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Terror Suspect Halts British Hearing
By TARIQ PANJA Associated Press Writer
LONDON
A terror suspect who is subject to severe restrictions on his movements
launched a furious outburst in court Wednesday in which he threatened
to
take his own life.

Lawyers for Mahmoud Suliman Ahmed Abu Rideh argue that the restrictions
imposed on their client contravene the European Convention on Human
Rights.
Government attorneys contend the measures are needed to prevent him
from
engaging in "potentially harmful activities."

On the third day of hearings at the High Court into the legality of the
so-called control orders, Abu Rideh interrupted proceedings and
threatened
to kill himself.

Told by the judge that he would be removed from the court room unless
he
kept silent, Abu Rideh went into a tirade.

Standing at the back of the court, Abu Rideh said, "I have no human
rights
in this country. Kill me like they killed Saddam (Hussein)."

"See how many people Blair and Bush have killed!" he exclaimed,
referring to
President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. "Do you want me to kill
myself?"

Rideh, who has a history of self-harm, was immediately tended to by his
psychiatrist and lawyer, who accompanied him out of court.

The hearing was adjourned while security officers were called. Abu
Rideh
left the court building soon after with members of his legal team.

Abu Rideh was among 10 people released in 2005 under a new anti-terror
law
that allows terror suspects to be electronically tagged and required to
live
under 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfews in private homes where they are denied
the
use of telephones or the Internet and must apply to the government to
talk
to outsiders.

Prosecutors claimed that Abu Rideh, a Palestinian who came to Britain
in
1995 and was granted refugee status, was involved with associates of
Osama
bin Laden in Britain and abroad before being arrested in 2001. Abu
Rideh has
acknowledged spending time in Afghanistan, but has said he was involved
with
welfare projects, not terrorism.

Lawyers for Abu Rideh have sought a judicial review of the judgment
against
him, arguing that the restrictions on his life and that of his wife and
family contravene European human rights laws.

The court was expected to hear testimony including "national security"
evidence _ to be heard in private _ and medical evidence on how the
restrictions have affected Abu Rideh.
070110 172554

Mauritania arrests 3 suspected members of Algerian militant group

Mauritania arrests 3 suspected members of Algerian militant group
By AHMED MOHAMED Associated Press Writer
NOUAKCHOTT , Mauritania
Security forces have arrested three men suspected of belonging to an al-Qaida-linked Algerian militant group and of attacking a Mauritanian army barracks in 2005, police said Wednesday.

The three men were arrested in the capital, Nouakchott , on Monday, said Police Chief Mohamed Vall Ould Taleb. He said police had been following them for some time.

The men _ whose names were not released _ were charged with belonging to Algeria 's Salafist Group for Call and Combat, known by its French acronym GSPC. The group recently announced it had established links to al-Qaida and threatened American and French supporters of the Algerian government.

The group claimed responsibility for a June 2005 attack on an army barracks in the northwest African country that left 17 dead and wounded dozens. Taleb said seven of the 20 people originally sought in the attack are still free.

The arrests come days before the Dakar Rally off-road vehicle race travels through Mauritania on its way to Senegal 's capital.
070110 152922

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Iraq: UNICEF Staff Member Killed (back)

January 9, 2007

A staff of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been shot dead in Iraq ’s city of Baghdad , a spokesman said on Tuesday.

The Iraqi UNICEF staff member Janan Jabero, 52, who had worked for UNICEF since 1999, was killed on Monday night but the agency did not know the motive nor who was responsible, UNICEF spokesman in Geneva Damien Personnaz said

'UNICEF today confirms that staff member Mr. Janan Jabero has been killed in Iraq ,' the agency said in a statement. 'Initial reports from local authorities indicate that Mr Jabero ... was shot while driving his car.'

Meanwhile, Iraq has been hit by sectarian violence since the 2003 overthrow of former President Saddam Hussein, with over 20,000 people reported killed in 2006.-Reuters.

Source: http://somalinet.com/news/world/World/6541

Jordan Terror Plot Thwarted (back)

Janiary 9, 2007

Police today killed one of Jordan ’s most wanted al-Qaida suspects and arrested a second in a pre-dawn raid that authorities said had thwarted a terror plot against this key US ally in the Middle East .

Suleiman Ghayad al-Anjadi, who was on Jordan ’s 'most wanted' terror list, was gunned down in a shoot-out with police at his hideout in the Matlaa’ neighbourhood in the northern city of Irbid , security officials said.

Ramadan Mustafa al-Mansi, also an alleged al-Qaida militant, was at the same one-storey brick house and was detained following the battle, which lasted several hours and in which several police officers were slightly wounded, the state Petra news agency reported.

Elite intelligence and anti-terrorism squads stormed the cell’s hideout because of 'information on plans by al-Qaida targeting the Jordanian arena,' Petra said, quoting an unidentified security official. It did not elaborate.

Security officials said that al-Mansi, a Jordanian of Palestinian origin, was being questioned and more information on the alleged plot would emerge later.

The security officials would not elaborate on how high up al-Anjadi and al-Mansi were in al-Qaida’s hierarchy in Jordan .

Al-Anjadi was accused of trying to break a top al-Qaida official in Jordan - Azmi al-Jayousi – out of prison last March. Police thwarted the escape plot and al-Anjadi was tried in absentia a month later.

Al-Jayousi had been sentenced to death last year for a 2004 plot to attack the US Embassy, the prime minister’s office and various intelligence and military officials with toxic chemicals.

A close US ally and Israel ’s peace partner, moderate Jordan has seen numerous terror plots over recent years – most of them foiled – and has arrested scores of Islamic militants.

The country was the homeland of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq , who was killed in a US airstrike north of Baghdad in June.

Al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for Jordan ’s deadliest terror attack - suicide bombings in three Amman hotels in November 2005 that killed 60 people and three Iraqi suicide bombers.

Today’s gunbattle began when the two al-Qaida suspects opened fire at special forces that came to arrest them, the security officials said.

Police returned fire, killing al-Anjadi. Al-Mansi surrendered later.

Outside the bullet-scarred house in the poor Matlaa’ neighbourhood, anti-terror squads stood on guard as forensic teams searched the vicinity. A small part on the side of the house was demolished, apparently to make way for the raiding forces.

Police seized several machine guns, pistols, ammunition, explosives, gas cylinders and computers from the house, the security officials said.

Neighbours said they did not know who lived in the house and that they woke up to a barrage of gunfire and wailing sirens from police vehicles.

A woman answering the telephone at al-Mansi’s home in a squalid Palestinian refugee camp in Irbid said he 'disappeared 20 days ago'. She identified herself as his mother, but declined to give her name.

Isam al-Mansi, who said he was the suspect’s brother, asserted that a 'group of masked men threatened us that they will kill me, if my brother didn’t surrender to them.' He said the family had reported the threat to authorities.

Source: http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j= 88377280&p=8837758z&n=88377660

January 10, 2007

by Toby Harnden

The Central Intelligence Agency has been authorised to take covert action against Hizbollah as part of a secret plan by President George W. Bush to help the Lebanese government prevent the spread of Iranian influence. Senators and congressmen have been briefed on the classified 'non-lethal presidential finding' that allows the CIA to provide financial and logistical support to the prime minister, Fouad Siniora.

The finding was signed by Mr Bush before Christmas after discussions between his aides and Saudi Arabian officials. Details of its existence, known only to a small circle of White House officials, intelligence officials and members of Congress, have been passed to The Daily Telegraph.

It authorises the CIA and other US intelligence agencies to fund anti-Hizbollah groups in Lebanon and pay for activists who support the Siniora government. The secrecy of the finding means that US involvement in the activities is officially deniable.

The Bush administration hopes Mr Siniora's government, severely weakened after its war with Israel last year, will become a bulwark against the growing power of the Shia sect of Islam, championed by Iran and Syria , since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Mr Bush's move is at the centre of a fresh drive by America , supported by the Sunni states of Saudi Arabia , Jordan and Egypt as well as Israel , to stop Iranian hegemony in the Middle East emerging from the collapse of Iraq .

The finding, drawn up at the White House by National Security Council (NSC) officials, is a sign of Mr Bush's growing alarm at the threat posed by Iran , which has infiltrated the Iraqi government and is training Shia insurgents as well as supplying them with roadside bombs.

A former US government official said: 'Siniora's under siege there and we are always looking for ways to help allies. As Richard Armitage [a former deputy US secretary of state] said, Hizbollah is the A-team of terrorism and certainly Iran and Syria have not let up in their support of the group.'

Prince Bandar bin-Sultan, the former Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington , is understood to have been closely involved in the decision to prop up Mr Siniora's administration and the Israeli government, which views Iran as its chief enemy, has also been supportive.

'There's a feeling both in Jerusalem and in Riyadh that the anti-Sunni tilt in the region has gone too far,' said an intelligence source. 'By removing Saddam, we've shifted things in favour of the Shia and this is a counter-balancing exercise.

Prince Bandar, now King Abdullah's national security adviser, made several trips to Washington and held meetings with Elliot Abrams, the senior Middle East official on the NSC.

Prince Turki al-Faisal resigned abruptly as ambassador to Washington last month. Intelligence sources said that a principal reason for this was his belief he had been undermined by Prince Bandar, who had not told him of the Lebanon plan or even that he was visiting Washington .

As a quid pro quo to the Sunni Arab states, Mr Bush and Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, have agreed to work harder to re-start negotiations about a peace deal with the Palestinians.

According to the Swoop website (theswoop.net), which contains briefings on diplomatic and intelligence matters: 'US officials point to the Israeli release of some tax monies owed to the Palestinian Authority as the first fruits of this approach.

Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former clandestine CIA officer, said that such a finding would involve 'various steps and types of non-military activity' agreed to by the Lebanese. 'It takes two to tango. You're only those things that the Lebanese themselves would want you to do,' he said.

Bush administration officials have spoken of their desire to promote 'mainstream' Arab states and have even spoken of the existence of a 'Sunni crescent' in the Middle East . But there is tension between this policy and the support for Nouri al-Maliki's Shia-led government in Iraq , which has links to Shia death squads and Iran .

'The administration is reaping its own whirlwind after Iraq ,' said the intelligence source. 'For 50 years the US preferred stability over legitimacy in the Middle East and now it's got neither. It's a situation replete with ironies.'

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/ 2007/01/10/wleb10.xml

15 year Terrorism Sentence Not Long Enough (back)

January 9, 2007

My future is ruined,' Mounir el Motassadeq whined on Monday, in a courtroom in Hamburg , Germany . It is not ruined enough, in our opinion.

El Motassadeq was convicted in the German court of being an accessory to murder. The murder — actually 246 of them — in question involved the Sept. 11, 2001 hijacking of four U.S. airliners. El Motassadeq had been charged with knowingly helping three of the men who hijacked the planes. German prosecutors confined their charges to mentioning the crew members and passengers on the planes — three of which were flown into buildings, killing more than 2,700 other people.

El Motassadeq, who has admitted that he received training at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan , helped three of the hijackers in several ways while they were posing as students in Germany . He did so with the knowledge of what they planned to do in the United States , prosecutors proved.

He is only 32 years old and his future will be ruined, in a way, for no more than 15 years. That is the prison term to which he was sentenced by a German judge — who noted he was imposing the maximum penalty available to him.

El Motassadeq’s whining notwithstanding, that isn’t long enough. Clearly, some countries, including Germany , still haven’t gotten the message concerning terrorism. People like el Motassadeq should be locked up for the rest of their lives, with no possibility of being freed.

Source: http://www.theintelligencer.net/editorials/articles.asp?articleID=14740

[Note: this has added comments, by the newsgroup editor who sent it to me, on the men and amount of money..granny]

January 9, 2007

by Daniel McGrory

Notes:

At least seven men holding British passports have been picked up in Somalia

All had joint UK/Somali citizenship

They may have been members of an 'international brigade' made up of Britons, Canadians, and 'other Westerners' -- possibly including Sweden , Denmark , Norway and Finland -- as well as Yemenis, Sudanese, and Pakistanis

The Britons are said to have been 'al-Qa'eda indoctrinated' and were fleeing through aQ-sympathetic areas when they were captured

Fundraising by the Somali Diaspora in the UK is said to have delivered in excess of a million dollars to the Islamists in Somalia by way of hawala networks. An additional $300,000 or more is said to have come from donations from Sweden , Denmark , Norway and Finland by way of hawala

Several British terror suspects have been captured during the fighting in Somalia , it was claimed yesterday.

At least seven Britons are said to have been picked up as they fled with fighters from the Islamic movement when they were forced out of the capital, Mogadishu . The men, all carrying British passports and including one said to have been badly wounded, are reportedly being held by Ethiopian troops.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said last night that it was still waiting to check the identities of the men and establish what the Ethiopian authorities intend to do with them.

The fear is that they could be handed over to American forces and some then taken to Guantanamo Bay or other US prison camps if they are thought to have strong links with al-Qaeda. The British authorities are expected to ask for the men to be deported to Britain , where they can be prosecuted under new terror laws if there is any evidence of their association with al-Qaeda or taking part in terror operations abroad.

Last week, the voice of al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was posted on a website used by Islamic militants encouraging sympathisers from the West to join a campaign of suicide bombings and guerrilla warfare in Somalia .

British officials say that they will also investigate claims yesterday from Ethiopia ’s rulers that Somali families living in Britain have been funding the Islamist militia.

The role of the British fighters was disclosed yesterday by Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, whose troops led the attacks that routed the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). The UIC denies that it has links with al-Qaeda.

Mr Meles said that the Britons were found among units of the Islamic militia as well as Canadians and other Westerners in what he described as an 'international brigade'.

The Foreign Office said: 'We take these reports very seriously and will do everything we can to look into them.'

A spokesman said: 'We are in constant touch with the Ethiopian and Somalian governments, but we have not yet been given any documentation or the names of those allegedly involved.'

Mr Meles told Le Monde, the French newspaper, that 'many international terrorists are dead in Somalia '. He said:

'Photographs have been taken and passports from different countries have been collected. We have injured people coming from Yemen , Pakistan , Sudan and the United Kingdom .'

Hussein Mohammad Adeed, his deputy, also claimed that Britons were among those killed, but he gave neither names nor the exact number who died. He refused to reveal whether any of the Britons had been caught up in the US air attacks over the past two days.

Mr Hussein said that the Britons were captured while they were trying to flee through territory controlled by al-Qaeda sympathisers. The captured Britons were all 'al-Qaeda indoctrinated'.

Security sources in East Africa told The Times that the Ethiopians were claiming to be holding seven British passport-holders. All the men are understood to have joint UK/Somali nationality. The problem for the British authorities is that, because of the violence, they do not have any diplomatic presence in Somalia .

Mr Hussein did not give any estimate of how many Britons joined up with the UIC, nor how many British passport-holders he believed were still being sheltered in what he claimed were al-Qaeda camps bordering Kenya and on small islands. He said that the search for British and other Western militants would continue.

There are claims that one of the Britons was taken from a hospital that was raided by Ethiopian troops.

A Western aid worker, who did not want to be named, said that the Ethiopians forced their way into the hospital in Dinsoor and demanded that staff hand over all the files and documents belonging to 'international patients'.

The aid worker claimed that the troops removed a number of injured foreigners, but he did not know the nationalities.

In an interview with More4 News, Mr Hussein identified Britain as a 'major source of funding for the Islamic militants'.

He said that his Government 'wants to open negotiations with Somali refugees — particularly in London ', who, he claims, are the main channel of funding for the UIC.

A recent report by a United Nations monitoring group said in November that 'in recent months fundraising by the Somali diaspora in the UK has resulted in donations through the hawala [banking] system of an estimated $1.1 million'.

The report added that another $300,000 (£150,000) came from Somali families in Sweden , Denmark , Norway and Finland .

To Britain , however, the movement of militants is of far greater concern than the flow of cash, which Treasury officials suggested last night was not as important to the Islamic movement in Somalia as the Ethiopian officials claimed.

British security authorities have been trying to keep a watch on the handful of British jihadists of Somali and East African backgrounds who have been smuggled into terror training camps in the jungles and swamps along the border with Kenya . Western agents have been unable to infiltrate these networks.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2539564,00.html

Financing Iran 's Weapons Program (back)

January 9, 2007

by Stuart Levey

The world is by now well aware of Iran 's defiance of the international community in pursuing its nuclear program and its sponsorship of terrorist organizations that maim and murder innocent civilians. What may be less well-known is that the Government of Iran is facilitating its proliferation and terrorism activities through the world's financial system, using its state-owned banks and an array of front companies and other deceptive techniques specifically designed to evade the controls of responsible financial institutions.

Over the past several months, we have been sharing information with our foreign counterparts and key executives in the private sector about these deceptive practices and discussing how best to safeguard the international financial system against them.

As the evidence of Iran 's deceptive financial practices has mounted, financial institutions and other companies worldwide have begun to reevaluate their business relationships with Iran . Many leading financial institutions have either scaled back dramatically or even terminated their Iran-related business entirely. They have done so of their own accord, many concluding that they did not wish to be the banker for a regime that funds terrorism, defies the UN Security Council in pursuing a nuclear program, and deliberately conceals the nature of its business.

We have taken a number of steps to combat Iran 's abuse of the international financial system. In September, the Treasury took action against Iran 's Bank Saderat, which Iran used to move millions of dollars to terrorist organizations such as Hizballah, HAMAS, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Our action alerted the world's financial community to Bank Saderat's role in funding terrorism and cut the bank off from the U.S. financial system altogether.

On December 23, 2006, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1737, requiring states to take a number of actions to deny Iran access to the materials and services that support its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

Under the resolution, all governments are obligated to take a number of steps to combat Iran 's proliferation activities. Among other things, the resolution requires states to deny Iran any financial assistance, or the transfer of any financial resources or services, related to the supply, sale, transfer, manufacture, or use of prohibited items associated with Iran 's nuclear and missile programs. It also contains an annex listing entities and individuals responsible for these programs, and requires states to freeze their assets and those of entities owned or controlled by them.

In accord with these UN obligations, the Treasury today is designating Bank Sepah, the fifth largest Iranian state-owned bank, as a supporter of WMD proliferation. In particular, Sepah provides direct and extensive financial services to Iranian entities responsible for developing missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction. The Treasury is taking this action under our authority aimed at combating proliferation, Executive Order 13382.

Bank Sepah has been a key provider of financial services to the Shahid Hemmat Industries Group (SHIG) and the Shahid Bakeri Industries Group (SBIG), two Iranian missile firms listed in the annex to the Resolution 1737 for their direct role in advancing Iran 's ballistic missile programs. Bank Sepah also provides financial services to SHIG's and SBIG's parent entity, Iran 's Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO), which has been designated as a proliferator by the United States for its role in overseeing all of Iran 's missile industries. AIO's Director is listed in the annex of Resolution 1737, thereby requiring states to freeze his assets as well as the assets of entities under his ownership or control.

Since at least 2000, Bank Sepah has provided a variety of critical financial services to Iran 's missile industry, arranging financing and processing dozens of multi-million dollar transactions for AIO and its subordinates.

The bank has also facilitated business between AIO and North Korea 's chief ballistic missile-related exporter, KOMID. Also previously designated by the Treasury, KOMID is known to have provided Iran with missile technology. The financial relationship between Iran and North Korea , as represented by the business handled by Bank Sepah, is of great concern to the United States .

Finally, like certain other Iranian banks and entities, Bank Sepah has engaged in a range of deceptive practices in an effort to avoid detection, including requesting that other financial institutions take its name off of transactions when processing them in the international financial system.

Our action today applies to all branches of Bank Sepah, including those in Paris , Rome , and Frankfurt, its wholly-owned subsidiary in London , and the Bank's chairman and director, as well as its more than 290 branches based in Iran .

The United States urges all governments to comply with their obligations under Resolution 1737 by taking appropriate action against all entities involved in Iran 's nuclear or missile programs. The Treasury will continue to monitor and act against any threats that Iran and other rogue actors pose to the international financial system.

Stuart Levey is the United States Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Source: http://themedialine.org:80/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=16345

Islam Taking Over European Churches (back)

January 9, 2007

Europe 's Islamification comes in many forms. Outright terrorism and intimidation is one tactic. Here's another:

'Some people wish to place us in the year 711,' remarked Spanish archbishop Cardinal Antonio María Rouco a few years back. Rouco’s warning remains urgent today. Spanish Muslims are determined to pray in the Córdoba Cathedral, which was an important mosque during the 500 year Muslim rule of Spain beginning in 711. Luckily for Spain , the Roman Catholic Church isn’t prepared to give in to Muslim demands, as it recently revealed when it rejected a petition to the Pope from Spain ’s Islamic Board for the right to share the Cathedral with Catholics...

The recuperation of places and buildings that were once mosques or sacred Islamic sites is the primary method employed by Muslims to reconquer Al-Ándalus. So-called moderate Muslims are oftentimes more effective than extremists in gaining concessions because of their attempts to portray Western democracies as intolerant if those countries don’t cede to certain demands. This technique has been used repeatedly in the case of the Córdoba Cathedral...

Belgium ’s bishops could learn a thing or two from Asenjo. Paul Belien of The Brussels Journal has documented how they have opened up their churches to mostly Muslim illegal immigrants in an effort to pressure Belgian authorities into allowing the immigrants to stay in the country. This has led to nothing less than a transformation of these cathedrals into mosques. While Muslims immigrants feel safe in these churches because they know respect for the Catholic Church prevents the authorities from entering to arrest them, they see no problem in desecrating these holy buildings...

In their letter to the Pope, Spanish Muslims claim to not be looking for a way take control of the Córdoba Cathedral or regain Al-Ándalus. But many Spanish Muslims would beg to differ. In 2004, the prominent Spanish Muslim, Abderrahman Muhammad Manan, wrote that the cathedral should be freed and that, 'We Moslems cannot stand behind, saying that Islam is not stones or monuments. To do so is to not give account of what things are in their essences, and in its essence Alhama is Islam in our land, as is Al-Andalus, Andalucia; it is the remembrance of a colonization, of a genocide, of an expulsion.'

Perhaps the best retort to Spanish Muslims who want to transform Córdoba Cathedral is a question posted by a Spaniard on a Catholic website: 'Will Christians be able to pray in the mosques of Morocco , Saudi Arabia , Iran or Kuwait ?'

The double-standard demanded by, and too often afforded to, Muslims when it comes to 'tolerance' and equal rights would be laughable if it were not so egregious.

Source: http://www.gopbloggers.org/mt/archives/004575.html

Push for Islamic State in Australia (back)

January 9, 2007

An ultra-radical Muslim group banned in many countries will promote support for an Islamic superstate in a seminar in Australia this month.

Christian critics claim that the seminar, to be conducted by the group Hizb ut-Tahrir, will be a recruiting ground for extremists.

Hizb ut-Tahrir believes that the caliphate — a part of the world under Muslim rule that, at its peak, ran from Spain to Iran and beyond — is about to be re-established.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in Britain , Germany , the Netherlands , Russia and most Muslim countries in the Middle East because of alleged links to terrorism, including the bombers behind the 2005 London attacks.

It is not banned in Australia but is controversial because it opposes democracy and Muslim integration, has tried to recruit young Muslims and ran a lecture last year titled ' Israel is an illegal state that Muslims will never accept'.

A promotional video for the January 27 Sydney conference on the internet site YouTube.com claims the world was 'plunged into darkness' on March 3, 1924, the date when Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk ended the Ottoman caliphate.

'The consequences were unimaginable: death, destruction, chaos, exploitation. After 80 years of the absence of the khilafate (caliphate) the Muslim world has awakened from its slumber, and the umma (the community of all the world's Muslims) is ready to resume its political destiny,' the video says.

'From the darkness will emerge a new light.'

Some observers have expressed fears that the conference will be used to radicalise Muslims in Australia and recruit extremists.

A spokesman for federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said group members would have to be careful about what they said at the conference and remember that Australia was a harmonious society.

Melbourne Anglican minister Mark Durie, author of a book comparing Islam and Christianity, said in a widely distributed email: 'If we wake up in 10 years' time and wonder what went wrong, historians who are able to look back and analyse the rise of radical Islam in Australia will identify events such as this conference as part of the answer.'

Dr Durie said yesterday Hizb ut-Tahrir was a major world force for radical political Islam, with links to terrorist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and had strategies for Australia . He said the purpose of the conference was to 'inspire and mobilise Muslims to establish Islamic government in the medieval model of sharia law with no concession to other principles such as democracy or human rights'.

'They want to legitimise the caliphate as a political aspiration.'

Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Wassim Doureihi said the purpose was to highlight the reality of political struggle in the Muslim world and the obligations of Muslims in Australia to raise these issues, and to raise awareness of the caliphate.

'The caliphate is a political reality. It's imminent. There is a burgeoning Islamic revival, and it's only a matter of time before the caliphate is a state,' he said.

Asked if he wanted sharia in Australia , Mr Doureihi said yes, by peaceful means.

'Islam is universal. The caliphate would be a role model for the rest of the world.'

Mr Doureihi said Hizb ut-Tahrir sought to win hearts and minds but denied that the group in Australia was shadowy or extremist, saying non-Muslims were welcome at the conference.

He said the conference was a forum to discuss concerns and misconceptions and there was nothing extremist about noting the Muslim world's plight or advocating peaceful change.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/01/08/1168104922239.html

Security Alert Blocks Mosque Funds (back)

January 9, 2007

National security concerns relating to an Adelaide mosque have prompted the Federal Government to block $200,000 in Saudi Arabian funding.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer yesterday revealed the Government had 'expressed a view' to the Saudi Government about the mosque's application for money to help fund a new building.

The unspecified 'security concerns' are understood to relate to at least one person associated with the Islamic Centre SA, based at 658 Marion Rd, Park Holme. The Advertiser yesterday confirmed the mosque's leadership was told early last year the transfer of funds from Saudi Arabia had been stopped after a request from the Australian Government.

Details of the proposed funding emerged as authorities confirmed a former mosque member, Warya Kanie, 39, had been held in Iraq since October on charges of allegedly conspiring to commit acts of terrorism against U.S.-led forces.

Mr Downer said he was 'sure there is no link' between the Park Holme mosque's funding application to the Saudi Arabian Government and Kanie's arrest by Coalition forces in Baghdad last October.

He said federal authorities closely scrutinised broader concerns about whether Islamic extremists from Saudi Arabia had sought to fund Australian mosques or Islamic institutions.

'In relation to one ( Adelaide ) mosque, there was an application for funding from the Saudi Arabian Government, not from extremist organisations, and the Australian Government expressed a view about that,' he said.

Mr Downer said the decision to halt funding would have been made by the Saudis, taking into account Australia 's security advice.

He said there was a clear distinction between appropriate Saudi Government funding and money from extremist groups based within the Middle Eastern country.

The Federal Government wanted to ensure mosques and other Islamic institutions in Australia had 'no linkages with extremist organisations'.

The Advertiser understands the Park Holme mosque has been closely watched by the Australian Federal Police and Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation for several years.

Moderate Adelaide Muslims have repeatedly expressed concerns about some activities at the mosque, particularly sermons by its spiritual leader, Sheik Charif Hassine, opposing the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq .

An Adelaide Islamic leader who attends the mosque yesterday said it was not involved in extremist activity but 'only exercising its democratic right to oppose American oppression in Iraq '.

Islamic Society of SA secretary Ali Vachor said there had been no explanation from the Federal Government about why it stopped the transfer of money from Saudi Arabia .

Mr Vachor declined to identify the sources of the Saudi money, saying they were among many donors to the fundraising appeal to build a new mosque at the Park Holme site.

'They give to charity to please Almighty Allah,' he said.

'Some people have given large amounts of money. They don't want to be known. They are keeping it between them and Allah.'

Mr Vachor said the Islamic Society had written several letters to Mr Downer seeking an explanation for why the funding was stopped early last year.

'We have tried to ask him why he stopped the money from entering the country but he has shut the door on us,' he said.

Mr Vachor said members of the Park Holme mosque were entitled to democratically express their opposition to 'American oppression'.

'The Americans are the ones who have invaded, they are the ones who have killed innocent people, they are the ones who have destroyed mosques,' he said.

Mr Vachor said AFP and ASIO agents had raised no concerns during regular meetings held as part of a national liaison project with Australian Muslim leaders introduced after the US terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,210311 91-5006301,00.html

This also has added comments to the article, by the newsgroup]

CAIR, Hassan Al-Turabi and the Philly Mitzvah Food Pantry (back)

January 9, 2007

by Beila Rabinowitz and William A. Mayer

Interfaith Jihad

The caption under the picture of the girl in the white hijab holding a plate to be filled with lasagna read, 'Interfaith students prepare dinner for the Mitzvah Food Pantry.' Standing shoulder to shoulder with students from Gratz Jewish College and the Archbishop Carroll High School at the November 16 Sukkat Shalom/Peace Shelter/Dar Us Salaam event was Ibrahim Muhaimin of the Quba Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies who declared that the experience gave him the opportunity to 'go to his new found friends with questions about their beliefs,' i.e., challenging them with Islam.

Gratz College professor 'Rabbi' Carol Harris-Shapiro, a board member of the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia which helped organize the event enthused, saying that 'students form friendships that would not occur normally' and adding that the year-long program allows the time for 'real bonds to develop...and all of the components reinforce each other...they are learning about each other as they are learning about the world...' [source http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/11431]

Unfortunately for 'Rabbi' Harris-Shapiro, the Quba Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies preaches a world-view much closer to al-Qaeda than the fuzzy kumbaya on public display at this event and has made no attempt to hide the group's Islamist roots.

According to the QIAI website, the school 'is a corollary of the International Muslim Brotherhood' [the radical Egyptian Islamist organization responsible for assassinating Anwar Sadat, from which grew al-Qaeda and first WTC bomber Omar Abdel 'the Blind Sheikh' Rahman, among others] and lists former Sudanese president Hassan Al Turabi as one of their three 'political luminaries' who have 'added their voices to the efforts to replenish and support the International Muslim Brotherhood's Educational agenda...and to expand the competency of their outreach [da'wa] programs...'

Sheikh Anwar ibn Nafea Muhaimin sits on the board of directors of Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia. On the QIAI website he describes himself as, 'the Sheikh Anwar ibn Nafea Muhaimin, CEO & Imam Mufti The International Muslim Brotherhood, Inc. & Subsidiaries.' [source http://www.qubainstitute.com/anwar_bio.html]

As a Federation of American Scientists' intelligence report notes:

'Today, a very complex financial network connects the operations of over seventy branches of the Muslim Brothers worldwide. During the Muslim Brothers' seventy-plus years of existence, there have been cycles of growth, followed by divisions into factions, including clandestine financial networks, and violent jihad groups, such as al-Jihad and al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya in Egypt, HAMAS in Palestine and mujahideen groups in Afghanistan.' [source http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/mb.htm]

Hassan al-Turabi has been dubbed by the European media as 'The Pope of Terror.'

According to the 911 Commission report:

'By the fall of 1989, Bin Ladin had sufficient stature among Islamic extremists that a Sudanese political leader, Hassan al Turabi, urged him to transplant his whole organization to Sudan.Turabi headed the National Islamic Front in a coalition that had recently seized power in Khartoum.30 Bin Ladin agreed to help Turabi in an ongoing war against African Christian separatists in southern Sudan and also to do some road building.Turabi in return would let Bin Ladin use Sudan as a base for worldwide business operations and for preparations for jihad.' [source 911 report, p 57]

' America incarnates the devil for Muslims. When I say Muslims, I mean all the Muslims in the world.' [source Hassan Al-Turabi, Saddam Hussein's close ally, Osama bin-Laden's friend and one-time benefactor, as quoted in a 1997 AP interview]

The other two QIAI 'luminaries' are the Director of the University of Malaysia , Abdul-Hamid Abu Sulaiman and Medhat Hussanein, the Minister of Finance of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

In 2003 Malaysian Prime Minister caused an international outcry when he stated in speech, '1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews.'

One way in which the Jews can be defeated is by bogus 'interfaith' events which are in actuality examples of jihad through da'wa.

Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi a founder of the Muslim Brotherhood declared in 1995 that, 'We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America not through [the] sword but through da'wa.' [efforts to convert infidels, source Qaradawi speech to Muslim Arab Youth Assoiciation, Toledo , Ohio ]

The Mitzvah Pantry event involving the Learning and Leadership Institute of the Jewish Community College of Gratz High School should be looked upon as a primer for how Islamists exploit the Western desire for interfaith, using it instead to create false impressions of tolerance while granting themselves unwarranted legitimacy.

As we noted in a previous article:

'Interfaith is perhaps the most disingenuous of all Islamist tactics, relying on non-Muslim's almost complete ignorance of the tenets of the religion. Most basic is that to Muslims 'faith sharing' is a one way proposition, a means of recruiting converts - jihad through da'wa. In this view all non-Muslims are seen as potential Muslims. Further complicating the offering of interfaith sharing as a panacea is that the rejection of Islam is a grave offense - apostasy - and the prescribed penalty is death - converts take note. The spirit of obfuscation is also alive in the preposterous assertion that Islam is one of the 'Abrahamic faiths,' thus creating a false sense of kinship and moral equivalency with Judaism and Christianity.' [source Irvin Borowsky And the Center For The Study Of Islam And Democracy, Part II

The Mitzvah Pantry's 'Peace Shelter' meal program also afforded the Council on American Islamic Relations [CAIR] - a Saudi funded front group for Hamas - the chance to pursue its cultural jihadist agenda through the participation of Muhammed Aziz.

Aziz is the Imam and president of the Islamic Society of Valley Forge [ISVF] who spoke to the participants about 'hospitality in the Muslim tradition.' In addition to running the Islamist ISVF, Aziz is also a board member of CAIR. His step daughter Adeeba Al Zaman runs the CAIR Philadelphia office.

CAIR's altruistic façade was stripped away this week, when California Senator Barbara Boxer rescinded a 'Certificate of Acheivement' award given by her office to Basim Elkarra the head of the CAIR office in Sacramento , sparking a national uproar.

When questioned about why her office had taken the unprecedented step of rescinding the award to CAIR, Senator Boxer stated that 'we made a bad mistake not researching the organization,' noting, 'CAIR's unwillingness to condemn Osama Bin Laden by name or condemn...Hamas.'

The communications director of Boxer's office also cited the cases of Ghassan Elashi [see the PipeLineNews article Ghassan Elashi's Sentencing Proves CAIR's Terror Ties] a founding board member of the Texas branch of CAIR who was sentenced to 80 months in prison for business dealings with Hamas leader Musa abu Marzook [he is scheduled to go on trial, along with seven co-defendants again on July 16, 2007 before U.S. Chief District Judge A. Joe Fish [Texas] in a much more serious terror case, that of U.S. v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, HRF directly funded Hamas] as well as the case of Randal 'Ismail' Royer a CAIR communications specialist and civil rights coordinator who was sentenced to 20 for conspiracy to 'support Jihad overseas.'

In the article in the Jewish Exponent entitled 'Night of Service…Role of Hospitality' about the Food Pantry program, Graetz High School Student Marshall Moritz said he was 'grateful' for the opportunity to learn about Islam and Christianity. Catholic school student Kimberly Spadero gushed 'we all have the same ideas...even though the rituals in each religion differ...'

Jihad, suicide bombings, and beheadings?

The program outlined above is shockingly typical; motivated primarily by a sense of feel-goodism, Jewish and Christian groups are actually furthering the spread of Islamism because they are not exercising even a modicum of judgment before engaging in such phony interfaith exercises.

What of a positive nature is to be gained from breaking bread with groups that admire Hamas and benefactors of bin-Laden?

At some point the Judeo-Christian community must take personal responsibility for the enabling of its mortal enemies.

We therefore urge that the Gratz Jewish College, the Archbishop Carroll High School and involved parties to halt all such interfaith programs and immediately terminate their activities with the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia [group website located at http://www.interfaithcenterpa.org/httpdocs/index1.html].

We challenge the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia to review its entire program in light of the above information [with removal of Sheikh Anwar ibn Nafea Muhaimin, Quba's Imam and self proclaimed 'CEO & Imam Mufti The International Muslim Brotherhood, Inc. & Subsidiaries ' from the Center's board of directors a necessary first step] and call upon federal and local law enforcement to launch a thorough investigation into the Quba Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies and its Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda supporters.

Source: http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=mitzvah10907.htm

Death Penalty for Home-made Porn Authors (back)

January 9, 2007

Thirty one people arrested by Iranian police risk the death penalty for making and distributing a porn movie they made with a cell phone, the president of Tehran 's criminal court, Saiid Mortazavi, has announced. The 31 arrested in the past few days have also been charged with sexual violence on the actresses in the movie. Mortzavi has announced he will sentence to death all those involved in making amateur porn movies.

He has in the past few years has sentenced to jail dozens of journalists and shut down around one hundred publications.

A parliamentary commission has also accused Mortzavi of being behind the death of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in Iranian custody on 11 July 2003, almost three weeks after she was arrested for taking pictures outside a prison during a student protest in Tehran .

Amateur porn films made with the video cameras of mobile phones have a proseprous market in Iran and can fetch up to 30 euros each.

The market, tolerated for a long time, became a nationwide issue after a porn film of popular television actress, Zohre Mir Ebrahimi, having sex with her partner, was released.

Iran , second in a world ranking of countries with the highest number of executions per year after China , has already executed at least three people since the beginning of 2007.

Source: http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&lo id=8.0.374554021&par=0

Islamic Preachers' Messages of Hate (back)

January 7, 2007

by Jamie Doward

An undercover investigation has revealed disturbing evidence of Islamic extremism at a number of Britain 's leading mosques and Muslim institutions, including an organisation praised by the Prime Minister.

Secret video footage reveals Muslim preachers exhorting followers to prepare for jihad, to hit girls for not wearing the hijab, and to create a 'state within a state'. Many of the preachers are linked to the Wahhabi strain of Islam practised in Saudi Arabia , which funds a number of Britain 's leading Islamic institutions.

A forthcoming Channel 4 Dispatches programme paints an alarming picture of how preachers in some of Britain 's most moderate mosques are urging followers to reject British laws in favour of those of Islam. Leaders of the mosques have expressed concern at the preachers' activities, saying they were unaware such views were being disseminated.

At the Sparkbrook mosque, run by UK Islamic Mission (UKIM), an organisation that maintains 45 mosques in Britain and which Tony Blair has said 'is extremely valued by the government for its multi-faith and multicultural activities', a preacher is captured on film praising the Taliban. In response to the news that a British Muslim solider was killed fighting the Taliban, the speaker declares: 'The hero of Islam is the one who separated his head from his shoulders.'

Another speaker says Muslims cannot accept the rule of non-Muslims. 'You cannot accept the rule of the kaffir [non-Muslim],' a preacher, Dr Ijaz Mian, tells a meeting held within the mosque. 'We have to rule ourselves and we have to rule the others.'

The 12-month investigation also recorded a deputy headmaster of an Islamic high school in Birmingham telling a conference at the Sparkbrook mosque that he disagrees with using the word democracy. 'They should call it ... kuffrocracy, that's their plan. It's the hidden cancerous aim of these people.' The Darul Uloom school said it no longer employed the teacher and that one of the reasons he resigned 'was the incompatibility of many of his opinions with the policies of the school'.

When contacted by The Observer, UKIM said: 'We are a nationwide organisation and hold different programmes in our mosques. We are very concerned about this. We have instructed all our branches not to allow any more speakers with radical or fundamentalist views. This has occurred as a result of an internal problem. We hired out Sparkbrook community hall, and some of the organisations that hired it allowed some speakers with views that are not our own. As a result, no more external groups will be allowed to hire the community hall at Sparkbrook.'

Elsewhere the documentary records the huge popularity of DVDs and internet broadcasts produced by extremist preachers. At the Islamic bookstore at Regent's Park Mosque in central London , DVDs of a preacher called Sheikh Yasin are sold. In one DVD, Yasin, who is promoted on the mosque's website, accuses missionaries from the World Health Organisation and Christian groups of putting the 'Aids virus' in the medicine of African people, 'which is a conspiracy'.

Another DVD on sale features Sheikh Feiz, a Saudi-trained preacher. Feiz says: 'Kaffir is the worst word that can ever be written, a sign of infidelity, disbelief, filth, a sign of dirt.'

In a statement the company that runs the bookstore said: 'We sell and supply a wide range of material and we do not necessarily agree with it. It is totally unfair to blame [us] for any of the views expressed in these lectures.'

Elsewhere, another preacher at a mosque in the East Midlands is caught on film, praying: 'God help us in our fight against the kaffir, in every field, in every department of life. We beg you to help us fight against the enemies of our religion.'

Inside the Green Lane mosque in Birmingham , a preacher is recorded saying: 'Allah has created the woman deficient.' A satellite broadcast from the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, beamed into the Green Lane mosque suggests that Muslim children should be hit if they don't pray: 'When he is seven, tell him to go and pray, and start hitting them when they are 10.' Another preacher is heard saying that if a girl 'doesn't wear hijab, we hit her'.

Another preacher says: 'The time is fast approaching where the tables are going to turn and the Muslims are going to be in the position of being uppermost in strength and, when that happens, people won't get killed - unjustly.'

In a statement to Channel 4, Lord Ahmed, the convener of the government's Preventing Extremism taskforce, said he was worried about the programme's consequences: 'While I appreciate that exaggerated opinions make good TV, they do not make for good community relations.'

A spokesman for Green Lane mosque said Islam does not denigrate women and that the instruction to hit a child was merely a smack. He accused C4 of intensifying the 'witch-hunt' against Muslims.

'Undercover Mosques', Dispatches, goes out at 8pm on Monday, 15 January

Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1984530,00.html

4 suspects convicted in Bosnia of plotting terror attack in Europe

[unknown url]

4 suspects convicted in Bosnia of plotting terror attack in Europe
By SAMIR KRILIC Associated Press Writer
SARAJEVO , Bosnia-Herzegovina
Four men were convicted Wednesday of plotting to blow up an unidentified European target and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, court officials said.

Swedish national Mirsad Bektasevic, 19, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Abdulkadir Cesur, an 18 year-old Turkish national living in Denmark , to 13 years for planning a terrorist act.

Bajro Ikanovic, 30, was sentenced to eight years for supplying them with explosives. The fourth defendant, Senad Hasanovic, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years for illegal possession of weapons and explosives. Both are Bosnian citizens.

A fifth suspect, Bosnian Amir Bajric, pleaded guilty in May and was sentenced last July to two years in prison for helping the group to purchase explosives.

The five were arrested in late 2005 when police, acting on a tip, raided the apartment Bektasevic and Cesur had rented upon arriving in Sarajevo from Sweden and Denmark .

Police found a powerful homemade explosive device built into a "suicide belt," pistols, ammunition, black masks and a video tape showing the process of the building of the bomb, prosecutors said.

The suspects traveled to Bosnia "with the aim to commit a terrorist act on the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina or some other European country" to force countries to pull their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, prosecutor Ahmet Halebic said during a May hearing at Bosnia's State Court.
070110 144723

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Tonight is a heavy posting night, so I am posting a lot of to
"All" posts.

A couple are re=posts, with added comments, by the news group.

To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the
internet address below:

http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=evu827Ifwf2zzI1&req=l%3Devu826Ifwf2zzI1

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Belarus says Russia oil row may be over

Belarus says it has lifted a demand for Russia to pay transit fees
on oil exports. The office of Belarussian President Alexander
Lukashenko said earlier that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin
had "found a compromise". The move clears the way to a resolution of
the dispute between the two countries, which led Moscow to cut off
all oil supplies on Sunday night through the Druzhba pipeline that
carries crude oil from Russia through Belarus to Europe. EU leaders
said the move made it harder to trust Russia as an energy supplier.
They also berated Moscow and Minsk for failing to consult key
customers like Germany before turning off the taps.

EU maps out new energy priorities

The European Commission has mapped out sweeping new energy
priorities for the European Union. The plans include moves to
diversify EU energy sources, slash carbon emissions and enforce
rules for fuel competition. European Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso said the EU needed to respond quickly to rapidly
changing political and economic realities. The commission presented
its plans amid growing concern over the reliability of supplies from
Russia, breaches of EU energy principles by member governments and
global warming.

Bush to call for more US troops to Iraq

US President George W. Bush is due to unveil his new Iraq strategy
in a speech later on Wednesday. The plan is expected to call for a
further 20,000 US soldiers to be deployed to Iraq, to boost the
existing contingent of about 132,000. A senior official said late on
Tuesday that the additional US forces would be used to quell the
violence in Baghdad, and added that the troop increase would be
gradual. Opposition Democrats in Congress have vowed to oppose the
plan and top military leaders appear to only reluctantly support it.

New air strikes reported in Somalia

New air strikes have been reported on suspected Al-Qaeda targets in
southern Somalia, near the Kenyan border, however it's unclear
whether US warplanes were involved in the latest attacks. The Pentagon has acknowledged that the US carried out its first overt
military action in Somalia since 1994 with a targeted air strike on
Monday on suspected Al-Qaeda hideouts. Somali elders said at least
19 people had died in the attack. The US action has been condemned
by the European Union and the United Nations. UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-Moon warned that the air strikes could escalate hostilities
in the region.

6 dead in 2 bomb blasts in Philippines

At least six people have been killed and 25 others wounded in two
separate bomb blasts in the southern Philippines. The first bombing
took place at a market in General Santos City, killing six people
and wounding 23 others. Two hours later, another bomb exploded near
a police outpost in nearby Kidapawan City, wounding at least two
people. The attacks came amid heightened security across the
Philippines, which is preparing to host two summits of Asian leaders
this week. Authorities are investigating whether the attacks were
meant to disrupt the summits, which are to be held in the central
island of Cebu.

Merkel, Abe hold talks in Berlin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and visiting Japanese leader Shinzo
Abe have said an EU arms embargo on China should remain in place.
Following talks in Berlin, Abe said that his government was
concerned about China's military build-up which could tilt the
balance of power in the region. Merkel said her government had no
intention of changing its position on the embargo which was imposed
following Beijing's crackdown on pro-democracy students in 1989. Abe
is on a tour of key European countries and will be the first
Japanese Prime Minister to visit NATO headquarters when he travels
to Brussels on Thursday.

Chavez pledges radical change for Venezuela

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has been sworn in for a new
six-year term which he says he will use to transform the country
into a radical socialist state. Chavez took the oath at the National
Assembly, five weeks after his comprehensive reelection win. He has
said he intends to use his landslide victory to push ahead with
radical nationalisation plans, including regaining control of key
utility and telecommunications companies. Financial markets have
taken a beating with shares dropping sharply as a result of Chavez'
leftist push.

Opposition won't back new Czech gov.

In the Czech Republic, talks have collapsed on the opposition Social
Democrats backing the new centre-right minority government. This
means that the new government of conservative politician Mirek
Topolanek faces failure in any parliamentary confidence vote, which
must take place within a month. This comes just a day after
Topolanek formed his second government since a June election ended
in a hung parliament, with 100 seats each for leftist and rightist
parties. A minority government composed solely of Topolanek's Civic
Democrats failed to win a confidence vote in October and he has
overseen a caretaker government since with parliament paralysed.

Kazakh parliament appoints new PM

Kazakhstan's parliament has voted unanimously to appoint Deputy
Prime Minister Karim Masimov to the post of prime minister of the
energy-rich Central Asian country. The technocrat, who studied at a
top US business school, had been nominated for the job by the
country's powerful president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Masimov replaces
Danial Akhmetov, who resigned on Monday following criticism of his
performance. A new cabinet must also now be formed, since the
previous cabinet resigned along with Akhmetov.

Merkel says 2007 crucial for German economy

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that this year will be
crucial for her government's goal of sustaining the economic
upswing. Merkel told a press conference in Berlin that more hard
work was needed to shore up last year's promising developments.
Leading analysts say Germany's economy grew by 2.75 percent last
year, the biggest rise since 2000. Unemployment figures were down
while domestic demand also finally picked up. However, this year's
three-percent hike on value-added tax is expected to put a damper on
economic growth.

Germany finds new EADS investors

The German government has found a group of investors who will take
over some of DaimlerChrysler's stake in the aerospace giant EADS.
Germany has been searching for investors to take on the 7.5 percent
share in order to safeguard German influence in the Franco-German
aerospace group. German Government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm says a
deal has been reached but final details won't be announced until
later this month.

To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53692

Wednesday, January 10, 2007
HOMELAND INSECURITY
Jefferson had Quran to know his enemies
Ellison spokesman says book represents 'religious tolerance'
Posted: January 10, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Keith Ellison

A Special Forces veteran and commentator says new Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison (Hakim-Mohammad) of Minnesota was absolutely right when he said Thomas Jefferson gleaned knowledge from the Quran – only it was knowledge about his enemies that Jefferson likely gleaned.

A report in the FreePress reported Ellison said the fact that Jefferson owned the book confirmed that it was "definitely an important historical document in our national history" and he said it "demonstrates that Jefferson was a broad visionary thinker who not only possessed a Quran, but read it."

"It would have been something that contributed to his own thinking," Ellison was quoted as saying.

In an interview with USINFO, Ellison spokesman Rick Jauert went further, saying the choice of Jefferson's Quran was significant because it "dates religious tolerance back to the time of our founding fathers."

"Jefferson was ... one of the more profound thinkers of the time, who recognized even then that there was nothing to fear, and in fact there was strength in recognizing religious tolerance," he said.

(Story continues below)

Ted Sampley, the publisher of U.S. Veteran Dispatch, agreed with Ellison, who used the Library of Congress Quran that Jefferson once owned for his ceremonial swearing-in to Congress, that Jefferson used the Quran for his own thinking, but not with the same result.

"There is no doubt Ellison was right about Jefferson believing wisdom could be 'gleaned' from the Muslim Quran," Sampley writes. "At the time Jefferson owned the book, he needed to know everything possible about Muslims because he was about to advocate war against the Islamic 'Barbary' states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Tripoli."

He noted that over 10 centuries, Muslim pirates had cruised the African and Mediterranean coastline, pillaging villages and abducting slaves, mostly by making pre-dawn raids that left high casualty rates.

"It was typical of Muslim raiders to kill off as many of the 'non-Muslim' older men and women as possible so the preferred 'booty' of only young women could be collected," he said. The women were sought for their value as concubines in Islamic markets.

"Boys, as young as 9 or 10 years old, were often mutilated to create eunuchs who would bring higher prices in the slave markets of the Middle East," Sampley wrote.

When American colonists rebelled against the English in 1776, merchant ships from what later would be the United States lost British navy protection, and they were attacked "and their Christian crews enslaved by Muslim pirates operating under the control of the 'Dey of Algiers' – an Islamist warlord ruling Algeria."

The Continental Congress then met in 1784 to talk about treaties with leaders of the region, and John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were appointed to oversee the work.

"Tribute" and "ransoms" first were paid to the Muslim slavers, and Adams argued that was the cheapest way to get commerce moving, Sampley wrote. But Jefferson was opposed, proposing a settlement of the issue "through the medium of war."

Sampley writes that two years later, when Jefferson was ambassador to France, and Adams was ambassador to Britain, they met in London with Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, the ambassador to Britain from the "Dey of Algiers."

Seeking a peace treaty, based on Congress' vote to pay tribute, the two Americans asked Dey's ambassador why Muslims had so much hostility towards America. They later reported to Congress the ambassador told them Islam "was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Quran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise."

Sampley notes that for years the American government paid Muslims millions of dollars for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages, but not long after Jefferson's inauguration in 1801, he dispatched the USS Constitution, USS Constellation, USS Philadelphia, USS Chesapeake, USS Argus, USS Syren and USS Intrepid to the Mediterranean.

Jefferson's first presidency coincided with what generally is called the Barbary Wars running from approximately 1801-1805. That year the Marines marched from Egypt into Tripolitania, freeing Americans held there as slaves, he wrote.

Gary DeMar, president of AmericanVision.org, added his endorsement of Sampley's interpretation of history.

DeMar cites Joseph Wheelan's book, "Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror," in noting Jefferson said, "Too long, for the honor of nations, have those Barbarians been [permitted] to trample on the sacred faith of treaties, on the rights and laws of human nature!"

DeMar notes that research treatise concludes that, "Jefferson's war pitted a modern republic with a free-trade, entrepreneurial creed against a medieval autocracy whose credo was piracy and terror. It matched an ostensibly Christian nation against an avowed Islamic one that professed to despise Christians."

"Wheelan's historical assessment of the time is on target," DeMar noted. "'Except for its Native American population and a small percentage of Jews, the United States was solidly Christian, while the North African regencies were just as solidly Muslim – openly hostile toward Christians.'"

"So what did Jefferson learn from the Quran? …Unless a nation submitted to Islam, whether it was the aggressor or not, that nation was by definition at war with Islam. It's no wonder that Jefferson studied the Quran. He realized that if Americans ever capitulated, the Muslims would be singing 'From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of A-mer-i-ca,'" DeMar concluded.

As WND has reported Ellison has allowed his supporters to shout, "Allahu Akbar!," the same phrase allegedly used by the 9/11 suicide pilots, he's spoken to various Islamic groups, he's used that Quran to be sworn into office, but he hasn't responded to WND requests to confirm he will base his decisions on the laws of the U.S. on the Constitution, not the Quran.

He has confirmed that "in terms of political agenda items, my faith informs these things."

Jauert confirmed to WND that the congressman does not believe there will be a conflict between his religious beliefs and his duty under the U.S. Constitution.

But when asked which would take priority if there is a conflict, or to describe how the congressman will resolve the differing philosophies provided by the U.S. Constitution and the Quran, which calls for beheading "infidels," he said he could not answer immediately.

One blogger was a little concerned over the situation:

"During the victory celebration for the nation's first Muslim congressman (not that there's anything wrong with that... in principle), Congressman Keith Ellison's supporters scream 'Allahu Akbar!', the same phrase that the 9/11 hijackers screamed, the same phrase suicide bombers scream, the same phrase head choppers scream before slicing off the heads of hapless and bound victims. May God protect this country," the blogger wrote.

WND also has reported Ellison has been linked to a radical Islamic school of thought that requires loyalty to the Quran over the U.S. Constitution.

A black convert to orthodox Sunni Islam, Ellison spoke to the North American Imams Federation, or NAIF, at the group's Nov. 19 conference in Minneapolis.

His talk flowed into a breakout session listed on the agenda simply as "American Open University," according to the conference program. It turns out the university is a "distance-learning" center based in Alexandria, Va., and known to local law enforcement as "Wahhabi Online."

Later that day, Ellison met with NAIF's president, Omar Ahmad Shahin, who lectures at the same American Open University. (He also met at the time with New York imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.) The radical Islamic school trains many of NAIF's more than 150 members, who control mosques across America.

American Open University supports Sharia, or Islamic law. And its founder and chairman, Jaafar Sheikh Idris, has denounced the U.S system of democracy as "the antithesis of Islam" and argued no man has the right to make laws outside Allah's laws expressed in the Quran.

Ellison's campaign also was backed by the Washington-based lobby group Council on American-Islamic Relations, a partner organization to American Open University-affiliated NAIF. CAIR held fundraisers for Ellison, a civil-rights lawyer and one-time acolyte of Louis Farrakhan who admits to making anti-Semitic remarks in the past (under various alias including Keith Hakim, Keith Ellison-Muhammad and Keith X Ellison).

CAIR's founder has argued the Quran should replace the Constitution as the highest authority in the land. The group's director of communications, moreover, has expressed his desire to see the U.S. become an Islamic state.

To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53708

Tuesday, January 9, 2007
ENVIRONETDAILY
'Catastrophic': Now thousands of birds fall from sky
Wildlife officers baffled, autopsies shed no light on mystery
Posted: January 9, 2007
9:07 p.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Thousands of birds inexplicably dropped like rocks from the sky over Australia.

Thousands of wattle birds like this one have mysteriously dropped dead in Australia

The mysterious catastrophe has taken place over a period of three weeks in Esperance, about 450 miles southeast of Perth. The area was declared a disaster zone by government officials.

So far, authorities are clueless as to the cause. Autopsies on the birds have shed no light.

The main casualties, according to Australian news sources, are wattle birds, yellow-throated miners, new holland honeyeaters and singing honeyeaters. Some dead crows, hawks and pigeons have also been found.

Some birds were seen convulsing when they died.

Wildlife officers are baffled by what they characterize as a "catastrophic" event. It does not appear to be weather-related.

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District nature conservation coordinator Mike Fitzgerald said: "It's very substantial. We estimate several thousand birds are dead, although we don't have a clear number because of the large areas of bushland."

Birds Australia, the nation's main bird conservation group, said it had not heard of a similar occurrence. "Not on that scale, and all at the same time, and also the fact that it's several different species," chief executive Graeme Hamilton said. "You'd have to call that a most unusual event and one that we'd all have to be concerned about."

Just yesterday, some 60 birds fell out of the sky in Austin, Texas, without explanation.

The incident prompted street closings for several hours.

Officials said they had tested the air for dangerous substances but found nothing, and they declared the area safe.

The dead birds – grackles, sparrows and pigeons – were being checked for avian flu, but officials said they saw no symptoms of the illness and believed it more likely they had been poisoned, possibly deliberately, or affected by near-freezing weather.

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007
REBUILDING IN THE GULF
Text of Bush's speech on Iraq plan
Complete transcript of president's remarks in address to nation
Posted: January 10, 2007
10:25 p.m. Eastern

© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight in Iraq, the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction of the global war on terror – and our safety here at home. The new strategy I outline tonight will change America's course in Iraq, and help us succeed in the fight against terror.

When I addressed you just over a year ago, nearly 12 million Iraqis had cast their ballots for a unified and democratic nation. The elections of 2005 were a stunning achievement. We thought that these elections would bring the Iraqis together, and that as we trained Iraqi security forces we could accomplish our mission with fewer American troops.

But in 2006, the opposite happened. The violence in Iraq – particularly in Baghdad – overwhelmed the political gains the Iraqis had made. Al Qaeda terrorists and Sunni insurgents recognized the mortal danger that Iraq's elections posed for their cause, and they responded with outrageous acts of murder aimed at innocent Iraqis. They blew up one of the holiest shrines in Shia Islam – the Golden Mosque of Samarra – in a calculated effort to provoke Iraq's Shia population to retaliate. Their strategy worked. Radical Shia elements, some supported by Iran, formed death squads. And the result was a vicious cycle of sectarian violence that continues today.

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The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people – and it is unacceptable to me. Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely. They have done everything we have asked them to do. Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me.

It is clear that we need to change our strategy in Iraq. So my national security team, military commanders, and diplomats conducted a comprehensive review. We consulted members of Congress from both parties, our allies abroad, and distinguished outside experts. We benefitted from the thoughtful recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel led by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton. In our discussions, we all agreed that there is no magic formula for success in Iraq. And one message came through loud and clear: Failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States.

The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow in strength and gain new recruits. They would be in a better position to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil revenues to fund their ambitions. Iran would be emboldened in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and launch attacks on the American people. On September the 11th, 2001, we saw what a refuge for extremists on the other side of the world could bring to the streets of our own cities. For the safety of our people, America must succeed in Iraq.

The most urgent priority for success in Iraq is security, especially in Baghdad. Eighty percent of Iraq's sectarian violence occurs within 30 miles of the capital. This violence is splitting Baghdad into sectarian enclaves, and shaking the confidence of all Iraqis. Only Iraqis can end the sectarian violence and secure their people. And their government has put forward an aggressive plan to do it.

Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed for two principal reasons: There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have. Our military commanders reviewed the new Iraqi plan to ensure that it addressed these mistakes. They report that it does. They also report that this plan can work.

Now let me explain the main elements of this effort: The Iraqi government will appoint a military commander and two deputy commanders for their capital. The Iraqi government will deploy Iraqi Army and National Police brigades across Baghdad's nine districts. When these forces are fully deployed, there will be 18 Iraqi Army and National Police brigades committed to this effort, along with local police. These Iraqi forces will operate from local police stations – conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints, and going door-to-door to gain the trust of Baghdad residents.

This is a strong commitment. But for it to succeed, our commanders say the Iraqis will need our help. So America will change our strategy to help the Iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence and bring security to the people of Baghdad. This will require increasing American force levels. So I've committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq. The vast majority of them – five brigades – will be deployed to Baghdad. These troops will work alongside Iraqi units and be embedded in their formations. Our troops will have a well-defined mission: to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable of providing the security that Baghdad needs.

Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences: In earlier operations, Iraqi and American forces cleared many neighborhoods of terrorists and insurgents, but when our forces moved on to other targets, the killers returned. This time, we'll have the force levels we need to hold the areas that have been cleared. In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter those neighborhoods – and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated.

I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people – and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act. The Prime Minister understands this. Here is what he told his people just last week: "The Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation."

This new strategy will not yield an immediate end to suicide bombings, assassinations, or IED attacks. Our enemies in Iraq will make every effort to ensure that our television screens are filled with images of death and suffering. Yet over time, we can expect to see Iraqi troops chasing down murderers, fewer brazen acts of terror, and growing trust and cooperation from Baghdad's residents. When this happens, daily life will improve, Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders, and the government will have the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas. Most of Iraq's Sunni and Shia want to live together in peace – and reducing the violence in Baghdad will help make reconciliation possible.

A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations. Ordinary Iraqi citizens must see that military operations are accompanied by visible improvements in their neighborhoods and communities. So America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced.

To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November. To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution.

America will change our approach to help the Iraqi government as it works to meet these benchmarks. In keeping with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, we will increase the embedding of American advisers in Iraqi Army units, and partner a coalition brigade with every Iraqi Army division. We will help the Iraqis build a larger and better-equipped army, and we will accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, which remains the essential U.S. security mission in Iraq. We will give our commanders and civilians greater flexibility to spend funds for economic assistance. We will double the number of provincial reconstruction teams. These teams bring together military and civilian experts to help local Iraqi communities pursue reconciliation, strengthen the moderates, and speed the transition to Iraqi self-reliance. And Secretary Rice will soon appoint a reconstruction coordinator in Baghdad to ensure better results for economic assistance being spent in Iraq.

As we make these changes, we will continue to pursue al Qaeda and foreign fighters. Al Qaeda is still active in Iraq. Its home base is Anbar Province. Al Qaeda has helped make Anbar the most violent area of Iraq outside the capital. A captured al Qaeda document describes the terrorists' plan to infiltrate and seize control of the province. This would bring al Qaeda closer to its goals of taking down Iraq's democracy, building a radical Islamic empire, and launching new attacks on the United States at home and abroad.

Our military forces in Anbar are killing and capturing al Qaeda leaders, and they are protecting the local population. Recently, local tribal leaders have begun to show their willingness to take on al Qaeda. And as a result, our commanders believe we have an opportunity to deal a serious blow to the terrorists. So I have given orders to increase American forces in Anbar Province by 4,000 troops. These troops will work with Iraqi and tribal forces to keep up the pressure on the terrorists. America's men and women in uniform took away al Qaeda's safe haven in Afghanistan – and we will not allow them to re-establish it in Iraq.

Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and stabilizing the region in the face of extremist challenges. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We'll interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

We're also taking other steps to bolster the security of Iraq and protect American interests in the Middle East. I recently ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region. We will expand intelligence-sharing and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our friends and allies. We will work with the governments of Turkey and Iraq to help them resolve problems along their border. And we will work with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating the region.

We will use America's full diplomatic resources to rally support for Iraq from nations throughout the Middle East. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf States need to understand that an American defeat in Iraq would create a new sanctuary for extremists and a strategic threat to their survival. These nations have a stake in a successful Iraq that is at peace with its neighbors, and they must step up their support for Iraq's unity government. We endorse the Iraqi government's call to finalize an International Compact that will bring new economic assistance in exchange for greater economic reform. And on Friday, Secretary Rice will leave for the region, to build support for Iraq and continue the urgent diplomacy required to help bring peace to the Middle East.

The challenge playing out across the broader Middle East is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of our time. On one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation. On the other side are extremists who kill the innocent, and have declared their intention to destroy our way of life. In the long run, the most realistic way to protect the American people is to provide a hopeful alternative to the hateful ideology of the enemy, by advancing liberty across a troubled region. It is in the interests of the United States to stand with the brave men and women who are risking their lives to claim their freedom, and to help them as they work to raise up just and hopeful societies across the Middle East.

From Afghanistan to Lebanon to the Palestinian Territories, millions of ordinary people are sick of the violence, and want a future of peace and opportunity for their children. And they are looking at Iraq. They want to know: Will America withdraw and yield the future of that country to the extremists, or will we stand with the Iraqis who have made the choice for freedom?

The changes I have outlined tonight are aimed at ensuring the survival of a young democracy that is fighting for its life in a part of the world of enormous importance to American security. Let me be clear: The terrorists and insurgents in Iraq are without conscience, and they will make the year ahead bloody and violent. Even if our new strategy works exactly as planned, deadly acts of violence will continue – and we must expect more Iraqi and American casualties. The question is whether our new strategy will bring us closer to success. I believe that it will.

Victory will not look like the ones our fathers and grandfathers achieved. There will be no surrender ceremony on the deck of a battleship. But victory in Iraq will bring something new in the Arab world – a functioning democracy that polices its territory, upholds the rule of law, respects fundamental human liberties, and answers to its people. A democratic Iraq will not be perfect. But it will be a country that fights terrorists instead of harboring them – and it will help bring a future of peace and security for our children and our grandchildren.

This new approach comes after consultations with Congress about the different courses we could take in Iraq. Many are concerned that the Iraqis are becoming too dependent on the United States, and therefore, our policy should focus on protecting Iraq's borders and hunting down al Qaeda. Their solution is to scale back America's efforts in Baghdad – or announce the phased withdrawal of our combat forces. We carefully considered these proposals. And we concluded that to step back now would force a collapse of the Iraqi government, tear the country apart, and result in mass killings on an unimaginable scale. Such a scenario would result in our troops being forced to stay in Iraq even longer, and confront an enemy that is even more lethal. If we increase our support at this crucial moment, and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home.

In the days ahead, my national security team will fully brief Congress on our new strategy. If members have improvements that can be made, we will make them. If circumstances change, we will adjust. Honorable people have different views, and they will voice their criticisms. It is fair to hold our views up to scrutiny. And all involved have a responsibility to explain how the path they propose would be more likely to succeed.

Acting on the good advice of Senator Joe Lieberman and other key members of Congress, we will form a new, bipartisan working group that will help us come together across party lines to win the war on terror. This group will meet regularly with me and my administration; it will help strengthen our relationship with Congress. We can begin by working together to increase the size of the active Army and Marine Corps, so that America has the Armed Forces we need for the 21st century. We also need to examine ways to mobilize talented American civilians to deploy overseas, where they can help build democratic institutions in communities and nations recovering from war and tyranny.

In these dangerous times, the United States is blessed to have extraordinary and selfless men and women willing to step forward and defend us. These young Americans understand that our cause in Iraq is noble and necessary – and that the advance of freedom is the calling of our time. They serve far from their families, who make the quiet sacrifices of lonely holidays and empty chairs at the dinner table. They have watched their comrades give their lives to ensure our liberty. We mourn the loss of every fallen American – and we owe it to them to build a future worthy of their sacrifice.

Fellow citizens: The year ahead will demand more patience, sacrifice, and resolve. It can be tempting to think that America can put aside the burdens of freedom. Yet times of testing reveal the character of a nation. And throughout our history, Americans have always defied the pessimists and seen our faith in freedom redeemed. Now America is engaged in a new struggle that will set the course for a new century. We can, and we will, prevail.

We go forward with trust that the Author of Liberty will guide us through these trying hours. Thank you and good night.