Monday, August 16, 2004
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
THE Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, has enriched a privileged inner circle of cronies and salted away billions of dollars in secret bank accounts, according to his former treasurer.
Jaweed Al-Ghussein, 74, described last week how, during his 12 years as chairman of the Palestine National Fund, the financial arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, he gave Arafat a monthly cheque for $10.25m — amounting to $123m (£67m) every year.
He was told the money was being spent on the Palestinian movement’s paramilitaries and on families who had lost “martyrs” in the struggle.
He was troubled by Arafat’s fondness for a system of patronage whereby he would hand bodyguards wads of cash from a briefcase he kept in his office and instruct them to take it to individuals he had decided to help. Each day the briefcase would be refilled from bank accounts that Arafat controlled.
Al-Ghussein, who resigned in protest at Arafat’s financial practices in 1996, has urged his former friend to let a new leader take over the Palestinian Authority.
Jaweed Al-Ghussein, 74, described last week how, during his 12 years as chairman of the Palestine National Fund, the financial arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, he gave Arafat a monthly cheque for $10.25m — amounting to $123m (£67m) every year.
He was told the money was being spent on the Palestinian movement’s paramilitaries and on families who had lost “martyrs” in the struggle.
He was troubled by Arafat’s fondness for a system of patronage whereby he would hand bodyguards wads of cash from a briefcase he kept in his office and instruct them to take it to individuals he had decided to help. Each day the briefcase would be refilled from bank accounts that Arafat controlled.
Al-Ghussein, who resigned in protest at Arafat’s financial practices in 1996, has urged his former friend to let a new leader take over the Palestinian Authority.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
The Key to Jihadist Ideology and Strategy
When trying to explain the Islamists' global campaign of mass murder, both liberals and conservatives, despite their fierce mutual disagreements, make the same underlying mistake. People on the anti-war left believe that Al Qaeda attacked us because we're imperialist, or because we're racist, or because we don't do enough for Third-World hunger (yes, there are people who actually believe the hunger argument; most of them are Episcopalians). By contrast, many people on the pro-war right, especially President Bush, believe that the Islamists hate us for our freedoms, opportunities, and overall success as a society. In other words, the left believes that the Islamists hate us for our sins, and the right believes that they hate us for our virtues. Both sides commit the same narcissistic fallacy of thinking that the Islamist holy war against the West revolves solely around ourselves, around the moral drama of our goodness or our wickedness, rather than having something to do with Islam itself.
When trying to explain the Islamists' global campaign of mass murder, both liberals and conservatives, despite their fierce mutual disagreements, make the same underlying mistake. People on the anti-war left believe that Al Qaeda attacked us because we're imperialist, or because we're racist, or because we don't do enough for Third-World hunger (yes, there are people who actually believe the hunger argument; most of them are Episcopalians). By contrast, many people on the pro-war right, especially President Bush, believe that the Islamists hate us for our freedoms, opportunities, and overall success as a society. In other words, the left believes that the Islamists hate us for our sins, and the right believes that they hate us for our virtues. Both sides commit the same narcissistic fallacy of thinking that the Islamist holy war against the West revolves solely around ourselves, around the moral drama of our goodness or our wickedness, rather than having something to do with Islam itself.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
Terror group threatens Dutch with 'Islamic earthquake':
AMSTERDAM — Muslim extremists have threatened an "Islamic earthquake" and "nights of bloodshed" in the Netherlands unless Dutch troops are withdrawn from Iraq. The warning came a day after a Dutch soldier was shot dead in southern Iraq.
"We address this message to all crusader countries plotting against the Muslims, and which are sending forces to Iraq and Afghanistan, especially Italy and the Netherlands," organisation al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad said on an website on Sunday.
Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad is said to be group connected to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the reputed leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"Expect a hell that will turn your nights into bloodbaths," warned the statement posted on an Islamic website and addressed "to the European countries.... to the Dutch government and people."
The group warned the Netherlands that the statement was "a final message that we are sending to you, and it is a simple message, namely the pullout of Dutch forces from Iraq."
"Or else, your fate will be similar to the fate of Italy and other states," which have been the target of deadly terror attacks, it said.
AMSTERDAM — Muslim extremists have threatened an "Islamic earthquake" and "nights of bloodshed" in the Netherlands unless Dutch troops are withdrawn from Iraq. The warning came a day after a Dutch soldier was shot dead in southern Iraq.
"We address this message to all crusader countries plotting against the Muslims, and which are sending forces to Iraq and Afghanistan, especially Italy and the Netherlands," organisation al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad said on an website on Sunday.
Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad is said to be group connected to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the reputed leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"Expect a hell that will turn your nights into bloodbaths," warned the statement posted on an Islamic website and addressed "to the European countries.... to the Dutch government and people."
The group warned the Netherlands that the statement was "a final message that we are sending to you, and it is a simple message, namely the pullout of Dutch forces from Iraq."
"Or else, your fate will be similar to the fate of Italy and other states," which have been the target of deadly terror attacks, it said.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
I guess that we can't expect normal human behavior for $2 billion a year.
Egyptian Government Weekly Magazine on 'The Jews Slaughtering Non-Jews, Draining their Blood, and Using it for Talmudic Religious Rituals': "
Hussam Wahba, a columnist for the religious Egyptian weekly magazine 'Aqidati, [1] published by the Al-Tahrir foundation which is linked to the ruling National Democratic Party , wrote an article based upon blood libels and accusing Judaism of promoting ritual murder"
Egyptian Government Weekly Magazine on 'The Jews Slaughtering Non-Jews, Draining their Blood, and Using it for Talmudic Religious Rituals': "
Hussam Wahba, a columnist for the religious Egyptian weekly magazine 'Aqidati, [1] published by the Al-Tahrir foundation which is linked to the ruling National Democratic Party , wrote an article based upon blood libels and accusing Judaism of promoting ritual murder"
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
A report shows U.S. pension funds indirectly support terror
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. public pension funds indirectly support terrorists by investing billions of dollars in companies that do business in nations that sponsor terrorism, a think-tank said in a report on Thursday.
"Let's not mince words, this enables terror by propping up and providing life blood to these terror-sponsoring regimes," Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, told reporters in a conference call unveiling the 111-page report.
Gaffney later told Reuters in a telephone interview he hopes the report will help launch a divestment movement similar to the one directed against South Africa's apartheid regime.
"I'm looking for tools that can help win the war on terror," Gaffney said. "We ought to give it a chance to work against people who are trying to kill us."
The biggest public pension funds currently have $188 billion invested in companies doing business in Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and Iraq when ruled by Saddam Hussein, the report said.
The six nations are on the U.S. State Department's list of states that are believed to sponsor terrorism. Cuba is also on the list. Iraq would be removed from the list when the new government officially denounces terrorism, a State Department spokesman said.
The pension systems generally held 15 to 23 percent of their assets in companies allegedly doing business in the six nations, the report said.
It said the largest public pension fund, Calpers, the California Public Employees Retirement System, has over $17 billion invested in 201 companies doing business in countries the United States accuses of sponsoring terrorism.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. public pension funds indirectly support terrorists by investing billions of dollars in companies that do business in nations that sponsor terrorism, a think-tank said in a report on Thursday.
"Let's not mince words, this enables terror by propping up and providing life blood to these terror-sponsoring regimes," Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, told reporters in a conference call unveiling the 111-page report.
Gaffney later told Reuters in a telephone interview he hopes the report will help launch a divestment movement similar to the one directed against South Africa's apartheid regime.
"I'm looking for tools that can help win the war on terror," Gaffney said. "We ought to give it a chance to work against people who are trying to kill us."
The biggest public pension funds currently have $188 billion invested in companies doing business in Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and Iraq when ruled by Saddam Hussein, the report said.
The six nations are on the U.S. State Department's list of states that are believed to sponsor terrorism. Cuba is also on the list. Iraq would be removed from the list when the new government officially denounces terrorism, a State Department spokesman said.
The pension systems generally held 15 to 23 percent of their assets in companies allegedly doing business in the six nations, the report said.
It said the largest public pension fund, Calpers, the California Public Employees Retirement System, has over $17 billion invested in 201 companies doing business in countries the United States accuses of sponsoring terrorism.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
Revealed: 20 al-Qaeda suspects on Scots hit-list
BRITISH security services have compiled a ‘hit-list’ of 20 al-Qaeda terrorist suspects who are living in Scotland and said to be connected with a plot to unleash mass murder on the streets of the UK.
The dossier, compiled by MI5 and Special Branch, contains the names of more than 80 alleged extremists across Britain whom security services allege were involved in a plan to kill, using the deadly poison ricin.
The 20 suspects living north of the Border are all Muslims and based in the Central Belt. Some are said to be British citizens.
BRITISH security services have compiled a ‘hit-list’ of 20 al-Qaeda terrorist suspects who are living in Scotland and said to be connected with a plot to unleash mass murder on the streets of the UK.
The dossier, compiled by MI5 and Special Branch, contains the names of more than 80 alleged extremists across Britain whom security services allege were involved in a plan to kill, using the deadly poison ricin.
The 20 suspects living north of the Border are all Muslims and based in the Central Belt. Some are said to be British citizens.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
Haaretz - Israel News - Bomb that exploded at W. Bank checkpoint was meant for Haifa
Haifa was the original target of the bomb that exploded Wednesday south of the Qalandiyah checkpoint in the West Bank, killing two Palestinians and wounding six Israeli Border Policemen, interrogation of the three-member terrorist cell has revealed.
The bomb was smuggled inside a baby carriage.
The three suspects, members of Fatah's armed wing in the Jenin region, were all arrested in less than 48 hours after the attack.
Just hours after the blast, 29-year-old taxi driver Bassam Abied of Arabe village was arrested in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abied gave interrogators information leading to the arrest of another cell member, Mohammed Ayoush, also a 29-year-old from Arabe.
Early Friday morning, Border Police located the third suspected cell member, Wail Na'irat, 29, of the West Bank village of Mitlon, hiding out at a mosque in the village of A-Ram, north of Jerusalem.
The investigation indicates that the attack was planned by the Fatah's senior operatives in Jenin, Zakaria Zubeidah and the cell's direct handler, Mohammed Abu-Khalifa.
They planned to have the bomb detonated at the Talpiot outdoor market in Haifa.
Haifa was the original target of the bomb that exploded Wednesday south of the Qalandiyah checkpoint in the West Bank, killing two Palestinians and wounding six Israeli Border Policemen, interrogation of the three-member terrorist cell has revealed.
The bomb was smuggled inside a baby carriage.
The three suspects, members of Fatah's armed wing in the Jenin region, were all arrested in less than 48 hours after the attack.
Just hours after the blast, 29-year-old taxi driver Bassam Abied of Arabe village was arrested in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abied gave interrogators information leading to the arrest of another cell member, Mohammed Ayoush, also a 29-year-old from Arabe.
Early Friday morning, Border Police located the third suspected cell member, Wail Na'irat, 29, of the West Bank village of Mitlon, hiding out at a mosque in the village of A-Ram, north of Jerusalem.
The investigation indicates that the attack was planned by the Fatah's senior operatives in Jenin, Zakaria Zubeidah and the cell's direct handler, Mohammed Abu-Khalifa.
They planned to have the bomb detonated at the Talpiot outdoor market in Haifa.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
Israel Defense Forces - The Official Website: "A Palestinian responsible for preventing terror attacks strikes an Israeli community
Yossef Ahmad Hassan Hanany, 29 years old from Beit-Furik, served in the operations branch of the Palestinian preventive intelligence service in Ramallah.
Friday, August 13, 2004, Hassan Hanany carried out a shooting attack near the Itamar community in the northern West Bank, murdering the civilian responsible for the security of the community.
Hanany arrived at the entrance gate of the community armed with a Kalashnikov Rifle and opened fire at Israeli civilian vehicles. The security chief of the community reached the location following the shooting and after fire exchange erupted between him and the terrorist, he was severely injured and later died of his wounds. The terrorist took the security chief's weapon, and tried to infiltrate the community in order to attack the residents of the community. Civilian security guards arrived at the scene, and after exchanges of fire, they killed the terrorist.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the shooting attack. The dispatchers of Hassan Hanany were Ahmad Atta Ahmad Abu-Saltah, 25 years old from Balata refugee camp, and other Tanzim terrorists from the camp."
Yossef Ahmad Hassan Hanany, 29 years old from Beit-Furik, served in the operations branch of the Palestinian preventive intelligence service in Ramallah.
Friday, August 13, 2004, Hassan Hanany carried out a shooting attack near the Itamar community in the northern West Bank, murdering the civilian responsible for the security of the community.
Hanany arrived at the entrance gate of the community armed with a Kalashnikov Rifle and opened fire at Israeli civilian vehicles. The security chief of the community reached the location following the shooting and after fire exchange erupted between him and the terrorist, he was severely injured and later died of his wounds. The terrorist took the security chief's weapon, and tried to infiltrate the community in order to attack the residents of the community. Civilian security guards arrived at the scene, and after exchanges of fire, they killed the terrorist.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the shooting attack. The dispatchers of Hassan Hanany were Ahmad Atta Ahmad Abu-Saltah, 25 years old from Balata refugee camp, and other Tanzim terrorists from the camp."
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
President Bush has launched a drive to halt illegal immigration across America's porous southern border, amid growing fears that terrorists may be using Mexico as a base camp before heading to Arizona, Texas and California.
A string of alarming incidents has convinced Bush administration officials that lax immigration rules, designed to cope with the huge numbers of illegal entrants from Mexico, have become a significant loophole in the war on terror.
Over the past month, border agents from Arizona and Texas have anonymously reported recent encounters with dozens of Arab men, who have made their way across the 2,000-mile Mexican border.
Patrol agents told one Arizona newspaper that 77 males "of Middle Eastern descent" were apprehended in June in two separate incidents. All were trekking through the Chiricahua mountains and are believed to have been part of a larger group of illegal immigrants. Many were released pending immigration hearings. According to Solomon Ortiz, the Congressman for Corpus Christi in Texas, similar incidents are "happening all over the place. It's very, very scary".
The two groups of Arab males were discovered by patrol guards from Willcox, Arizona. "These guys didn't speak Spanish," said one field agent, "and they were speaking to each other in Arabic. It's ridiculous that we don't take this more seriously. We're told not to say a thing to the media." A colleague told the paper: "All the men had brand-new clothing and the exact same cut of moustache." Local ranchers have also reported a rise in the sightings of large groups of young males.
Last month, border patrol agents at McAllen airport, Texas, arrested a woman believed to be Pakistani, who was carrying a false South African passport. The woman, Farida Ahmed, is still being questioned by the FBI. She was travelling to New York, and admitted to having illegally crossed the Mexican border. She was still carrying a pair of wet jeans in her travel bag.
A string of alarming incidents has convinced Bush administration officials that lax immigration rules, designed to cope with the huge numbers of illegal entrants from Mexico, have become a significant loophole in the war on terror.
Over the past month, border agents from Arizona and Texas have anonymously reported recent encounters with dozens of Arab men, who have made their way across the 2,000-mile Mexican border.
Patrol agents told one Arizona newspaper that 77 males "of Middle Eastern descent" were apprehended in June in two separate incidents. All were trekking through the Chiricahua mountains and are believed to have been part of a larger group of illegal immigrants. Many were released pending immigration hearings. According to Solomon Ortiz, the Congressman for Corpus Christi in Texas, similar incidents are "happening all over the place. It's very, very scary".
The two groups of Arab males were discovered by patrol guards from Willcox, Arizona. "These guys didn't speak Spanish," said one field agent, "and they were speaking to each other in Arabic. It's ridiculous that we don't take this more seriously. We're told not to say a thing to the media." A colleague told the paper: "All the men had brand-new clothing and the exact same cut of moustache." Local ranchers have also reported a rise in the sightings of large groups of young males.
Last month, border patrol agents at McAllen airport, Texas, arrested a woman believed to be Pakistani, who was carrying a false South African passport. The woman, Farida Ahmed, is still being questioned by the FBI. She was travelling to New York, and admitted to having illegally crossed the Mexican border. She was still carrying a pair of wet jeans in her travel bag.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Elder of Ziyon
Target Vienna?: (click on link for picture)
I'm not real sure what to make of this, but the following image was uploaded yesterday to an FTP server used by Al Qaida supporters from Europe.
This is an underground parking garage [tiefgarage] in the center of Vienna in the immediate vicinity of the Vienna State Opera House, the Grand Hotel and numerous other tourist attractions. We don't have enough information yet about the file, who posted it, who is linking to it, etc., to be able to accurately assess whether this is a potential target, and if so, how great and imminent a threat it is. However, in light of what is above the tiefgarage...
...it seems best to post this and err on the side of caution. [The arrow in the photo above indicates an entrance to the underground garage.]
Thanks to Rosh Gadol for help with this report, and to B-52 for noticing the map on the ftp server.
Posted by aaron on Saturday, 14 August, 2004 @ 09:17:48
I'm not real sure what to make of this, but the following image was uploaded yesterday to an FTP server used by Al Qaida supporters from Europe.
This is an underground parking garage [tiefgarage] in the center of Vienna in the immediate vicinity of the Vienna State Opera House, the Grand Hotel and numerous other tourist attractions. We don't have enough information yet about the file, who posted it, who is linking to it, etc., to be able to accurately assess whether this is a potential target, and if so, how great and imminent a threat it is. However, in light of what is above the tiefgarage...
...it seems best to post this and err on the side of caution. [The arrow in the photo above indicates an entrance to the underground garage.]
Thanks to Rosh Gadol for help with this report, and to B-52 for noticing the map on the ftp server.
Posted by aaron on Saturday, 14 August, 2004 @ 09:17:48
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