Hellfire missiles in 2000-2001 tests, converting a reconnaissance platform into a strike weapon. Armed drones went on to transform air power and counterterrorism operations over the following two decades, including thousands of strikes across the Middle East and South Asia. technology / war ●●

14 April 2001 Gazprom-Media takes control of NTV 0 cit. Armed security personnel entered NTV's offices overnight and installed a new, Gazprom-appointed management team, ending Gusinsky's ownership of Russia's leading independent television network. Much of NTV's journalistic staff resigned in protest, and the channel's editorial line shifted toward a pro-government stance. culture / politics ●●●

c. January 2001 Berezovsky loses control of ORT 0 cit. Under Kremlin pressure, Boris Berezovsky sold his stake in Russia's Channel One television network (formerly ORT) to businessman Roman Abramovich, who was widely seen as acting on the Kremlin's behalf. The sale removed the last major national broadcaster from oligarch control outside the state's orbit. culture / politics ●●

May 2001 The ISL collapse exposes FIFA marketing-partner bribery 0 cit. The bankruptcy of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure reveals that the firm had paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to football officials over the prior decade. Swiss prosecutors later confirmed payments to senior FIFA figures, an early documented crack in FIFA's finances that foreshadowed the larger corruption scandal to come. economy / politics ●●

c. March 2001 European court rules against compelled Masonic disclosure 0 cit. In Grande Oriente d'Italia di Palazzo Giustiniani v. Italy, the European Court of Human Rights rules that Italian legislation requiring public officials to declare Masonic membership violated the rights to freedom of association and non-discrimination under the European Convention on Human Rights. The ruling, though about Italy, is cited afterward in UK debates over the policy of compelling judicial and police disclosure of Masonic ties. diplomacy / politics ●●

c. March 2001 Standards Board for England Established 0 cit. The Standards Board for England began operating under the Local Government Act 2000, taking responsibility for overseeing councillor conduct investigations and maintaining the ethical framework recommended after Nolan. It handled complaints against councillors nationally until it was abolished a decade later. It never adopted a compulsory Masonic-membership disclosure requirement, despite the 1999 committee recommendation. politics ●

13 December 2001 House of Lords Upholds Ruling Against Shirley Porter 0 cit. The House of Lords, in Porter v Magill, upheld the findings that Dame Shirley Porter had acted unlawfully in the Westminster 'homes for votes' policy, confirming the surcharge for wilful misconduct. The judgment became a leading case on corruption and improper purpose in local government decision-making, cited in later standards cases even though it involved no Masonic allegation. politics ●●

c. September 2001 Herero groups file US lawsuit against Germany and companies 0 cit. The Herero People's Reparations Corporation, backed by paramount chief Kuaima Riruako, files suit in US federal court against the German government and companies including Deutsche Bank and Woermann Line, seeking reparations for the genocide under the Alien Tort Claims Act. US courts eventually dismiss the claims on jurisdictional grounds, but the suit puts direct reparations, rather than general development aid, onto the international agenda. diplomacy / politics ●●

c. 11 September 2001 9/11 'Inside Job' False-Flag Claims unproven 0 cit. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, conspiracy theories emerged claiming the U.S. government secretly orchestrated or knowingly allowed the attacks as a pretext for war and domestic security expansion. These claims have been extensively investigated and rejected by the 9/11 Commission, independent engineering studies including NIST's structural analysis, and mainstream historians and journalists across the political spectrum. This is a widely circulated but unproven and largely debunked conspiracy theory, not a documented false-flag case. culture / politics ●●

4 November 2001 Police Service of Northern Ireland established 0 cit. The Royal Ulster Constabulary was renamed and reformed as the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), implementing recommendations of the 1999 Patten Report commissioned under the Good Friday Agreement. The reforms introduced new recruitment targets to increase Catholic representation in a force that had been overwhelmingly Protestant, along with new oversight and accountability structures. The change was intended to build cross-community confidence in policing. politics / society ●●

14 September 2001 National Guard activated after September 11 attacks 0 cit. Following the September 11 attacks, President Bush declared a national emergency and activated tens of thousands of National Guard troops for airport and infrastructure security, disaster response in New York City, and homeland defense duties. The call-up marked the start of a sustained, large-scale use of the Guard for homeland security missions that continued for years afterward. It also set the stage for the Guard's subsequent heavy overseas deployment in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. politics / war ●●

September 2001 The forever wars begin after 9/11 0 cit. The September 11 attacks launch a 'global war on terror' with no clear end point, fought across Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other countries. Critics on both left and right come to call these the 'forever wars,' arguing that open-ended conflict became a self-sustaining condition of American policy. politics / war ●●●

2001 to 2021 Afghanistan, America's longest war 0 cit. The war in Afghanistan runs for nearly twenty years, the longest in American history, and ends in a chaotic withdrawal as the Taliban retake the country. It becomes the emblem of the forever wars, immense in cost and inconclusive in result. politics / war ●●●

22 August 2001 Sherron Watkins warns of fraud at Enron 0 cit. Enron vice president Sherron Watkins wrote to chairman Kenneth Lay warning that the company's accounting could collapse in a wave of scandals. Enron filed for bankruptcy months later in one of the largest corporate frauds in US history. Her memo made her a central witness in the investigations that followed. economy / politics ●●●

April 2001 The UN Panel of Experts reports on illegal exploitation 0 cit. A UN Panel of Experts published the first of several reports documenting the systematic looting of Congo's natural resources by the warring states. It named Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe and detailed the networks of officers, front companies, and dealers involved. The reports linked the plunder directly to the continuation of the war and named foreign companies as buyers. diplomacy / economy ●●●

16 January 2001 Laurent Kabila assassinated, Joseph Kabila succeeds 0 cit. Laurent-Desire Kabila was shot dead in his palace by one of his own bodyguards, in a plot whose full authorship was never established. His son Joseph Kabila, around thirty years old, was installed as president within days. The younger Kabila proved more open to negotiation and to the peace process than his father had been. politics / war ●●●

2001 The world reaches for one set of accounting rules 0 cit. The International Accounting Standards Board was set up to produce International Financial Reporting Standards, aiming for one accounting language across borders. More than a hundred countries adopted IFRS, but the United States kept its own GAAP, so full global convergence stalled. The split reflects real differences in legal systems and in who the accounts are meant to serve. diplomacy / economy ●●

2001 Enron makes debt disappear off the books 0 cit. The energy trader Enron hid billions in debt and faked profits using off-balance-sheet partnerships that its own auditors signed off on. When the accounting collapsed the firm went bankrupt, wiping out shareholders and employee pensions. Enron became the emblem of creative accounting, where the numbers were technically defended yet designed to deceive. economy / politics ●●●

2001 Afghanistan's opium boom during the US war 0 cit. The Taliban had nearly wiped out opium poppy in 2000 and 2001, but after the US-led invasion cultivation surged and Afghanistan came to supply the large majority of the world's opium, according to UN drug office data. Warlords, officials, and insurgents all drew money from the trade during two decades of American war. economy / politics / war ●●●

2001 Portugal decriminalizes all drugs 0 cit. Portugal decriminalized personal possession of every drug and shifted its response toward treatment and harm reduction. Overdose deaths and HIV infections fell, and the reform became the leading example in the global debate over ending prohibition. politics / society ●●

26 October 2001 The USA PATRIOT Act 0 cit. Weeks after the September 11 attacks, Congress passed a sweeping law that expanded the government's power to monitor communications, financial records, and library and business records. Section 215 let agents collect records deemed relevant to a terrorism investigation. The act became the legal engine of the post-9/11 surveillance expansion. politics / war ●●●

2001 Nineteen hijackers assemble in the United States for 9/11 ai_extracted 1 cit. By mid-July 2001 all nineteen hijackers had entered the United States. Fifteen were Saudis, two Emiratis, one Egyptian, and one Lebanese; the trained pilots came from the Hamburg cell, and the "muscle" recruits arrived between April and June 2001 to await the signal, funded by al-Qaeda transfers from the Gulf. ●●●

2001 Al-Qaeda suicide bombers assassinate Ahmed Shah Massoud ai_extracted 1 cit. On September 9, 2001, two Arabs posing as television journalists detonated a bomb hidden in their camera while interviewing anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Massoud in northern Afghanistan. The killing, two days before the 9/11 attacks, removed the Taliban's most formidable opponent. ●●●

14 November 2001 Doha Declaration affirms access to generic medicines under TRIPS 0 cit. WTO members adopted the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, affirming that patent rules should not block countries from protecting public health. It confirmed governments could issue compulsory licenses and import generic medicines during health emergencies. The declaration answered developing-country concerns that TRIPS patent protection kept lifesaving drugs, including HIV treatments, unaffordable in Africa. diplomacy / economy / society ●●

2001 Thandika Mkandawire argues adjustment hollowed out the state 0 cit. Economist Thandika Mkandawire argues that adjustment and anti-state doctrine dismantled the planning and administrative capacity Africa needed to build developmental states, comparing the outcome unfavourably with East Asia. The reading that structural adjustment gutted state capacity is his argument and that of allied critics. Defenders of the reforms respond that the states being trimmed were already insolvent and unaccountable. economy / politics ●●

2001 Britain adopts a code against poaching foreign health staff 0 cit. The UK issues a code of practice discouraging the National Health Service from actively recruiting nurses and doctors from developing countries, after years of drawing heavily on staff trained abroad. The code acknowledged that active recruitment drained health systems that could least afford the loss. It was voluntary, and hiring from many of those countries continued. diplomacy / society ●●

20 September 2001 PNAC's letter to President Bush after September 11 0 cit. Nine days after the September 11 attacks, PNAC sends President Bush an open letter urging a wide response, including the removal of Saddam Hussein even if no evidence tied Iraq to the attacks. It also called for action against groups and states the group saw as hostile. The letter renewed the regime-change goal PNAC had pressed since 1998. politics / war ●●●

20 January 2001 Dick Cheney becomes Vice President 0 cit. Dick Cheney, a signatory of PNAC's 1997 Statement of Principles, is sworn in as Vice President under George W. Bush. He became one of the most powerful voices in the administration on national security and Iraq. His office would be central to the case for war. politics ●●●●

January 2001 Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz lead the Pentagon 0 cit. Donald Rumsfeld becomes Secretary of Defense and Paul Wolfowitz his deputy, both signatories of PNAC documents. They took charge of military policy and would help drive the planning for the invasion of Iraq. Their appointments put PNAC's leading defense thinkers at the top of the Pentagon. politics / war ●●●●

January 2001 Libby, Armitage, Bolton, and Khalilzad take senior posts 0 cit. Several PNAC signatories join the new administration: I. Lewis Libby as chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, Richard Armitage as Deputy Secretary of State, John Bolton as Under Secretary of State for arms control, and Zalmay Khalilzad in senior White House and diplomatic roles. Their placements spread the group's members across the departments that shaped foreign policy. These were documented federal appointments. diplomacy / politics ●●●

2001 Richard Perle chairs the Defense Policy Board 0 cit. Richard Perle, a PNAC signatory, becomes chairman of the Defense Policy Board, an advisory panel to the Secretary of Defense. From that seat he was an outspoken advocate for confronting Iraq. He held the chair until 2003, when he stepped down amid questions over conflicts of interest. politics / war ●●

11 September 2001 Flight 11 strikes the North Tower 0 cit. At 8:46 in the morning, hijackers fly American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 taken over after takeoff from Boston, into the north face of the World Trade Center's North Tower. The impact and burning jet fuel trap hundreds of people on the floors above. It is the first strike of the September 11 attacks. society / war ●●●●●

11 September 2001 Flight 175 strikes the South Tower 0 cit. At 9:03, hijackers fly United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower as television cameras, already trained on the burning North Tower, record it live. The second strike makes clear the country is under a coordinated attack. Both towers are now on fire. society / war ●●●●●

11 September 2001 Flight 77 strikes the Pentagon 0 cit. At 9:37, hijackers fly American Airlines Flight 77 into the west side of the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US military. The crash and fire kill 125 people in the building along with all 59 passengers and crew aboard the plane. It is the third of the four hijackings that morning. society / war ●●●●

11 September 2001 Passengers fight back on Flight 93 0 cit. United Airlines Flight 93 is hijacked after leaving Newark, but passengers learning of the other attacks by phone storm the cockpit. The plane crashes in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03, killing all 44 aboard. The 9/11 Commission concluded the hijackers' likely target was the US Capitol or the White House. society / war ●●●●

11 September 2001 Nearly 3,000 people killed 0 cit. The attacks kill 2,977 people across New York, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, not counting the 19 hijackers. The dead include office workers, airline passengers, and 441 first responders, most of them New York City firefighters and police who died when the towers fell. It is the deadliest attack on American soil. society / war ●●●●●

11 September 2001 The South Tower collapses 0 cit. At 9:59, 56 minutes after it was hit, the South Tower collapses straight down in about ten seconds. The plane's impact had severed columns and stripped fireproofing, and the fires that followed weakened the remaining steel until the floors above gave way. Its fall killed people still inside and rescuers in the streets below. society / technology ●●●●●

11 September 2001 The North Tower collapses 0 cit. At 10:28, one hour and 42 minutes after Flight 11 hit it, the North Tower collapses. With both towers down, lower Manhattan is buried in a vast cloud of pulverized concrete and debris. The twin 110-story towers, finished in the early 1970s, were gone within two hours of being struck. society / technology ●●●●●

11 September 2001 World Trade Center 7 collapses 0 cit. At 5:20 in the afternoon, the 47-story World Trade Center 7, also called the Salomon Brothers Building, collapses. No plane hit it. Debris from the falling North Tower had struck it and started fires that burned uncontrolled for hours after the water supply to the sprinklers failed. It stood a block north of the twin towers. society / technology ●●●●

2001 WTC 7 draws intense scrutiny 0 cit. World Trade Center 7 was the first tall steel-framed building understood to have collapsed primarily because of fire rather than a direct impact. Because a modern high-rise falling from fire alone had not been seen before, its collapse became the single most studied and disputed event of the day. That novelty is why engineers and skeptics alike focused on it. society / technology ●●●

24 July 2001 Silverstein signs a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center 0 cit. Larry Silverstein's Silverstein Properties takes over a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The deal, worth about $3.2 billion, closes just six weeks before the attacks. It is the first time the complex passes to private management. economy ●●●

July 2001 The complex is insured for about $3.5 billion per occurrence 0 cit. As part of the lease, the World Trade Center is insured through a group of companies for roughly $3.5 billion per occurrence. The policies were still being finalized in temporary form when the attacks happened, which left the exact terms open to argument. The phrase per occurrence would become the center of years of litigation. economy ●●●

2001 Richard Werner argues the bubble was engineered by the Bank of Japan 0 cit. In his book "Princes of the Yen," a bestseller in Japan in 2001 and published in English in 2003, economist Richard Werner argued that the Bank of Japan deliberately created the bubble and then the crash. He points to window guidance, an informal system in which the central bank told commercial banks how much and to whom to lend. In his account the bank used this credit control to force a crisis that would push through structural change. This is a heterodox interpretation attributed to Werner, and mainstream economists dispute that the outcome was intended. economy / politics ●●●●

November 2001 Belgian commission admits moral responsibility for Lumumba's death 0 cit. A Belgian parliamentary commission concluded that Belgium bore a moral responsibility in the events that led to Lumumba's murder. The government offered a formal apology. It was a rare official reckoning by a former colonial power with the killing of an independence leader. The finding turned long-standing suspicion into documented state acknowledgment. diplomacy / politics ●●●

12 March 2001 Pokot raiders kill about fifty Marakwet at Murkutwo 0 cit. Before dawn on 12 March 2001 a large group of armed Pokot raiders attacked Murkutwo in Marakwet East in the Kerio Valley. Around fifty people were killed, scores were injured, hundreds of homes were burned and thousands of livestock driven off. The Murkutwo massacre showed how gun-driven raiding had abandoned the older customary limits and became a symbol of the valley's insecurity. society / war ●●

October 2001 Moi nominates Uhuru to Parliament and Cabinet 2 cit. In October 2001 Moi nominated Uhuru to Parliament and soon appointed him Minister for Local Government. The move bypassed the electoral route and made clear that Moi was elevating Kenyatta from party asset to succession prospect. Uhuru now had the name, cabinet rank, and state sponsorship needed for the coming KANU succession fight. politics ●●●●

2001 The Mara Triangle is delegated to Mara Conservancy management 2 cit. The western Mara Triangle remained part of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, but day-to-day management was delegated to the Mara Conservancy through agreement with the local authority. This did not privatize the reserve title. It did create a public-private management model in which security, roads, tourism control and revenue collection could be run by a contracted conservation body. economy / environment / politics ●●●

December 2002 Koizumi pledges an anti-deflation BoJ governor ai_extracted 1 cit. In late December 2002 Prime Minister Koizumi stated that he would appoint as Bank of Japan governor only someone aggressive in fighting deflation. ●●

September 2002 BoJ announces stock purchases; Yanagisawa replaced by Takenaka ai_extracted 1 cit. In September 2002 the Bank of Japan announced it would be prepared to purchase stocks from banks, a move that embarrassed Financial Services Minister Yanagisawa, who was sacked and replaced by Heizo Takenaka, a supporter of the bank's foreclosure plan. ●●●

2002 Surprise recovery in late 2002 ai_extracted 1 cit. Following the Bank of Japan's renewed credit creation of 2001 and the usual time lag, industrial production, consumption, and real GDP staged a recovery by late 2002 that surprised most observers. ●●

1 January 2002 Euro cash introduced; national currencies abolished ai_extracted 1 cit. On January 1, 2002, new euro paper money and coins were introduced across most of Europe as twelve countries, including Germany with its deutsche mark, gave up their national currencies. ●●●●●

2002 ECB orders record shrinkage of Bundesbank credit creation ai_extracted 1 cit. In 2002 the ECB ordered the Bundesbank to shrink its credit creation by record amounts; as money circulating in the economy shrank, demand fell and Germany moved into recession. ●●●

1 July 2002 Founding of the International Criminal Court 0 cit. The Rome Statute of 1998 enters into force, establishing the first permanent international court to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. diplomacy / politics / war ●●●

9 July 2002 Founding of the African Union 0 cit. The African Union is launched at a summit in Durban, replacing the Organisation of African Unity with a more ambitious body modeled partly on the European Union, headquartered in Addis Ababa. diplomacy / politics ●●●

7 October 2002 Founding of the Collective Security Treaty Organization 0 cit. Six former Soviet states adopt a charter turning the 1992 Tashkent Collective Security Treaty into a permanent Russia-led military alliance, the CSTO. diplomacy / politics / war ●●

2002 Founding of SpaceX 0 cit. Elon Musk founds SpaceX to cut the cost of spaceflight. Its reusable Falcon rockets and Starlink constellation make it the dominant commercial launch provider and the first private company to fly astronauts to orbit. economy / exploration / science / technology ●●●●

June 2002 Collapse of Arthur Andersen 0 cit. Accounting giant Arthur Andersen is convicted of obstruction for shredding Enron audit documents and surrenders its licenses, ending a 89-year-old firm. The Big Five accounting firms become the Big Four. economy ●●●

21 July 2002 Collapse of WorldCom 0 cit. Telecom carrier WorldCom files for bankruptcy after revealing billions in fraudulent accounting, surpassing Enron as the largest U.S. bankruptcy to date. CEO Bernard Ebbers is later jailed for fraud. economy ●●●

25 November 2002 Founding of the Department of Homeland Security 0 cit. After the September 11 attacks, President Bush signs the Homeland Security Act, merging 22 agencies including the Coast Guard, Secret Service, FEMA, and the new TSA into one department. It is the largest government reorganization since 1947. politics / war ●●●●

14 August 2002 Natanz enrichment site exposed 0 cit. An Iranian opposition group reveals a secret uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and a heavy water plant at Arak. The disclosure opens two decades of inspections, sanctions, and negotiation over Iran's program. politics / war ●●●

27 March 2002 Netanya Passover massacre 0 cit. A Hamas suicide bomber attacked a Passover meal at a hotel in Netanya, killing 30 people. The attack prompted Israel's Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank. politics / war ●●●

23 October 2002 Moscow theatre hostage crisis 0 cit. Chechen militants seized the Dubrovka theatre in Moscow and held hundreds hostage. Around 130 hostages died, most from the gas used by Russian forces during the rescue. politics / war ●●●