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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck who wrote (8282)	12/9/2004 11:11:17 AM
From: rrufff	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 32591

A new weapon in the war against cowardly terrorists. 'I see now, finally, justice for David' December 9, 2004 BY NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporter The parents of a 17-year-old slain by Hamas terrorists in Israel were awarded $156 million Wednesday in what plaintiffs called a precedent-setting, historic victory for terrorism victims and a blow to U.S-based Islamic groups that fund terror overseas. "I see now, finally, justice for David. David I'll never see again, but justice I have," said David's mother, Joyce Boim, who wept after the verdict. "I hope to see more of these terrorist organizations put in their place and stopped." The 12-member jury that deliberated since Tuesday found the Quranic Literacy Institute of Oak Lawn liable for funding Hamas terrorists and awarded Stanley and Joyce Boim $52 million. A statute requires U.S. District Judge Arlander Keys to triple the damages. Three other defendants -- Texas-based charity Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the Islamic Association for Palestine and alleged Hamas fund-raiser Muhammad Salah -- will share in paying damages after Keys previously ruled they were liable. Opens door to similar cases The defendants, who protested by not putting on a defense at trial, vowed to "vigorously" appeal. Amer Haleem, QLI secretary, called the verdict and Keys' refusal to postpone the trial "an injustice" and labeled it "religious persecution." He said QLI is a peaceful group that translates religious texts. "I think it's not possible to get a fair trial in America," Haleem said. "It's just enough to say, 'Muslims have done this.' " Boim attorneys Stephen Landes and Richard Hoffman said the decision opens the door to similar cases nationwide. Landes said families of 9/11 victims are reviewing the Boim case, which he said is the first civil jury verdict to find U.S.-based groups financially liable for funding terrorism abroad. "It sends a message that people who pay for terrorism are going to wind up paying the victims of terrorism," Landes said, adding that the case "exposed and hopefully put an end to the network in the U.S. that supports Hamas. The veil has been lifted." U.S.-born David Boim was shot to death by Hamas terrorists in 1996 while waiting at a Israeli bus stop near the West Bank. The Boims -- Americans who moved to Israel in 1985 -- brought the case in 2000 under a federal statute that holds U.S. groups financially liable for overseas violence. The trial began last week and centered on drawing ties between Salah, QLI and alleged high-ranking Hamas operatives. An expert testified an undeniable paper trail linked Salah to QLI, and the Boims alleged QLI acted as a front for Salah. Salah was indicted this year on Hamas funding charges, and the feds froze $1.4 million of QLI's assets in 1998. May go to Supreme Court Hoffman and Landes said they didn't know how much money they'd actually recover but estimated the groups have $4 million to $7 million in frozen assets, much of which could go to the government. DePaul University Law Professor Bruce Ottley said the Boims can try to seize any future income, land, property and other assets belonging to the defendants. But the defense said the decision could be overturned, and both sides agreed it could be an issue someday taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court. Defense attorney John Beal said Keys leveled an unfair blow by deciding against three defendants in the case three weeks before trial and then refused to give QLI additional time for trial. Keys also refused to continue the trial until after Salah's criminal charges were resolved, which Beal called unusual. "Now we can say, 'Look, we didn't have a chance to put a case on,'" Beal said. "This shows we didn't have a reasonable opportunity to present our case." Impact on donations feared However, Ottley said QLI could face problems. "A court might say, 'You chose not to put on a defense; too bad,' " Ottley said. "It's a little too late to sulk now when you had a trial." Ali Alarabi, national director of the United Arab American League in Chicago, said the Muslim community condemns the loss of life but still feels the verdict was unjust and could scare Muslims from donating to legitimate charities. "When it comes to issues of Arabs and Muslims, we have to climb mountains to prove the slightest things. When it's against us, justice hits hard and heavy." But Joyce Boim said the jury could have awarded "billions of dollars" and it wouldn't be enough -- her son would still be dead. When asked what she'd tell David if she could, she smiled and said she'd pinch her son's "round face" and say, "David, we did it." suntimes.com

To: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck who wrote (8282)	12/9/2004 3:09:06 PM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32591

Well this will scare the crap out of the radical moslums. IMO wrong move to appease muslims. Thailand Drops Millions of Paper Doves on Muslim Provinces quote.bloomberg.com Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Thai military and civilian aircraft rained 120 million paper doves down on Muslim southern provinces in a goodwill gesture, as Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra tries to ease violence that has killed 400 people. The birds, folded according to the Japanese art of origami, were dropped on Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, the three Muslim- dominated provinces in the mainly Buddhist nation. Violence has escalated after 78 protesters crammed into military trucks died of suffocation on Oct. 25. The doves, crafted by Thais across the nation at the urging of the government, may be an empty peace gesture, critics said. ``All the resources that have been dedicated to make paper birds should have been used to find a solution to the problem,'' said Sunai Phasuk, adviser to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. For Thaksin, whose Thai Rak Thai party faces parliamentary elections in February, sectarian unrest is the biggest challenge since bird flu killed 12 people this year and led to the slaughter of millions of fowl. The government has lowered growth forecasts for this year and next in Southeast Asia's second- biggest economy. ``Bird flu is a problem, but the violence in the south is probably a more difficult problem,'' said Tino Sarantis, who helps manage about $146 million in Asian stocks for BSI SA in Lugano, Switzerland. Organized Violence The government blames Muslim separatists for the killing of civilians. Organized violence started in areas bordering Malaysia in January, when rebels stormed an army base, prompting the government to declare martial law. For more than a century, Muslims in the area have sought a separate state. The unrest isn't easing and leaves ordinary people increasingly exposed to killings, Thaksin told reporters Nov. 9 before a Cabinet meeting. ``From one or two killings of innocents per day, now there are four or five,'' he said. Noppadol Hayeeyama, a Muslim who colors fabric for a living in Pattani province, said in an interview this week that he has ``never lived in greater fear.'' The violence is a ``real concern because we don't know when it will end,'' he said. Sectarian violence, which makes investors edgy, may also be taking its toll on the economy. The central bank on Oct. 28 cut its economic growth forecast for this year to as low as 5.5 percent, blaming high oil prices and bird flu. That's down from as high as 7 percent in July. The agency also cut its 2005 growth forecast to as low as 5.5 percent from as much as 7.5 percent. Thailand's economy expanded 6.8 percent last year. Different Languages The problem has been brewing for years because of the lack of communication between local government officials, who speak Thai, and a population where some people speak only Malay, said Supong Limtanakool, who teaches regional security at Bangkok University. Sending ``combatants is like sending American first cavalry to do peacekeeping,'' he said The government first blamed the Oct. 25 suffocation deaths on human weakness from fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The cause of death was later attributed to too many people being crammed in the military trucks, according to a report by Pornthip Rojanasunan, deputy director of the Forensic Science Institute. The government denied it tried to cover up the deaths. Opposition parties demanded Thaksin's resign. He refused. Revenge killings in the south have followed. ``Violence has been slowly but steadily entering a new phase,'' Panitan Wattanayagorn, a professor of regional security in Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. ``In the coming few weeks there could be isolated but more lethal incidents.'' On Oct. 29, a bomb blast in Yala killed two people and injured 22. On Nov. 2 a Buddhist village official was beheaded in revenge for the deaths of the 78 Muslims. Eight days later, a Buddhist rubber tapper was beheaded. On Dec 3, a Buddhist school teacher was shot dead in Pattani. Narathiwat provincial Governor Pracha Terat said people who collect the paper doves may exchange them for eggs, rice and other staples.

To: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck who wrote (8282)	12/10/2004 4:46:28 PM
From: Eashoa' M'sheekha	Respond to of 32591

" There is a wealth of information on this thread ".. No doubt...but propaganda generated by those who wish to gain from demonizing others is not what I would classify as information.But that's just me.You one the other hand are so gullible that anything that shores up your ill-informed and childish perspective is indeed information.Too bad for you as you wallow in ignorance and stupidity. >> if you would care to pay attention.<< Oh I pay attention Darren.Real close attention. Now have YOU paid attention to the fact that Iraq may have an election that places in Power an Islamic Fundy who is warm and fuzzy with his pals in Iran? Oh ya baby...the US got rid off a secular dictator to install an Islamic Fundy with close ties to its sworn enemy!! Now what? Come on boy...put on yer thinking cap now. E'M'