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I think you'll find this interesting. USF and WISE--[Excerpt] WISE was shut down in 1995 after Ramadan Shallah, a former WISE administrator brought to USF by Al-Arian, left Tampa unexpectedly and resurfaced in Syria as the leader of the anti-Israel terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. That shocking turn of events finally got the attention of USF officials -- and the FBI. USF ended its affiliation with WISE, and Al-Arian was placed on paid leave for two years while federal authorities investigated him.

Al-Arian later was reinstated, and people should understand that he has never been charged with any crime. Mazen Al-Najjar, Al-Arian's brother-in-law and WISE associate, was arrested at the same time and charged with visa violations. Al-Najjar then was imprisoned for more than three years based on supposed secret evidence that he was a threat to national security. He finally was released in December after a federal judge and then-Attorney General Janet Reno concluded that the evidence didn't warrant his imprisonment. Al-Najjar's mistreatment was an embarrassment to the judicial system. Al-Arian and Al-Najjar are not U.S. citizens, but they deserve the same presumption of innocence as any other U.S. resident. [End Excerpt]

Reno's campaign: It's not all that folksy -- Hugh A. Westbrook, 56, a millionaire hospice-care executive who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Democrats over the past 20 years. He and his wife, Carole Shields Westbrook, a former head of the liberal group People for the American Way, are longtime Reno supporters who have been urging her for years to run for statewide office. He opened a political committee Aug. 10.

People for the American Way Right Wing Watch Online

When Al-Arian is seen and heard saying "let us damn America" and calling Jews "monkeys and pigs," no one needs to rely on his critics to interpret his remarks. And when he puts his signature on a letter soliciting funds for terrorist operations,

That was 12 long years ago, can't we just get along?

< sarcasm >

Thanks for this and other posts on this topic.

I find it interesting that, although not a Marxist himself, this provocateur uses Marxist-Leninist tactics. It was Lenin who said that the "capitalists will sell us the rope on which we shall hang them." In light of this, ask: how could this shady fellow "found" the center at the USF?

The article does not say that he funded it. Then, who did? Who were the donors? Who on the University side was running the operation? Typically this requires schmoozing from the Dean, alumni-contact departments, etc. For some reason, no reporter goes "there."

Where is Cincinnatus when you need him? Has he gone back to his farm?