Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Hunt who wrote (10903)	11/22/2001 6:56:24 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 27666

Just no end to the problems benny has caused. :o) Repeated Pilgrimages to Mecca Deplete Economy, Says Egypt's President The Associated Press Published: Nov 22, 2001 CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - President Hosni Mubarak, his country hit hard by the economic fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks, asked Egyptians Thursday not to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca this year if they had already been, saying the ritual robs the economy of badly needed hard currency. A repeat of the pilgrimage to the Muslim holy site in Saudi Arabia, he said, was neither religiously warranted nor helpful to the economy of Egypt, an impoverished country of nearly 67 million people. The pilgrimage to Mecca, birthplace of the prophet Muhammad and home to Islam's holiest shrine, is one of the pillars of Islam. Muslims who are able-bodied and can afford the trip are obliged to do it once in their lifetime. Many Muslims, however, make the journey several times and some also travel to the holy city to perform umra, or minor pilgrimage, outside the haj season. Mubarak, who on Wednesday reshuffled his Cabinet and introduced new measures to deal with worsening economic conditions, said the annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia costs Egypt more than $700 million in foreign currency a year. "At such difficult time it is neither religious nor helpful to go for pilgrimage again and again," Mubarak was quoted as saying by Egypt's Middle East News Agency. Mubarak also criticized wealthy Egyptians who take vacations abroad. He urged them to take holidays in local resorts at a time when Egypt's vital tourism sector is battered by a significant decline - up to 50 percent - in the number of foreign visitors following the Sept. 11 attacks. Egypt's other major foreign currency sources - oil exports, Suez Canal transit tolls and remittances from Egyptians employed abroad - have also declined since Sept. 11. ap.tbo.com

To: John Hunt who wrote (10903)	11/23/2001 6:03:03 AM
From: John Hunt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27666

Patriot Act would make watchdogs of firms [ Ordinary businesses, from bicycle shops to bookstores to bowling alleys, are being pressed into service on the home front in the war on terrorism. Under the USA Patriot Act, signed into law by President Bush late last month, they soon will be required to monitor their customers and report ''suspicious transactions'' to the Treasury Department - though most businesses may not be aware of this. Buried in the more than 300 pages of the new law is a provision that ''any person engaged in a trade or business'' has to file a government report if a customer spends $10,000 or more in cash. The threshold is cumulative and applies to multiple purchases if they're somehow related - three $4,000 pieces of furniture, for example, might trigger a filing. Until now, only banks, thrifts, and credit unions have been required to report cash transactions to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, under the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. A handful of other businesses, including car dealers and pawnbrokers, have to file similar reports with the Internal Revenue Service. ''This is a big deal, and a big change, for the vast majority of American businesses,'' said Joe Rubin, chief lobbyist for the US Chamber of Commerce. ''But I don't think anybody realizes it's happened.'' The impact is less clear for consumers, although privacy advocates are uncomfortable with the thought of a massive database that could bring government scrutiny on innocent people. Immigrants and the working poor are the most likely to find themselves in the database, since they tend to use the traditional banking system the least. ''The scope of this thing is huge,'' said Bert Ely, a financial services consultant in Alexandria, Va. ''It's going to affect literally millions of people.'' ] Continued at link... boston.com