World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #10 Security Watch

Lowry: The CIA's record leading up to Sept. 11 was one of failure By Rich Lowry Article Last Updated: 08/25/2007 09:07:06 AM MDT

The new report from the CIA's inspector general about the spy agency's pre-9/11 failings could be titled, ''What We Did During Our Holiday From History.'' The stretch between the end of the Cold War and the Sept. 11 attacks was supposed to be a shiny new era of globalized peace and prosperity, to which an intelligence service was considered quaintly irrelevant.

The CIA conformed to the zeitgeist by remaining quaintly irrelevant. George Tenet presided over the agency, failing his way to the second-longest tenure of any director of central intelligence, a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a $4 million book advance. He made the Peter Principle work for him not just by advancing to his level of incompetence, but by benefiting from it handsomely.

Congressional Democrats pushed for the release of the scathing IG report, completed back in June 2005, to embarrass the Bush administration. But most of the failures identified in the report took place during the Clinton administration, which set the CIA's skewed priorities and selected Tenet in the first place. President Bush should be embarrassed only because he didn't fire Tenet upon taking office or after 9/11, while Bush also has failed to undertake a serious retooling of the sclerotic bureaucracy that is the CIA.

Tenet took terrorism seriously, ''sounding the alarm about the threat to many different audiences,'' in the words of the report. Maybe he should have gone on a lecture tour. Where Tenet fell down was in managing his agency. The thought may be father to the deed, but without the actual deed, the thought is only political cover in after-the-fact memoirs.

Tenet insists that he had a ''robust plan'' against al-Qaida. In reality, he only thought he had. He directed that such a plan be formulated, but according to the IG report, it never happened. Worse, Tenet did not ''work with the National Security Council to elevate the relative standing of counterterrorism in the formal ranking of intelligence priorities.''

In Tenet's defense, he operated within the context of a Clinton administration that basically was uninterested in intelligence. Tenet notes that the intelligence community lost 25 percent of its personnel in the 1990s and ''tens of billions of dollars in investment compared with the 1990 baseline.'' He implored the administration for funding increases in 1998 and 1999, but had to go ''outside established channels to work with then-Speaker Gingrich to obtain a $1.2 billion budgetary supplemental.''

Even with more resources, his managers repeatedly moved funds from counterterrorism programs to other needs, without ever raiding other programs to fund counterterrorism, according to the IG report. What could be more important than counterterrorism? Analytic resources were poured into addressing more pressing matters like the Balkans and the environment.

After 9/11, Clinton officials and Tenet argued whether the CIA had been granted the authority to kill Osama bin Laden, with the Clintonites, in a bout of retrospective bloodlust, insisting that it had. The IG report finds that restrictions on the CIA killing bin Laden had been ''arguably, although ambiguously, relaxed'' for a brief period in late 1998 and early 1999 (how Clintonian). But CIA managers refused ''to take advantage of the ambiguities,'' and even if they had, the agency didn't have the covert-action capability to kill bin Laden. Such was life during history's holiday.

What's more scandalous is how the CIA has escaped serious reform even today. Two CIA directors in a row have resisted the IG report's recommendation for an accountability board to evaluate the pre-9/11 performance of CIA officials. That word - not ''board,'' but ''accountability'' - raises hackles at Langley, where everyone is above-average at fighting al-Qaida. Even though as many as 60 CIA employees knew that two of the hijackers were in the U.S. before 9/11 and no one managed to get the word to the FBI, CIA Director Michael Hayden thinks holding anyone accountable for that or other failures would be ''distracting.'' And so the band plays on.

Chechnya Weekly
Volume 8, Issue 48 (December 13, 2007)

Website Proprietor: Chechen Police Official is Behind Ingushetia
Abductions

The proprietor of the independent Ingushetiya.ru website, Magomed
Yevloev, claimed in an interview published in Kommersant-Vlast on
December 10 that the head of the police department (ROVD) in the
Chechen
town of Urus-Martan, Ramzan Dzhamalkhanov, is running essentially a
“death squad” involved in kidnapping people and that a “death camp” is
operating in Urus-Martan. Yevloev, who worked in the Ingushetian
prosecutor’s office from 1993 to 1999, said that Dzhamalkhanov, whom he

described as a “friend” of Ramzan Kadyrov, during those years “wore a
long beard and headed a group that kidnapped people.”

“I was the involved in investigating kidnapping cases and more than
once
held talks with him [Dzhamalkhanov] personally and other bandits who
were then staying in Urus-Martan,” Yevloev told Kommersant-Vlast. “If
you remember, then, in 1997, Maskhadov’s people were sitting in Grozny,

they could no longer control anything, and the Wahhabis were sitting in

Urus-Martan. That is how I met with this Dzhamalkhanov. There were
hostages in the basement of his home, and he openly said to me: ‘I have

so-and-so and so-and-so, and I want to receive this much for them’.”

Yevloev said that the two Aushev brothers, residents of the village of
Surkhakhi in Ingushetia who were kidnapped from the Chechen capital of
Grozny in September and released following protests in Nazran (Chechnya

Weekly, September 13, 20 and 27), were kidnapped by the “Urus-Martan
ROVD group” and held in a “specially equipped camp” in the Chechen
village of Goiti. According to Yevloev, the Aushev brothers were taken
from Goiti to the mountains, apparently where they were to be executed,

but were released when demonstrations erupted in Nazran and
Ingushetia’s
Interior Minister, Musa Medov, called Dzhamalkhanov and demanded that
he
release the brothers. Yevloev quoted the Aushev brothers as saying that

while they were being held in Goiti, they saw graffiti indicating that
someone named Mutsolgov, who had been abducted and disappeared without
a
trace, had spent a month in the same Goiti private jail. This may be a
reference to Hussein Mutsolgov, a 21-year-old resident of the village
of
Surkhakhi in Ingushetia’s Nazran district, who was kidnapped along with

Zaurbek Yevloev in May of this year.

“That call from Medov to Dzhamalkhanov showed that Medov knows him
well,” Magomed Yevloev told Kommersant-Vlast. “And he knows that this
group is kidnapping Ingush. It turns out that this death squad is at
one
with the team of [Ingushetian President Murat] Zyazikov.”

Asked why the Russian law-enforcement bodies have not investigated such

kidnappings in Ingushetia, Magomed Yevloev told Kommersant-Vlast: “The
authorities have an interest in people being kidnapped here so that
there is popular discontent and disorders. That justifies the presence
of such a large number of [federal] troops. There is a 20,000-man force

in Ingushetia. For what? The presence of such a quantity of troops
justifies the huge money that is going to Ingushetia. And both the
Ingush officials and the [Russian] military have an interest in this.
It
is easier to steal in such chaos. Nobody will be auditing the financial

flows under such conditions. Nobody even came to monitor the [December
2
State Duma] elections; there was not a single foreign observer.
Everybody is afraid. And that is very advantageous, because only in
such
conditions can one enter the figures 99 percent and 100 percent on the
lists of those who voted.”

Yevloev, whose Ingushetiya.ru website earlier estimated that only 8
percent of Ingushetia’s registered voters cast ballots in the State
Duma
elections on December 2—Ingushetia’s election commission put the
turnout
at 98.35 percent, 98.72 percent of whom voted for the pro-Kremlin
United
Russia party (Chechnya Weekly, December 6)—has revised the figure
downward. He told Kommersant-Vlast that no more than 6 percent of
Ingushetia’s voters went to the polls, and that most of them voted for
the liberal Yabloko party, which backs the return of North Ossetia’s
Prigorodny district to Ingushetia.

http://jamestown.org/chechnya_weekly/article.php?articleid=2373850

December 14, 2007 Anti-Terrorism News - UnitedStatesAction.com

News roundup: Al-Qaeda’s Zawahiri Denounces Annapolis Conference — by
Jeffrey Imm
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/12/zawahiri_on_annapolis.php

Al-Qaida No. 2 blasts peace conference
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_re_mi_ea/al_qaida_message_1
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1670396520

(Al Qaeda) New message from Al Qaeda second-in-command Dr. Ayman al
Zawahiri discusses the Annapolis conference - Laura Mansfield notes
release with as-Sahab banner
http://www.lauramansfield.com/pt/blog/

(U.S.) Boston: Muslim charity defendants acquitted on one charge —
Care International trial - defendants Emadeddin Z. Muntasser and Samir
Al-Monla acquitted of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service
http://www.telegram.com/article/20071214/NEWS/712140389

(U.S.) Homeland Security ignores Somali terrorist leader’s US fund
raising visit — Somali Jihadist leader Zakaria Mahmoud Haji-Abdi — report
quotes Steven Emerson as stating “It is absolutely scandalous that
federal authorities cannot or will not stop jihadists from entering the
US.”
http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/12/homeland_security_snoozes_whil.php

(U.S.) California: Guilty pleas expected in SoCal terrorism case,
prosecutors say — founder of Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh and prison gang
planned attacks on military facilities, synagogues and other sites in the
Los Angeles area
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20071214-0709-ca-terrorismprobe.html

(Iraq / UK) Failed British terror attacks tied to Iraq — 2007 attacks
in Scotland and London have been linked to al-Qaida in Mesopotamia
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/12/14/failed_british_terror_attacks_tied_to_iraq/6627/
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/world/europe/14london.html?ref=world

(Iraq) Two US soldiers killed in separate incidents — shooting and
booby trap bomb south of Baghdad
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22928337-1702,00.html

(Iraq) Followers of militant Shiite cleric protest triple bombing in
Iraq’s south
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/14/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq.php

(Iraq) Christmas celebrations are canceled in Basra after militiamen
murder siblings
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3048883.ece

(Afghanistan) US, Afghan troops kill militant commander — Mullah
Sangeen - location undisclosed
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_re_as/afghan_violence_2;_ylt=Atd6SBqCm_N2kQsHnK_MRAPOVooA

(Afghanistan) Gates pushes allies on Afghan war help — calling for
more troops from NATO European nations
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_re_eu/gates_afghanistan

(Afghanistan) NATO chief backs UK call for realism over Taliban -—
backs “reconciliation process” between Afghanistan govt and Taliban
members who disarm
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL1436142620071214?rpc=401&;

(Afghanistan) NATO chief: Group will stay in Afghanistan but not be
int’l police force
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847337196&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

(Afghanistan) S. Korean troops pull out of Afghanistan despite US
request
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=1051840

(Afghanistan) Bomb explodes near Indian consulate in Afghanistan
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14575901&vsv=SHGTslot2

Afghan army discover Taliban safe house in S Afghanistan
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/14/content_7251489.htm

(Pakistan) Agencies warn of new spate of suicide attacks — Targets may
include the president, Benazir, Attock Oil Refinery, and US and Indian
embassies
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\12\14\story_14-12-2007_pg7_1
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/Indian_missions_could_be_target_of_suicide_attacks_Agencies/articleshow/2622248.cms

(Pakistan) Security forces take control of Charbagh
http://www.dawn.com/2007/12/14/top15.htm

(Pakistan) UK approached for Baloch militants’ extradition
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\12\14\story_14-12-2007_pg1_7

(Pakistan) Bhutto: Fatal bomb was rigged to baby
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071214/FOREIGN/112140060/1003

(Pakistan) Musharraf reinforces government control of Pakistani nuclear
program
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/14/asia/AS-GEN-Pakistan-Nuclear.php

(Pakistan) Musharraf to end emergency rule Saturday
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071213/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_13;_ylt=AliEP3wRAF3fYEzTOu5RsIPzPukA

(India J&K) 4.5kg RDX, grenades recovered in Reasi
http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20071214/848713.html

(India) Maoist Rebels kill three Indian policemen, blow up police
station in Chhattisgarh
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=1051756

(U.S.) Michigan man sentenced in Saddam spy case - Ghazi Al-Awadi gets
18 months in federal prison
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_re_us/iraq_espionage_1;_ylt=AsZ1Mt4NreAlLDeiDydhAmBX6GMA

(U.S.) UN expert: Tapes point to CIA torture
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071213/ap_on_re_eu/un_cia_torture

Iranian Opposition: ‘Ahmadinejad’s threats, Holocaust denial harming
Iran’
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847341033&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Hezbollah Denies Reports Its Leader Nasrallah Demoted By Iran
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidDN20071214005512

Lebanon probes al-Qaida links in general’s death
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071214/NEWS01/712140330/1002/NEWS01

(Gaza) Explosion in Gaza kills 3, injures 30
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847338715&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

(Gaza) Top Fatah official kidnapped in Gaza
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847337756&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Jordanian Islamists protest Israeli attacks on Gaza
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847339042&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

(Israel) IDF, Shin Bet arrest senior Islamic Jihad member in Jeni cafe
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847337930&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Israeli woman seriously wounded in Palestinian rocket attack
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/13/africa/ME-GEN-Israel-Rocket-Attack.php

Two Israeli Banks Accused of Sending Millions of Dollars to Hamas
Entities - Arab Bank, facing suit by victims, sues Israeli Banks for
transfers to Hamas
http://www.forward.com/articles/12258/

Kenya detains two dozen in security swoop: officials — at least 26
people in Nairobi and Mombasa
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071214/wl_africa_afp/kenyaattackssecurity_071214111356;_ylt=ApbkLLAPaMoiTV8RwR_xAtwTv5UB

Algiers bombers had been released in amnesty
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=327774&referrer=RSS

Algeria: UN seeks increased security as staff death toll climbs
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1669259617

Algiers Attacks Show Maturing of Al-Qaeda Unit
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/12/AR2007121202441.html

(Algeria) Search for Algerian bombing survivors called off; toll at 37
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847341137&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Bosnia deports Algerian ‘terror’ suspect: official — Atau Mimun
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071214/wl_africa_afp/bosniaalgeriaattacksdeport_071214111831;_ylt=Aoig2kLf81AGOyq7t.F5ojATv5UB

German anti-terrorism official: police must snoop online
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1380978.php/German_anti-terrorism_official_police_must_snoop_online

Turkish military court releases jailed officers, accused of attacking
Kurdish rebel
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/14/europe/EU-GEN-Turkey-Military-Trial.php

(UK) More calls to ditch terror plans
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7143187.stm

France hands ex-ETA chief over to Spain — Garcia Gaztelu, alias
“Txapote”, to be handed over to Spanish authorities
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=25&story_id=46913

Philippine Muslim rebels agree to unify at meeting with Libyan leader’s
son
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/14/asia/AS-GEN-Philippines-Libya.php

(Sri Lanka) At least 17 LTTE rebels killed in Sri Lanka
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/At_least_17_LTTE_rebels_killed_in_Sri_Lanka/articleshow/2623121.cms

(Sri Lanka) LTTE assures UNICEF to end child recruitment by year-end
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=1051887

Maldives bomb plotters jailed for 15 years
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSCOL3985

(North Korea) North Korea Involved in Hizbullah Training and Weaponry
— update - Terrorists taught onsite in Lebanon how to build underground
bunkers
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124562

(North Korea) Report: North Korea replies to Bush letter
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_re_as/nkorea_us_1;_ylt=An6Uih8VzAsjMgXNimupJdeCscEA

Japanese navy officer arrested for leaking secret data: police — Aegis
combat system first line of defense against North Korea
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071213/wl_asia_afp/japanusmilitaryintelligencecrime_071213144609;_ylt=AmcKgOeJwtC8dPDarnVKEY6CscEA

MEMRI: Major Jihadi Cleric and Author of Al-Qaeda’s Shari’a Guide to
Jihad: 9/11Was a Sin; A Shari’a Court Should Be Set Up to Hold Bin Laden
and Al-Zawahiri Accountable; There Are Only Two Kinds of People in
Al-Qaeda â€“ The Ignorant and Those Who Seek Worldly Gain
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD178507

Other News:

(Canada) Death of Aqsa Parvez had nothing to do with Islam, Muslim
leaders say
http://www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/article.en.do?pn=canada&articleID=2838043

(U.S.) AutoZone: CAIR wrong about Michael Savage ads — AutoZone says
it stopped advertising on talk radio in general, not because of CAIR
issue
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59133

(UK) Muslim bookshop considering legal action against think tank
http://www.ealingtimes.co.uk/news/asianspotlight/spotlight/display.var.1904043.0.muslim_bookshop_considering_legal_action_against_think_tank.php

Austria: Muslims to overtake Protestants
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2007/12/austria-muslims-to-overtake-protestants.html

French women warned — don’t upset Kadhafi — told to rise and chanted
“Welcome your excellency”
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=25&story_id=46914

Blog Note:

Blogger Commentary on CARE International Trial
http://misskelly.typepad.com/miss_kelly_/2007/12/waging-economic.html

Against Nazi News:

(Germany) Insult with stones to Jewish memorial
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=46923

If reposting elsewhere, please credit source of this research as
UnitedStatesAction.com

http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel07/topten_121407.htm

Press Release

For Immediate Release
December 14, 2007

Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691

FBI’s Top Ten News Stories
For the Week Ending December 14, 2007

1. New Addition to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives

Jason Derek Brown, a fugitive from Phoenix wanted for the murder and robbery of an armored car guard, has been added to the FBI’s List of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Full Story

2. Washington Field Office: Former Congressional Chief of Staff Pleads Guilty

Russell James Caso, Jr., a former chief of staff to a member of the U. S. House of Representatives, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. Full Story

3. San Francisco: Talk Radio Personality Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

AM radio station talk show personality Bernard V. Ward was indicted on charges of distributing and receiving child pornography through the use of a computer. Full Story

4. New York: Guilty Plea in Phantom Gold Mine Investment Scheme

James and Rita Russo and their adult children, Elizabeth Russo, Rudolpho Russo, and Thomas Russo, pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud through a phony gold mine investment scheme and various Internet wholesaler schemes over a 15-year period. Full Story

5. New Orleans: Chief of Police Indicted on Firearms Charges

Claude Williams, the chief of police of Boyce, Louisiana, was indicted on federal charges of possession of illegal firearms and on state charges of malfeasance in office. Full Story

6. Newark: School Board President Pleads Guilty

James a Pressley, president of the Pleasantville Board of Education, pled guilty to attempted extortion and to accepting bribes in return for his official assistance. Full Story

7. Miami: Four Foreign Nationals Arrested and Charged with Being Illegal Agents of Foreign Government

Three Venezuelans and one Uruguayan were arrested and charged with acting illegally as agents of the Bolivian Republic of Venezuela. Full Story

8. Charlotte: Former Sheriff and Deputies Charged with Conspiracy to Commit Extortion

Robert Lee Medford, former sheriff of Buncombe County; and sheriff’s deputies John Harrison, Ronnie Eugene Davis, and Guy Kenneth Penland have been charged with conspiring to unlawfully enrich themselves by extorting money from persons involved in the illegal video poker machine business. Full Story

9. San Diego: Hoax Bomber Arrested by Joint Terrorism Task Force

The Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Timothy Bryon Kalka in connection with the University of California San Diego hoax bomb incident. Full Story

10. Boston: Blue Cross Agrees to Pay $20 Million

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island agreed to pay $20 million to settle matters in the government’s ongoing public corruption investigation and also agreed to a series of ethical reforms. Full Story

http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/foreclosurescheme120407.htm

United States Attorney
Southern District of New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 4, 2007

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER, REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 637-2600

NY ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE
JEFFREY LERNER
(212) 416-8060

FBI
JAMES MARGOLIN, REBECCA CALLAHAN
(212) 384-2715, 2195

SIX CHARGED IN MULTIMILLION DOLLAR “FORECLOSURE RESCUE” SCHEME

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, ANDREW CUOMO, the Attorney General of the State of New York, and MARK J. MERSHON, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (”FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging MAURICE McDOWALL, ANDREA MOORE, ALEKSANDER LIPKIN, a/k/a “Alex,” MARINA DUBIN, KERRI CLARKE, and MICHAEL IRVING with participating in a wide-ranging “home foreclosure rescue” scheme, in which they defrauded homeowners of the titles to their homes and caused lenders to hold millions of dollars of bad loans. MOORE, LIPKIN, DUBIN, and IRVING were arrested earlier today, and McDOWALL was arrested on the charges earlier in Puerto Rico. CLARKE remains at large. According to the Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court:

From November 2003 through April 2005, the defendants engaged in a fraud scheme targeting homeowners whose homes, primarily in Brooklyn and Bronx, were in foreclosure or facing foreclosure, by offering them a plan to “save” their homes. The proposed plan included the refinancing of the homeowners’ debt with new, larger mortgages. Because the distressed homeowners typically had poor credit and were not otherwise eligible to refinance their debt at favorable terms , the defendants induced them to “sell” their homes to third parties, or “straw buyers,” who would apply for loans to be used to “save” the home. The defendants promised that once the straw buyer obtained the mortgage, the proceeds would be used to pay off the homeowners’ old debt and make one year’s worth of payments on the new loans. The homeowners were told that, during that year, they could continue to live in their homes and work on improving their finances and credit. Finally, the defendants explained to the homeowners that, at the end of the year, the title to their homes would be returned to them by the straw buyers, with their credit repaired and their homes saved. There were also cases in which the defendants did not explain to homeowners that the plan to
“save” their home required them to deed their house to a third party and did not obtain permission to deed the homes to others. In such cases, the defendants effectively stole the property of the homeowners by forging the homeowners’ signatures on various documents that transferred the homes to straw buyers without the homeowners’ knowledge.

The straw buyers, individuals with good credit scores whom the defendants recruited to buy the homes facing foreclosure, were typically told that they were helping someone to “save” their home, and were paid a fee of up to ten thousand dollars per property for taking out debt in their names. Once a potential straw buyer agreed to participate in the scheme, the
defendants submitted loan applications to lenders on the straw buyer’s behalf. In submitting these applications, the defendants regularly used documents containing false or misleading
information, including information concerning the straw buyer’s income, assets, and existing debt, to improve the straw buyer’s credit worthiness. In addition to false statements concerning the straw buyers’ financial profile, the defendants misrepresented to lenders that the straw buyers intended to reside in the property that would secure each mortgage or loan, when, in fact, the properties were already occupied by the distressed homeowners.

The defendants facilitated the funding, by various banks and lending institutions, of over eighty home mortgages and/or equity loans valued at over twenty million dollars. These
home equity loans and mortgages were often in amounts greater than the homeowners’ pre-existing debt and, in some cases, in excess of the properties’ actual values. The difference between the amount of the new and old loans represented the defendants’ profit from the scheme. Furthermore, the defendants deceived straw buyers by refinancing multiple properties in the names of individual straw buyers, without fully disclosing this to them. Thus, loans were taken out in the name of the same straw buyers for up to four different properties. To minimize the risk of detection by any of the lenders, such loans were closed within a short period of time.

At loan closing, after the homeowners’ previous debt was retired, the remainder of the loan proceeds were deposited into bank accounts that the defendants controlled, rather than
used to make the monthly payments on the new loan as promised. In some instances, the defendants failed to make even one payment on the new loan, causing the loan to default immediately; in nearly every other case, they eventually failed to make the payments and defaulted on the loans, thereby “cashing out” on the properties.

As a result, the homeowners lost the titles to their homes and faced eviction, the straw buyers owed the lenders hundreds of thousands of dollars that they were unable to repay,
and the lenders suffered losses from the defaulted loans.

Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and six counts of wire fraud. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of thirty
years in prison, on each count of the Indictment, and a fine of the greatest of $1,000,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the crime.

MAURICE McDOWALL was arrested on December 1, 2007 in Puerto Rico and presented on the charges in federal court. The defendants arrested earlier today are expected to be arraigned in Manhattan federal court tomorrow at 10 a.m. before United States District Judge ROBERT P. PATTERSON.

Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative work of the FBI. He also thanked the Attorney General’s Office for their outstanding work in the investigation.

“The defendants charged today perpetrated a multimillion dollar fraud in which they profited by preying on the most vulnerable of homeowners,” said United States Attorney
MICHAEL J. GARCIA. “While promising rescue from foreclosure, they instead stole their victims’ homes and millions of dollars in loans secured by their victims’ properties.”

“This case is yet another example of the pervasive fraud we have found in the mortgage industry,” said Attorney General ANDREW CUOMO. “My office investigated the scheme charged in this case in response to complaints from individuals who had been victimized and lost their homes. I applaud U.S. Attorney GARCIA and his prosecution team for their excellent work and look forward to more productive partnerships with the Southern District of New York.”

“The rise in mortgage defaults associated with sub-prime mortgage lending has created a target-rich environment for so-called foreclosure rescue schemes,” said FBI Assistant
Director-in-Charge MARK J. MERSHON. “We will continue to root out the predatory practices of those who would victimize distressed homeowners and unwitting lenders for a fast and easy (and illegal) buck.”

Assistant United States Attorney KATHERINE GOLDSTEIN is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

New York FBI Home Page

Press Releases

http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/bribery121207.htm

[Note the inspections paragraph, does that include brakes?]

United States Attorney
Southern District of New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 12, 2007

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER,
REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 637-2600

NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EMPLOYEE ARRESTED FOR CONSPIRING TO TAKE BRIBES
FROM SCHOOL BUS COMPANIES

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, MARK MERSHON, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), GORDON S. HEDDELL, Inspector General of the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”); and DON TODD, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, announced today that an employee of the New York City Department of Education (“DOE”), GEOFFREY BERGER, was arrested yesterday for conspiring to solicit and accept bribes from the owners of bus companies that contracted with DOE, in exchange for official favors.

According to a Complaint filed earlier today in Manhattan Federal Court:

The FBI and the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) have been conducting an investigation of the New York City school bus industry, which has uncovered the existence of
corruption and organized-crime influence in Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union (“Local 1181”), the primary union that services drivers and escorts for school bus companies in New York City. The investigation has also uncovered corruption and organized crime influence in certain school bus companies that contract with the DOE to provide services for schoolchildren, including special education students, in the New York City area. Most recently, the investigation has revealed the complicity of certain employees of DOE in this corruption, including GEOFFREY BERGER, a DOE borough supervisor, for the receipt of bribes. In his official capacity, BERGER arranged school bus routes, which are contracted and assigned through DOE primarily to privately- owned bus companies.

A former DOE inspector (“CW-1”) has provided information to the Government relating to his own receipt of bribes, as well as similar conduct by others, including BERGER.
According to information provided by CW-1, from the early 1980s until about 2007, CW-1 and several fellow DOE employees agreed to obtain cash payments from bus companies in exchange for providing them with “extended runs,” bus routes that begin earlier than the standard time provided in the contract, or end later; bus companies that service such routes earn higher rates.

DOE employees also collected money on a regular basis from bus company owners related to the routine bus inspections that DOE conducted. The DOE inspectors had discretion over the imposition of violations, and bus company owners perceived that if they paid money to the inspectors, they would receive favorable treatment.

From about 2005 until about 2007, at least 10 different bus company owners that contracted with DOE made cash payments to CW-1. These payments included money in exchange for extended runs and money related to inspections, and ranged from several hundred dollars from some owners to over $10,000 a year from others. In 2007, CW-1 received cash payments from two bus company owners for extended runs; one owner paid CW-1 approximately $50,000 in cash, and the other bus company owner paid approximately $40,000 in cash. BERGER received illegal cash payments from at least four of these bus companies.

Another former DOE inspector (“CW-2”) has provided information to the Government relating to his own receipt of bribes, as well as similar conduct by others, including BERGER.
When CW-2 was arrested on November 28, 2007, he had $110,000 in cash hidden in his residence, which he informed the FBI he had received from bus company owners.

CW-2 received cash payments related to inspections, “extended runs,” and the provision of additional bus runs to approximately 10 bus company owners in 2006. The payments, which CW-2 split with fellow bus company inspectors, ranged from several hundred dollars a year to tens of thousands of dollars. BERGER received such cash payments from at least five bus company owners, and he and CW-2 often picked up cash payments for one another.

Two bus company owners (“Owner-1” and “Owner-2”) have confirmed that they made cash payments to BERGER and other DOE employees, including CW-1 and CW-2. Owner-1’s bus companies made payments to CW-1 in exchange for obtaining advance notice of when bus inspections would take place, and to BERGER in exchange for receiving approximately 40 additional DOE bus runs in 2005. Owner-1 received a grand jury subpoena in 2006 and notified BERGER, through an intermediary, that payments would no longer be made to BERGER. At that time, BERGER told an employee of Owner-1 that Owner-1 had to continue making payments because BERGER had already started the process of getting Owner-1 the additional bus runs, and because the investigation related to Local 1181, not the DOE. Owner-1 refused to make any further payments to BERGER. The following year, Owner-1’s bus companies lost 37 bus runs in the allocation by DOE.

Owner-2, who made cash payments to BERGER, CW-1, and CW-2, gave BERGER payments of between $500 and $1,000 for approximately five to six years in order to influence BERGER in his bus routing decisions, and last made a payment to BERGER in August 2007.

BERGER was presented today before the Honorable THEODORE H. KATZ and released on a $1 million bond. BERGER, 57, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft of bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds. If convicted of the charge, BERGER faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of the greater of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain or loss from the offense.

Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative work of the FBI; the New York City Police Department; the DOL Office of Labor- Management Standards and the DOL Office of the Inspector General; and thanked the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District for their assistance in this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys BENJAMIN GRUENSTEIN and ELIE HONIG are in charge of the prosecution.

New York FBI Home Page

Press Releases

[Is this for cars or tanks?]

President Al-Assad Affirms Importance of Syrian-Iranian Cars Factory
Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 12:50 PM
www.sana.sy/eng/21/2007/12/13/152866.htm

Hissya, Homs , Central Syria,(SANA - Syrian news agency)- President
Bashar
al-Assad inaugurated this morning the Syrian -Iranian International USD
50
million cost Sedan factory in Hissya, Homs.

The initiating capacity of the factory will start off with 5 thousand
cars
up to 15 thousand cars in the first stage, and the second stage will
start
off with 17.5 thousand cars up to 35 thousand cars annually.

President al-Assad and Iran’s Minister of Industry and Mine Ali Akbar
Mehrabian moved aside the cover of Sedan car, which is made in Syria
and
drove it in an experimental tour in the factory courtyard.

Later ,President al-Assad and his companions visited the production
line and
were briefed by the supervisors on stages of manufacturing of this car
which
will produce 35 thousands cars annually ,while the factory capital gets
to
50 millions USD.

In a statement to reporters following opening the factory, President
al-Assad underlined that the factory of Sedan car, SAIBA, is considered
as a
new stone to be put in the big building of the strategic ties between
Syria
and Iran.

” Opening the factory with the participation of the Iranian officials
is a
response to all what some tried to promote in various stages around the
disturbance of the relations between the two countries and I affirm, on
this
occasion, that the relations would not be shaken for any reason or
under any
circumstance, “
President al-Assad added .

Earlier, Minister of Industry Fouad Issa al-Juni and Mehrabian
affirmed, in
their speeches at the opening ceremony, the importance of this big
industrial facility in boosting ties between the two countries and
developing them, indicating that this cooperation will give great
opportunity to host the production of cars’s components in Syria.

The two Ministers considered the project as a true example for fruitful
cooperation between the Syrian and Iranian governments, asserting the
depth
of the industrial and economic relations between the two states.

Sedan car, SAIBA is considered as a popular economic car with
affordable
price and the second in the filed of making cars after President
al-Assad
had inaugurated in March 2007 a joint factory with Iran to produce
/Sham
/cars with an estimated total amount of 60 millions USD, and production
capacity of 10 thousands cars annually, starting from the first year of
operating.

Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri and Iran’s Minister of Housing and
Urban
Development Mohammad Saeedi Kia attended the opening ceremony in
addition to
Governor of Homs Mohammad Iyad Ghzal and the Syrian and Iranian
Ambassadors
in Damascus and Tehran .

Thawra- Ghossoun

http://theheelersdiaries.blogspot.com/2007/12/jaccuse.html

Thursday, December 13, 2007
j’accuse

The world’s first Jihad war is coming to an end.

This is the name I have given the conflict roughly demarcated by the mass murders in New York in 2001 and then by the American and British liberations of Afghanistan and Iraq in the subsequent years up to the present.

The world’s first Jihad war.

Of course this is not strictly speaking the first time that Arabs and Muslims have attempted an outward expansion at the expense of the rest of humanity.

Historians might point to several such waves of conquest and extirpation.

The last such expansion to threaten Europe came in the sixteenth century and was stopped by a marginal political figure called Don John of Austria who cleaned Islamic clocks at the battle of Lepanto.

Cleaned their clocks.

Or at least slowed them down for about five hundred years.
And now they’re back.

But the present Arab and Muslim terror wave is different from what came before.

This is the first time these hideously dysfunctional cultures have threatened the world and not just some region of it.
The world’s first Jihad war.

The name I have chosen is reminiscent of the conflict sparked by Imperial Germany’s attempt at world conquest between 1914 and 1918.

The Germans emerged from that one convinced they were due a rematch.

Now the world’s first Jihad war is coming to an end.

It is coming to an end in a similar way that the 1914-18 war came to an end.

Like the Imperial Germans, the Jihadis are convinced they have not lost.

They are already working towards Round Two.

It will happen.

Why will it happen?

It will happen because the clowns, the quislings of the West, the pseudo intelligentsia, the Michael Moores, the Noam Chomskys, the John Pilgers, the CNNs, the BBCs, the Associated Press, the Irish Times, the Times of London, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, the quislings I say, the defeatist wishful thinking traitors, the useless vainglorious pious bastards, these, these and no others, these have convinced the Jihadis... it’s not over.

It’s not over.

There will indeed be a second world Jihad war.

The Jihadis now know the West prefers to worry more about climate change than about the terror armies massing against it.
The Jihadis know that the West will sooner scorn its own leaders, leaders of decisive action such as George Bush or Tony Blair, rather than scorning Osama Bin Laden and the monstrous thugs who menace us.

The Jihadis are fully cognisant of the deluded thinking that led to a Nobel Prize for Al Gore.

The Jihadis know that the West is in denial.

(Yes, climate change is important. Pollution is bad. Try telling it to Hitler. Better yet, let’s pretend Hitler isn’t there and pat each other on the back while wrapping our garbage in nice cuddly recyclable hemp rope.)

This is the comic farce at the end of the world folks.

The West is questioning itself out of existence against an enemy that knows no doubts because it possesses no intellect and has no capacity to doubt.

It gets worse.

This week Lord Falconer in England has been saying the police should not be able to detain Muslim terror suspects for longer than 28 days.

Lord Falconer believes the maximum detention period should not change unless some new and greater threat to the public materialises.

It is my opinion that the Jihadis will rise to Lord Falconer’s challenge and give him his new threat soon enough. Of course thousands of us will have to die for it to be a good enough threat to satisfy Lord Falconer. Perhaps even hundreds of thousands.

Lord Falconer wants to stake public lives on the goodwill of the Muslim scum currently working through their angst ridden teenage years, (and their twenties and thirties and forties) by plotting mass murder over coffees in Piccadilly.

No lives should be hostage to Lord Falconer’s political correctness.

His is woeful polity.

The curse of it is, this war could have been won.

At the very least, we might have made Jihad less fun.

One year’s minimum detention for those suspected of plotting terror attacks would have been a start. None of your 28 days or 90 days rubbish.

And how about sending them all somewhere they don’t like going?

Guantanamo Bay would seem to be the obvious choice.

The only prison on earth where it’s not such fun to be a big bad murdering Jihadi scum.

But I don’t want to cast no aspersions.

Lord Falconer and the other pseudo intellectual clown princes of Europe and America have forced an early peace with the armies of the night.

We will all pay for it.

The Arab and Muslim terrorists, like the Germans in 1919, now insist they have been wronged and that they will be avenged.

What do you think it will take to change this?

The deep shame that the Germans felt after the 1939-45 war is a long way away from your average Arab Muslim, mired in the conception of himself and his civilisation as ultimate victims.

They kill and blame us for their killing.

They kill us because they keep losing wars with Israel.

They kill us because our cities are nicer than theirs.

They kill us because their culture has contributed nothing to the world.

I hold with Professor Cartman’s view of Nine Eleven.

It was the greatest single act of penis envy in the history of humanity.

Oh, it’s not over.

There will be a second world Jihad war.

And this one will be hell on earth.

(Memo to employees of the Irish Times, Independent Newspapers and other media groups: If you persist in lifting unattributed items from this blog, God will punish you.)

[Note to Mr. Heelers, your link is at the top, thank you for clear writing....granny]

posted by heelers | 7:56 PM

http://israelmilitary.net/showthread.php?t=4251

Why Iran’s Mullahs Must Have the Bomb?

Why Iran’s Mullahs must have the bomb? Because their very survival depends on it; because they know how vastly unpopular they are at home; and because they have absolutely no legitimacy to exist, and the bomb would give them a greater freedom to obliterate the freedom-loving Iranian people with impunity and export their brand of Islam outside Iran’s boundary with carte blanche.

Perhaps the most salient element of wanting to acquire the bomb is what the Ayatollah Khomeini was worried about: the existence of Islam in Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran is consciously aware that once its Islamic Empire falls, Islam will be its first victim, and there aren’t wrong

The ever-conniving mullahs dread the Iranian people. Granted that a small percentage of Iranians, known as the 3Fs—fools, fanatics and frauds—support the mullahs. No totalitarian rule can ever survive without a segment of the population, for one reason or another, supporting it. Yet, time is not on the side of the mullahs. By their mismanagement, thievery and oppression of the masses, they have created explosive internal conditions.They must have the bomb to create a fake sense of security.

The National Intelligence Estimates are designed to alert the president of national security developments and provide guidelines for policy makers. A U.S. source said about the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report on Iran: “It’s a full look at what we know, what we don’t know and what assumptions we have.”

The problem arises about what we don’t know and the accuracy of what we assume we know. Knowing the past and the present behavior of the Islamic regime makes it very hard to believe they have abandoned what seems to be their final card to play. The Islamic Republic cannot possibly live longer than it already has without the bomb.

In dealing with the mullahs ruling Iran, what you see is not what you get, and what you hear is not what they mean. Transparency and honesty are not their strong suit. So, we need a first-rate sleuth to see through their smoke-and-mirrors, as well as beyond their twisted tongues into their warped brains.

The mullahs, however, say to the world (if you are ever foolish enough to trust the word of a people whose religion not only officially condones but recommends taqqyeh—lying—to achieve a higher purpose) they promise, on their Boy Scout’s honor, to limit their nuclear activity to peaceful endeavors under the United Nation’s watchful eye.

In return for their promise, which you cannot even sell at 100% discount, the mullahs demand that the world—led by the Big Dog, the United States of America, and the lesser dogs, the Europeans— give them iron-clad security guarantees.

The bargain that the Allah-fearing and peace-loving mullahs offer makes even the shrewdest Yankee trader strictly amateurish by comparison, one suspects.

The historians have concluded that history is cyclic and unless one learns from its mistakes, we will be doomed to endure an endless repetition of the cause and effect of poor management systems.

Also, the French author Charles Pinot Duclos, observed:

“We see on the theater of the world a certain number of scenes which succeed each other in endless repetition: where we see the same faults followed regularly by the same misfortunes, we may reasonably think that if we could have known the first we might have avoided the others. The past should enlighten us on the future.”

That the “divinely-directed” Mullahs are ruling Iran with rock-solid resolve to carry out their “divine plan” of imposing their brand of Islam on the world with the help of the Bomb is a very scary thought. To frustrate the fanatical Mullahs and defeat their existential threat, we need to understand how their minds work as well as the methods they use to achieve their deadly objective.

There have been many recommendations from the so-called experts. These expert recommendations and a myriad of others suffer from one fundamental flaw: the failure to fully understand and take into account the mindset of the Mullahs, since many of their ideas are based on little more than divining information from the ether while seated comfortably in their ivory tower offices thousands of miles away from the-on-the ground reality where the enemy schemes and operates.

For nearly two decades, the Islamic Republic pursued a clandestine nuclear program. It came partially to light in 2002, mostly through information from exiles, and has led to U.N. inspections, sanctions and a standoff.

The Islamic regime insists its program is for civilian power generation only. That is what they are saying. Nonetheless, Mullahs cannot possibly survive without the bomb. This is the last measure of an exhausted, illegitimate government to exist via deterrence. That is their last card to play. Despite the recent report from NIE, there is absolutely no question that the Mullahs are working around the clock to make the bomb.

This accusation routinely comes almost every day from U.S. officials: Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon, sponsoring terrorism, killing Americans in Iraq and intent on Israel’s destruction.

Yet, some U.S. officials add, the Islamic government will collapse if only given a push. And a little push is exactly what the Iranian people have been craving for nearly 29 years. Yet, there has not been one single push, and now most Iranians seem to be convinced that the U.S. is in cahoots with the Islamic regime, and that the rhetoric coming from the U.S. and its Western allies is simply an orchestrated show of deceit.

President Bush, in a speech at the American Legion’s national convention, on August 28 said, “Iran’s active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust. Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere.”

These Islamists go by their 1400-year-old charter of Allah —the Qur’an— the same charter that they hold in one hand while slashing the throat of an innocent infidel and yelling joyously “Allah is the greatest” the whole time.

And as for Iran’s mullahs’ unyielding drive to acquire the ultimate weapon, it is in obedience to the command of the Quran:

Qur’an 8:59 “The infidels should not think that they can get away from us. Prepare against them whatever arms and weaponry you can muster so that you may terrorize them. They are your enemy and Allah’s enemy.”

And for those who advocate retreating to the safety of “fortress America,” the following warning should dispel their vain hope. Europe is already partly invaded, and America and other infidel lands are next.

For those misguided advocates of working a deal with the Islamic Republic:

The Islamic Republic has been denying and violating a long-suffering people all its human rights. They are guilty of beating, imprisoning and torturing hundreds of women who braved participating in a peaceful demonstration pleading for equal family rights, on the recent International Day of Women.

The regime has systematically beaten, imprisoned, and tortured all manners of citizens, from school teachers to students to union workers, for daring to raise their voices against the plight to which they have subjected them.

The Islamic regime has savagely beat and hauled to its dungeons of torture and death over a thousand of the tens of thousands of teachers who had recently gathered in front of the parliament requesting nothing more than their back pay and living wages.

They have directed systematic genocidal measures against all non-Shi’a religious minorities, with Baha’is as their prime target. They arrest some Christians — whom even their Quran calls “People of the Book” — for observing Christmas.

They have implemented barbaric practices of stoning, hanging and amputations for those who are convicted of crimes in their kangaroo courts without due process. They even imprison those few lawyers who rise in the defense of the innocent.

They have plundered, mismanaged and doled out Iran’s national wealth with the result that the great majority of the people are living in poverty. They have forced the Iranian women into prostitution to survive or simply are sold as sex slaves in Persian Gulf states.

They spend a fortune on the nuclear program that they claim is only aimed for peaceful purposes, while turning Iran into little more than a gas station nation, with its precious oil wealth squandered and its facilities on the verge of collapse through neglect. They have created a suffocating social atmosphere that has driven masses of the people to the use of hard drugs as a way of numbing their pain.

They look far and wide to support any and all terrorists. The Islamic Republic’s delusional theology mandates the creation of horrific conditions in the world so that the Hidden Imam is compelled to appear and establish his rule.

They spared no efforts at sabotaging any settlement between the Palestinians and Israelis. They arm and train all Palestinian factions such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and any and all that come.

They direct similar criminal schemes on their eastern flank, in Afghanistan. They consider any democratic system as the enemy of Islamofascism, and rightfully so. They have worked ceaselessly to expand Iran’s stolen funds, and do all they can in support of Shi’a co-fascists Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Islamic Republic’s hands are dripping with the blood of thousands of Iraqis, victims of its bloodthirsty kin mercenaries aiming to kill a budding democracy in Iraq next door. They have supplied and continue to supply their mercenaries with armor-piercing projectiles for killing and maiming the coalition forces in Iraq. They are cowardly killing by proxy, using these roadside-planted bombs that have taken the lives of hundreds of Americans.

A final quote from the late Ayatollah Khomeini, the founding father of the Islamic Revolution, should suffice since his words are still considered authoritative in Iran:

“We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah. For patriotism is another name for paganism. I say let this land [Iran] burn. I say let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world.”

Now, which words do you still believe in: acquiesce, capitulate, surrender, or just give up?

Egyptian Journalists ‘ Alarmed’ by inter-marriage with Israelis

http://www.adeldarwish.com/?p=20

By Adel Darwish

I read some bizarre features and columns in a couple of Egyptian newspapers on my flight returning from Cairo last Saturday ( Dec 8th), regarding what a handful of Egyptian journalists and columnists regard as an alarming national crisis that would lead to threat to national security in the future, namely a few thousands Egyptians moved to Israel, either to work, or for good especially after marrying Israeli men/women, either Israeli Palestinians (Christians and Muslims) or Israeli Jews.

More...

Almost all the columns were hostile to the idea of an Egyptian man or a woman moving to Israel to work there, and even worse, the columnists lament, marrying an Israel from the opposite sex. Needless to say that a columnist is biased by the very concept of writing a strong opinionated column as he/she is paid to provoke controversy which is general acceptable in journalism ( although a professional Op/Ed page editor should find other columnists arguing the opposite to make fun to say the least, which in this case were absent); but to read a whole page feature, totally unbalance, biased and full of inaccuracies and wrong assumption on the news-pages is rather fascinating.

In a feature ( page 3 al-Ahram Saturday 18 December) a whole page article which I categorise under a Fleet Street expression knows as ‘ Fiskrey’ ( see the origins of the art of fiskrey below).

The fisked feature in Al-Ahram, it brands Egyptians working and living in Israel as traitors, outcasts who have been disowned by their families, friends and the whole nation. The feature ( written by two hacks and one hackette) fails to mention that Egyptian officials and politicians, from police, army, security all the way to the rank of Prime Minister and President, visit Israel and have business to deal with, on daily basis, with their Israeli counterparts, either directly, or via the Egyptian embassy’s and consulates in Israel or the Israeli ones in Cairo. The feature also omits the fact that thousands of Israeli tourists visit Egypt – and many Egyptian Jews returning to visit relatives buried there or pray in old synagogues – and Egyptian tourists visit Israel, especially holy places; and scores of Egyptian and Israeli businessmen visit the two countries all the time, with direct flights between the two.

The reporters who fisked the feature interviewed ‘ worried’ and ‘ ashamed’ families of the condemned men and women working in Israel; former – all former non current- Egyptian intelligence officers- historians, psychiatrics and psycho-analysts a and academics of sociology and psychology (obviously to suggest in the readers mind that for an Egyptian to work in Israel and marry an Israel is (1) a social problems that needs addressing & (2) he or she must be psychologically imbalanced and need treatment, the same old trick of Stalin putting intellectuals and artists who don’t tow the line in mental asylums); and of course, in what has now become normal in many Egyptian newspapers feature, seeking the opinion of the Muslim Church ( al-Azhar) and Muslim scholars, just to also throw in the ‘ takfeeri’ ) apostasy accusation, So in short those working in Israel or moved to Israel are : unpatriotic, traitors, mad and apostates and have become a social problem on the national level that need some action to deal with.

However there is no single quote from any Egyptian working in Israel or married to an Israel or from an Israeli working in Egypt or married to an Egyptians. Hence it was a typical Fiskrey, talking to every one or rather quoting every one – whether met them actually or not is irrelevant- except the people concerned and about whom the feature is written.

So what is actually the problem and the threat this ‘ social’ problem is causing?

The columnists cite Israel’s alleged ill treatment of the Palestinians ( but omitting the fact that there is a peace treaty between the two nations Israel & Palestine, thus this issue is between the two and non of the Egyptains’ business).

But the feature it self list a host of dangers. The Egyptians are recruited in the IDF ( Israeli Defence Forces); Recruiting them by the Mossad ( Israel Secrete Service) to ‘ spy’ on Egypt ( these two accusations are thrown in without any evidence or quoting anybody from Egyptian security services, or mention a single name – i.e. total fiskrey), and the feature failed to detail how an Egyptian married to an Israeli and has now become an outcast ( according to the first few paragraphs of the feature), working as restaurant manager, accountant, irrigation engineer, or a bus driver, can physically spy on Egypt and what kind of information the Mossad will be anxious to know from him/her?

Other dangers to Egyptian National security listed by the feature were: the children of the Israeli wife/husband will inherit their father/mother land and property in Egypt thus taking away land from Egypt that has been free from them since the biblical exodus ( again the feature forgot to mention that Israeli business and shareholders investing in Egypt do actually have land and property their and scores of Egyptian Jews won court cases to recover property confiscated from them by Colonel Nasser).

And that Children of that mixed marriage would have dual nationality with uncertain loyalty to Egypt and of course – the opinion of the Muslism Church- would undermine Islam.

The dangers listed above are called the ‘ reasons’ and ‘ motives’ behind Mossad conspiring to get thousands of Israeli men/women trap gullible Egyptian young men and women to marry them.

There was one reason, however, that the feature left out for Egyptians marrying Israelis, namely human nature and a man and a woman ( regardless of nationality or faith) falling in love and wanting to be together for good !.

Now below is part of a conversation on the telephone between a presenter of a live programme on one Arab TV and an Egyptian working in Haifa and married to an Israel woman, which I have watched in my hotel room in Cairo a fortnight ago- this is not the complete programme and I will leave out the comments of the other guests. I will make no comment of my own, but only to say that from the accent and vocabulary of the Egyptian chap, one concludes that he was not highly educated, and doesn’t come from a well off family, but reasonably intelligent, he was calm, and also became sarcastic when the presenter’s questions became aggressive and suggested he was doing something seen as a treason : ( P is for presenter) and (E) for the Egyptian chap in Haifa.

Presenter: and what are you doing there ?

Egyptian: What do you think I am doing? The same thing you and others do, working here, so I live here.

(P) : Don’t you feel guilty working in Israel?

(E): why should I feel guilty? I would feel guiltier not to seek work any where and live on handout.

(P): I mean guilty about the Palestinians and the way Israel attacks them and knock down their homes and kill them.

(E): This is between the Israelis and the Palestinians they have treaties and peace, you should see thousands of Palestinians here working for Israeli businesses making good living; why should I poke my nose in their business?

(P): many people here would say you are betraying them.

(E) : this is their problem not mine; Egyptian officials including the President visit Israel and work with Israelis, why you always try to burden the little man who is trying to make a simple living and keeps his head down. I cause no trouble to any one, Egyptian, Israelis or Palestinians.

(P): Couldn’t you have got a job in an Arab country?

(E): You mean to work as slave? Have a kafeel ( sponsor who subcontract the foreign worker) to ill treat me, keep my passport in his desk-drawer and I have no rights or protection?

( P) ( Interrupting): Arabs are your brothers and cousins , there might be bad examples but thousands of Egyptians work in Arab countries

(E): Good luck to them, and I hope they get some decent treatment, but here I belong to the union, there is law, I have rights, and I can take my employer to court and get my full rights.

(P): Is this enough to sacrifice your principles and earn the wrath of your family and society?

(E): who told you that? I speak to my relative in Egypt on the phone, my principles are to provide for my family, my wife and child here.

(P): But your child will never be fully Arab, ?

(E): Right my Child is not Arab, he is Egyptian and Israeli citizen. We registered him Egyptian ( he meant in Egyptian consulate) and by right he also has Egyptian nationality and we are proud of this. Can I also remind you that our lord Moses the prophet of god, was Egyptian. If it was good for prophet Moses the Egyptian to cross the sea with the help of god and go to Palestine and Israel it is good enough for me.

__._,_.___

Friday, Dec. 14, 2007

Russian dissenter put in psych hospital

By MIKE ECKEL
- Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW — A Russian opposition activist was committed to a psychiatric
hospital before government protests, supporters said Friday - the
latest
in a series of incidents suggesting a punitive Soviet-era practice is
being revived.

Artem Basyrov, 20, was detained by two plainclothes officers and
ordered
held in a hospital in the central region of Mari El on Nov. 23, a day
before a planned demonstration, said Alexander Averin, of the
opposition
National Bolshevik Party.

The party is part of the Other Russia coalition, which organized the
so-called “Dissenters Marches” around Russia. Basyrov had run for the
local legislature as an Other Russia candidate.

A local psychiatric board agreed with police, who alleged that Basyrov
had assaulted a girl, and concluded he was suffering from some mental
illness. Basyrov was finally transferred from an isolation ward and
allowed to have visitors on Thursday, said Mikhail Klyuzhev, a National

Bolshevik member from the city of Yoshkar-Ola.

Basyrov was still being held in the hospital Friday.

Klyuzhev called the allegations “idiocy.”

“It’s all part of the hysteria before the elections,” he said. Russia
held its parliamentary vote Dec. 2, and will hold its presidential
contest in March.

Prosecutors and other officials in Mari El could not be immediately
reached for comment.

Supporters said Basyrov did not appear to have been mistreated. Another

psychiatric board was slated to review Basyrov’s case at the end of the

month, Klyuzhev said.

His case is the latest example of journalists or opposition activists
being involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals. During the
Soviet era, dissidents were frequently committed as punishment for
protesting Soviet policies.

Last week, Reporters Without Borders said Andrei Novikov, a reporter
for
a news service connected with Chechen separatist government, had been
released after nine months in a psychiatric hospital.

This summer, Larisa Arap, an Other Russia activist and journalist,
spent
six weeks in a psychiatric clinic; supporters said it was punishment
for
her critical reporting.

The Global Initiative on Psychiatry, a Dutch watchdog group, says
psychiatry continues to be used for punitive, political purposes in
Russia.

To visit group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/

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