english issue 36

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Charles E. Carlson Article p.5 5

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English Section

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Issue No. 36

Jan 27 - Feb 16 , 2012

Moeed Abdul Salam from US private school student to al-Qaida agent Motive unknown in Iranian student activist’s death

HOUSTON (AP) — As a new American resident, Gelareh Bagherzadeh frequently embraced her freedom to speak critically about human rights policies in her native Iran, but friends and family members said they never knew her peaceful activism to attract any enemies. That’s why, like investigators, they’ve been at a loss for answers since Bagherzadeh was found shot to death last weekend in her car.

The motor was still running and her wallet and cellphone were still by her side after the vehicle crashed into a garage door in the upscale Houston townhome complex where she and her parents lived. “There are people that believe any outspokenness can be risky behavior.

That’s not my opinion here,” said Fiona Lonsdale, who knew

Bagherzadeh from a Persian Christian group at their Baptist church in Houston. “I think it’s more of an act of violence that no one can explain.” The fatal shooting remains surrounded by mystery in part because nothing was taken from the vehicle, though authorities haven’t ruled out the possibility it could have been a botched robbery. They also haven’t found any evidence suggesting she was targeted for her nationality or activism. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “I can’t think of any enemy, anybody that would hurt her, because she has always been peaceful and just tried to bring peace to this community and this society,” he said Wednesday at a Crime Stoppers news conference. The 30-year-old was active with SabzHouston, a Houston-based group formed to protest the current Iranian government after its 2009 elections. She was an outspoken supporter of women’s rights in her home country and had recently converted from Islam to Christianity just like many other green movment supporters. Lonsdale and several other friends said they didn’t believe Bagherzadeh’s activism was connected with her death.

‫ﺷﺮﻳﻒ ﻟﻠﻬﺠﺮﺓ ﻭ ﺍﻟﺘﺮﺟﻤﺔ‬

‫ ﻣﺘﺎﺑﻌﺔ‬،‫ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﺋﻠﺔ‬،‫ ﺍﻟﺰﻭﺍﺝ‬،‫ﺍﻟﺠﻨﺴﻴﺔ ﻭ ﻣﺸﺎﻛﻠﻬﺎ‬ ‫ ﺗﺼﺪﻳﻖ‬،‫ ﺗﺮﺟﻤﺔ ﻟﻌﺪﺓ ﻟﻐﺎﺕ‬،‫ﺍﻟﺤﺎﻻﺕ‬ ‫ ﺭﺧﺺ ﺍﻟﻘﻴﺎﺩﺓ‬،‫ ﺍﻟﻘﺮﻋﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺸﻮﺍﺋﻴﺔ‬،‫ﻭﻛﺎﻻﺕ‬ ‫ ﺍﻟﺘﻌﺎﻣﻞ ﻣﻊ ﺍﻟﺴﻔﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﺍﻷﻣﺮﻳﻜﻴﺔ‬،‫ﺍﻟﺪﻭﻟﻴﺔ‬

Almashreq- Moeed Abdul Salam didn’t descend into radical Islam for lack of other options. He grew up in a well-off Texas household, attended a pricey boarding school and graduated from one of the state’s most respected universities. But the most unlikely thing about his recruitment was his family: Two generations had spent years promoting interfaith harmony and combating Muslim stereotypes in their hometown and even on national television. Salam rejected his relatives’ moderate faith and comfortable life, choosing instead a path that led him to work for al-Qaida. His odyssey ended late last year in a mid‫ﺇﻓﺘﺘﺎﺡ ﺍﻟﻔﺮﻉ ﺍﻟﺠﺪﻳﺪ ﻝ‬ dle-of-the-night explosion in Pakistan.

The 37-year-old father of four was dead after paramilitary troops stormed his apartment. Officers said Salam committed suicide with a grenade. An ‫ﺗﺸﻜﻴﻠﺔ ﻭﺍﺳﻌﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺃﺟﻤﻞ ﻭﺃﻓﺨﻢ ﺍﻟﻤﺠﻮﻫﺮﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﺸﺮﻗﻴﺔ‬ The largest collection of oriental & Middle Eastrn Jewelry Islamic media group said the troops killed him.

Continue on page 7……

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Jan 27 - Feb 16 , 2012

Entertainment & Sports Muhammad Ali cheered at 70th birthday bash in Ky.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Muhammad Ali soaked in familiar cheers and chants along with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” on Saturday night as friends and admirers celebrated the boxing champ’s coming 70th birthday at a party in his Kentucky hometown. As party-goers mingled in a lobby of the Muhammad Ali Center before the party, Ali walked slowly to a secondfloor balcony overlooking them. The crowd immediately began to clap, then broke into chants of “Ali! Ali!” followed by singing as Ali watched for about two minutes. The three-time world heavyweight champion, who is battling Parkinson’s disease, leaned against a rail and raised his right hand to wave to the crowd. Ali walked on his own but was at times assisted by his wife, Lonnie, and his sister-in-law. After the brief appearance, Ali went to his party. Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said his boyhood idol is “still the greatest.” “I feel so proud and honored that we’re able to show our feelings and show our support for him,” Lewis said.

Lewis said Ali’s strength and influence extended far beyond the boxing ring in his humanitarian efforts. “What he’s done outside the ring — just the bravery, the poise, the feeling, the sacrifice,” Lewis said “... He’s truly a great man.” The guest list numbered 350 for the private party, which doubled as a $1,000-per-person fundraiser for the Ali Center, the six-year-old cultural and education complex designed to be a legacy to his social activism. The six-story center also retraces Ali’s career, including his epic bouts

against Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Sonny Liston. Guests paid tribute to Ali beforehand.

“The reason I loved him is because of his confidence,” University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari said. “He would talk and then back it up. He had great courage and who had more fun than him?” The guest list also included Ali’s trainer Angelo Dundee and three American hikers who were imprisoned in Iran.

Ali, perhaps the most prominent U.S. Muslim, lobbied for their release. Rocker John Mellencamp headlined the entertainment. Dundee, who traveled from Clearwater, Fla., to attend the celebration, said he hears from Ali about once a month. “We’re like family,” Dundee told The Courier-Journal of Louisville. “We’ve always been family and we’re always going to be family. He’ll say, ‘Angie, I want to come and train.

That’s what I miss the most. Being in the gym.

Working up a sweat.’” “I’ll say, ‘Me, too, kid.

Me, too. We can’t do that. But what I can do is make sure you know that I love you.’ “ Ali turns 70 on Tuesday, and the party in his hometown is the first of five planned in the next few months.

Not long after Ali’s dramatic appearance on the balcony, the crowd began filing into a banquet hall for the party, which was closed to the public and reporters. The self-proclaimed “Greatest of All Time” remains one of the world’s most recognizable figures, even though he’s been largely absent from the public eye recently as he fights Parkinson’s disease. Lonnie Ali said Friday that her husband has mixed feelings about the landmark birthday. “He’s glad he’s here to turn 70, but he wants to be reassured he doesn’t look 70,” she said. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on Jan. 17, 1942, Ali took up boxing at age 12, when his bike was stolen and he wanted to find and whip the culprit. The boy was introduced to Joe Martin, a police officer who coached boxing at a local gym. Ali’s brother, 68-year-old Rahaman Ali, recalled on Saturday night that the champ was cheerful and happy as a youngster.

“As a little boy he (said) he would be the world’s greatest fighter and be a great man,” he said.

Lit fest cancels Rushdie video, fearing violence JAIPUR, India (AP) — An Indian literary festival canceled a video conference with author Salman Rushdie days after he called off a personal appearance due to protests and threats.

Festival organizers decided to cancel the video address to avoid violence by Muslim activists gathered at the Jaipur Literary Festival, an organizer, Sanjoy Roy, said. “We have been pushed to the wall. ... Earlier today, a number of organisations came to us and threatened violence,” Roy said. Rushdie said he called off his trip after police told him of a possible assassination threat. He planned a video conference instead, but Roy said the organizers had been threatened with violence if they went ahead with the video link. Rushdie’s works include the Booker Prizewinning “Midnight’s Children” and “The Satanic Verses,” which some Muslims consider blasphemous. Scores of protesters crowded the tent where hundreds of festival participants had gathered for the video conference.

3

Jokes Only in America...can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance...

Only in America...are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink...

Only in America...do people order double cheese burgers, a large fry, and a diet coke...

Only in America...do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters...

Only in America...do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and leave useless things and junk in boxes in the garage...

Only in America...do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won’t miss a call from someone we didn’t want to talk to in the first place...

Only in America...do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight...

Only in America...do we use the word “politics” to describe the process so well: “Poli” in latin meaning “many” and “tics” meaning “blood-sucking creatures”...

An American tourist in Moscow found himself needing to get rid of a large supply of garbage from his recent stay at an apartment. After a long search, he just couldn’t find any place to discard of it. So, he just went down one of the side streets to dump it there.

Yet, he was stopped by a Moscow police officer, who said, “Hey you, what are you doing?”

“I have to throw this away,” replied the tourist.

“You can’t throw it away here. Look, follow me,” the policeman offered.

The police officer led him to a beautiful garden with lots of grass, pretty flowers, and manicured hedges.

“Here,” said the cop, “dump all the garbage you want.”

The American shrugs, opens up the large bags of garbage, and dumps them right on the flowers.

“Thanks for giving me a place to dump this stuff. This is very nice of you. Is this Russian courtesy?” asked the tourist.

“No. This is the American Embassy.”

There was a blonde driving down the road listening to the radio. The announcer was telling blonde joke after blonde joke until the blonde was so mad that she turned her radio off. A mile down the road, she saw another blonde out in a corn field in a boat rowing. The blonde stopped her car jumped out and yelled, “It’s blondes like you that give us all a bad name. If I could swim I’d come out there and give you what’s coming to you!”

‘Garbage Dreams’ shown at Arab American museum DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — A documentary about people in Cairo who make their living processing other people’s garbage is being screened and discussed at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. The showing of “Garbage Dreams” starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and is free of charge. “Garbage Dreams” was released in 2009. After the movie, there will be a panel discussion with area environmentalists Matthew Naimi of Recycle Here, Margaret Weber of Rosedale Recycles and Zero Waste Detroit, and Rhonda Anderson of the Sierra Club’s Detroit office.

Review: ‘Man on a Ledge’ teeters on brink of blah The so-called thriller “Man on a Ledge,” about a disgraced cop who threatens to jump off a building to divert attention from a heist going on across the street, isn’t even implausible in a fun way.

You see a movie like “Ocean’s 11” or “Tower Heist” (which is thematically similar to this with its wily have-nots stealing from the filthy-rich haves) and you suspend some disbelief because they have an irresistible, knowingly giddy energy about them. “Man on a Ledge” is so cliched and reheated, it almost feels like a parody of a generic action picture — only no one seems to be in on the joke. Director Asger Leth’s film plods along in workmanlike fashion with its trash-talking New York cops and its forensic evidence and its elaborate surveillance systems. Every few minutes, a new star you recognize shows up: Anthony Mackie, Edward Burns, Elizabeth Banks, Kyra Sedgwick, Ed Harris. Sometimes Leth points his camera through a hotel-room window and straight down to the ground below, just to provide a little rush of vertigo. At the center of all this is a bland Sam Worthington doing a horrible job of disguising his Australian accent.

Cooking & Recipes Mujaddara Arabic Lentil Rice • • • • • • • • • • •

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed 2 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon garlic powder 3/4 cup white rice, rinsed 3/4 cup water 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup vegetable oil 3 white onions, sliced into 1/4-inch rings

Ghoraiybah • • • • •

1 cup butter, softened 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 12 almonds, split (optional)

www.almashreqonline.com

Directions: 1. Combine the lentils, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, the cumin, and garlic powder in a pot over medium heat; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook until the lentils begin to soften, 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Stir the rice, 3/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt, and the olive oil into the lentils. Cover the pot and continue cooking until the lentils and rice are tender, about 40 minutes.

3. Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the onions in the oil until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Spread the onions over the rice and lentil mixture to serve.

Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in flour and cardamom until well blended. Pinch off tablespoonfuls of dough, and roll into a thin rope. Join the ends together in a circle, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Place almond halves on the joints where the circles come together.

3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.

The cookies should remain white, but may turn golden at the very edge.

4

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• • • • •

Jan 27 - Feb 16 , 2012

Articles The Ethanol Racket Cost Average Family $5500.00 in Six Years This is our Chance to end the Corn Ethanol Racket. Congress has dodged a debate on corn ethanol and allowed subsidies of $.45 per gallon to the Corn Ethanol Racketeers, costing consumers six billion dollars a year, to expire. A protectionist import tariff of $.55 per gallon, meaning we can not benefit from cheaper Brazilian ethanol also expired. Subsidies are the frosting on the cake, we need to bury the cake.

Congress will not admit it, but they are the very people who places this obscene burden upon us in the first place, and they hope we won’t notice. Our food costs remain at the mercy of The Corn Ethanol Racketeers, and the core of the racket is the “Mandates” Congress imposed on us that each one of us must use ethanol in our car. Fortunately many are now complaining that these mandates destroys our food supply and forces prices of most foods, from oatmeal to steak, much higher. A January 24 story in Business Weeks quotes a top United Nations official in charge of feeding hungry people on a budget, who says: “The U.S. policy to produce ethanol biofuel from corn is raising prices for the grain across the world, said Jose Graziano da Silva, the new director general of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization...“Food security comes first, that is the rule,” the FAO head said. “The position we have right now in FAO is that cereals should not be used for biofuels production.” Mr. Graziano goes on, “Corn futures closed at $6.115 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Jan. 20, almost triple the $2.1175 a bushel for the grain a decade ago. Part of the U.S. corn production is used to make ethanol for blending into gasoline as a fuel...” Fortunately there are now dozens of environmental groups who, for the first time, also oppose burning corn to make fuel because ethanol has absolutely no value in cleaning the atmosphere of “green

house gasses, preserving the polar ice cap, or preventing global warming. Both Al Gore and the Friends of the Earth, perhaps the largest environmentalist organizations in the world, have recently switched to we consumer’s side. They oppose corn ethanol! If we are not active and vigilant we will squander the chance to get ethanol out of our gas tanks for good. To do so, you need to think of the ethanol mandates a “racket” that must go. And millions of less fortunate people who live on cheap grain imports are certain... yes, I mean certain, to starve. Those who run the ethanol racket are not innocent, they are smart businessmen who know how to remain on very good terms with your Congressman. Please ask your friends to join you opposing any federal requirement that forces you to use one gallon of ethanol for any purpose, including burning it in your car. Free market economists dictate that high prices will eventually result in oversupply which will in turn and in time bring lower prices. This is an economic truism, except where a government-enforced monopoly controls food prices. The Ethanol Racket is that monopoly. Natural market forces can no longer work in the food market, because the demand for the most abundant commodity, corn, has been manipulated to be insatiable.

We are forced to buy more and more ethanol every year regardless of its price, so the price of grain cannot go down, there will always be a shortage. Mandates, subsidies, and “incentives” kept the E-racketeers in business while they built and financed their hundreds of giant plants, all-consuming food corn. One example of how outrageous these incentives are is revealed by petroleum engineer Russell Walker, who has kept tabs on a neighboring ethanol plant in Hoke County, North Carolina. In 2010-11 the plant was built at a cost of $100 million, and in mid-year 2011 it went out of business. It has already declared bankruptcy. The losers are the county that donated valuable land, the investors, and the taxpayer who provided vast, but well-hidden “incentives” to build the otherwise useless plant. In this report, I have set out to make a simple estimate of the out-of-pocket cost of the Ethanol Racket for a small, but hungry, family. I estimate, (A) the cost of escalated food prices that can be reasonably attributed to the corn/ethanol racket, (B) the taxpayer share of the ethanol subsidy, and (C) the cost of poor mileage from ethanol use. Not included is the indirect taxpayer’s cost of elevated taxes to pay for subsidies and admin-

I do and I remember Recent research shows that college physics classes taught with group discussions fared better on tests than those taught the traditional way – through lectures. I wonder that they needed a study for that piece of knowledge. In preschools, kindergartens, elementary and high schools across the countries, teachers have been drilled in the methodologies of teaching, with constructive, self-guided, group and just about any other method beating the time-honored style: lecturing. It is only in higher education circles that this has not yet caught on. Montessori educators love to say that Confucius supposedly said, “I hear and I forget. I see and I understand. I do and I remember.” Indeed, if you walk in any Montessori classroom filled with 3-6 year-olds, you will see them touching, moving, doing, and walking. None of them does any homework. All of them

learn. Indeed, the learning is almost palpable. As children grow older and move up the education system, less and less of that selfdirected learning occurs. Teachers are more often than not burdened with meeting standards, following curricula, writing lesson plans that align to standards, writing tests, attending professional development sessions, grading papers, preparing reports, and so on. They don’t have time to think about whether their students are actually learning anything. By the time they reach college, most instructors are experts in their field, but not in education.

Supposedly, students should be well-versed by then in the art and science of how to learn. Therefore, college professors should not have to waste their time designing lesson plans that enhance understanding and remembering. Unfortunately, the way this educational system works, it seems that the majority of students do not know yet how to learn on their own in an efficient way, even by senior year of college. At ASU, the drop out rate after freshman year exceeds 50% (some years reaching 65%). What remains is again trimmed every year. The first time I attended a parent orientation at ASU, we were offered a session on “how to make it in four”. I had to ask what that meant. It meant “how to graduate in

Apple juggernaut gets little investor respect NEW YORK (AP) — Apple is worth $415 billion, putting it neck and neck with Exxon Mobil as the world’s most valuable company.

But by standard Wall Street measures, its stock is a bargain. Why aren’t investors giving the company full credit for its enormous profits and staggering growth? There’s a big discrepancy between Apple’s earnings and its stock price, and it became even more glaring on Tuesday, when the company reported results for its latest quarter. The well-managed launch of the iPhone 4S and the ever growing popularity of Apple products around the world conspired to send earnings and sales zooming past analyst estimates. Apple’s sales were $46.3 billion in the quarter that ended Dec. 31, up 73 percent from a year ago. That’s more than twice the revenue of its old nemesis, Microsoft Corp. Net income grew 118 percent to $13.06 billion. That’s more than Google Inc.’s revenue for the quarter. Investors cheered —sort of. Apple’s stock rose 6 percent Wednesday, hitting a new all-time high of $454.45. But analysts who do the math find that, based on the earnings expected this year, the stock should be trading much higher. Before the earnings report, 45 Wall Street analysts who follow the company believed, on average, that Apple should be worth about $556 per share. After the report, the analysts rushed to raise their estimates, some as high as $650. That means Apple shares trade at a discount of 25 percent to 50 percent compared to its projected earnings for the coming year. “This isn’t supposed to be happening to a company

of this size,” said David Rolfe, chief investment officer at Wedgewood Partners Inc., manages a $150 million fund where Apple is the largest component. “In our collective investment experience, none of us have ever seen this before.”

There are two main reasons for the missing hundred-dollar bills in Apple’s stock price. One is Apple’s policy of hoarding the cash it makes, like a dragon resting on a pile of gold. It doesn’t share any with investors through dividends or buybacks, like many other companies do. The policy is all the more striking when you consider the size of the cash pile: $97.6 billion. That’s enough for a $100 special dividend for every Apple share. For years, analysts have been pressing Apple for a plan to do something with the cash. The company’s standard response has been that the cash gives it flexibility to buy other companies and strike long-term supply deals.

But on a post-report conference call with analysts on Tuesday, chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer hinted that a change might be in the air, saying the board is in “active” discussions about what to do with the cash. “I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a dividend by the end of calendar-2012,” said Michael Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity. The dividend would be important, not so much because it would directly reward shareholders, he said, but because it might vastly expand the number of investment funds that would be allowed to buy Apple stock. Growth-oriented funds already own a lot of Apple shares, and can’t stomach any more.

Fed: Slightly lower growth, unemployment in 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has slightly reduced its outlook for U.S. economic growth this year but is a little more optimistic about the unemployment rate. The Fed expects the economy to grow between 2.2 percent and 2.7 percent in 2012, according to its updated economic forecasts released Wednesday.

That’s down from November’s forecast of between 2.5 percent and 2.9 percent. Many economists expect Europe will suffer a recession this year, which will slow U.S. growth. Earlier Wednesday, the Fed noted the weak but growing economy when it said it doesn’t plan to raise its benchmark interest rate until late 2014.

And some members wanted to push that back even further, according to new interest rate projections released with the quarterly forecasts. Still, the Fed said it expects unemployment to fall low as 8.2 percent. That’s an improvement from November’s bottom rate of 8.5 percent. In December, the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent — the lowest level in nearly three years — after the sixth

straight month of solid hiring. Inflation has been relatively tame and the Fed doesn’t see that changing over the next three years.

And for the first time, the Fed offered an official target for inflation — 2 percent — in a statement of its long-term policy goals.

It had previously indicated that inflation between 1.7 percent and 2 percent was acceptable. The Fed did not specify a target for unemployment. But it said that unemployment between 5.2 percent and 6 percent would be consistent with its goal for a healthy economy. The updated quarterly forecasts also showed that some Fed members wanted to extend the period of record-low interest rates beyond 2014. Eleven of the 17 members said they don’t see interest rates rising until at least 2015. Only 10 members have a vote on the policy committee. The Fed said record-low rates are still needed to help boost an improving but still sluggish economy.

The extended timeframe is a shift from the Fed’s previous plan to keep the rate low at least until mid-2013. The economy is looking

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Charles E. Carlson istration at the federal level. A family of three or four, with one car and a short commuter drive to work, has suffered an estimated cost of some $5500 in the six years since ethanol production exploded, to affect food prices. A more detailed calculation of how I arrived at this number is arrived at is available on the whtt.org website. The biggest part of the $926, per year that ethanol costs you, is in the prices of cereal grains like wheat and corn, meat, and manufactured products made from cereals and meat. Milk has also just begun to rise. Other factors are the subsidy (now gone) and the lost mileage from burning 10% ethanol, which get you about 1/3 less miles per gallon compared to petrochemical hydrocarbon gasoline. The beneficiaries of the ethanol racket include corn farmers, fuel distributors and blenders who are often big oil, and ethanol processors, plus any who have a new job in these new industries. No one else benefits, especially not the environment. Ethanol actually wastes energy, rather than producing it. In the process, it destroys food that is desperately needed to preserve life. The ethanol racketeers claim they employ 90,000 people. Bernard Madoff also had a payroll and kept accountants and brokers and lawyers. Madoff, now in jail, is a piker, compared to the Corn-Ethanol Racket. It is fair to say that most voices that still support the destruction of corn and other foods to make fuel are those who benefit financially from doing so. Congress has given the President outrageous latitude, administered through his appointed Director of the Environmental Protection Agency and Secretary of Agriculture. President Obama can, but will not, end the use of corn to make fuel with a wave of his hand any time through his Director of the EPA. Congress can also kill for good the Corn-Ethanol Racket, but only by repealing outright the law called (RFS). Renewable Fuel Standard legislation was passed

by Congress. I believe they now know they were wrong, but they will have to turn on major contributors to kill the Mandates. They need to hear from a lot of consumers. To learn more I suggest you search out our own original story Corn-to-Ethanol: US Agribusiness Magic Path To A World Food Monopoly. We who have fought the corn ethanol racket through education have moved a mountain one inch by eliminating subsidies. Let us now move it a mile! Please do your part. Kill Ethanol Mandates Now. whtt.org

Dr. Fawzia Tung four years”. That was a surprise. Weren’t all students supposed to graduate in four years? Apparently not. Such a large number do not make it in four, that a program had to be put in place to help students do so. Parents today spend a lot of time selecting a good university; and they also are willing to spend a lot of money on their children’s college career. However, it is more important to spend that time, energy and money on their early education all the way to high school. If children have a solid, well-rounded knowledge base, master study skills, are fluent in at least two languages, have in-depth knowledge of at least two subjects, are physically fit and healthy, develop a great character, and regularly work in the community, then you will not need to spend money on their college career. Scholarships will seek them out. Once in university, they will not only make it in four, they will make it in two or three, with maybe a double major upon graduation. They will have a large choice of great post-graduate programs to apply to. Awards will rain on them. Your main worry as a parent will be to make sure they slow down and take time to smell the flowers. Parents, I cannot stress it enough. Build the basics!

PETER SVENSSON Apple has “run out of room,” in the words of analyst Toni Sacconaghi at Sanford Bernstein. Meanwhile, value-oriented funds have rules against buying companies that don’t pay dividends, and own few Apple shares, he said. He, too, thinks it’s likely that Apple will institute a dividend, which would raise the stock price by broadening the range of funds that will own Apple. The other main reason for the low stock price appears to be that Apple has grown so big, so fast. Investors and analysts have refused to believe that a company of that size can grow at an annual rate of 73 percent, like it did in the latest quarter. Wall Street analysts have been “woefully conservative on Apple,” Rolfe said. “The mantra has been: Hey, a company this size just cannot keep growing at these unbelievable rates.” Scott Sutherland, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan, does believe Apple’s earnings growth will slow. But even if today’s breakneck pace can’t hold up, and growth moderates to 21 percent per year, the shares are still worth $585, he said. There’s no sign of growth slowing this year, however. Apple is expected to launch the iPad 3 in a few months, and perhaps a TV set some time this year.

This summer, analysts expect an iPhone with a new look and the ability to use Verizon Wireless’ and AT&T Inc.’s new high-speed “LTE” data networks. That would be the biggest iPhone launch in years, Sutherland said. “It will crush the iPhone 4S launch,” he said.

MARTIN CRUTSINGER a little better, according to recent private and government data.

Companies are hiring more, the stock market is rising, factories are busy and more people are buying cars. Even the home market is showing slight gains after three dismal years. Still, the threat of a recession in Europe is likely to drag on the global economy. And another year of weak wage gains in the United States could force consumers to pull back on spending, which would slow growth.

Private economists forecast that the nation’s economy to grow just 2 percent in the first three months of the year, in part because of the recession in Europe. For the year, they expect growth of 2.4 percent, according to a survey by the Associated Press. That’s sluggish for a recovery. But it is better than last year’s likely pace of below 2 percent.

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Jan 27 - Feb 16 , 2012

National

FBI: Jailed terror plotter wanted witnesses slain

3 men in NC terror ring get 15-45 years in prison

Hysen Sherifi, 27, will serve 45 years in prison; Ziyad Yaghi, 23, got nearly 32 years; and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 24, was sentenced to 15 years.

NEW BERN, N.C. (AP) — Three members of a home-grown terror ring who conspired to attack the Quantico U.S. Marine Corps base and foreign targets were sentenced Friday to between 15 and 45 years in federal prison. Hysen Sherifi, 27, will serve 45 years in prison; Ziyad Yaghi, 23, got nearly 32 years; and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 24, was sentenced to 15 years. They faced the possibility of life in prison. Each said they would appeal their convictions and claimed innocence. Dozens of members of Raleigh’s Muslim community made the five-hour round-trip to coastal New Bern to witness the hearing for the men who supporters believe were unjustly convicted. Defense attorneys argued for lesser sentences since the men were convicted of discussing terrorism rather than committing terrorist acts. “I believe I am innocent. There was no conspiracy,” said Serifi, who called his guilty verdict unfair and prosecutors tyrants. But U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan said the men went beyond talk to planning violence. Yaghi was a “selfstarter” in pursuing holy war against those deemed un-Islamic and brought several potential jihadi recruits to ringleader Daniel Patrick Boyd, whose rural Johnston County home was a warehouse of weapons, Flanagan said.

Yaghi traveled to Jordan and Israel to look for avenues to join other

militants and to scout targets for an attack. Sherifi discussed an attack on the Quantico, Va., Marine Corps base with Boyd, a Muslim convert who had lived on the base as a child with his Marine officer father. Hassan used his Facebook account and Internet forums to post his own comments and videos by others encouraging Muslims to fight nonbelievers and Muslims who did not agree with their desire to establish mandatory religious law, prosecutors said.

Hassan also attempted to contact Anwar Al-Awlaki, an Americanborn Muslim preacher and al-Qaida propagandist, and emailed a co-conspirator a copy of Al-Awlaki’s tract “44 ways to support Jihad,” Flanagan said. Al-Awlaki was killed by an American airstrike in September in the mountains of Yemen. “You willingly became part of the Internet propaganda machine that is a canker on this world,” Flanagan said. “You were prey, and a component, of something that was incredibly harmful and destructive.” The trio is among eight men who federal investigators say raised money, stockpiled weapons and trained in preparation for jihadist attacks.

The plot “had a specific purpose — to inspire others to adhere to radical Islam and if you did not you were fair game,” prosecutor Jason Kellhofer said.

Hassan called his actions stupid, but not a crime.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man sentenced to prison recently as part of a homegrown terrorist ring has been accused in a federal court document of plotting to kill witnesses who testified against him at trial. An affidavit unsealed in federal court Monday accuses Hysen Sherifi of plotting against the witnesses from his jail cell. Authorities say an FBI informant posing as a hit man met with Sherifi’s brother and a female friend and accepted $5,000 and a photo of an intended victim. FBI agents have arrested the brother, Shkumbin Sherifi, and Nevine Aly Elshiekh, a school teacher.

Now in federal custody at the New Hanover County Jail, each is charged with a felony count of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. Hysen Sherifi, 27, was sentenced to 45 years in prison earlier this month in what prosecutors described as a conspiracy to attack the Marine base at Quantico, Va., and targets abroad.

Five others, including construction contractor Daniel Patrick Boyd, have been sentenced to federal prison terms for terrorism charges related to

raising money, stockpiling weapons and training in preparation for jihadist attacks. No charges have been filed at this time against Hysen Sherifi related to the new plot, according to a search of a federal court database. Shkumbin Sherifi and Elshiekh await a scheduled first appearance Friday in federal court in Wilmington. The two have applied for court appointed lawyers, who have not yet been assigned. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh has released no information about those arrested. In a 10-page affidavit filed under seal Friday, FBI Special Agent James Langtry writes that he developed a source as a confidential informant inside the New Hanover County Jail near Wilmington, where Hysen Sherifi was sent after a jury convicted him in October. The informant soon befriended Sherifi, who requested help in hiring someone to kill three people who had testified against him at his trial, according to the affidavit.

Sherifi specified that he wanted the witnesses beheaded and that he would be provided photos of the severed heads as confirmation of the deaths, ac-

Re:Shkumbin Sherifi, and Nevine Aly Elshiekh case

cording to the document. FBI agents said in the document that they arranged for a second informant to pose as a hit man and monitored Sherifi during a series of jailhouse visits with Elshiekh. Following a Dec. 21 visit at the jail, Elshiekh left a voicemail on the fake hit man’s cell phone, identifying herself as “Hysen Sherifi’s friend,” according to the affidavit. It added that the FBI observed and recorded subsequent meetings between Elshiekh and the fake hit man, during which she provided names, addresses and photos of those targeted and $750 in cash toward the first murder. Agents also observed Elshiekh meeting with Shkumbin Sherifi, who met with the FBI’s fake hitman on Jan. 8, the court document said. According to the affidavit, the brother traveled from Raleigh to Wilmington to provide the hit man another $4,250 in cash. The affidavit provides no information about the nature of the relationship between Hysen Sherifi and Elshiekh, but a woman with that same name was quoted in media reports from last year’s terrorism trial in New Bern.

The names of the witnesses al-

legedly targeted were redacted from the affidavit. Nevine Elshiekh is listed as a special education teacher on the website for Sterling Montessori Academy, a charter school in Mooresville. Bill Zajic, the school’s executive director, did not return a message from the Associated Press on Tuesday.

No one answered the phone at Elshiekh’s Raleigh home Tuesday. The Sherifi brothers and other family members emigrated from Kosovo following the wars that ravaged the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. A call to the Sherifi family home in Raleigh on Tuesday was not returned. Hysen Sherifi and others arrested in the terrorism conspiracy were members of the Islamic Association of Raleigh, the largest Muslim congregation in the Triangle. Several members of the mosque also routinely made the 4-hour round trip for the trial in New Bern to support the accused, who they described as innocent men being railroaded by overzealous federal authorities. Messages to the media contact listed for the mosque were not returned.

Muslim who claims harassment sues Conn. university Friends: Fla. bomb plot suspect was radical NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A Muslim woman is suing the University of Bridgeport, alleging that the school failed to investigate her claims that a fellow student sexually harassed her and instead retaliated by reporting her to the FBI based on a false claim that she was a terrorist. Balayla Ahmad filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday saying that she was sexually harassed by a male student for months in 2009 and that university officials showed “deliberate indifference” to her repeated complaints. She said college officials recklessly disseminated false accusations by the harasser that they had good reason to believe were unreliable and threatened her with arrest by the FBI. Leslie Geary, a university spokeswoman, said that the university hadn’t seen the lawsuit and that she couldn’t comment on pending litigation. Ahmad’s lawyer, Bradford Conover, noted that his client is an observant black Muslim who regularly wears a hijab, the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women, so her religion was obvious. “I think, because of that, she ended up getting targeted based on some reckless accusations against her, and they completely dropped the ball on the sexual harassment,” Conover said. “They never investigated it.

Had they done so, they would have discovered the accusations against her were false and she had been subject to sexual harassment.” The threat of an FBI inves-

tigation frightened Ahmad to the point that was initially in fear of even leaving her apartment, Conover said. “Since her academic dismissal from UB, she has suffered the humiliation and the emotional stress of having been unfairly profiled and targeted and of not being able to pursue her chosen career in medicine,” he said in a statement. After received her master’s degree from Central Michigan University, Ahmad enrolled in the University of Bridgeport in 2008 and studied to become a chiropractor. The male student, who isn’t a defendant in the lawsuit, repeatedly made sexual advances and graphic offensive comments about wanting to have sex with her, according to the lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

When she complained to a teacher, she was told that the university generally doesn’t get rid of students right away over such incidents, the lawsuit said. Ahmad then reported the harassment and fears for her safety to the university’s president and dean, who promised to meet with her. But she said when she met with the dean, he said, “My hands are tied.

What do you suggest I do?”

After reporting the sexual harassment in April 2009, Ahmad said she was approached by two university security directors who told her someone had made allegations against her and they threatened to call the FBI and have her arrested.

Bomb plot suspect rails against Christians, Jews ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A man accused of plotting to attack Tampa, Fla.-area nightclubs and a sheriff’s office with bombs and guns also railed against Christians, Jews and Western living in videos he posted online. Authorities say 25-yearold Sami Osmakac, who was arrested Monday, identifies himself as Muslim and wanted to avenge wrongs done to Muslims. Osmakac is a naturalized American citizen born in Kosovo, which was

then part of the former Yugoslavia in eastern Europe. The videos posted by Osmakac appear to have been filmed around downtown Tampa. A spokesman from the Tampa office from the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Monday that Osmakac did not appear to know much about the Koran’s teaching. CAIR and federal authorities say the area’s Muslim community helped law enforcement with information about Osmakac’s militant views.

Muslim, loner

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Kosovo-born American citizen accused of plotting bomb attacks around Tampa was a loner who had grown increasingly radical in his Muslim faith and publicly railed against Jews and Christians in videos he posted on the Internet, according to relatives and friends.

Sami Osmakac’s life in the U.S. began about a dozen years ago, when he was 13 and his family immigrated to the U.S., according to a video he posted on YouTube. Those who know Osmakac said he mostly kept to himself as a high school student who loved rap music and rapped about bombs and killing in a song he made with a friend. As he grew older, they said, he grew increasingly confrontational: One Tampa-area activist said Osmakac physically threatened him, and Osmakac was jailed on charges that he head-butted a Christian preacher as the two argued

over religion outside a Lady Gaga concert. Osmakac, 25, is now jailed on a federal charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and could face life in prison if convicted.

U.S. authorities say he planned to use a car bomb, assault rifle and other explosives in an Islamist-inspired attack on various locations around Tampa, including a sheriff’s office.

His family in Florida has said the charges are untrue. Family members told The AP that Osmakac was born in the village of Lubizde in Kosovo, a tiny hamlet of scattered houses near the Cursed Mountains, a row of snowcapped peaks that divide Kosovo from Albania.

The area is home to many adherents to Sufism, a mystical Islamic order whose members often pray over the tombs of revered saints. The Osmakacs are followers of a Sufi sect that has its own shrine just outside the village. Kosovo’s tiny Ro-

man Catholic minority also resides in the area, as the village next to Lubizde, Dedaj, is composed entirely of Roman Catholic ethnic Albanians.

Osmakac spent his early years in a home shared by his father and two uncles, but difficult living conditions and simmering ethnic intolerance sent the family searching for prosperity elsewhere. Osmakac’s family, like many that fled, brought their traditional trade of baking to what are now Croatia and Bosnia. Osmakac’s family was in Bosnia during the bloodiest of the ethnic wars of the 1990s, which left more than 100,000 dead, and eventually fled to Germany and then the U.S. As a child, Osmakac was “a quiet and fun boy,” said his aunt, Time Osmankaj. She said his family regularly sent money home to relatives trying to eke out a living as the wars left those who remained extremely poor. Osmankaj said

the family returned to Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, for visits during the summer months. But in recent years they noticed a change in Sami, who grew a beard, donned religious garments, and was frequently accompanied by two devout Muslims from Albania and two from Bosnia. He also began to shun his relatives during his trips to Kosovo. His aunt said she learned of his last visit in October 2011 through neighbors and that she did not meet with him. Authorities in Kosovo have said he used those visits to meet with Islamic radicals there. Islam came to Kosovo with the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the 15th century, but it had not grown political until more recently. For instance, hundreds of Muslims have taken to the streets to protest a ban imposed by Kosovo authorities on wearing headscarves in schools. Protesters also have demanded that new mosques be built to accommodate a growing number of faithful after a Roman Catholic cathedral was built last year in the center of the capital, Pristina. The increase in religious tensions has raised concerns that U.S. soldiers serving as part of a NATO-led peacekeeping force could be targeted in attacks.

Muslim guard gets $465K in Calif. harassment suit SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A jury awarded $465,000 to a Muslim security guard who says his co-workers and supervisors called him a terrorist and an al-Qaida member. Jurors added $400,000 in punitive damages Monday to their earlier award of $65,000 to Abas Idris for lost wages and emotional distress, the San Francisco Chronicle reported

(http://bit.ly/wh5c8Y ) Wednesday. The jury found that Los Angeles-based Andrews International was responsible for harassment and a hostile work environment experienced by the 27-year-old Idris. An attorney for Andrews, Madonna Herman, said the company had promoted Idris to a supervisory position and accommodated his requests for

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changes to his schedule. It plans to appeal the verdict.

“Andrews does not condone discrimination or harassment of any kind,” Herman said in a statement. Idris claimed a supervisor told him that Muslims kill people and that a fellow security guard referred to him in a conversation with a coworker as a “goddamn terrorist” and an al Qaeda member

who couldn’t be trusted. Idris, who traces his heritage to the east African nation of Eritrean, also said an office manager once told him not to zip up his black rain jacket because he looked “too black.” Idris quit his job at Andrews in February 2010 after the company failed to take his complaints about harassment seriously, he said.

Jan 27 - Feb 16 , 2012

National

3 Muslim Men were charged previously

Man gets 10 years for series of NYC hotel thefts

Among the thefts was the disappearance of $250,000 worth of valuables from Arwa al-Qassimi’s room

NEW YORK (AP) — A serial thief is headed for 10 years in prison for a string of heists at New York City luxury hotels, including a theft of $250,000 worth of valuables at The Plaza hotel room of a woman from the United Arab Emirates. James Bennett was sentenced Tuesday. The 45-year-old pleaded guilty this month to grand larcenies and burglaries at hotels including the Jumeirah Essex House and the St. Regis New

York. Among the thefts were the disappearance of about $250,000 worth of jewelry, electronics and other valuables from Arwa al-Qassimi’s room at The Plaza on Oct. 30. Defense attorney Javier Damian says Bennett regrets the thefts. He says Bennett was struggling with crack cocaine and family deaths. Prosecutors say about $35,000 worth of stolen items were found in Bennett’s home.

Muslims’ charges to be dismissed in NY park clash

RYE, N.Y. (AP) — Fifteen Muslims on Tuesday won conditional dismissals of charges stemming from an amusement park disturbance that started when women were told they couldn’t wear religious headscarves on some rides.

A Rye Town Court judge told the defendants their cases would be dropped if they stayed out of trouble for two months. Most had been charged only with disorderly conduct, but the charges ranged up to second-degree assault. All the female defendants wore headscarves. Some of the defendants said after the court session that they plan to file a civil rights lawsuit against Westchester County, alleging police brutality

and racism in the disturbance. The county owns Playland Park in Rye, a national landmark, where the disturbance occurred. Defense lawyer Lamis Deek said the defendants could have gone to trial and won acquittals, but trials would have been inconvenient because none of them live in Westchester. “It’s unfortunately more convenient to accept this offer, not have to enter a plea of guilty, move on with their lives and pursue this matter in a civil courtroom,” Deek said. Lucian Chalfen, spokesman for the district attorney’s office, declined to comment on why the dismissals were accepted.

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors have quietly added a new wrinkle to their case against a New York City man charged in one of the most serious terror plots since the Sept.

11 attacks. In a revised indictment filed last week in Brooklyn, Adis Medunjanin was hit with a new allegation that he — along with former high school classmates Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay — tried to recruit someone identified only as John Doe to travel to Pakistan “to wage violent jihad.” It was the first time the government has linked a fourth person in the U.S. to what evolved into an al-Qaida-sanctioned scheme to pull off what prosecutors call three “coordinated suicide bombing attacks”

bekistan and claimed responsibility for numerous attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

An FBI affidavit said the group also carried out simultaneous suicide bombings of the U.S. and Israeli embassies and a prosecutor’s office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Muhtorov was arrested without incident before he could board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, said Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department in Washington. Muhtorov made a brief court appearance Monday morning in Chicago and waived his rights to further hearings in the northern Illinois district. Judge Morton Denlow then ordered Muhtorov to be transferred to Denver but it wasn’t immediately clear how soon that would happen.

Muslims call for NYPD chief to resign over movie NEW YORK (AP) — Muslim groups are calling for New York’s police commissioner to step down because of his appearance in a film they say paints their religion and its adherents in a bad light.

About 20 activists held a news conference on the steps of City Hall on Thursday and criticized Ray Kelly for giving an interview to the producers of the movie “The Third Jihad.” The movie uses dramatic footage to warn against the dangers of radical Islam. Muslim groups say it encourages Americans to be suspicious of all Muslims. “Terrorism is an evil that must be eliminated, but one cannot fight wrong with wrong,” said Talib Abdur-Rashid, a Muslim cleric. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday he stood by Kelly and the commissioner’s spokesman, Paul Browne.

Activists had also demanded Browne’s resignation. However, the mayor said Kelly would have to redouble his outreach efforts to Muslims. “Anything like this doesn’t help credibility, so Ray’s got to work at establishing, re-establishing or reinforcing the credibility that he does have,” Bloomberg said. Kelly appears for about 30 seconds of the 72-minute mov-

ie. He originally said he was not involved but on Wednesday acknowledged he had given a 90-minute interview to the filmmakers in 2007. The movie was later shown to police trainees. The police department said it was played in a continuous loop in the sign-in area of counterterrorism training sessions between October and December 2010. As many as 1,489 trainees may have seen the movie, according to documents released under New York’s public records law. Kelly apologized Wednesday for his appearance and for the playing of the movie.

The Muslim leaders said they are worried that the police department is teaching officers to treat all Muslims as suspects. They demanded the resignation of Kelly and Browne, and a U.S. Department of Justice inquiry into the showing of the film. The activists also want retraining of all 1,489 officers “that are walking this city with poison in their brains,” said Cyrus McGoldrick, civil rights director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-New York.

CAIR is one of the organizations that “The Third Jihad” accuses of being soft on terrorist groups.

on Manhattan subway lines.

Lawyers for Medunjanin are now demanding that the government reveal the identity of the man before he turns up as a possible witness at a trial set for March. “We want to know who John Doe is,” defense attorney Robert Gottlieb said Thursday. A pretrial hearing is scheduled next week to take up the issue. The defense also plans to oppose a request by prosecutors for an anonymous jury, Gottlieb said. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn declined to comment Thursday. Medunjanin, 27, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, providing material support to a terrorist organization and other

Prosecutors: 4th man recruited in NYC bomb plot

charges. Prosecutors allege that Medunjanin, Zazi and Ahmedzay tried to recruit the fourth man before the three went to Afghanistan in 2008 to join the Taliban and fight U.S. soldiers. They instead were recruited by al-Qaida operatives, who gave them weapons training in their Pakistan camp and asked them to become suicide bombers, authorities say. The new indictment doesn’t say what became of the fourth man.

After returning, Zazi, a former Denver airport shuttle driver, cooked up explosives and set out for New York City around the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. After becoming suspicious he was being watched by law enforcement, he abandoned the plan and re-

turned to Colorado. Zazi and Ahmedzay have since admitted in guilty pleas that they wanted to avenge U.S. aggression in the Arab world by becoming martyrs. Both could testify against Medunjanin at trial. In papers filed Wednesday, prosecutors argued that jurors at Medunjanin’s trial should be kept anonymous for their safety.

“Given the nature of the allegations, the involvement of alQaeda, a foreign terrorist organization with global reach and a history of targeting civilians in New York City, and the virtual certainty of substantial media and public attention, a fair trial requires empaneling an anonymous jury and the other requested protective measures,” prosecutors wrote.

Moeed Abdul Salam from US private school student to al-Qaida agent

Colorado man arrested on terrorism charges

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — The FBI arrested a refugee from Uzbekistan at Chicago’s O’Hare airport on charges that he planned to travel overseas to fight for a terrorist group and give up his life if necessary, an official said Monday. However, there was no evidence that suspect Jamshid Muhtorov was plotting attacks inside the United States, authorities said.

Muhtorov, 35, of Aurora, Colo., was arrested Saturday by members of the FBI’s Denver and Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Forces.

Muhtorov, who goes by several other names, was indicted on charges of providing and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors allege he planned to fight for the Islamic Jihad Union, which has been blamed for suicide attacks in Uz-

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First page continuation……..

Salam’s Nov. 19 death went largely unnoticed in the U.S. and rated only limited attention in Pakistan. But the circumstances threatened to overshadow the work of an American family devoted to religious understanding. And his mysterious evolution presented a reminder of the attraction Pakistan still holds for Islamic militants, especially well-educated Westerners whose Internet and language skills make them useful converts for jihad. “There are things that we don’t want to happen but we have to accept, things that we don’t want to know but we have to learn, and a loved one we can’t live without but have to let go,” Salam’s mother, Hasna Shaheen Salam, wrote last month on her Facebook page. The violence didn’t stop after Salam died. Weeks after his death, fellow militants killed three soldiers with a roadside bomb to avenge the raid. It is not clear to what extent Salam’s family knew of his radicalism, but on his Facebook page the month before he

died, he posted an image of Anwar al-Awalki, the American al-Qaida leader who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, beside a burning American flag. He had also recently linked to a document praising al-Awalki’s martyrdom and to a message urging Muslims to rejoice “in this time when you see the mujahideen all over the world victorious.” After his death, the Global Islamic Media Forum, a propaganda group for al-Qaida and its allies, hailed Salam as a martyr, explaining in an online posting that he had overseen a unit that produced propaganda in Urdu and other South Asian languages. A senior U.S. counterterrorism official said Salam’s role had expanded over the years beyond propaganda to being an operative. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. The family, originally from Pakistan, immigrated to the U.S. decades ago.

Salam’s father was a pilot for a Saudi airline, and the family eventually settled in the Dallas suburb of Plano. Their creamcolored brick home, assessed at nearly $400,000, stands on a corner lot in a quiet, upperclass neighborhood. The family obtained American citizenship in 1986. Salam attended Suffield Academy in Connecticut, a private high school where tuition and board currently run $46,500. He graduated in 1992. A classmate, Wadiya Wynn, of Laurel, Md., recalled that Salam played varsity golf, sang in an a cappella group and in the chamber choir, and that he hung out with a small group

of “hippie-ish” friends. She thought he was a mediocre student, but noted that just being admitted to Suffield was highly competitive. Salam went on to study history at the University of Texas at Austin and graduated in 1996. His Facebook profile indicated he moved to Saudi Arabia by 2003 and began working as a translator, writer and editor for websites about Islam. “Anyone can pick up a gun, but there aren’t as many people who can code html and understand the use of proxies,” said Evan Kohlmann, a senior partner a Flashpoint Global Partners, which tracks radical Muslim propaganda. Salam, who had apparently been active in militant circles for as long as nine years, arrived three years ago in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, and became an important link between al-Qaida, the Taliban and other extremists groups, according to an al-Qaida operative in Karachi who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is wanted by authorities. Salam traveled to the tribal areas close to the Afghan border three or four times for meetings with senior al-Qaida and Taliban leaders, the operative said. He would handle money and logistics in the city and deliver instructions from other members of the network. Back in the United States, Salam’s mother is a prominent resident of Plano, where she is co-chairwoman of a city advisory group called the Plano Multicultural Outreach Roundtable, as well as a former president of the Texas Muslim Women’s Foundation. The founder of the latter

group, Hind Jarrah, said Shaheen and her husband are too upset to speak with anyone.

“She’s a committed American citizen. She’s a hard worker,” Jarrah said, calling her “one of the nicest, most committed, most open-minded” women she had ever met. Salam’s brother, Monem Salam, has traveled the country speaking about Islam, seeking to correct misconceptions following the 9/11 attacks. He works for Saturna Capital, where he manages funds that invest according to Islamic principles — for example, in companies that do not profit from alcohol or pork. He recently moved from the company’s Bellingham, Wash., headquarters to head its office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After the 2001 attacks, he and his wife made a public-television documentary about his efforts as a Muslim man to obtain a pilot’s license.

They also wrote a column for The Bellingham Herald newspaper that answered readers’ questions about Islam. Both Salam’s parents and his brother declined numerous interview requests from The Associated Press. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, dozens of U.S. citizens have been accused of participating in terrorism activities, including several prominent al-Qaida propagandists, such as al-Awalaki and Samir Khan, who was killed alongside him.

Perhaps best known is Adam Gadahn, an al-Qaida spokesman believed to be in Pakistan.

NY judge drops Binladen Group as 9/11 defendant

NEW YORK (AP) — A construction company founded by Osama bin Laden’s father cannot be sued to recover money for survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks, a judge has ruled, because no evidence has emerged to show the company provided a “financial lifeline” to the terrorist leader after he was removed as a shareholder following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Judge George B. Daniels in Manhattan released a decision Wednesday dismissing the Saudi Binladen Group as a defendant in six lawsuits brought by more than 3,000 survivors of the attacks, relatives, victims’ representatives and insurance carriers.

They allege more than 200 defendants provided material

support to terrorists. The defendants include al-Qaida, its members and associates. The suit also names charities, banks, front organizations, terrorist organizations and financiers. Lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit alleged that proceeds used to support terrorism came from a successor to a construction company founded by bin Laden’s father that is now one of the largest engineering and construction companies in the Arab world. It said the group maintained a close relationship to bin Laden leading up to the attacks and cited business activities by a now-defunct subsidiary and by an employee who worked from his North Carolina residence as

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evidence that a U.S. court should have jurisdiction. It said the company provided “significant support to bin Laden before he was removed as a shareholder in 1993 with knowledge that he was targeting the United States” and continued to provide a “financial lifeline” to him afterwards. The Feb. 26, 1993, bombing of the World Trade Center killed six people and injured more than 1,000. Khalid Sheik Mohammed, held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has claimed a role behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He is the uncle of Ramzi Yousef, who is serving life in prison after he was convicted in the 1993 bombing.

Another judge in 2005 allowed the lawsuits to proceed against

the Saudi Binladen Group, saying lawyers needed to find out whether the company purposefully directed its activities against the United States. The cases were transferred to Daniels. Daniels said the business activities of the subsidiary were irrelevant since it had closed by 2000 and other business activities by the group in the United States were sporadic or casual.

At the time of the attacks, the company “had no operations of any kind in the United States, had not undertaken any construction or engineering projects in the United States and had no office in the United States,” the judge said.

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Jan 27 - Feb 16 , 2012

International & Business Divisions in Tahrir as Egyptians mark uprising

Israeli websites disrupted by hackers JERUSALEM (AP) — Hackers have disrupted the websites of an Israeli hospital, a leading newspaper and Israel’s official cultural festival, the latest in a series of politically motivated cyber attacks against Israeli sites. The Haaretz daily reported its site was hacked by a group calling itself Anonymous Palestine. The Tel Hashomer hospital’s website was also blocked Wednesday for a few

hours by a flood of messages from abroad, a hospital spokesman said.

The Israel Festival’s site was plastered with a Palestinian flag icon and the message “Death to Israel and U.S.A.” A hacker dubbed Watchful Eye claimed responsibility. This month’s cyber attacks began with a Saudi-identified hacker poaching Israeli credit card information. Israeli hackers staged their own attacks in retaliation.

UAE to clear $545M debt of thousands of citizens

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The ruler of the United Arab Emirates has agreed to spend $545 million to wipe away the debts of thousands of Emirati citizens. State news agency WAM said on Wednesday the roughly 2 billion dirhams would cover the debts of 6,830 Emiratis who owe lenders up to 1 million dirhams ($272,480) apiece. Some of the borrowers have been jailed

for their inability to pay, and will be released once their debts are cleared. Those still employed will their salaries reduced by a quarter.

The UAE’s leaders periodically cancel debts of citizens. The oilrich country in November established a $2.7 billion fund designed to provide loan assistance for lower-income citizens. It was among a series of perks introduced in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings.

Report: South Sudan sues Khartoum over oil

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — South Sudan is suing Sudan for “looting” its oil and will no longer export crude through its northern neighbor’s territory, a Sudanese daily reported Sunday, citing officials, in the latest spat between the two governments over the coveted resource in the newly independent southern nation. South Sudan Information Minister Marial Benjamin said the lawsuit was filed in “specialized international tribunals against Sudan and some companies” that bought the crude, the Al-Sahafa daily said. Benjamin did not provide additional details on the venue or when the lawsuit was filed. The case is the latest development in a long-simmering fight between the two governments over the oil they share. Most of it lies within the borders of South Sudan, which achieved independence last July. On Jan. 17, South Sudan Minister of Petroleum and Mining Stephen Dhieu Dau said Sudan is diverting about 120,000 barrels of oil pumped from the south daily, a move the northern government said stemmed from the unpaid transit fees for the oil

carried in pipelines from the south to export terminals in its territory.

The two sides have been unable to resolve the dispute. South Sudan’s Cabinet Affairs minister, Deng Alor, said that his country has halted pumping crude through Sudan and would begin building a pipeline across east Africa that would allow it to export its oil through Kenya. The project would take about a year, he told Al-Sahafa.

“Our economy will not be affected by this step,” he said, adding that South Sudan had enough in cash reserves to sustain it for five years.

Even if the economy was affected, it would be preferable to the “looting” taking place by Sudan, he was quoted as saying by the newspaper. The Khartoum government downplayed the potential impact of the move by the south. Sudanese State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Amin Hassan Omar said that the oil currently held in pipelines would cover a considerable portion of the debts owed by the south. The suspension of oil production is a “tactical move that will not last long,” he told Al-Sahafa.

Russia to keep blocking UN sanctions on Syria

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia is standing firm on blocking any U.N. sanctions against Syria, its longtime ally and a significant arms customer, saying that any resolution by the world body must exclude the possibility of international military involvement such as in Libya. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that U.N. approval for sanctions against Syria mirroring those by other nations would be “unfair and counterproductive.” The U.S., the European Union, the Arab League and Turkey all have introduced sanctions against Damascus in response to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s violent crackdown on opponents. The uprising has left more than 5,400 people dead, according to the U.N. estimates. The U.N. Security Council has been unable to agree on a resolution since the violence began in March because of strong opposition from Russia and China. Russia, resistant to what it believes to be Western hegemony, characteristically opposes interventionism and the imposition of sanctions. This week, it harshly criticized new European Union sanctions against Iran regarding its nuclear program. Lavrov said Russia’s own draft of a U.N. resolution regarding Syria, which circulated earlier this month, remains on the table, and that Moscow is open for any “constructive proposals.” The draft calls on all parties to stop the violence, citing the “disproportionate

use of force by Syrian authorities” and urging the Syrian government “to put an end to suppression of those exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.” But Western diplomats said the Russian proposal falls short of their demand for a strong condemnation of the Syrian regime’s crackdown.

Lavrov affirmed that any U.N. resolution must say clearly it “couldn’t be interpreted to justify any foreign military interference in the Syrian crisis.” “We believe that our approach is fair and wellbalanced, unlike the attempts to pass one-sided resolutions that would condemn only one party and, by doing so, encourage another one to build up confrontation and take an uncompromising stance,” Lavrov said after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. “We have seen that in Libya, and we will not allow repetition of the Libyan scenario.” Russia abstained in the U.N. vote authorizing military intervention in Libya, but harshly criticized NATO for what it saw as an excessive use of force and civilian casualties during the NATO bombing campaign against Moammar Gadhafi’s regime. Rebels eventually overthrew Gadhafi with enormous military support from the Western alliance. NATO jets flew 26,000 sorties against Libya in 2011, destroying about 5,900 military targets.

CAIRO (AP) — Crowds of several hundred thousands teemed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of Egypt’s 2011 uprising, with liberals and Islamists in a competition over the course of the revolution, reflecting the deep political divides since the downfall of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. Massive groups tens of thousands marched through different neighborhoods of Cairo in processions organized by liberal and secular groups, growing on route and chanting for the military that took power after Mubarak’s fall to step down immediately. The marches converged on the square just before sundown, jam-packing it in a scene rivaling the height of the popular uprising that toppled Mubarak.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists, in contrast, stayed away from

the street marches, positioning their supporters in the square from the morning to press a message that the revolution had accomplished a great deal and that it was time for Egyptians needed to rally behind the new parliament that they dominate.

Both groups echoed a message in support of ending military rule — but the revolutionaries touted the large numbers in their marches as sign of support for their demands of an immediate end and a rebuke to the Brotherhood’s more noncommittal calls for power to be transferred to civilians.

“The Islamists tried to be neutral and diplomatic so as not to offend the military or the revolutionaries,” said Ahmed Ibrahim, a protester. “They were out to celebrate, but the reality was there were marches everywhere against the military rule.”

Military generals led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi took

over from Mubarak when he stepped down on Feb. 11, 2011.

Revolutionaries accuse them of perpetuating Mubarak’s authoritarian system, saying that even though Egypt has held its freest election in decades, it is not changing the roots of the dictatorship. The Brotherhood, in contrast, have been the biggest beneficiaries of the military’s handling of the transition.

Elections held over the past two months gave them just under half of parliament’s seats, making them the country’s predominant political bloc. More radical Islamists, the Salafis, won a quarter of the seats.

The Islamists made a forceful show Wednesday in Tahrir, which was the symbolic heart of the 18-day wave of protests against Mubarak that began Jan. 25, 2011. A large Brotherhood podium blared speeches through 10 loudspeakers to the crowds, with one speaker pro-

claiming that Egyptians must defend their countries against “enemies” who want to strike Islam. Brotherhood loyalists were chanting religious songs and shouting, “Allahu Akbar,” or God is great. The group, whose cadres are known as the most disciplined in Egypt’s politics, largely claimed the job of policing security in the square, checking IDs and searching the bags of those flocking to join the rally.

However, when the liberal and the secular-organized marches poured into the square, their crowds outnumbered the Islamists. Young Egyptians chanted in the square, “Down, down with military rule,” and demanded that Tantawi, Mubarak’s defense minister for nearly 20 years, be executed for the deaths of protesters killed in crackdowns against their movement in recent months.

Iraqi town says justice failed victims of US raid

HADITHA, Iraq (AP) — In this town which saw 24 unarmed civilians die in a U.S. raid seven years ago, residents expressed disbelief and sadness that the Marine sergeant who told his troops to “shoot first, ask questions later” reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid jail time. They were outraged both at the American military justice system and at the refusal of Iraq’s Shiite-led government to condemn the killings and at least try to bring those responsible to face trial in this country.

“We are deeply disappointed by this unfair deal,” said Khalid Salman Rasif, an Anbar provincial council member from Haditha. “The U.S. soldier will receive a punishment that is suitable for a traffic violation.”

Haditha, a town of about 85,000 people along the Euphrates River valley some 140 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, is overwhelmingly made up of Sunni Muslims.

Sunnis lost influence in this country with the fall of Saddam Hussein and feel increasingly

squeezed out of their already limited political role. “We blame Iraqi officials because they did not take any actions to make the criminals stand trial,” said Naji Fahmi, 45-year-old government employee who was shot in the stomach during what became known as the Haditha massacre. Iraq’s Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim told The Associated Press on the phone that “we have nothing to do with this issue.” Ali alMoussawi, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said “such issue needs to be studied carefully before giving any statement.” Sunnis officials and Haditha residents alike said no further study was required.

“This deal is another crime committed against the victims and their families,” said Youssef Ayid, who lost four brothers in the Haditha raid. “We are sad to see the criminals escape justice,” Ayid said. The raid took place on Nov. 19, 2005, at a time when Sunni insurgents

and al-Qaida militants roamed Haditha’s streets, terrorizing the population and battling U.S. forces.

Three months earlier in the same town, six Marines were massacred and their bodies mutilated when insurgents overran their observation post. Two days later, 14 Marines and an interpreter were killed when their vehicle hit a land mine.

The allegations against the Marines were first brought forward in March 2006 when Time magazine reported that it obtained a video of the attack’s aftermath, taken by a Haditha journalism student inside the houses and local morgue. The footage showed a bloodsmeared bedroom floor. Bits of what appeared to be human flesh and bullet holes could be clearly seen on the walls. Other scenes showed bodies of women and children in plastic bags on the floor of what appeared to be a morgue.

US ambassador to Yemen: Saleh’s absence positive SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Yemen said Tuesday that President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s absence from the battered country will help its political transition. Gerald Feierstein also denied reports the U.S. was looking for a country where Saleh could live in exile, saying Saleh can return to Yemen if he chooses.

Saleh left Yemen Sunday for the Gulf sultanate of Oman on his way to the U.S. for medical treatment related to burns sustained after a bomb blast in his palace mosque last year. Before leaving, Saleh passed power to his deputy as part of a U.S.-backed deal brokered by Gulf nations seeking to end the country’s nearly year-old political crisis. Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is set to be rubber-stamped as the country’s new leader in a presidential election on Feb. 21.

Feierstein said Saleh will leave Oman for the U.S. in the next few days and that the length of his stay will be determined by doctors. Saleh was granted a visa solely for medical reasons, Feierstein said, adding that his absence at this time is positive. “We think that him not being here will help the transition,” he said. “This is not the reason he asked for the

visa and this not the reason we gave the visa. We gave the visa for medical treatment.” White House officials said previously that Saleh’s request to travel to the U.S. caused a dilemma.

Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for 33 years though a combination of sly politics and violence, was long considered a U.S. ally in the battle against Yemen’s active al-Qaida branch, which has been linked to attacks on U.S. soil. At the same time, officials worried the U.S. would face criticism in the Arab world for appearing to harbor an autocrat whose security forces have repeatedly used deadly force to repress demonstrations. Before granting Saleh a visa, Washington sought assurances that he would not seek to remain in the U.S. after his treatment. And on Tuesday, Feierstein denied previous reports that the U.S. was looking for a third country where Saleh could live in exile. “In terms of where he goes afterward, we do not have any information on that,” he said.

“The only thing that we have heard from him is that he intends to come back to Yemen.

We are not involved in any discussion with any countries where he might go after his treatment.” Feierstein also

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spoke highly of the Gulf plan to remove Saleh from power, saying it could prevent further violence the Arab world’s poorest country. Human rights groups have criticized the deal because it granted Saleh and anyone involved in his government immunity from prosecution. Many of the protesters who have taken to the streets for nearly a year to call for his ouster want to see him tried for his alleged role in deadly crackdowns on demonstrations. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have worked to ensure a peaceful transition of power, fearing that further chaos could destabilize the region and allow al-Qaida to operate freely.

The group has already seized a number of towns in Yemen’s south and last week occupied the town of Radda, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the capital Sanaa. Late Tuesday, however, a tribal leader involved in negotiating with the militants said they had withdrawn, leaving the town in the control of two prominent sheiks. Tribal leaders have been trying to negotiate a peaceful withdrawal for the alQaida-linked militants for days. Negotiator Ahmed Ali Kalaz said the group’s leader, Tariq al-Dahab, originally re-

fused to leave unless authorities released 15 detained members of the group and declared the area an “Islamic emirate.”

Authorities said they could release the men, and al-Dahab and his 200 armed men surprised everyone by leaving the city Tuesday. While much of Saleh’s regime has remained in tact throughout the uprising, with many of his relatives still in charge of government institutions, mutinies have been spreading calling for the ouster Maj. Gen. Mohammed Saleh, the head of Yemen’s air force and Saleh’s half brother.

Soldiers at an air base in the Hadramawt province joined the mutiny Tuesday, bringing to five the number of bases across the country calling for the commander’s removal.

The continued turmoil has aggravated Yemen’s humanitarian situation. UNICEF said Tuesday that the number of malnourished children under the age of five has risen in the last year to around 750,000. In some parts of the country of 20 million people, the number of children suffering from malnutrition has doubled from the level in 2000, the group said.

Out of the 300,000 people displaced inside the country, 60 percent are children.