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by Kathleen
Where the Wild Things Are Max Baby Costume Photo 3 of 7
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This homemade costume for babies entered our 2012 Halloween Costume Contest.
A word from Melisa, the 'Max Where the Wild Things Are' costume creator:
This is my little man He is almost 2 and he is wearing his first hand made costume. He is Max from "Where The Wild Things Are." It has always been one of my favourite... Read more »
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Sep 19, 2019 (The Expresswire) -- Commercial Gym Equipment Global Market 2019 presents detailed competitive analysis including the market Share, Size, Future scope 2023. This study categorizes the global Commercial Gym Equipment Market breakdown data by manufacturers, region, type and applications, also analyzes the market drivers, opportunities and challenges.
Titled "Commercial Gym Equipment-Global Market Status and Trend Report 2013-2023 Top 20 Countries Data"Commercial Gym Equipment Market Research Report 2019highlights the overall structure, changing trends, patterns, and potential events withTop 20 Countries Datain the global Commercial Gym Equipment Market. The report primarily emphasizes prominent Commercial Gym Equipment manufacturers/companies, segments, competition, and the environment of the global Commercial Gym Equipment industry.
A holistic study of the market has been carried out by incorporating various factors taken from country-specific demographic conditions and business cycles to market-specific microeconomic influences. The research uncovers paradigm shifts in the market in terms of regional competitive advantages and the competitive landscape for key players in the Commercial Gym Equipment Market 2019. An analysis of key vendors and their new products, developments and financials are provided to enable easy decision making.
Get a Sample Copy of the Reportathttps://www.360researchreports.com/enquiry/request-sample/11889045
Global Commercial Gym Equipment Market:Manufacturers Segment Analysis(Company and Product introduction, Commercial Gym Equipment Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin):
- Life Fitness
- Precor
- Matrix Fitness
- Cybex
- Promaxima
- Keiser
- Amer Sports
- Technogym
Enquire or share your questions if any before the purchasing this report@https://www.360researchreports.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/11889045
The report offers an accurate financial assessment of each leading Competitor based on their business data that includes estimation of gross margin, Commercial Gym Equipment sales volume, profitability, pricing erection, product value, cost structure, revenue, and growth rate.
Global Commercial Gym Equipment Market:Type Segment Analysis(Consumption Volume, Average Price, Revenue, Market Share and Trend 2019-2023):
- Treadmills
- Ellipticals
- Exercise Bikes
- Upper Ergometer
- Other
GlobalCommercial Gym Equipment Market2019:Application Segment Analysis(Consumption Volume and Market Share 2019-2023; Downstream Customers and Market Analysis)
- Gym
- School
- Community
- Sports Center
- Other
Global Commercial Gym Equipment Market 2019:Regional Segment Analysis(Regional Production Volume, Consumption Volume, Revenue and Growth Rate 2019-2023):
- North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico)
- Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, and Benelux)
- Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia)
- Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia)
- The Middle East and Africa
Further, in the Commercial Gym Equipment Market research reports, the following points are included along with an in-depth study of each point:
- Production Analysis Production of the Commercial Gym Equipment Market is analyzed with respect to different regions, types, and applications. Here, price analysis of various Commercial Gym Equipment Market key companies is also covered.
- Competitors In this section, various Commercial Gym Equipment Market-leading players are studied with respect to their company profile, product portfolio, capacity, price, cost, and revenue.
- Sales and Revenue Analysis Both, sales and revenue are studied for the different regions of the Commercial Gym Equipment Market. Another major aspect, price, which plays an important part in the revenue generation, is also measured in this section for the numerous regions.
- Supply and Consumption In continuation with sales, this section studies supply and consumption for the Commercial Gym Equipment Market. This part also shelters light on the gap between supply and consumption. Import and export statistics are also given in this part.
- Other analyses Apart from the above-mentioned information, trade and distribution analysis for the Commercial Gym Equipment Market, the contact information of major manufacturers, suppliers and key consumers are also given. In addition, SWOT analysis for new projects and viability analysis for new investment are included.
Purchase this report (Price 3680 USD for a single-user license)@https://www.360researchreports.com/purchase/11889045
Key Questions Answered in This Report.
- What will the market growth rate of Commercial Gym Equipment Market in 2023?
- What are the key factors driving the global Commercial Gym Equipment Market?
- Who are the key manufacturers in the Commercial Gym Equipment Market space?
- What are the Commercial Gym Equipment Market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global Commercial Gym Equipment industry?
- What are sales, revenue, and price analysis by types and applications of Commercial Gym Equipment Market?
- What are sales, revenue, and price analysis by regions of Commercial Gym Equipment industry?
The Commercial Gym Equipment Market research report also delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period. The growth of this market worldwide is subjected to various factors; including consumer world-class Commercial Gym EquipmentMarket of many Commercial Gym EquipmentMarket products, inorganic company growth models, price volatility of raw materials, product innovation along with economic prospects in both producer and consumer countries.
TOC of Commercial Gym Equipment Market Research Report 2019-2023:
Chapter 1 Overview
- Definition of Commercial Gym Equipment
- Downstream Application ofCommercial Gym Equipment
- Development History of Commercial Gym Equipment ……
Chapter 2 Global Market Status and Forecast by Regions
- Market Development of Commercial Gym Equipment
- Sales Market of Commercial Gym Equipment
- Production Market of Commercial Gym Equipment……
Chapter 3 Global Market Status and Forecast by Types
- Sales Volume of Commercial Gym Equipment
- Sales Value of Commercial Gym Equipment
- Market Forecast of Commercial Gym Equipment…….
Chapter 4 Global Market Status and Forecast by Downstream Industry
- Global Sales Volume ofCommercial Gym Equipment
- Global Market Forecast of Commercial Gym Equipment…..
Chapter 5 Market Driving Factor Analysis of Commercial Gym Equipment
- Global Economy Situation and Trend Overview
- Commercial Gym Equipment Downstream Industry Situation and Trend Overview……
Chapter 6 Commercial Gym Equipment Market Competition Status by Major Manufacturers
- Production Volume of Commercial Gym Equipment by Major Manufacturers
- Production Value of Commercial Gym Equipment by Major Manufacturers
- Basic Information of Commercial Gym Equipment by Major Manufacturers
- Headquarters Location and Established Time of Commercial Gym Equipment Major Manufacturer……
For More TOC Content Continued……
"In a word, the report provides detailed statistics and analysis on any level of the industry; and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market."
About 360 Research Reports:
360 Research Reports is a credible source for gaining the market research reports that will exponentially accelerate your business. We are among the leading report resellers in the business world committed to optimizing your business. The reports we provide are based on research that covers a magnitude of factors such as technological evolution, economic shifts and a detailed study of market segments.
Mr. Ajay More
Phone: +14242530807 / + 44 20 3239 8187
For More Related Reports:Electrically Conductive Coatings Market Size 2019-2023 | In-depth Study, Market Size and Growth, Scope, Future Expectations, Market Overview and Forecast Research, Market Growth | Top 20 Countries Data
Press Release Distributed by The Express Wire
To view the original version on The Express Wire visit Commercial Gym Equipment Market 2019-2023: Global Size, Share, Emerging Trends, Demand, Market Size & Growth, Revenue and Forecasts Research | Top 20 Countries Data


text:
Suhosin is a security extension that is sometimes added to PHP.
One of it's settings restricts the length of individual GET (url) parameters to 512 characters.
Sagepay Form relies on a GET parameter called 'crypt' that can be much longer than 512 characters.
To fix the problem you will need to add an entry to your php.ini file.
suhosin.get.max_value_length = 2048
If you don't have access to your php.ini, you will need to speak to your hosting provider.


text:
Articles by Birol Growth Consulting are © copyrighted and all rights are reserved. However, articles may be reprinted with prior written consent if attribution is included as follows: © Copyrighted by Andrew J. Birol, President of Birol Growth Consulting, who helps owners grow their businesses by growing their Best and Highest Use ®. Andy can be reached at (412) 973-2080, by email at firstname.lastname@example.com, or on the web at www.andybirol.com.
Birol Growth Consulting, LLC 941 Penn Ave, Suite 201, Pittsburgh, PA 15222cell: 412-973-2080 fax: 866-349-9280 firstname.lastname@example.com Copyright © 1997-2014 Birol Growth Consulting, LLC.All rights reserved. Website maintained by FADCS


text:
I got this all the time after updating to 9.0 (OS 10.8.2):
That's Clipboard|c|3015 for the benefit of anyone searching.
The error went away with 9.0.1, but a version has reappeared (multiple times at each launch) since updating my OS (to 10.9):
That's SpanBox|c|2178 for the benefit of anyone searching.
What does an "Internal self-test error" mean?


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Given that the concept of a third WWE brand was given the green light by
Vince McMahon almost eight weeks ago, one could've hoped for a much more
applicable pay-per-view title than "ECW One Night Stand". After all, for
Extreme Championship Wrestling, this is a new beginning, and far from an
Beginning this Tuesday, live on the Sci-Fi channel in the United States,
ECW joins Raw and Smackdown as another part of the WWE's stranglehold on
American pro wrestling. Paul Heyman -- who, it must be noted, has limited
power within ECW despite his deep history with the company -- has claimed
that ECW will have a new direction under top star Kurt Angle. It is said
that the Olympic Gold medallist will still be extreme, but more in the
manner of Taz than Tommy Dreamer.
Having been announced to limited fanfare on WWE television, the fortunes
of ECW would be easier assessed following One Night Stand. A title win for
either Sabu or, more likely, Rob Van Dam, would encourage fans to tune in to
the inaugural ECW TV show, at a time when the WWE will be desperate to make
a good impression.
Setting the tone for the evening's proceedings, the first visual of
tonight's event was simply that of a raucous Hammerstein Ballroom crowd,
seemingly all of whom were engaged in a chant of "ECW". This only changed
when Paul Heyman entered the ring, and the fans appreciation manifested
itself in chants of "Thank you Paul E.!"
"This didn't happen because of me," said Heyman, "and it didn't happen
because of Vince McMahon. This happened because of you. And on behalf of
every single one of us, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you,
thank you!"
Although he emerged for his contest with "The King" in his trademark
orange and black colours, and complete with head-towel, it was rather
noticeable that instead of his usual ECW-era ring attire, that Tazz entered
the squared circle wearing full-length training pants and a large shirt. I
guess that five years as an announcer on Smackdown isn't the ideal
preparation for an athletic contest.
The crowd's hatred of Lawler was emphatic, which was unsurprising
considering he has a very real dislike of what he calls "Extremely Crappy
Wrestling". This was only heightened when Lawler approached Joey Styles at
the announce table and slapped him hard across the face.
Styles -- and his spectacles -- soon recovered however, and just as Lawler
and Tazz were about to lock up, Styles jumped Lawler from behind and
attempted to apply a sleeperhold. Lawler was able to subdue him before
setting him up for a piledriver, at which point Tazz entered the fray,
locking on the Tazmission for a startlingly-quick thirty second win.
Winner: Tazz
Match Rating: 5 / 10 (for what was essentially an angle)
Match #2: Randy Orton vs Kurt Angle
Watching Randy Orton work the crowd so brilliantly here, it is hard to
fathom that the WWE even considered placing him as their top babyface in
2004. Orton's smug demeanour -- all too real behind the scenes, it is said --
created tremendous heat among this already pro-Angle crowd, and it was only
when Angle aggressively took Orton to the mat that the St. Louis native's
arrogant smile was broken.
The Olympic Gold medallist dominated on the ground until he missed a
running shoulder-tackle, propelling himself into the ringpost. Rather than
take a more effective advantage, however, Orton decided to lock on a rear
chinlock for loud chants of "Boring!" which were soon silenced when Angle
caught him with a series of German suplexes.
The new ECW star then managed to hit the Angle Slam for a two count,
before Orton hit a beautiful Neck Cracker after reversing an ankle lock
attempt. The match was red hot by this point, as Orton continued to evade
the ankle lock, and even hit a beautiful top rope crossbody which Angle
rolled through for the near fall. Going for his submission finisher once
again, Angle managed to fully apply the ankle lock, and gained the tapout
Winner: Kurt Angle
Match rating: 7.5 / 10
Match #3: F.B.I (Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke) vs Super Crazy &
Yoshihiro Tajiri
"Welcome back!" was the message to Tajiri from the ECW faithful upon his
entrance to the ring, and clearly it was he and his former nemesis Super
Crazy who were the crowd favourites in this contest. The match began with
some nice wrestling by Crazy and Mamaluke -- including a short-arm scissors
and a key-lock held with a bridge -- but things took a more familiar ECW turn
when both Crazy and Tajiri hit baseball slides into the corner on Mamaluke
and Guido respectively.
The babyfaces continued to control the match -- including a beautiful Asai
moonsault by Crazy onto both his opponents -- until the towering Big Guido
pulled Crazy outside the ring and put the boots to him. He soon recovered
however, and when Tajiri got the hot tag he immediately dominated, hitting
his patented springing back elbow off the ropes on both men. But when Crazy
was propelled into the crowd by Little Guido, the FBI ganged up on "The
Japanese Buzzsaw", hitting him with a double Muscle Buster for the pin.
After the match, Big Show entered the fray and cleared the ring, hitting
Mamaluke with a painful-looking Cobra Clutch into a backbreaker. Despite his
booking as ECW's monster, Big Show looked out of place, and the crowd were
reluctant to cheer the him after he disposed of favourites Crazy and
Winners: The FBI
Match rating: 6.5 / 10
A little over a week after announcing on his radio show that he was
finished with wrestling, JBL made a surprise appearance to rip on ECW. He
made reference to his pummeling of The Blue Meanie on last year's show, and
referred to himself as "The King of Hardcore", all to a tremendous heel
reaction. He also announced that he was the new colour commentator for
Match #4, World Heavyweight Title match: Sabu vs Rey Mysterio ( c )
Mysterio received a light heel reaction for this championship match with
Sabu, who came to the ring with a nasty-looking bruise on the left side of
his face. The chair which Sabu brought to the ring with him played an
important role in the beginning of the match, as the challenger hit an Air
Sabu in the corner, before simply throwing the chair at Smackdown's
champion, striking him in the head.
For his own part, Mysterio hit a beautiful huricanrana and a moonsault
press, before falling victim to a guillotine legdrop from the second rope.
In between setting up a number of tables at ringside, Sabu hit an Arabian
Facebuster for a near-fall, but his setting up of the ladders backfired on
him as Mysterio launched himself onto the top rope, delivering a Thesz press
which took Sabu through the table.
After recovering, Sabu hit an impressive triple-jump moonsault, and then
evaded another Thesz press which sent Mysterio crotch-first into a chair.
The Sheik's famous nephew then lay Mysterio onto a ringside table and
attempted to score with a triple-jump somersault splash over the top rope
and on to Mysterio. Just as Sabu was rebounding off the ropes however,
Mysterio made it to his feet and instead Sabu caught him with a DDT which
drove his head not only through the table, but also hard onto the floor as
At this point, with both men down, a doctor came to ringside and declared
the match over. The crowd were not amused, which was unsurprising
considering that while this was a nasty bump, the finish was so obviously
Winner: No Contest
Match Rating: 7 / 10
Match 5: Mick Foley & Edge vs Terry Funk & Tommy Dreamer
Funk and Dreamer were accompanied to the ring by Beulah McGullicutty, who
suggested that they make this match a three-on-three encounter. Lita agreed
to the challenge with a slap to her female opponent, and the match began.
Dreamer and Funk sent the heels scurrying to the outside with shots from a
trash can and a metal sign, and Dreamer hip-tossed Edge into a ladder which
"The R-rated Superstar" himself had set up in the corner.
As Funk went for the oldest moonsault in the business on Foley, though,
Edge pushed the ladder down and Funk took a nasty bump to the canvas. With
"The Funker" incapacitated, Edge and Foley grabbed a board wrapped in barbed
wire from under the ring, and suplexed it onto Dreamer. As the capacity
crowd chanted "We Want Fire!" Foley wrapped barbed wire around his fist and
raked it grotesquely across the forehead and eyes of Funk. Rekindling
memories of his classic Empty Arena bout with Jerry Lawler, Funk was taken
to the back screaming "My God Mick, my eye!"
This left Dreamer virtually defenceless against the heels, and as they
ganged up on him, Foley then went for the Socko Claw, but instead applied it
to Beulah until Dreamer made the save. Dreamer was soon struck with an Edge
Spear however, and it seemed like he would take the fall until Funk
returned, through the crowd, clutching a 2x4 encased in barbed wire. After
striking Foley and Edge, Funk then set the 2x4 on fire, blasting Foley
again, who not only landed on the barbed wire board at ringside, but whose
flaming shirt had to be quickly put out by a ringside attendant. Edge pushed
Funk off the apron and down on top of Foley, before being caught himself
with a DDT by Dreamer, who then locked on an STF, using the barbed wire
against Edge's face. Lita broke up the hold, however, and when Edge
recovered and blindsided Dreamer, Beulah entered the ring to prevent more
damage being inflicted on him. She was then Speared by Edge for the
Winners: Mick Foley, Edge & Lita
Match rating: 8 / 10
Match #6: Balls Mahoney vs Masato Tanaka
An all-out brawl was what was expected in this match, and that is exactly
what Mahoney and Tanaka served up. After the obligatory "Balls!" chants as
Mahoney threw repeated jabs at Tanaka, the two took it to the outside where
Mahoney borrowed a fan's beer to throw in his opponent's face. Back in the
ring, Tanaka hit a superplex for a big bump, before the roles were reversed
and Balls hit his own version of the move. Soon, the two found themselves
duelling with steel chairs, leading to Balls cracking Tanaka with a
remarkably hard chair shot for the pin.
Winner: Balls Mahoney
Rating: 6 / 10
Before the WWE championship match, Eugene hit the ring and reminded
everyone that he was the nephew of Eric Bischoff, which ensured that the
already-sceptical crowd were even more passionate against him. The Sandman
soon interrupted Eugene's shenanigans, however, cracking him with the
Singapore cane several times across the head and back, causing the Raw
native to flee, much to everyone's delight.
Match #7, WWE Championship: Rob Van Dam vs John Cena ( c )
To no surprise whatsoever, John Cena was afforded an even more scolding
reaction than Jerry Lawler as he made his way to ringside for his title
defence against RVD. Hilariously, it took several minutes for the bell to
sound, as each time that Cena tried to throw his shirt into the crowd, the
fans continually threw it back. Furthermore, toilet paper was thrown into
the ring, and the fans engaged in a fantastically loud chant of "You can't
Seemingly wishing to dispel those thoughts, Cena began the bout with a
fisherman suplex, which grabbed a near fall. But as the action spilled to
the outside, it was Van Dam who took the advantage with a superb moonsault
press from the ring steps, followed up with a twisting legdrop from the
apron, as Cena lay prone across the guard rail.
Van Dam continued on the offence, placing a steel chair on the neck and
chest of Cena as he hit the Rolling Thunder, a move from which he only got a
two count. When he went for a similar chair-aided split legged moonsault,
however, Cena got the knees up and it was Van Dam who took the hit.
Continuing the chair-based theme, Cena hit a DDT on the steel and even sent
RVD flying into a chair with a slingshot. To say that the crowd were unhappy
when Cena went for the "You Can't See Me" fistdrop would be an
understatement, but at least they were spared the sight of a match-winning
F-U when RVD blocked the move.
RVD then set up a table in the corner of the ring, but as he turned to
grab Cena, the champion took him down into an STF. When Van Dam managed to
reach the ropes, Cena admonished referee Jon Finnegan for not stopping the
bout, shoving him in the process. When Finnegan shoved him back, Cena laid
him out with a clothesline, and went to the outside, bringing the steel
steps back into the ring, striking RVD in the head with them. The proceeding
cover brought out Smackdown referee Nick Patrick to do the honours, but Van
Dam kicked out at two.
Disposing of the challenger over the top rope, Cena turned around into a
spear from Edge, clad in a motorcycle helmet. Edge also knocked out Patrick,
so that when RVD hit Cena with a Frog Splash, there was no-one to make the
count, until Heyman ran to the ring and counted down the champion for the
After the decision, the ECW locker room poured into the ring to give Van
Dam a prolonged championship celebration, although there will no doubt be
those who question the victory, given that it was Heyman who counted the
Winner -- Rob Van Dam
Match rating -- 7.5 / 10
Although far from the spectacle that was last year's event, One Night
Stand 2006 was an entertaining showpiece which will have sent the ECW
faithful home happy, in the knowledge that their man now has control over
the WWE/ECW championship. We will have to wait until Monday -- or perhaps
Tuesday -- to find out if the win remains valid.
In his report on last year's show, SLAM! Wrestling's Chris Gramlich noted
that "ECW will never be the outlaw promotion that it once was, just a
reminder of glory days gone by. Maybe some things should be left in the
Twelve months on, and with a new and bold venture immediately ahead, the
question of whether the McMahon version of ECW can ever work, still has yet
to be answered.


text:
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haha. ok, this is a completely random idea...but what if instead of trying to add paint and things to the cube, we took a heat gun and melted the LED a little bit. not a lot, but maybe just a little. that will either work well, do absolutely nothing, or make it uneven and look terrible. but it *may* work.
Im also wondering if just diffusing the tip would be good enough?


text:
This page can be viewed at http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a032002saarmonitor
This is a scalable context timeline. It contains events related to the event After March 20, 2002: CIA and FBI Said to Harass Greenquest Investigators. You can narrow or broaden the context of this timeline by adjusting the zoom level. The lower the scale, the more relevant the items on average will be, while the higher the scale, the less relevant the items, on average, will be.
In November 2001, Swiss investigators will search the home of Youssef Nada, the leader of Al Taqwa Bank, a Swiss bank that had just been shut down by the US and the UN for alleged ties to al-Qaeda, Hamas, and other radical militant groups (see November 7, 2001). Nada and other Al Taqwa directors are prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Newsweek will say, "The Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928 as a religious and quasi-political counterweight to the corrupt and increasingly decadent royalist and colonial governments dominating the Islamic world, always has had two faces: one a peaceful public, proselytizing and social-welfare oriented wing; the other a clandestine, paramilitary wing.… Intelligence and law-enforcement officials say that while some branches and elements of the Brotherhood, such as the offshoots now operating in Egypt and Syria, have pledged to work for their goal of a worldwide Islamic caliphate using peaceful means and electoral politics, the Brotherhood has also spun off many—if not most—of the more violent local and international groups devoted to the cause of Islamic holy war." Such offshoots will include al-Qaeda and Hamas. (Isikoff and Hosenball 12/24/2004) Swiss investigators discover a 14-page document from December 1982 entitled "The Project." Nada claims not to know who wrote the document or how he came to have it, and he says he disagrees with most of the contents. The document details a strategic plan whose ultimate goal is "the establishment of the reign of God over the entire world." The document begins, "This report presents a global vision of an international strategy of Islamic policy." It recommends to "study of the centers of power locally and worldwide, and the possibilities of placing them under influence," to contact and support new holy war movements anywhere in the world, to support holy war in Palestine, and "nurtur[e] the sentiment of rancor with regard to Jews." Swiss investigators who analyze the document will later write that the strategy aims to achieve "a growing influence over the Muslim world. It is pointed out that the [Muslim Brotherhood] doesn't have to act in the name of the Brotherhood, but can infiltrate existing entities. They can thus avoid being located and neutralized." The document also advocates creating a network of religious, educational, and charitable institutions in Europe and the US to increase influence there. (Unknown 12/1982; Besson 10/6/2005)
The SAAR Foundation is incorporated in Herndon, Virginia, just outside Washington. It will become an umbrella organization for a cluster of over 100 charities, think tanks, and businesses known as the SAAR network. In 2002, the US government will raid the SAAR network looking for ties to the Al Taqwa Bank and the Muslim Brotherhood (see March 20, 2002). (Farah 2004, pp. 153)
BMI Inc., a real estate investment firm based in Secaucus, New Jersey, is formed in 1986. Former counterterrorism "tsar" Richard Clarke will state in 2003, "While BMI [has] held itself out publicly as a financial services provider for Muslims in the United States, its investor list suggests the possibility this facade was just a cover to conceal terrorist support. BMI's investor list reads like a who's who of designated terrorists and Islamic extremists." Investors in BMI include: (US Congress 10/22/2003)
Soliman Biheiri. He is the head of BMI for the duration of the company's existence. US prosecutors will later call him the US banker for the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Egyptian militant group. Biheiri's computer will eventually be searched and found to have contact information for Ghaleb Himmat and Youssef Nada, leaders of the Al Taqwa Bank, which is founded two years after BMI (see 1988). After 9/11, the US and UN will designate both Himmat and Nada and the Al Taqwa Bank as terrorist financiers, and the bank will be shut down (see November 7, 2001). US prosecutors say there are other ties between BMI and Al Taqwa, including financial transactions. Biheiri also has close ties with Yousuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi. Qaradawi is said to be a high-ranking member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a shareholder in Al Taqwa, and has made statements supporting suicide bombings against Israel. In 2003, US investigators will accuse Biheiri of ties to terrorist financing. He will be convicted of immigration violations and lying to a federal agent (see June 15, 2003). (Simpson 9/15/2003; Perelman 10/17/2003) Biheiri will be convicted of immigration fraud in 2003 and then convicted of lying to federal investigators in 2004 (see June 15, 2003).
Abdullah Awad bin Laden, a nephew of Osama bin Laden. He invests about a half-million dollars in BMI real estate ventures, earning a profit of $70,000. For most of the 1990s he runs the US branch of a Saudi charity called World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY). He is investigated by the FBI in 1996 (see February-September 11, 1996), and WAMY will be raided by US agents in 2004 (see June 1, 2004). The raid is apparently part of a larger investigation into terrorism financing. In 2001, at least two of the 9/11 hijackers will live three blocks away from the WAMY office (see March 2001 and After). (Simpson 9/15/2003; Sheridan 4/19/2004)
Nur and Iman bin Laden, two female relatives of Osama bin Laden. Abdullah Awad bin Laden will invest some of their money in a BMI real estate project. While their bin Laden family ties are intriguing, neither have been accused of any knowing connections to terrorist financing. (Sheridan 4/19/2004)
Mousa Abu Marzouk. He has identified himself as a top leader of Hamas. The US declares him a terrorist in 1995 (see July 5, 1995-May 1997). BMI makes at least two transactions with Marzouk after he is declared a terrorist. (Simpson 9/15/2003)
Yassin al-Qadi, a Saudi multimillionaire. His lawyers will later claim he has no terrorism ties and had only a passing involvement with BMI and liquidated his investment in it in 1996. However, another company operating from the same office as BMI is called Kadi International Inc. and lists its president as al-Qadi. Al-Qadi is also a major investor in the suspect computer company Ptech (see 1994; 1999-After October 12, 2001). Al-Qadi and BMI head Biheiri have financial dealings with Yaqub Mirza, a Pakistani who manages a group of Islamic charities in Virginia known as the SAAR network (see July 29, 1983). These charities will be raided in March 2002 on suspicions of terrorism ties (see March 20, 2002). Shortly after 9/11, the US will officially declare al-Qadi a terrorist financier (see October 12, 2001). (Simpson 9/15/2003)
Saleh Kamel. BMI allegedly receives a $500,000 investment from the Dallah Al-Baraka banking conglomerate, which is headed by Kamel. For many years before 9/11, Omar al-Bayoumi, an associate of 9/11 hijackers Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, will receive a salary from Dallah, despite apparently doing no work. Some will accuse al-Bayoumi of involvement in funding the 9/11 plot, but that remains to been proven (see August 1994-July 2001). Kamel reportedly founded a Sudanese Islamic bank which housed accounts for senior al-Qaeda operatives. He is a multi-billionaire heavily involved in promoting Islam, and his name appears on the Golden Chain, a list of early al-Qaeda supporters (see 1988-1989). He denies supporting terrorism. (US Congress 10/22/2003; Simpson 6/21/2004)
The Kuwait Finance House. According to Clarke, this organization is alleged to be a BMI investor and the "financial arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait. Several al-Qaeda operatives have allegedly been associated with the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Suliman abu Ghaith, Wadih El-Hage, and Ramzi Yousef." In 2003, an apparent successor entity to the Kuwait Finance House will be designated as a terrorist entity by the US. A lawyer for the Kuwait Finance House will later say the bank has never let its accounts be used for terrorism. (Simpson 9/15/2003; US Congress 10/22/2003; Simpson 4/20/2005)
Tarek Swaidan. He is a Kuwaiti, an associate of al-Qadi, and a leading member of the Kuwaiti branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is unknown if he has made any denials about his alleged associations. (Simpson 9/15/2003)
Abdurahman Alamoudi. For many years he runs the American Muslim Council, a lobby group founded by a top Muslim Brotherhood figure. US prosecutors say he also is in the Brotherhood, and has alleged ties to Hamas. In 2004, the US will sentence him to 23 years in prison for illegal dealings with Libya (see October 15, 2004). (Simpson 6/21/2004; Markon 10/16/2004)
The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Muslim World League, closely connected Saudi charities suspected of financing terrorism. They give BMI $3.7 million out of a $10 million endowment from unknown Saudi donors. The Financial Times will later note, "While it is not clear whether that money came from the Saudi government, [a 2003] affidavit quotes a CIA report that says the Muslim World League 'is largely financed by the government of Saudi Arabia.'" Both organizations consistently deny any support of terrorism financing, but in early 2006 it will be reported that US officials continue to suspect them of such support (see January 15, 2006). (Alden and Brun-Rovet 8/21/2003) In 1992, a branch of the IIRO gives $2.1 million to BMI Inc. to invest in real estate. The money disappears from BMI's books. In October 1999, BMI goes defunct after it is unable to repay this money to the IIRO branch. The IIRO branch gives BMI the rest of the $3.7 million between 1992 and 1998. BMI will use the money to buy real estate (see 1992). Eventually, some of this money will be given to Hamas operatives in the West Bank and spent on violent actions against Israel. This will eventually lead to legal action in the US and a seizure of some of the money. (Simpson 11/26/2002; Farah 8/20/2003; Seper 3/26/2004; Sheridan 4/19/2004) By 1992, BMI has projected revenues in excess of $25 million, based largely on their real estate investments in the US. (US Congress 10/22/2003) In early 1999, months before BMI goes defunct, the FBI hears evidence potentially tying BMI to the 1998 US embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998), but an investigation into this will not be pursued (see Early 1999). It should be noted that BMI had many investors, and presumably most BMI investors would have had no suspicions that their money might be used to fund terrorism or other types of violence.
In March 2002, authorities in Bosnia, Sarajevo, will raid the offices of the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) due to suspected funding of al-Qaeda (see March 2002). The raid will uncover a handwritten list containing the name of twenty wealthy donors sympathetic to al-Qaeda. The list, referred to as "The Golden Chain," contains both the names of the donors and the names of the recipients (but does not mention amounts given). Seven of the payments are made to Osama bin Laden. (Prothero 2/11/2003) Most accounts will be vague on what year the Golden Chain document was written; some say 1988. (Simpson 3/18/2003) But counterterrorism "tsar" Richard Clarke will say it dates from 1989. (US Congress 10/22/2003) Al-Qaeda is formed in late 1988 (see August 11-20, 1988). The Wall Street Journal will later note, "The list doesn't show any continuing support for al-Qaeda after the organization began targeting Americans, but a number of the Saudis on it have been under scrutiny by US officials as to whether they have supported terrorism in recent years." (Simpson 3/18/2003) The donors named include:
The "Bin Laden brothers." Their first names are not mentioned. They give money to Osama bin Laden. UPI will later point out that "the discovery of this document in Sarajevo calls into question whether al-Qaeda has received support from one of Osama's scores of wealthy brothers."
Adel Batterjee, a wealthy Saudi businessman who is also the founder of both BIF and its predecessor, Lajnatt Al-Birr Al-Islamiah. He appears to be mentioned as a recipient three times. (Prothero 2/11/2003) The US will declare him as a terrorist financier in 2004 (see December 21, 2004).
Wael Hamza Julaidan, a Saudi millionaire and one of the founders of al-Qaeda. He is listed as a recipient. The US will declare him a terrorist financier in 2002 (see September 6, 2002).
Saleh Kamel, a Saudi billionaire, and the majority shareholder of the Saudi conglomerate Dallah Albaraka. In 2003, Forbes will call him one of the richest people in the world. The list has him giving money to Batterjee.
Sulaiman Abdul Aziz al-Rajhi, another Saudi billionaire. The SAAR network, which is named after him, will be raided by the FBI in 2002 (see March 20, 2002). (Emerson 2006, pp. 400)
Khalid bin Mahfouz, another Saudi billionaire. A lawyer for bin Mahfouz will later say bin Mahfouz did contribute a small amount to fund the mujaheddin in the late 1980s, but only at the behest of the US and Saudi Arabia. (Simpson 3/18/2003)
In 1991, there is a surge in the number of US soldiers adhering to Islam, due to a conversion program sponsored by the Saudi government (see March-September 1991). Islamic activist Abdurahman Alamoudi approaches the US military and suggests they create a program for Muslim chaplains, similar to a longstanding program for Christian chaplains. His proposal is accepted and in 1991 he creates the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council (AMAFVAC) with the stated purpose to "certify Muslim chaplains hired by the military." In 1993, the Defense Department certifies it as one of two organizations to select and endorse Muslim chaplains. The other is the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences (GSISS). (US Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary 10/14/2003; Simpson 12/3/2003) That group is run by prominent Islamic scholar Taha Jabir Al-Alwani. Most of the roughly one dozen Muslim chaplains in the US military are educated there. In 2002, the US government searches the school and Al-Alwani's home as part of a raid on the SAAR network (see March 20, 2002). He appears to also be named as an unindicted coconspirator in the Sami al-Arian trial. Counterterrorism expert Rita Katz says Al-Alwani is a "person who supports and funnels money to terrorist organizations," but Al-Alwani denies all terrorism ties and has not been charged with any crime. (Jacoby 3/27/2003) Most Muslim chaplains trained at GSISS then receive an official endorsement from Alamoudi's AMAFVAC organization. US intelligence will learn in early 1994 that Alamoudi has ties to bin Laden (see Shortly After March 1994). (US Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary 10/14/2003) In 1996, counterterrorism expert Steven Emerson will warn in a Wall Street Journal editorial that Alamoudi openly supports Hamas, even after the US government officially designated it a terrorist organization (see March 13, 1996). (Emerson 3/13/1996) But Alamoudi will work for the Defense Department until 1998 on an unpaid basis to nominate and to vet Muslim chaplain candidates. After that, he will give the task to others in his AMAFVAC organization. (US Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary 10/14/2003) Furthermore, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) will later allege the US the military allowed Muslim chaplains to travel to the Middle East on funds provided by the Muslim World League, which has been linked to al-Qaeda (see October 12, 2001). Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) will later comment, "It is remarkable that people who have known connections to terrorism are the only people to approve these chaplains." (Leo 10/27/2003) In late 2003, Alamoudi will be arrested and later sentenced to 23 years in prison for terrorism-related crimes. The US military will announce around the same time that it is reviewing and overhauling its Muslim chaplain program. (Leo 10/27/2003)
Ptech is founded in 1994 by Oussama Ziade, Hussein Ibrahim, and James Cerrato. Ziade came from Lebanon to study at Harvard University. As the Associated Press will describe it, Ptech's "idea was to help complicated organizations like the military and large companies create a picture of how their assets—people and technology—work together. Then the software could show how little changes, like combining two departments, might affect the whole." They raise $20 million to start the company. A number of Ptech employees and investors will later be suspected of having ties to groups that have been designated by the US as terrorist organizations: (CNN 12/6/2002; Guidera and Simpson 12/6/2002; Pope 1/3/2003)
Yassin al-Qadi, a Saudi multimillionaire. He will invest $5 million of Ptech's start-up money. The US will declare him an al-Qaeda financier shortly after 9/11 (see October 12, 2001). In 1998, al-Qadi will come under investigation by FBI agent Robert Wright (see October 1998) for potential ties to the 1998 US embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998). Al-Qadi is also a major investor in BMI Inc., an investment firm with connections to a remarkable number of suspected terrorist financiers (see 1986-October 1999). Al-Qadi later will claims that he sold his investment in Ptech in 1999, but there will be evidence he may continue to hold a financial stake after that year, and even after the US will officially declare him a terrorism financier (see 1999-After October 12, 2001). (Guidera and Simpson 12/6/2002; Mintz 12/7/2002; Pope 1/3/2003)
Gamel Ahmed, Ptech's comptroller in the mid-1990s. One al-Qadi loan Wright will investigate also involves Ahmed. (Pope 1/3/2003)
Hussein Ibrahim, Ptech vice president and chief scientist. He also serves as vice president and then president of BMI from 1989 until 1995. He has no known direct terrorism finance connections, but it has been reported that al-Qadi brought Ibrahim into Ptech as his representative. (Guidera and Simpson 12/6/2002; WBZ 4 (Boston) 12/9/2002; Pope 1/3/2003)
Soliman Biheiri. He is the head of BMI and a member of Ptech's board. US prosecutors will later call him the US banker for the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Egyptian militant group. He will later be convicted for lying and immigration fraud (see June 15, 2003). (Ehrenfeld 6/17/2005)
Abdurahman Alamoudi. He is one of Ptech's founders, as well as an investor in BMI. In 2004, the US will sentence him to 23 years in prison for illegal dealings with Libya (see October 15, 2004). (Markon 10/16/2004; Ehrenfeld 6/17/2005)
Muhammed Mubayyid and Suheil Laheir. Neither have any known direct ties to terrorism financing. However, both are longtime Ptech employees whom formerly worked for Care International, a Boston-based suspect Islamic charity (not to be confused with a large international charity having the same name). (Guidera and Simpson 12/6/2002) In 2005, Mubayyid will be charged with conspiring to defraud the US and making false statements to the FBI. Care International had previously been the Boston branch of the Al-Kifah Refugee Center (see [a0493kifahboston]]) and a recruitment office for Mektab al Khidmat (MAK), the precursor organization to al-Qaeda (see 1985-1989). Laheir, Ptech's chief architect, wrote many articles in support of Islamic holy war. He frequently quoted Abdullah Azzam, bin Laden's mentor. (Emery 5/13/2005; Ehrenfeld 6/17/2005)
Yaqub Mirza. He is a Ptech investor and on a Ptech advisory board. He directs SAAR, a multi-million dollar network of companies and charities in Herndon, Virginia (see July 29, 1983). In March 2002, US investigators will raid the SAAR network for suspected terrorism ties (see March 20, 2002). In late 2002, the Wall Street Journal will report, "US officials privately say Mr. Mirza and his associates also have connections to al-Qaeda and to other entities officially listed by the US as sponsors of terrorism." (Guidera and Simpson 12/6/2002; WBZ 4 (Boston) 12/9/2002; Pope 1/3/2003)
BMI itself directly invests in Ptech. It also gives Ptech a founding loan, and leases Ptech much of its office and computer equipment. (Guidera and Simpson 12/6/2002; Pope 1/3/2003) Ptech president Ziade and other Ptech employees will claim that all of their ties to suspected terrorist financiers are coincidental. By 2002, Ptech will have annual revenues of up to $10 million. (Guidera and Simpson 12/6/2002) Ptech's potential ties to suspected terrorist financiers will be of particular concern because of its potential access to classified government information (see 1996-1997). (Guidera and Simpson 12/6/2002; Ranalli 12/7/2002) Joe Bergantino, a CBS journalist who will be the first to report on Ptech, will say of Ptech in 2002, "The worst-case scenario is that this is a situation where this was planned for a very long time to establish a company in this country and in the computer software business that would target federal agencies and gain access to key government data to essentially help terrorists launch another attack." (National Public Radio 12/8/2002)
In 1995, investigators raid two groups in Tampa, Florida, associated with Sami al-Arian, a university professor who some claim has been a supporter of terrorist groups. These raids alert investigators to a group of Muslim charities in Herndon, Virginia, known as the SAAR network (see July 29, 1983). An investigation into that network's alleged terrorism financing begins. In 1998, National Security Council aides in the Clinton White House push the FBI to intensify the SAAR investigation. However, the FBI declines, claiming that an aggressive probe would be seen as ethnic profiling. The SAAR network will not be raided until early 2002 (see March 20, 2002). (Farah and Mintz 10/7/2002) Al-Arian will not be arrested until 2003, largely on the basis of activities from 1995 and before. He will eventually be sentenced to almost five years in prison and will admit to aiding the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (see December 6, 2005), which the US has officially designated as a terrorist group.
On July 5, 1995, high-level Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk is detained at a New York City airport as he tries to enter the US. An immigration agent checks Marzouk's name against a watch list and finds a match. Marzouk's name had apparently been added to the watch list in recent months, so he had not been stopped on previous trips. Although not a US citizen, he had been living in the US for 14 years. Israel considers him the head of Hamas' political wing, and he is already under indictment in Israel for at least ten attacks that killed at least 47 people. In 1994 he appeared on Lebanese television to take credit for a Hamas suicide attack in Israel, saying, "Death is a goal to every Muslim." When he is detained in New York, he is found with an address book that the FBI says contains the names, telephone numbers, and addresses of numerous "active and violent terrorists and terrorist organizations." More than 20 percent of the addresses are in the US. He is also carrying paperwork connecting him to charities and companies worth more than $10 million, which the FBI suspect are part of a Hamas money laundering operation in the US. On August 16, 1995, the US declares him a "Specially Designated Terrorist." (Greenhouse 7/28/1995; Emerson 2002, pp. 86-87; Federal News Service 6/2/2003; Simpson 6/21/2004) In August 1995, the US announces it will extradite Marzouk to Israel rather than try him in the US. Extradition hearings proceed slowly until 1997, when Marzouk announces he will no longer fight being deported to Israel. Then Israel makes the surprise announcement that it is no longer seeking Marzouk's extradition. They cite a fear of a highly publicized trial and the fear of retaliatory terrorist attacks. In May 1997, the US deports Marzouk to Jordan, "ending what had become an embarrassing case for both the United States and Israel." Jordan in turn deports him to Syria, where he will live and continue to work as a top Hamas leader. At the time of his deportation, it is claimed that one reason Marzouk is being deported is because the evidence against him is weak. (Schmemann 4/4/1997; Macfarquhar 5/6/1997; Emerson 2002, pp. 87-89) However, FBI agent Robert Wright will later claim that he uncovered more than enough evidence to convict Marzouk, but that higher-ups in the FBI did not want to disrupt the Hamas support network in the US, apparently in hopes that Hamas would commit enough violent attacks to disrupt peace negotiations between Israel and more moderate Palestinians (see June 2, 2003).
Wadih El-Hage has been bin Laden's personal secretary since the early 1990s. When US agents raid his house in Nairobi, Kenya, they seize his address book (see August 21, 1997), which contains the names and phone numbers for many other al-Qaeda operatives. (Hirschkorn 5/25/2001) The names discovered in the book include:
Ali Mohamed, the al-Qaeda double agent living in California. US investigators are already tapping his California phone and have been tapping calls between him and El-Hage since at least 1996 (see April 1996).
Mamoun Darkazanli. He is a Syrian-born businessman living in Hamburg, Germany, who has contacts with Mohamed Atta's al-Qaeda cell in the same city. Darkazanli's name and phone number are listed, and El-Hage even has a business card listing El-Hage's address in Texas and Darkazanli's address in Hamburg (see Late 1998).
Ghassan Dahduli. He works at two US non-profit organizations, the Islamic Association for Palestine and InfoCom. Both organizations will be shut down for supporting terrorist networks (see September 16, 1998-September 5, 2001).
Salah al-Rajhi (see Shortly After August 21, 1997). He and his brother of Sulaiman Abdul Aziz al-Rajhi, are billionaires and jointly own the Al-Rajhi Banking & Investment Corp. Sulaiman started a network of organizations in Herndon, Virginia known as the SAAR network (named for the four initials in his name). This network will be raided by US officials in 2002 for suspected terrorist funding ties (see March 20, 2002). (Isikoff and Hosenball 12/9/2002)
Ihab Ali Nawawi, an al-Qaeda operative living in Florida. He is referred to as "Ihab Ali" and his location in Tampa, Florida, is mentioned. He will not be arrested until May 1999 (see May 18, 1999). (United States of America v. Usama Bin Laden, et al., Day 39 5/3/2001)
Essam Marzouk. He is linked to both al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad and is living in Vancouver, Canada at the time. He will later train the 1998 embassy bombers. It is unclear if the link to Marzouk is shared with Canadian intelligence (see Shortly After August 21, 1997). (Bell 3/19/2002)
Essam al Ridi. He is a US citizen and a pilot who helped bin Laden buy an airplane in the US in the early 1990s (see Early 1993). He appears to have no militant ties after that. In late 1999, US prosecutors will contact al Ridi where he is living in Bahrain and convince him to testify against El-Hage and others involved in the 1998 embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998). (Hirshkorn 7/2/2002)
Farid Adlouni. He is a civil engineer living in Lake Oswego, Oregon. In 1996 and 1997, El-Hage calls Adlouni in Oregon 72 times, sometimes just before or after meeting with bin Laden. Adlouni's home phone and fax numbers are be found in two personal phone directories and one notebook kept by El-Hage (see Shortly After August 21, 1997). Earlier in 1997, El-Hage also sent him a fax written by al-Qaeda leader Mohammed Atef (see Febuary 25, 1997). Records show that El-Hage has extensive dealings with Adlouni, mostly by selling gems El-Hage bought in Africa for a better price in the US. The FBI interviews Adlouni twice in late 1997, but he is not arrested. As of 2002, it will be reported that he continues to live in Oregon and remains a "person of interest" and subject of investigation by the FBI. (Zaitz 9/13/2002)
Khalid al-Fawwaz. He is al-Qaeda's de facto press secretary in London. El-Hage gives al-Fawwaz's correct name, London phone number, and street address, but lists him as living in Texas. Presumably this is a slight attempt at subterfuge. (United States of America v. Usama Bin Laden, et al., Day 38 5/2/2001)
A business card in the name Mamdouh M. Salim is found. This is a reference to Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, a known al-Qaeda leader. (United States of America v. Usama Bin Laden, et al., Day 37 5/1/2001)
A business card belonging to Mansour al-Kadi is found. (Keefe 4/21/2008) Al-Kadi is the Deputy General of the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, a suspect Saudi charity closely linked to the Saudi government. Al-Kadi will be fired in early 2004 and the entire foundation will be shut down several months later (see March 2002-September 2004). The Treasury Department will later say that Al Haramain has a role in the 1998 African embassy bombings (see Autumn 1997). (US Treasury Department 9/9/2004)
Several business cards relating to the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO). A 1996 CIA report connected the IIRO to terrorist funding, but the IIRO will not be prosecuted due to its close ties to the Saudi government (see January 1996 and October 12, 2001). (Isikoff and Hosenball 12/9/2002)
According to author Douglas Farah, the address book is "full of the names of diamond dealers and jewelers, often including the purchaser's home phone number." This suggests al-Qaeda could be profiting from the diamond trade in Africa. (Farah 2004, pp. 64-65)
But Farah also will note in 2004 that many of the leads from El-Hage's address book and other documents discovered around the same time are not fully explored. In fact, he says that "Most of El-Hage's notebooks, written in Arabic, have still not been translated into English." (Farah 2004, pp. 64-65)
Grover Norquist, one of the most politically-connected Republican lobbyists, founds a group to build Republican support among Muslim Americans. Norquist cofounds the Islamic Institute, sometimes called the Islamic Free Market Institute, with Khaled Saffuri. Saffuri is executive director and Norquist is chairman of the board. The institute operates out of the headquarters of Americans for Tax Reform, Norquist's main lobbying group. (Foer 11/1/2001) The start-up money largely comes from Middle Eastern sources. Saffuri's former boss at the American Muslim Council, Abdurahman Alamoudi, gives at least $35,000. Alamoudi has been suspected of ties to bin Laden and other Islamic radicals (see Shortly After March 1994) since at least 1994 and will later be sentenced to 23 years in prison (see October 15, 2004). The Safa Trust donates at least $35,000, and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) contributes $11,000. Both organizations are part of the SAAR group and are among the organizations raided in early 2002 (see March 20, 2002). (Jacoby 3/11/2003) Norquist is very close to future President Bush. The Washington Post will later comment that "even before President Bush's election, [Norquist] positioned himself as a gatekeeper for supplicants seeking access to Bush's inner circle." (Weisman 7/9/2006) The St. Petersburg Times will later note that after the founding of the Islamic Institute, "then-candidate Bush began popping up in photographs with various politically connected Muslims (see March 12, 2000). The only problem was, many of these same prominent Muslims were also under scrutiny by federal investigators for links to terrorism." (Jacoby 3/11/2003) The Islamic Institute becomes a key power center for Muslim activists currying favor with Bush and other Republicans, and these alliances lead to more Muslim American votes for Bush. Norquist will later claim, "George W. Bush was elected President of the United States of America because of the Muslim vote." (Foer 11/1/2001) After Bush is elected president, Saffuri regularly appears at the White House with imams and heads of Islamic organizations to lobby for policy changes. Suhail Khan, who was a director of the Islamic Institute, is the point person arranging the Muslim groups' access to Bush. Khan's late father was imam at a mosque in Santa Clara, California, which once hosted a visit by Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's number two leader. Norquist apparently boasted that he got Khan his White House post. (Foer 11/1/2001; Jacoby 3/11/2003) It will later be alleged that Norquist's ties to people openly sympathetic to Islamist militant groups stifled investigations before 9/11 (see March 20, 2002). Shortly after 9/11, one recently retired intelligence official will claim that a number of counterterrorism agents at the FBI and CIA are "pissed as hell about the situation and pissed as hell about Grover [Norquist]." (Foer 11/1/2001)
In an interview with ABC News reporter John Miller, Osama bin Laden indicates he may attack a US military passenger aircraft using antiaircraft missiles. Bin Laden says: "We are sure of our victory. Our battle with the Americans is larger than our battle with the Russians.… We predict a black day for America and the end of the United States as United States, and will be separate states, and will retreat from our land and collect the bodies of its sons back to America." In the subsequent media coverage, Miller will repeatedly refer to bin Laden as "the world's most dangerous terrorist," and "the most dangerous man in the world." (Miller 5/28/1998; Miller 6/12/1998; Miller 2/1999; US Congress 7/24/2003) The book The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright will later note, "Looming behind his head was a large map of Africa, an unremarked clue." (Wright 2006, pp. 264) Bin Laden admits to knowing Wali Khan Amin Shah, one of the Bojinka plotters (see June 1996), but denies having met Bojinka plotter Ramzi Yousef or knowing about the plot itself. (PBS Frontline 10/3/2002) A Virginia man named Tarik Hamdi (see March 20, 2002) helped set up Miller's interview. He goes with Miller to Afghanistan and gives bin Laden a new battery for his satellite phone (see November 1996-Late August 1998). Vincent Cannistraro, former head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center, will later claim that this battery was somehow bugged to help the US monitor bin Laden. (Isikoff and Hosenball 8/10/2005) In 2005, Miller will become the FBI's assistant director of the Office of Public Affairs. (Ficara 8/24/2005)
On September 15, 1998, Wadih El-Hage is arrested in the US after appearing before a US grand jury. A US citizen, he had been bin Laden's personal secretary. He will later be convicted for a role in the 1998 US embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998). (Weiser 9/18/1998)
Three hijackers, Hani Hanjour, Khalid Almihdhar, and Nawaf Alhazmi, check into the same hotel as a prominent Saudi government official, Saleh Ibn Abdul Rahman Hussayen. (Schmidt 10/2/2003) Hussayen originally stayed at a different nearby hotel, but moved to this hotel on the same day the hijackers checked in. (Trento and Trento 2006, pp. 45) Investigators have not found any evidence that the hijackers met with Hussayen, and stress it could be a coincidence. (Rennie 3/10/2003) However, one prosecutor working on a related case will assert, "I continue to believe it can't be a coincidence." (Barrett and Simpson 10/2/2003) An FBI agent will later say that Hussayen "may have had some connection to the attacks and is likely to have met with those funding the hijackers if not the hijackers themselves." (Trento and Trento 2006, pp. 45) Hussayen is interviewed by the FBI shortly after 9/11, but according to testimony from an FBI agent, the interview is cut short when Hussayen "feign[s] a seizure, prompting the agents to take him to a hospital, where the attending physicians [find] nothing wrong with him." The agent recommends that Hussayen "should not be allowed to leave until a follow-up interview could occur." (Schmidt 10/2/2003) The agent returns to the hotel the next day, but finds Hussayen unhelpful. After she leaves, Hussayen calls the Saudi embassy, which contacts the FBI. Another, less aggressive agent is sent to talk to Hussayen and finds no additional information, so the FBI says he can leave the US. The first agent does not want him to go without answering her questions, but, according to authors Joe and Susan Trento, "Because of pressure from [Saudi ambassador to the US] Prince Bandar on the Bush administration… the agent's superiors overruled her." The superiors are not named. (Trento and Trento 2006, pp. 45) For most of the 1990s, Hussayen was director of the SAAR Foundation, a Saudi charity that is being investigated for terrorism ties and will be raided in early 2002 (see March 20, 2002). A few months after 9/11 he is named a minister of the Saudi government and put in charge of its two holy mosques. Hussayen had arrived in the US in late August 2001 planning to visit some Saudi-sponsored charities. Many of the charities on his itinerary, including the Global Relief Foundation, Muslim World League, IIRO (International Islamic Relief Organization), IANA (Islamic Assembly of North America), and World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), have since been shut down or investigated for alleged ties to Islamic militant groups. (Schmidt 10/2/2003) His nephew, Sami Omar Hussayen, will be indicted in early 2004 for using his computer expertise to assist militant groups, and will be charged with administering a website associated with IANA, an organization which expressly advocated suicide attacks and using airliners as weapons in the months before 9/11. Investigators also will claim the nephew was in contact with important al-Qaeda figures. (Schmidt 10/2/2003; Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1/10/2004) The nephew will be acquitted later in 2004 of the terrorism-related charges. The defense will not dispute that he posted messages advocating suicide bombings, but will argue that he had the Constitutional right to do so. The jury will deadlock on most of the counts. (Schmidt 6/11/2004) IANA apparently will remain under investigation, as well as the flow of money from the uncle to nephew. (Rennie 3/10/2003) The uncle is not charged with any crime. (Barrett and Simpson 10/2/2003)
The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Muslim World League (MWL) are Saudi charities directly financed by the Saudi government. In 1996, the CIA gave the State Department a report detailing evidence that the IIIRO supported terrorism. It claimed the IIRO has funded Hamas and six militant training camps in Afghanistan, and one funder of the Bojinka plot to blow up airplanes over the Pacific was the head of the IIRO office in the Philippines (see January 1996). US intelligence officials also believe that MWL employees were involved in the 1998 US embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998). Harper's magazine claims that it has long been known that both groups helped fund al-Qaeda. However, in October 2001, it is reported that the Bush administration has left the two organizations off an October 12, 2001 list of designated terrorist groups to spare the Saudi government from embarrassment (see October 12, 2001). In March 2002, the Virginia offices of the IIRO and MWL will be raided by US Customs agents (see March 20, 2002). (Armstrong 3/2004) In September 2003, it will be reported that US officials recently gave Saudi officials a detailed documenting the IIRO's terrorism links and asked the Saudis to close all of the organization's overseas offices. (O'Brien 9/26/2003) However, as of January 2006, it will be reported that it appears the overseas offices of the IIRO and MWL are still open and the US has not officially declared either group to be terrorist sponsors. The US will still be complaining to the Saudis about these two organizations and others, and the Saudis will still not do anything about them (see January 15, 2006).
Yassin al-Qadi, a Saudi multimillionaire businessman, was officially declared a terrorist financier in October 2001 (see October 12, 2001). (Alkhereiji 9/26/2002) That same month, a number of employees at Ptech, a Boston-based computer company that al-Qadi and other individuals suspected of financing officially designated terrorist groups invested in (see 1994), tell the Boston FBI about the connections between Ptech and al-Qadi. However, FBI agents do little more than take their statements. A high-level government source later will claim the FBI does not convey the Ptech-al-Qadi link to Operation Greenquest, a Customs Department investigation into al-Qadi and other suspected financiers, and none of the government agencies using Ptech software are warned about the possible security threat Ptech represents. (Ranalli 12/7/2002; WBZ 4 (Boston) 12/9/2002) According to a private counterterrorism expert involved in investigating Ptech at the time, "Frighteningly, when an employee told [Ptech president Oussama Ziade] he felt he had to contact the FBI regarding al-Qadi's involvement in the company, the president allegedly told him not to worry because Yaqub Mirza, who was on the board of directors of the company and was himself a target of a [Greenquest] terrorist financing raid in March 2002 (see March 20, 2002), had contacts high within the FBI." (Katz and Devon 5/27/2003) A Ptech investigation will finally begin in 2002 after more whistleblowers come forward (see May-December 5, 2002).
The US and other countries announce the closure of the Al Taqwa Bank and the Al Barakaat financial network. President Bush says, "Al Taqwa and Al Barakaat raise funds for al-Qaeda. They manage, invest and distribute those funds." US officials claim that both entities skimmed a part of the fees charged on each financial transaction it conducted and paid it to al-Qaeda. This would provide al-Qaeda with tens of millions of dollars annually. Additionally, Al Taqwa would provide investment advice and transfer cash for al-Qaeda. Al Taqwa is based in Switzerland while Al Barakaat is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Over 100 nations are said to be cooperating with efforts to block the funds of these two groups. (Sanger and Eichenwald 11/8/2001) Swiss authorities raid Al Taqwa-related businesses and the homes of bank leaders Youssef Nada, Ali Himmat, and Ahmad Huber, but no arrests are made. In January 2002, Nada will announce that the Al Taqwa Bank is shutting down, due to bad publicity after the raids. He will maintain that he and his organization are completely innocent. (Hosenball 11/7/2001; Reuters 1/10/2002) Days after 9/11, Huber called the 9/11 attacks "counterterror against American-Israeli terror," the World Trade Center a "the Twin Towers of the godless," and the Pentagon "a symbol of Satan," yet he will claim to have no ties to the attackers. (Reynolds 2/1/2002; Hosenball 3/18/2002) In searching Nada's house, Swiss authorities discover a document entitled "The Project," which is a strategic plan for the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate and defeat Western countries (see December 1982). By late 2002, both the US and UN will declare Al Taqwa Bank, Nada, and Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, another founder and director of the bank, supporters of terrorism. All of their accounts will be declared frozen worldwide. (US Department of the Treasury 8/29/2002) However, while Al Taqwa itself will be shut down, later reports will indicate that other financial entities operated by the directors will continue to operate freely (see June-October 2005).
Scores of federal agents raid 14 entities in a cluster of more than 100 homes, charities, think tanks, and businesses in Herndon, Virginia, a town just outside of Washington with a large Muslim population. No arrests are made and no organizations are shut down, but over 500 boxes of files and computer files are confiscated, filling seven trucks. This group of interlocking entities is widely known as the SAAR network (it is also sometimes called the Safa Group). SAAR stands for Sulaiman Abdul Aziz al-Rajhi, a Saudi banker and billionaire who largely funded the group beginning in the early 1980s (see July 29, 1983). He is said to be close to the Saudi ruling family and is on the Golden Chain, a list of early al-Qaeda supporters (see 1988-1989). (Miller 3/21/2002; Farah 2004, pp. 152; Simpson 6/21/2004) The name and address of Salah al-Rajhi, Suleiman's brother, was discovered in 1998 in the telephone book of Wadih El-Hage (see September 15, 1998). El-Hage was bin Laden's personal secretary and was convicted of a role in the 1998 US embassy bombings. (Miller 3/25/2002) The raids are said to be primarily led by David Kane, a Customs agent working with a Customs investigation started just after 9/11 code-named Operation Greenquest. Many of the organizations are located at an office building at 555 Grove Street in Herndon. Kane writes in an affidavit for the raid that many organizations based there are "paper organizations" which "dissolve and are replaced by other organizations under the control of the same group of individuals." (Miller 3/21/2002; Simpson 6/21/2004) Investigators appear to be primarily interested in the connections between the SAAR network and the Al Taqwa Bank, a Swiss bank closed after 9/11 on suspicions of funding al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups (see November 7, 2001). They are also interested in connections between both SAAR and Al Taqwa and the Muslim Brotherhood (see December 1982). According to author Douglas Farah, "US officials [later say] they had tracked about $20 million from [SAAR] entities flowing through Nada's Bank al Taqwa, but said the total could be much higher. The ties between Nada and [SAAR] leaders were many and long-standing, as were their ties to other [Muslim] Brotherhood leaders.… For a time, Suleiman Abdel Aziz al-Rajhi, the SAAR Foundation founder, worked for Nada" at Al Taqwa's Liechtenstein branch. (Miller 3/25/2002; Farah 2004, pp. 154-155) Organizations and individuals targeted by the raid include:
Yaqub Mirza. He is the director of virtually all of the organizations targeted in the raid. The Wall Street Journal claims, "US officials privately say Mr. Mirza and his associates also have connections to al-Qaeda and to other entities officially listed by the US as sponsors of terrorism." (Simpson 4/18/2002; Guidera and Simpson 12/6/2002)
The SAAR Foundation or the Safa Trust, an umbrella group for the SAAR network. The SAAR Foundation had recently disbanded and reformed as the Safa Trust. (Miller 3/21/2002; Simpson 3/22/2002; Farah and Mintz 10/7/2002)
Hisham Al-Talib, who served as an officer of the SAAR Foundation and Safa Trust, had previously been an officer of firms run by Youssef Nada. Nada is one of the main owners of the Al Taqwa Bank. (Simpson 3/22/2002)
Mar-Jac Poultry Inc., an Islamic chicken processor with operations in rural Georgia. (Simpson 6/21/2004)
Jamal Barzinji. An officer of Mar-Jac and other organizations targeted in the raid, he had previously been involved with Nada's companies. (Simpson 3/22/2002)
The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO). (Miller 3/21/2002)
The Muslim World League. It is considered to be a parent organization for the IIRO. (Miller 3/21/2002)
International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIRT). The IIRT had been under investigation since at least 1998. (Miller 3/21/2002)
Tarik Hamdi, an employee at IIRT. His home is also raided. He carried a battery for a satellite phone to Afghanistan in early 1998, and the battery was used for Osama bin Laden's phone (see May 28, 1998). (Miller 3/21/2002)
Abdurahman Alamoudi, a top Muslim lobbyist who formerly worked for one of the SAAR organizations. His nearby home is raided. The search yields a memo on large transactions involving Hamas, operations against the Israelis, and the notation "Met Mousa Abu Marzouk in Jordan." Marzouk is a Hamas leader believed to be involved in fundraising for Hamas in the US for many years (see July 5, 1995-May 1997). Alamoudi is alleged to be a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. (Simpson 6/21/2004)
Samir Salah, an Egyptian-born president of the Piedmont Trading Corporation, which is part of the SAAR network. He is also a former director and treasurer of the Al Taqwa Bank's important Bahamas branch. Additionally, he was a founder of a Bosnian charity reportedly connected to a plot to blow up the US embassy in Bosnia. (Miller 3/25/2002)
Ibrahim Hassabella. He is a shareholder of the SAAR Foundation and also a former secretary of the Al Taqwa Bank. (Miller 3/25/2002) Investigators will later find that much of SAAR's money seemed to disappear into offshore bank accounts. For instance, in 1998, SAAR claimed to have moved $9 million to a charity based in the tax haven of the Isle of Man, but investigators will find no evidence the charity existed. One US official involved in the probe will say of SAAR, "Looking at their finances is like looking into a black hole." (Farah and Mintz 10/7/2002) In 2003, it will be reported that US investigators are looking into reports that the director of the SAAR foundation for most of the 1990s stayed in the same hotel as three of the 9/11 hijackers the night before the 9/11 attacks (see September 10, 2001). Some US investigators had looked into the SAAR network in the mid-1990s, but the FBI blocked the investigation's progress (see 1995-1998).
Counterterrorism expert Rita Katz is said to have given the Operation Greenquest investigators some of the information that led to the March 2002 SAAR network raid (see March 20, 2002). She will later write that in the months after that raid, "The CIA was investigating me and the SAAR investigators from Greenquest and Customs. The CIA and the FBI investigated everyone who had anything to do with the SAAR investigation. White vans and SUV's with dark windows appeared near all the homes of the SAAR investigators. All agents, some of whom were very experienced with surveillance, knew they were being followed. So was I. I felt that I was being followed everywhere and watched at home, in the supermarket, on the way to work… and for what?… The Customs agents were questioned. So were their supervisors. So was the US attorney on the SAAR case.… Risking criticism for being unfoundedly paranoid, I must convey my theory about the investigation and CIA's involvement in it, I don't know for certain what's the deal with the CIA investigating the SAAR investigators, but it sure feels as if someone up in that agency doesn't like the idea that the Saudi Arabian boat is rocked. The [SAAR raid] had taken place already—the CIA couldn't change that—but investigating and giving the people behind the raids a hard time is a most efficient way of making sure the SAAR investigation stops there." (Katz 2003, pp. 42) The internal governmental battle against Greenquest will continue until Greenquest will be shut down in 2003 (see After March 20, 2002-Early 2003).
In the wake of the Operation Greenquest raid on the SAAR network (see March 20, 2002), disgruntled Muslim-American leaders meet with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill to complain about the raid. At the time, the Treasury Department had control over the Customs Department, which ran Greenquest. The meeting is arranged by prominent Republican activist Grover Norquist. About a dozen leaders are asked to attend the meeting. O'Neill pledges to look into concerns the leaders have about the raid. (Simpson 4/18/2002; Armstrong 3/2004) Those who meet with O'Neill include:
Khaled Saffuri. He is head of the Islamic Institute, a group he co-founded with Norquist to organize conservative Muslims (see 1998-September 2001). The institute accepted $20,000 in donations from the Safa Trust, which was targeted in the raid. The Safa Trust in turn has been funded by Youssef Nada, who had his assets frozen shortly after 9/11 on suspicion on funding al-Qaeda (see November 7, 2001). The institute also received donations from Abdurahman Alamoudi, another target of the raid who will later receive a long prison term (see October 15, 2004). (Simpson 4/18/2002; Armstrong 3/2004)
Talat Othman. The Wall Street Journal calls him "a longtime associate and supporter of President Bush's family who gave a benediction at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia in August 2000." He serves on the board of Amana Mutual Funds Trust, an investment firm founded by Yaqub Mirza, the director of most of the organizations targeted in the raid. Amana was not a target of the raid, but two other organization that were raided held large blocks of shares in Amana's mutual funds. Othman claims to know Mirza only slightly. Othman is also on the board of Saffuri's Islamic Institute. Further, Othman served on the board of Harken Energy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, at the same time that President Bush did. At the time, Othman represented Saudi businessman Abdullah Bakhsh on Harken Energy's board, and the investments through Bakhsh were considered essential in saving Harken from bankruptcy. Bakhsh has indirect connections to the notorious criminal bank BCCI (see July 5, 1991), and in 1996 reputedly attended a secret meeting with al-Qaeda representatives, where the attendees agreed to pay al-Qaeda many millions of dollars of protection money (see May 1996). (Petzinger, Truell, and Abramson 12/6/1991; Simpson 4/18/2002) Bakhsh will head a subsidiary of Halliburton, the oil services company formerly run by Vice President Cheney. Othman reportedly remains a friend of Bush. (Armstrong 3/2004) Harper's magazine will note that "large sums of money from the suspect groups have moved through Amana, [yet] Greenquest agents chose not to raid the firm," and will hint that political influence from Othman and others may have saved Amana from being raided. (Armstrong 3/2004)
Soliman Biheiri, the former head of BMI Inc., a New Jersey-based investment firm with ties to many suspected terrorism financiers (see 1986-October 1999), had left the US immediately after a raid of the SAAR network in March 2002 (see March 20, 2002). On this day, he returns to the US and is immediately arrested and interviewed by Customs agent David Kane. Biheiri tells Kane that he has longstanding ties to leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Muslim group banned in Egypt. Agents are able to search his laptop computer, and discover ties with Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk. He is also connected to two principals of the banned Al Taqwa Bank (see November 7, 2001), Youssef Nada and Ghaleb Himmat, when their addresses are discovered on his computer as well. Agents say there are "other indications" of connections between Al Taqwa and Biheiri's company BMI, including financial transactions. (Perelman 10/17/2003; Simpson 6/21/2004; Barakat 10/12/2004) An e-mail is also discovered showing Biheiri was involved in Saudi multimillionaire Yassin al-Qadi's financial dealings with Yaqub Mirza, the director of the raided SAAR network. The US froze al-Qadi's assets in late 2001 (see October 12, 2001). (Simpson 9/15/2003) Biheiri will be convicted of immigration fraud in October 2003. He will be convicted again in 2004 for lying to Kane about his ties to Marzouk during his interview. (Simpson 6/21/2004; Barakat 10/12/2004)
A CIA report strongly suggests that the Al-Rajhi Bank is being used to finance militants. The bank is one of the biggest in Saudi Arabia, with an estimated $26 billion in assets in 2006. The report states, "Islamic extremists have used Al-Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation since at least the mid-1990s as a conduit for terrorist transactions… Senior al-Rajhi family members have long supported Islamic extremists and probably know that terrorists use their bank. Reporting indicates that senior al-Rajhi family members control the bank's most important decisions and that [their] principal managers answer directly to Sulaiman [Abdul Aziz al-Rajhi]. The al-Rajhis know they are under scrutiny and have moved to conceal their activities from financial regulatory authorities." It adds that in 2002, Sulaiman ordered the bank's board "to explore financial instruments that would allow the bank's charitable contributions to avoid official Saudi scrutiny." US intelligence have extensive circumstantial evidence but no direct proof that bank managers knowingly support terrorism. For instance, the report says that in December 1998, Sulaiman and his brother Salah sent $4 million to Germany and Pakistan using "a unique computer code to send funds at regular intervals to unspecified recipients, suggesting they were trying to conceal the transactions and that the money may have been intended for illegitimate ends." Islamist operatives in many countries have used the bank, including at least some al-Qaeda leaders and 9/11 hijackers (see Before September 11, 2001). In 1997, US investigators recovered the address book of al-Qaeda financier Wadih El-Hage, and discovered Salah al-Rajhi's phone number in it (see Shortly After August 21, 1997). Salah is Sulaiman's brother and co-owner of the bank. In 2002, the US will raid the SAAR Network, a collection of linked financial entities in the US suspected of funding militants. SAAR stands for Sulaiman Abdul Aziz al-Rajhi, and the network was founded and funded by him (see March 20, 2002). (Simpson 7/26/2007; Agency 7/26/2007) The US government will subsequently consider taking overt action against the bank, but will ultimately decide against it (see Mid-2003). The bank continues to deny any links to Islamic militancy.
US agents raid the US branch of World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), a large Saudi charity. The branch was founded in 1992 by Abdullah Awad bin Laden, a nephew of Osama, and he was still listed as president of the branch in a 2002 business listing. (Schwartz 4/8/2002; Markon 6/2/2004) In 1996, an FBI investigation into WAMY, Abdullah Awad, and his brother Omar, was closed down, apparently for political reasons (see February-September 11, 1996). At least two of the 9/11 hijackers lived about three blocks from WAMY's office for much of 2001 (see March 2001 and After). A new investigation of WAMY was launched one week after 9/11 (see September 14-19, 2001). All of WAMY's files and computer files are seized; one person is arrested on immigration charges. The raid appears to have taken place because WAMY came up in a terrorism investigation of the SAAR network (see March 20, 2002), located outside Washington and relatively close to the WAMY office. A federal affidavit alleges that WAMY has ties to Hamas. (Markon 6/2/2004)
Muslim activist Abdurahman Alamoudi is sentenced to 23 years in prison in the US for illegal dealings with Libya. Charges include that he was involved in a complex plot to kill Crown Price Abdullah, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors successfully argued that Alamoudi served as a go-between Saudi dissidents and Libyan officials involved in the plot. Alamoudi admitted that he illegally moved money from Libya, taking nearly $1 million and using it to pay conspirators. The plot, thought to stem from a personality dispute between the leaders of Libya and Saudi Arabia, was ultimately foiled by the Saudi government. The Washington Post notes that Alamoudi was "one of America's best-known Muslim activists—a former head of the American Muslim Council who met with senior Clinton and Bush administration officials in his efforts to bolster Muslim political prominence." He was "once so prominent that his influence reached the highest levels of the US government." Alamoudi is said to be cooperating with US investigators as part of the deal. It is believed that his testimony could be very useful to an ongoing probe of the SAAR network, since he was closely involved with that network (see March 20, 2002). (Markon 10/16/2004)
News reports indicate Al Taqwa bankers are able to conduct business globally with few restrictions, despite being on global terrorist financier lists (see November 7, 2001). For instance, Al Taqwa director Ahmed Idris Nasreddin is running a conglomerate in Nigeria that makes a range of goods such as breakfast cereal and beauty products. An MSNBC investigation shows a clear and easily discovered paper trail connecting Nasreddin to the Nigeria companies, and a Nigerian government spokesman says, "He is well known. He is actually the major shareholder" in the conglomerate. But Nigerian officials claim the US has never raised objections or asked Nigeria to take action. In 2003, news reports tied Nasreddin to a prominent hotel in Milan, Italy. Financial records indicate he still owns the hotel. (Myers and Roston 6/30/2005) Author Douglas Farah notes that the Geneva, Switzerland, branch of the International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) has two Al Taqwa figures as directors. Youssef al Qardawi was a major Al Taqwa investor, and Ghaleb Himmat was a director in the bank. Both are officially designated terrorist financiers. The IICO also operated as part of the SAAR network, which was raided in March 2002 (see March 20, 2002). The IICO's vice president is Saleh Ibn Abdul Rahman Hussayen, who was a SAAR network official and also stayed in the same hotel as three of the 9/11 hijackers the night before the attacks (see September 10, 2001). Farah comments that these examples show "how ineffective and toothless the international sanctions regime has become. Those on the UN [terrorist financier] list continue to operate freely, presiding over businesses and charities that give them continued access to millions of dollars. The organizations that hire them are not penalized and, in the end, neither are the individuals." (Farah 11/7/2005)
According to an unnamed law enforcement official who works with the FBI and the National Counter Terrorism Center, the investigation into the SAAR network is still ongoing. However, only a small portion of the documents and computer files confiscated in a raid on the network in 2002 (see March 20, 2002) have been fully translated from Arabic into English. This official complains, "They don't have the damn resources. They don't have the language skills or computer forensic personnel to go through it all. And yet it's a gold mine of information." (Sperry 12/9/2005)
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text:
Dan Uggla hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the seventh after Tim Hudson blew a five-run lead and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 12-6 Wednesday night.
Ryan Howard's three-run homer off Hudson during a five-run fifth tied it at 6, but the wild card-leading Braves scored four runs after Antonio Bastardo (2-4) got the first two outs in the seventh.
Michael Bourn had three hits, including a two-run homer, and drove in three, and Uggla also had three hits.
Chad Durbin (4-1) tossed a perfect sixth to earn the win.
Hudson allowed six runs and six hits in 4 1-3 innings. It was his second-shortest outing of the season.
The Braves chased Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick in the fourth, taking a 6-1 lead that seemed insurmountable with Hudson on the mound. The three-time All-Star righty is 132-3 when given a lead of three or more.
But Jimmy Rollins got a rally started in the fifth with an RBI double. Domonic Brown followed with an RBI double to cut it to 6-3. After Chase Utley was hit by a pitch, Howard took Hudson deep to left-center to tie it at 6.
The comeback took Kendrick off the hook. He gave up six runs and seven hits in 3 1-3 innings.
Jason Heyward's two-out double in the seventh started Atlanta's rally. Chipper Jones was intentionally walked and Freddie Freeman worked a walk. Uggla then ripped one down the third-base line to clear the bases and knock out Bastardo.
Uggla entered the game hitting just .136 (23 for 169) since June 6. However, the All-Star second baseman has 11 hits and 11 RBIs in the last 10 games.
The Braves added another run in the inning off Josh Lindblom and two more in the eighth.
Rollins hit his 40th career leadoff homer, but the Braves answered with four runs in the second.
Freeman walked and Uggla singled with one out. Both advanced on a wild pitch that proved costly because David Ross followed with a grounder to shortstop that could've been an inning-ending double play. Instead, Freeman scored on the out.
After Paul Janish walked, Hudson hit a drive over center fielder John Mayberry Jr.'s head to knock in a pair. Kendrick then walked Bourn and Martin Prado singled to right. Hudson was safe at the plate when catcher Erik Kratz dropped the throw by Nate Schierholtz.
Bourn connected in the fourth to extend Atlanta's lead to 6-1.
The last-place Phillies lost their first series since trading Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence on July 31. The five-time defending NL East champions fell to 50-61. They lost just 60 games last year.
Copyright AP - Associated Press


text:
Update: Ha! Fillyjonk and I posted at the same time.
Duh, I completely forgot it was International No Diet Day until I saw the other fatosphere posts about it. (Which is especially stupid because, if all goes well, The Rotund, our editor, and I are hoping to bring our book out on International No Diet Day, 2009.)
Founded by Mary Evans Young in 1992, International No Diet Day is a day to "declare a personal one-day moratorium on dieting."
If you need some extra motivation to reject the dieting culture and the pressure to be thin, check out the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination's facts and figures page, including these gems:
Seventy percent of normal weight girls in high school feel fat and are on a diet. Ferron, C. "Body Image in adolescence in cross-cultural research" Adolescence 32 (1997), pp. 735-745.
Over half of the females studied between ages eighteen and twenty-five would prefer to be run over by a truck than to be fat, and two-thirds would choose to be mean or stupid rather than fat. Gaesser, Glenn A., PhD. Big Fat Lies: The truth about your weight and your health. Gurze Books, 2001.
A survey of college students found that they would prefer to marry an embezzler, drug user, shoplifter, or blind person than someone who is fat.* Gaesser, Glenn A., PhD. Big Fat Lies: The truth about your weight and your health. Gurze Books, 2001.
Up to thirty-five percent of normal dieters will progress to pathological dieting and, of those, twenty to twenty-five percent will progress to partial or full-blown eating disorders. Shisslak, C.M., Crago, M., and Estes, L.S., "The spectrum of eating disturbances," Intl Journal of Eating Disorders 18 (3) (1995) pp. 209-219.
So just for today, if not for always, take Sweet Machine's advice and
remind yourself, even if you know it already: your body is not a sign of failure. Your body is not a punishment for your moral character. You are not lazy because you are fat. (And if you are lazy, that's nobody's business but your own!)
Then eat when you're hungry. It's okay, really.
*Note: I don't see why marrying a blind person would be an unappealing option–except for certain practical difficulties which one assumes would be non-issues if you were in love–and I certainly don't like the implied equivalence of a partner with disabilities and one who's a freakin' criminal. I'm just quoting over here.


text:
Monday, August 15, 2011
Lose 5th in a Row!
4 comments:
- AnonymousAugust 15, 2011 at 1:00 PM
Hey Joe,ReplyDelete
This is Mike and Joe from convention Hall A.P.
Sorry the Mets have taken a Dive.
We will be going to the Mike Francesa show at Bar A in Belmar this Friday. Southside Johnny will also be appearing.
Hope to see ya there.
Very cool. I'll try to get there!Still wearing the shoes! Hope all is well.ReplyDelete
And Ollie makes an appearance! You'd think he would've gotten out of that box by now.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAugust 15, 2011 at 3:42 PM
I can't believe Igarashi is pitching in the major leagues.ReplyDelete
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