english issue 34

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Palestine Liberation Organization had a document to deliver, and it ar-rived at a small church in western Pennsylvania in early November. About 700 people had gathered to hear Mosab Hassan Yousef, a Christian convert

and author of the popular book “Son of Hamas.” A man and a teenager wandered backstage, had their books autographed, and then handed Yousef a subpoena. Continue on pg. 6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Heavily blacked-out internal FBI documents released Thursday indicate that the FBI, in some cases between 2007 and 2009, ran background checks on people they encountered at Muslim-related events and recorded personal information such as email addresses, phone numbers, physical descriptions and opinions in reports marked “routine.” The American Civil Liberties Union, which ob-tained the documents under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, accused the FBI of misusing its community outreach programs to collect information on people at Muslim-related events that the FBI organized or was invited to attend. Those programs were intended to improve the relationship between Muslims and the FBI. The bureau said some of the documents the ACLU published were not derived from outreach programs but were from actual criminal investigations in which it was appropriate to include specific details such as a driver’s license num-ber. The blacked-out parts make it dif-ficult to understand what the reports represent. Continue in pg 6

16 Pages English Section

Brewer confident on high court’s ruling on

SB1070

PHOENIX (AP) — Gov. Jan Brewer says she’s confident the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in Arizona’s favor by allowing the state to fully implement its con-troversial law targeting illegal im-migration. The high court on Monday agreed to consider the state’s appeal challenging a trial judge’s order blocking imple-menting some provisions of the 2010 law known as SB1070. Brewer says the case goes beyond

Arizona’s authority to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens. She says it involves every state grappling with the costs of illegal immigration. She said at a news conference Monday afternoon that states deserve clarity from the Supreme Court on what role states have in addressing that con-cern. And the governor add that the court’s decision to hear Ari-zona’s appeal means the justices will provide that clarity.

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(480) 427-0012 Issue No. 34 Dec 15 2011 - Jan 5 , 2012

Mosab Hassan Yousef the son of a top Hamas militant, was once a spy for Israel

and a Christian convert subpoenaed by PLO

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How do most men define marriage?A very expensive way to getting their laundry done free.

Son: Dad, what is the secret of happy and satisfied married life?Father: Dear son, It is still a secret!!

Harry: Can you tell me what is the best way to remember my wife’s birthday?John: It’s very easy, Just forget it once!

Michal: Why women live longer, better and peaceful life?John: Because, they don’t have a wife!

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3Entertainment & Sports

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The California city that inspired “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” the 1982 comedy film that did much to propagate the laid-back surfer image, is now home to the world’s first Center for Surf Research. And, no, it’s not a clever way for college kids to earn their degrees by hanging out at the beach. Jess Pon-ting has heard those jokes. A sustainable tourism professor, he recently founded the first-of-its-kind institute at San Diego State Uni-versity with the aim of building a database and spreading awareness about what has evolved from a beach counterculture to a multibillion dollar global industry, with both positive and negative impacts. Ponting was amazed to find how little research and critical analysis exists on the surf industry “We want to quantify exactly what we’re dealing with,” said Ponting, who, on the university’s web site, sports a suit-and-tie while holding a surf board. “I think it’s way big-ger than anybody gives it credit for, but no one

has taken it seriously enough to look at it be-fore.” Decades ago, long-haired surfers chasing isolated ocean peaks far from the crowded beaches of Australia and California stumbled into remote villages from Indonesia to Latin America and kicked off the global phenomenon. Today, so many surfers are traveling the globe in pursuit of that perfect swell that surf tourism is being seen as a top income-generator for nations from Papua New Guinea to Liberia, Ponting said. Even China has created a so-called Minis-ter for Extreme Sports to dive in on the booming business. Yet there is virtually no concrete data on just how big the board-carting crowd has be-come nor exactly how much money they gener-ate. Scholars like Ponting estimate surf fever has caught on in more than 100 countries, while the U.S. surf industry alone generates an esti-mated $7 billion annually, according to the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association.

Arab museum in Mich. holds 7th annual film fest

University pioneers research on surf industry

NEW YORK (AP) — TITLE: “Politically Cor-rect.” LENGTH: 30 seconds AIRING: On na-tional cable and Iowa broadcast and cable sta-tions. KEY IMAGES: Rick Perry, in a navy blue jacket and light blue shirt, speaks directly to the camera. “Washington is the capital of po-litical correctness, where doublespeak reigns and the truth is frowned upon,” the Texas gover-nor says. “You can’t say that Congressmen be-coming lobbyists is a form of legal corruption. Or that we give aid money to countries who op-pose America. Or that Washington insiders are bankrupting Social Security. You and I know it’s true, but not politically correct.” ANALY-SIS: Perry is stressing his credentials as a Wash-ington outsider at a time when public opinion of government has plummeted. The Republican

presidential hopeful is also taking a dig at rival Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker whom polls show has surged into the lead in Iowa and elsewhere. Gingrich left Congress in 1999 and has built a lucrative consulting busi-ness advising health care companies and the federal mortgage giant Freddie Mac, among others. Perry’s anti-Washington message will probably resonate among many frustrated vot-ers. But he swats at a number of different targets in this ad, making claims that aren’t always ac-curate. Perry’s assertion that Washington doesn’t brook dissent about foreign aid, Social Security or the so-called “revolving door” be-tween Congress and influence peddling isn’t borne out. The practice of lawmakers stepping down only to return to Capitol Hill as lobbyists is frowned upon indeed — not just by good-government groups but by Congress itself. Un-der the law, members of the House must wait one year after leaving office before engaging in lobbying activity. Senators face a two-year cooling off period, thanks in part to then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who worked to strengthen the laws restricting lobbying by former mem-bers of Congress during his brief time on Capi-tol Hill. To be sure, there are plenty of loop-holes. Many former members of Congress advise clients on legislative matters during their cooling-off periods. The law simply precludes them from having direct contact with lawmak-ers during that time. And many former members do go on to become lobbyists.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Tom Cruise may seem larger than life on-screen. But when it came to stunts on the side of the world’s tallest tower, his thoughts were definitely down to earth.Asked Wednesday about his biggest fear during scenes outside the half-mile (828-meter) high Burj Khalifa, Cruise was quick with an an-swer: “Falling.” The actor is in Dubai for the world premier of “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” at the city’s annual film festival. Cruise said filmmakers had to monitor temperatures on

the spire’s sun-baked facade so he wouldn’t get burned. That wasn’t the only challenge. The actor says he didn’t anticipate the cross winds. “I had to figure out, actually, how to fly,” he told reporters on the 124th floor observation area of the Burj Khalifa, which rises dozens of stories higher. “I had to figure out how to use my feet as a rudder ... The first couple of times I was slamming into the building.” Cruise said he spent months training on a four-story structure to practice his moves on the Burj. Most of the shots on the actual building were done in the shade to protect Cruise from high temperatures, as the facade heated up in sun-light. His first thought as he launched outside the building for the first time? “I hope I don’t fall,” he said. Cruise said his wife Katie Holmes is sup-portive and accustomed to him taking risks on stunts. But that didn’t make it any easier to watch. irector Brad Bird said Holmes watched Cruise do a couple of takes on the side of the Burj before declaring: “OK, we’re done.” “When you see it and he’s out there, it’s nerve-racking,” Bird said. Cruise was joined in Dubai with co-stars Paula Patton, Simon Pegg and Anil Kapoor. The film — the fourth installment in the “Mission” series — has been shown at selected “fan screenings” around the world, but Dubai marks the general audience premier.

Perry’s new TV ad, “Politically Correct”

Tom Cruise’s mission in Dubai stunts: Not falling

Jokes

Cooking & Recipes

A very expensive way to getting their laundry done free.

Son: Dad, what is the secret of happy and satisfied married life?





John: It’s very easy, Just forget it once!

Fatayer Bisabanikh (Spinach Pastry) Sambosic DOUGH INGREDIENTS: 3 cups flour 1/3 cup olive oil or vegetable oil 1 cup water dash of salt FILLING INGREDIENTS 2-1/2 lbs. chopped spinach 3 chopped onions 1/2 cup olive oil 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon each sumac, salt and pepper

Mint-Yogurt Dip A refreshing dip that is found throughout the Middle East and parts of Central Asia. Always a component of a mezze or appetizer buffet, this dip is a natural with flatbreads. 1½ cups plain yogurt (you can use low-fat) 1 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves, finely chopped 3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — An annual festival of movies from the Middle East is focusing its lens this year on films and filmmakers in the years lead-ing up to the so-called Arab Spring. The Arab American National Museum in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn is hosting the 7th annual festival that starts Thursday and runs through Sunday. The year’s event is titled “Before the Spring: Alterna-tive Arab Cinema from 2005 through Today.” The films precede the pro-democracy uprisings across the Arab World during the past year. Festival orga-nizers say the festival reflects a variety of themes and visual styles of works by filmmakers from Morocco to Iraq. The festival is presented by the museum and the New York-based nonprofit ArteE-ast.

Directions : Sift flour then mix with oil. Add the rest of the dough ingredients and mix well. Knead till dough is smooth. Roll dough very thin and cut into 3 inch circles. Mix the filling ingredients. Take tablespoon of filling mixture and put on each circle. Take each circle and close into the shape of three lines. Secure ends. Dip each piece in veg-etable oil and put in pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes till brown. Serve as an appetizer either cold or warm.

DirectionsMix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate until well chilled.Storing: You can make the dip up to 6 hours ahead; cover and chill until needed.Makes about 2 cups.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Tuesday portrayed the U.S. economy as slightly healthier and held off on any new steps to boost growth. Hiring is picking up and consumers are spending more despite slower growth globally, the Fed said in its policy state-ment issued after its final meeting of the year. However, Fed officials cautioned that business investment has slowed and unemployment re-mains high. And they warned of strains in global financial markets that pose a threat to the world’s economy — a reference to Europe’s debt crisis. They left open the possibility of taking new steps next year if the economy worsens. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 66 points for the day, after being up by as much as 126 points be-fore the Fed issued its statement. Broader indexes also ended the day lower. The Fed made only slight changes to November’s statement. The policy committee approved it by an identical 9-1 vote. Charles Evans dissented for the second straight meeting, arguing again for more action by the Fed. Still, the modestly upbeat statement appeared to disappoint investors and triggered the late-afternoon slump on Wall Street. Traders had hoped the Fed would announce new policy action, even though most economists expected none. “The Fed did exactly what the markets were expecting, which is nothing, so the market decline is puzzling,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “It is always possible that there was some outside hope the Fed would do more to support the economy at this meeting and when the markets didn’t get that, they fell.” Many economists said Fed policymakers likely spent their final meeting of the year fine-tuning a strategy for communicating changes in interest rates more explicitly. The Fed has left rates near zero for the past three years. More guid-

ance would help assure investors, companies and consumers that rates won’t rise before a specific time. The Fed made no mention of a new communications strategy in its statement. But economists say it could be unveiled as soon as next month, after the Fed’s Jan 24-25 policy meeting. Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, said the November minutes showed the Fed discussed adding an interest rate forecast to its quarterly economic projections. Swonk said the Fed may be trying to build a stronger consensus before announcing the change. She also noted that three Federal Reserve regional bank presi-dents who opposed key policy changes this year will not have votes next year. Charles Plosser of Philadelphia, Richard Fisher of Dallas and Narayana Kocherlakota of Minneapolis all dissented from the Fed’s policy statements in September and August after citing concerns that the actions introduced at those meetings could fuel inflation. In September, the Fed said it would re-arrange its bond holdings to stress longer-term maturities, to try to exert more downward pressure on long-term rates. That followed the Fed’s announcement in August that it planned to keep its benchmark rate at a record low until at least mid-2013, as long as the economy remains weak. It was the first time it had committed to keeping the rate there for a specific period. The Fed repeated that timeframe in its December policy statement. “I think the Fed will shift its communications policy once the most vehement dis-senters rotate off in January,” Swonk said. Each year, only five of the 12 regional bank presidents have votes. Fed officials are debating how much further to go to signal a likely timetable for any rate changes. Under one option, the Fed would start forecasting the levels it envi-sions for the funds rate over the subsequent two years. It could publish

this forecast, as it now does its economic outlook, four times a year.Doing so would help assure investors, companies and consumers that rates won’t rise before a specific time. This might help lower long-term yields further — in effect providing a kind of stimulus.Some worry that such guidance risks inhibiting the Fed’s flexibility to revise interest rates if necessary. Others counter that the Fed wouldn’t hesitate to shift rates if warranted. And they say the benefits of clearer guidance outweigh any constraints it might impose.The Fed is also discussing setting an explicit target for “core” infla-tion. Core inflation excludes the volatile categories of energy and food. It’s remained historically low — currently around 1.5 percent by one measure. The economy, while improving, is still weak. And it remains vulnerable to the European debt crisis, which could push the continent into a recession and slow U.S. growth. On Nov. 30, the Fed joined other central banks in making it easier for banks to borrow dol-lars. The goal is to help prevent Europe’s crisis from igniting a global panic. Should the U.S. economy worsen, the Fed could take bolder steps, such as buying more mortgage securities. Doing so could help push down mortgage rates and help boost home purchases. The weak housing market has been slowing the broader economy. The boldest move left would be a third round of large-scale purchases of Treasury securities. But critics say this would raise the risk of future inflation. And many doubt it would help much anyway, because Treasury yields are already near historic lows. Unless Europe’s crisis worsens and spreads, few expect another program of Treasury purchases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ wealth last summer suffered its biggest quarterly loss in more than two years as stocks, pension funds and home values lost value. At the same time, corporations raised their cash stockpiles to record levels. Household net worth fell 4 per-cent to $57.4 trillion in the July-September quarter, according to a Federal Reserve report released Thursday. It was the sharpest drop since the tumultuous period after the September 2008 bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers. And it was the second straight quarterly fall. Household wealth, or net worth, is the value of assets like homes, bank accounts and stocks, minus debts like mortgages and credit cards. Lower net worth can hurt the economy. When people feel poorer, they spend less. That slows growth. Businesses typically then cut back on hiring and expansion. Stock market declines, in particular, have held back Americans’ quest to recover losses from the 2008 financial meltdown. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock in-dex tumbled about 14 percent in the July-September period, ending a streak of four quarterly increases. The decline was driven by wor-ries about Europe’s debt crisis and the U.S. economy. Stocks have rebounded about 9 percent since last quarter ended. But the S&P index is still about 21 percent below its peak of four years ago. “Going for-ward, you’re going to see these ups and downs; the era of volatility is back,” said Gregory Daco, principal U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight. “There’s greater uncertainty among consumers.” The value of Americans’ stock portfolios fell 5.2 percent last quarter. T. Rowe Price Associates estimates that two-thirds of that decline has been recouped

in the October-December period. Much of that comes from continu-ing contributions to retirement accounts. Home prices remain under pressure, diminishing home equity. Home equity is the biggest source of wealth for most Americans. Last quarter, home values slipped 0.6 percent. Total values fell to $16.1 trillion, down from nearly $21 tril-lion in 2007, before the recession began. At the same time, corpora-tions are amassing record cash stockpiles — $2.1 trillion at the end of September. Their reluctance to spend more of that money helps explain why job growth remains modest. The unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent in November. But it’s hovered near 9 percent for more than two years. Roughly half of U.S. households own stocks or stock mutual funds. Stock portfolios make up about 15 percent of Ameri-cans’ wealth. That’s less than housing but ahead of bank deposits, ac-cording to the Fed’s report. Most stock wealth is owned by the richest Americans, who also account for a disproportionate share of consum-er spending. Eighty percent of stocks belong to the richest 10 percent of Americans. And the richest 20 percent represent about 40 percent of consumer spending. The average balance in 401(k) plans managed by Fidelity Investments, the largest workplace savings plan provid-er, dropped nearly 12 percent in the July-September period. Thanks largely to workers’ added contributions and company matches, about 92 percent of people with 401(k) retirement savings plans now have more money than at the market top in October 2007, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington. As measured by the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index, stocks lost $2.6 trillion

in the July-September quarter. About $15 trillion remains invested in U.S. stocks. Most economists expect home prices to fall further, as banks resume foreclosing on millions of homes with past-due mort-gages. Many foreclosures have been delayed because of a government investigation into mortgage lending practices. When their declining wealth is combined with stagnant pay, many Americans are less likely to spend. Average household income, adjusted for inflation, fell 6.4 percent last year from 2007, the year before the recession, according to the Census Bureau. That’s a drag on the economy, since consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. The report found that household debt declined at an annual rate of 1.25 percent from the previous quarter. The main reason was a decline in mortgage debt, which has fallen for 14 straight quarters. But the drop is deceiv-ing. Mortgage debt is declining mainly because so many Americans are defaulting on payments and losing their homes to foreclosure — not just because people are paying off loans. The Fed report says the average household owes about $121,000 on mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and other debt. Their debt equals 119 percent of the money Americans have left after taxes. In late 2007, when the country was binging on debt, it was 135 percent. In the healthier 1990s, it was roughly 90 percent. The Fed’s quarterly report documents wealth, debt and savings for corporations, governments and households. It covers most of the financial transactions that take place in the United States.

5Articles

Everyone has heard the le-gal explanation of when free speech becomes a crime. “You must not cry ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.” Ac-cording to the findings of the Norway court-appointed psychiatrists who examined Anders Breivik, he believes there is an immigration fire in his native country, so he killed or wounded some 80 Norwegian youths whose parents belong to the politi-cal party he blames for the migration of Muslims into Norway. Note that Breivik,

as far as we know, did not gain a single Kroner for his violent well-planned deed. And he risked his own life to do it, for had the police shown up before he ran out of bullets, or if anyone on Utoya Island had had a gun, Anders would likely have been shot down. As it stands, Breivik may be in a mental institution for a few years, or for the rest of his life. Some good may come from the unfamiliar and seemingly overgenerous Norwegian law, because it will now bring focus on those who Breivik heard shouting “fire” and who influenced him to kill 74 youths. Unlike Anders, many of them are well paid and rewarded for promoting war. We live in a war-based economy in a society trained not to know it. A brazen few make their living agitating for those who benefit from serial wars. The serial war on Islamic countries is now in its third decade, hav-ing started with Operation Desert Storm in January 1991, when the cold war thawed out after 50 years of artificial freezing. Among the anti-Islamic agitators are Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, two of many named in Anders Breivik’s Manifesto, some 1500 pages published on the web just before his killing spree, that named and

credited the people who inspired him. Geller and Spencer are in the business of shouting “fire, the Muslims are coming to take over America.” Their acts and voices aid and abet the call to war on Islam. They, and the nameless, faceless billionaires who see to their success, may be legally responsible for Andrew Breivik’s acts. In America a bartender can be held responsible for the acts of the drunk to whom he sold booze. Why not hold the purveyors of hate responsible for the acts of the guy who listened to their inflamma-tory words, and acted on and carried out these words? For the first time I wish I was a lawyer! But the legal blame should not stop with Geller and Spencer. Note that Breivik did not kill Muslims; he killed pale-skinned Norwegians, mostly Lutherans, who just hap-pened to sympathize with Arabs in the Gaza Gulag. Anders mur-dered these youths, not because they were immigrants, but because they were ethnic Norwegians who had the audacity to hold a rally on Utoya Island at which they openly sided with the inmates inside Gaza. No wonder Anders was considered insane. But were those who cried “fire” into Breivik’s ears also insane? I think quite a few would pass the sanity test. But they would not pass the hate test. Nor does the guilt end with Geller and Spencer and other conference speakers. Every pastor who opened his church to the “Constitution or Shari’ah Conferences” is a hate crime accomplice; every college administrator who allowed the program inside the door he is paid to guard, shares the responsibility for listening to and encouraging others to listen to the hate message of “war, war, war.” But why are so many agitating for war on Muslims? Because since January 1991, Muslims have been the new boogeymen used to justify the war-based economy. All candidates for President, to a man, with one exception, have echoed a call for war with Iran. Because only a third of the voting public will stand for war, Americans must first be taught to hate Iranians, and that means hate Muslims. This cry for war against Muslims was a driving force in Anders Breivik, a 29 year old self-styled crusading “Knight Templar” who believed Muslim immigrants threaten his homeland and his race. We know this because he wrote a 1500 page suicide note. Are Geller and

Spencer and the dozens of sources cited in Breivik’s Manifesto also “insane?” Why not let a civil court decide! Perhaps parents of the Norwegian youths and children should file a class action wrongful death suit in a U.S. court, naming each one of those as accomplices who inspired Anders Breivik to commit his awful act. If Anders can not be held responsible, then why not those who knowingly hosted spoke at the meetings at which hatred for Muslims was fomented? Nor let it be said that no one knew the possible result of poisonous websites and Hate Islam conferences. The Hutton hotel in Nash-ville, owned by Amerimar Enterprises, refused to allow the confer-ence after the officials discovered the content of the program! The Hotel representative clearly stated they did not want to host a meet-ing with race hate filled content. Amerimar is now being pressured and threatened with boycotts and legal threats from a professing Christian groups for canceling the meeting. I suggest the first named defendant be Maury Davis, pastor (owner) of Cornerstone Church of Madison, Tennessee, who knowingly sponsored “Constitution or Shari’ah Conference” inside his church on November 11, 2011. Pastor Davis scooped the conference out of the gutter and took it home after the Hutton Hotel turned it down. Two days later this author helped lead a vigil for peace and justice at Davis’s Corner-stone Church, and met with Pastor Davis. Some might say Davis could not be responsible for Breivik’s act because the latter was in jail when the conference took place, but this is not the first time for Pastor Davis. In January 2011, Cornerstone Church hosted anti-Is-lamist Geert Wilder, who was also honored in Breivik’s Manifesto. Pastor Davis is a “serial hater.” If the Norwegian families do not want to place a monetary value on the lives of their lost children, I suggest they start a foundation for peace and justice with any money they might win in court. More important is the precedent this will set. Maybe it will cause professional propagandists for war to think twice before agitating for more Muslim blood, and more wars for us to pay for.

When my second son started First Grade, he started bringing home 80’s. To me, the Asian overachiev-er, this was a puzzle. So we went over the Reading test together. The first page had a big picture of an el-ephant, a beach ball, and a mouse. Then a “word bank” in a box showed the words: elephant, ball and mouse. Question One: “…………. is big.” My son had written (in perfect handwriting): “The ball”. Teacher had crossed it: Wrong! I asked him, “Why did you write The Ball?” He

hung his head. So I made my voice very sweet and soft, and cooed, “Dear, I am not trying to scold you. I just want to understand.” Even-tually, he managed to communicate. “Well, I just cannot write “el-ephant” there. You see, first, it should be “The elephant” (correct). And then… they didn’t ask for the biggest thing here, just the big one. And the ball IS bigger than the mouse after all… And then, you see, listen to this: “E-le-phant is big…” Then listen to this: “The Ball is Big!” Which one sounds better? I was stunned. My son was read-ing. He was correcting the teacher’s grammar, and making rhyth-mic poetry. Now, what was that test supposed to assess? Who is the Teacher? My first son attended an excellent kindergarten where he memorized 10 surahs by heart. Then he joined Grade 1 in a very expensive private school. He got full marks on Qur’an because the curriculum taught what he already knew. By Grade 2, the curriculum

finally outgrew his repertoire. That’s when his Qur’an grades started declining, fast. One night at 11 pm, another Grade 2 mother called me. She asked whether I was aware of the test the next day on Surah xyz. No, I wasn’t. She said, “Search his bagpack. At the bottom, you will find a piece of paper.” I did and indeed I found a scrap of torn paper: “ Surah xyz, October 15.” I pulled my son out of bed, and tried teaching him. Needless to say, within minutes, he was fussing and I was shouting. I finally walked out of the room, cooled off and tried to make sense of the situation. I had fallen into the trap of mod-ern education: the teacher assigns the work, the parents teach it, then the teacher tests the parents on how well they have taught it. In many schools, children fail because teachers do not teach. The loser is the child who is now labeled stupid.

Anders Breivik Declared Insane: Who is Guilty? (Part1) Charles E. Carlson

Fed says economy is healthier; takes no new steps

US household wealth takes biggest hit since 2008

Are Tests Accurate?

MARTIN CRUTSINGER

DAVE CARPENTER

Dr. Fawzia Tung

Dec 15 2011 - Jan 5 , 2012


6 National

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A Sikh man waiting for a plane at Fresno Yosemite International Airport was stabbed in a seem-ingly unprovoked attack, police said. The victim was treated at the airport and boarded his flight taking him to another one bound for India. Fresno police said Mitchell Dufur, 26, stabbed the Sikh man in his 50s in the upper torso Sunday evening near the security checkpoint. No words were exchanged be-fore the attack. The man was

standing with his translator when the attack occurred. Du-fur was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a knife in an airport. The Council on Amer-ican-Islamic Relations urged the FBI and police Monday to investigate the incident as a possible hate crime. “Sikh men who wear beards and turbans as part of their faith are often targeted by bigots who mis-take them for Muslims,” said Sacramento CAIR Executive

Director Basim Elkarra. Gina Swankie of the FBI’s Sacra-mento office said agents were having “a dialogue with the group,” but she would not con-firm whether they had opened an investigation. Police Lt. Don Gross said investigators have not determined whether it was a hate crime because Dufur has refused to talk to police about his motive. Two elderly Sikh men were gunned down in sub-urban Sacramento on March 4. Surinder Singh, 65, and Gur-

mej Atwal, 78 when they were walking through a neighbor-hood in Elk Grove. Police are investigating the fatal shoot-ings as a possible hate crime potentially linked to the men’s appearance. Both men wore turbans and long beards.Sikhism developed in the Pun-jab region of northern India. Sikhs in the U.S. have occa-sionally been the target of anti-Muslim sentiment because they wear turbans and have beards.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A So-mali refugee living in San Diego pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to aiding four men who left Minnesota to join a So-mali terror group, including one man who is suspected of carry-ing out a suicide bombing in the African nation in October. Pros-ecutors have said Nima Yusuf conspired in Southern California and elsewhere to aid al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked militia try-ing to create an Islamic state in

Somalia. As part of her plea, the 25-year-old permanent resident of the U.S. acknowledged that she agreed to help the men with money and personnel. Over the past three years, Minnesota has been the center of a federal in-vestigation into the recruitment of people from the U.S. to train or fight with al-Shabab in Somalia, which hasn’t had a functioning government since 1991. Twenty people have been charged in the state in connection with the trav-elers and alleged terror financ-ing. Others have been charged in St. Louis with funneling money to the terror group, and Yusuf was among four people charged in San Diego in late 2010 with helping al-Shabab. Yusuf ac-knowledged to prosecutors that she knew the four men had left the United States to become fighters for al-Shabab. She said she sent $1,450 between Febru-ary 2010 and November 2010, and also acknowledged lying to

federal officials twice when she denied that she had sent money to Somalia. he men — Abdisalan Hussein Ali, Mohamed Abdul-lahi Hassan, Cabdulaahi Ahmed Faarax and Abdiweili Yassin Isse — are accused of fighting for al-Shabab and are charged in a separate federal indictment in Minnesota. Authorities have said they believe Ali and Hassan left Minneapolis for Somalia at dif-ferent instances in 2008. Mem-bers of the city’s Somali commu-nity fear Ali carried out a suicide bombing on Oct. 29 in Mogadi-shu that Somali authorities said killed 15 people. Al-Shabab released a recording of the al-leged bomber, who the group identified as a Somali-American, Abdisalan Taqabalahullaah. One of Ali’s relatives told the AP he listened to the recording and believes it was Ali’s voice. The FBI hasn’t confirmed the iden-tity of the bomber’s remains. If they are confirmed to belong to

Ali, it will mark the third time someone from Minnesota has been involved in a suicide attack in Somalia. According to court testimony and documents, Fa-arax and Isse left Minnesota in a rental car on Oct. 5, 2009, and headed south to the U.S.-Mexico border. At the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego, they told a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer that they were flying from Tijuana to Mexico City. They ultimately made their way to So-malia. Federal officials wouldn’t say whether Yusuf had contact with Faarax and Isse while they were in the San Diego area. Yu-suf faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. She remains in jail without bail. Her plea is subject to final acceptance by U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz at or before sentenc-ing on Feb. 10.

SEATTLE (AP) — A mentally ill petty thief pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges that he joined another man in plan-ning to attack a Seattle military recruiting station with machine guns and grenades — a plot in-spired by the 2009 massacre at Fort Hood, authorities say. “Why don’t we all just go into there with guns blazing and just lay ev-erybody down,” Walli Mujahidh said in one conversation record-ed by investigators. “Whoever gets laid down, gets laid down.”The Los Angeles man faces 27 to 32 years after pleading guilty to three charges: conspiracy to kill officers of the United States, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and unlawful possession of a firearm. “The FBI is pleased that Mr. Muja-hidh accepted responsibility for his actions, but this case remains

a chilling reminder that there is constant work to be done,” said Laura M. Laughlin, special agent in charge of the agency’s Seattle office. Mujahidh, 33, has a long history of “chronic, relentless” mental illness, including 12 stays at psychiatric hospitals, said his attorney, Michele Shaw. He has been diagnosed with schizoaf-fective disorder with bipolar ten-dencies, she said. “Walli is very ashamed of his behavior and has wanted to accept responsibility for his participation,” Shaw said. “He had a fundamental misun-derstanding of Islam.” Mujahidh was arrested in June after tak-ing a bus from LA to Seattle to participate in the attack. He and his co-defendant, Khalid Abdul-Latif of Seattle, were busted in an FBI sting when they arrived at a warehouse garage to pick up machine guns to use in the

attack, authorities said. The man who was to supply them with the weapons had alerted Seattle po-lice about the plot, and continued acting as a confidential police in-formant. Authorities say the de-fendants were influenced in part by the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, and the recent prosecu-tions of Washington state-based soldiers for the deaths of three Afghan civilians. They planned the attack for weeks and fanta-sized about the media attention they’d receive, according to a federal complaint. The alleged target, the Military Entrance Pro-cessing Station in Seattle, was a recruiting station for all mili-tary branches. The pair initially planned an attack on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, but later shift-ed to what they considered an easier target, the complaint said.Mujahidh confessed shortly af-

ter his arrest. Abdul-Latif is also known as Joseph Anthony Da-vis, and Walli Mujahidh is also known as Frederick Domingue Jr.Prosecutors did not divulge how the suspects became ac-quainted, though Mujahidh for-merly lived in Seattle. Mujahidh had multiple convictions of theft in Riverside County, Calif. Ab-dul-Latif, 33, has a criminal re-cord and a troubled family past, but allegations that he plotted a terrorist attack surprised those who knew him. He appears to have posted several videos on YouTube expressing sympathy for al-Qaida’s leader in Yemen and excitement about a radical interpretation of Islam. Abdul-Latif was scheduled to face trial next May. Mujahidh is due for sentencing in April.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A prosecutor argued Thursday that a young man’s instant messenger conversations with a friend re-vealed a detailed murder plot that led to the killing of two members of an Orange County family and the destruction of their home in a gaso-line-fueled fire. A defense attorney countered that the online chat actu-ally showed an effort by defendant Vitaliy Krasnoperov to steer his friend Iftekhar Murtaza away from killing his ex-girlfriend’s family and seek other ways to reunite with her. The closing arguments came near the end of the roughly three-week trial of the 26-year-old Kras-noperov and 27-year-old Charles Murphy Jr. on charges of helping Murtaza kill the father and sister of ex-girlfriend Shayona Dhanak in a 2007 attack on the family’s Anaheim Hills home. Krasnoperov and Murphy — who apparently did not know each other previously —

are each charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of conspir-acy. If convicted, they could face life in prison. Murtaza will be tried separately and could face the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors say Murtaza hatched the plan after Dhanak, a student at University of California, Irvine, broke up with him in March 2007 to escape what had become a controlling relation-ship by claiming her devout Hindu family opposed her dating a Mus-lim. Murtaza thought he could drive Dhanak back to his arms if only he could get rid of the family, pros-ecutor Howard Gundy said. That night, Krasnoperov told Murtaza over instant messenger to hire a hit man and that he might know some Russians who could do the job, Gundy said. “He has signed on,” Gundy told jurors late Wednesday. “Any normal person in the world would say look dude, what are you

talking about? Shut up. ... He is encouraging him, yeah you know what? That’s a good plan.” Kras-noperov’s attorney Fred McBride said his client should have reported Murtaza to police but that doesn’t make him a murderer. Rather, Mc-Bride pointed to a moment in the conversation in which Krasnoper-ov suggested Murtaza convert to win back Dhanak instead of killing her parents. “Is this a willing con-spirator that wants to see people die? Is it?” McBride asked jurors. “I don’t think so.” Eventually, pros-ecutors say, Murtaza decided to kill the family himself when he learned Dhanak was going on a date, and he feared he might lose her forever if he didn’t act quickly. On May 21, 2007, Murtaza sent a message to Murphy and offered him $30,000 for “a job,” Gundy said. Cell phone records showed Murphy and Mur-taza both near the Dhanak home that same evening, Gundy said. ater

that night, authorities were called to a fire at the Dhanak home and found mother Leela battered and unconscious in a neighbor’s yard. Gasoline containers, drops of blood and a knife were found at the home. The next morning, the stabbed and burned bodies of Dhanak’s 56-year-old father Jay and 20-year-old sister Karishma were found at a brush fire in Irvine. Gundy said he suspects Murphy forced Karishma into a van at the family’s house as the house went up in flames before the attackers drove off. “When we look at all these things all togeth-er, the truth becomes obvious,” Gundy said. Defense attorney Mi-chael Molfetta said the cell phone records aren’t proof of murder and noted that Murphy often went to Orange County and could have been anywhere that evening when he made a call that bounced off a tower in Anaheim.

Police identify man who stabbed Sikh at airport

Somali refugee “ Nima Yusuf “ acknowledges aiding terror group

Man pleads

guilty in Seattle

terror plot

Iftekhar Murtaza accused of killing his ex-girlfriend’s family in CA

ACLU: FBI used outreach to collect info on Muslims

The PLO subpoenaed Mosab Hassan Yousef the son of a top Hamas militant, was once a spy for Israel and a Chris-

tian convert in Palestinian

1st page continued……..But the disclosure comes at a time when the FBI has been criticized for some of its other programs, strain-ing the fragile relationship between law enforcement and Muslims who widely believe they are subjected to surveillance and scrutiny because of their religion. The ACLU said the FBI never told Muslims at outreach events such as job fairs, religious dinners or community meetings that it would record in government files the details about the events or who attended them. The FBI’s Com-munity Outreach Program predates the terrorist attacks of September 2001 and is designed to improve the public’s trust in the bureau and build partnerships. After the at-tacks, federal, state and local gov-ernment officials stepped up this type of outreach to Muslim com-munities. Agents who attend such official events are instructed to file reports for what the FBI described as “internal oversight purposes.” Separate from outreach programs, FBI agents who are investigating a person or group may do their own outreach to as part of the investi-gation, said Jeff Mazanec, deputy assistant director of public affairs, who oversees the official program. But that is kept separate from what a community outreach coordina-tor does, he said. or example, the ACLU cited a 2008 report describ-ing an FBI agent in San Francisco attendance at a religious dinner. The agent documented who was sit-ting at a table, a cellphone number and details about a man the agent obtained from the California State Department of Motor Vehicles. The FBI agent also included details about a California man and a check deposited to a bank, referencing in-formation from the FBI’s internal case files. The names of individu-als and other details were censored

from the publicly available report for privacy reasons. Mazanec said the FBI report was written as part of a formal investigation and not as part of the official community outreach program. A board member at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, Sara Mosta-favi, said she was disappointed that the FBI’s San Francisco division filed a report in 2007 that listed the names and organizations of people at a mosque meeting. It included the names of 50 people from 27 differ-ent organizations and identified the particular sect of Islam that each of the attendees followed. “When you enter kind of a relationship with a sense of trust, you’d like to know that your privacy rights aren’t go-ing to get violated,” Mostafavi said. “It’s been difficult for some people to sometimes attend these meetings because they’re afraid of what the repercussions will be.” Mazanec said the FBI includes such details in its files so that relationships can be maintained when agents leave or retire. “It’s better than a Rolodex,” Mazanec said. He said the FBI does not use outreach programs for terrorism investigations or as-sessments, and rules against this were sharpened this year. Since 2001, advocacy and civil liberties groups have raised concerns that Muslim communities are unfairly targeted for counterterrorism pur-poses because of their religion. An Associated Press investigation into the New York Police Department’s intelligence-gathering tactics in Muslim communities revealed widespread spying programs that documented every aspect of Mus-lim life in New York. Police infil-trated mosques and student groups and secretly spied on Muslims who were considered partners in the city’s fight against terrorism.

1st page continuation............Yousef, the estranged son of a top Hamas militant, was once a spy for Israel. He posed as a terrorist in that role, and met with Yas-ser Arafat and other leaders at the heart of the Palestinian resistance. His Nov. 4 appearance at the Chip-pewa Evangelical Free Church in Beaver Falls was part of his efforts to send a different message — one of forgiveness — about violence in the Middle East. But the PLO subpoena served on Yousef in the church about 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh put him in a difficult situ-ation. The PLO wants him to hand over all unpublished notes from his book, and all details of his work with the Israeli government, includ-ing money he received. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Gary Lancaster, who’s based in Pittsburgh, ordered Yousef to comply with the order within five days. The order was first reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Last year, the U.S. granted political asylum to Yousef, who has said that he’ll be killed if he’s forced to return to the Palestinian territo-ries. The legal maneuvering is part of a lawsuit filed against the PLO in U.S. District Court in New York by victims and family members of seven terrorist attacks. The lawsuit claims that the PLO was complicit in the attacks, and thus liable for damages. The PLO said in its court filings that it served Yousef in Penn-sylvania because it couldn’t find him elsewhere. But can a civil lawsuit force someone to turn over details of how they worked with an intel-ligence organization to prevent ter-rorist attacks? “There’s no clear-cut answer in the law,” said Witold Wal-czak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Pennsylva-nia. Walczak said that Yousef can argue that he has a type of journal-ist’s privilege not to reveal sources, but the fact that his book is autobio-graphical may complicate that argu-ment. Yousef’s book agent said he wasn’t available to speak about the issue. Tom Copeland, a professor at Geneva College in Beaver Falls who studies terrorism and national security policy, read Yousef’s book last year and helped arrange several speaking engagements for him last month, including the church ap-pearance where the PLO served the

subpoena. From a legal standpoint, Copeland said, it’s clear that the PLO would be at a disadvantage if it couldn’t question Yousef, since in-formation in his book is being used against the organization. There’s little question Yousef has plenty of information. “Yes, while working for Israeli intelligence, I posed as a terrorist,” Yousef wrote on his blog last year. The PLO said in a court filing that it is seeking documents from Yousef because they may show that he’s biased against the PLO. But Copeland said there are ques-tions beyond the legal ones. Former CIA Director James Woolsey called Yousef a “remarkable young man” who should be commended for “ex-traordinary heroism and courage.” Some members of Congress sup-ported his application for asylum. “There’s a moral obligation to de-fend those who are trying to stop terrorism,” Copeland said, noting Yousef did that. Israeli media have reported that Yousef helped pre-vent numerous terrorist attacks and saved hundreds of lives. If Yousef ignores the federal judge’s order, he could face more legal problems. But if he turns over details of his work with Israeli intelligence, that could put him — and others — in more danger. Yousef’s father, the Hamas leader, has disowned him, and many Palestinians condemn anyone who works with the Israeli government. Israel’s security services routinely try to recruit Palestinians of all fac-tions as informers, including those in prisons, by using blackmail or promising benefits, such as work or travel permits. Copeland said he believes Yousef’s message and intent is genuine. . Few people in-volved with the legal case want to comment. A spokesman at the Is-raeli Embassy took questions but didn’t respond with a statement. A Washington lawyer who represents the PLO didn’t respond to ques-tions, nor did the PLO delegation in Washington. But one of the vic-tims who filed the original lawsuit against the PLO and his lawyer did agree to talk. Alan Bauer, one of the plaintiffs, was injured with his son in a March 2002 terror bombing in Israel that killed three people and wounded 87 others.

Dec 15 2011 - Jan 5 , 2012


7National

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich on Saturday de-fended his statement that the Pal-estinians are an “invented” people, brushing aside criticism that he had unnecessarily made the Mid-east peace process more difficult. “Is what I said factually correct? Yes. Is it historically true? Yes,” Gingrich said during a candidate debate in which he drew applause for asserting that it was time some-one spoke the truth about the na-ture of Israel’s struggle with the Palestinians.“Somebody ought to have the courage to tell the truth. These people are terrorists,” he said. “It’s fundamentally time for some-body to have the guts to stand up

and say, ‘Enough lying about the Middle East.’” Gingrich’s earlier remarks to a cable channel struck at the heart of Palestinian sensi-tivities about the righteousness of their struggle for an independent state. Applying the label “invent-ed” to Palestinians suggests that their quest for independence is not legitimate, though Gingrich later said he indeed supports the cre-ation of a Palestinian state as part of a settlement with Israel. On its face, however, the statement put Gingrich at odds not only with the international community but with all but an extremist fringe in Israel. Mainstream Israelis, in-cluding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, support the idea of an independent Palestine along-

side Israel as part of a final peace agreement. Gingrich rejected criti-cism from chief rival Mitt Romney that he had spoken for Israel when he shouldn’t have. “That was a mistake, on the speaker’s part,” Romney said during the evening debate. “The United States should not jump ahead of Bibi Netanyahu and say something that makes it more difficult for him to do his job.” At a veterans forum earlier in the day, Gingrich said the bur-den to show a willingness to reach a peace accord with the Israelis lies squarely with the Palestinians. “When the president keeps talk-ing about a peace process while Hamas keeps firing missiles into Israel, if we had a country next to us firing missiles, how eager would we be to sit down and ne-gotiate?” he said. Palestinian offi-cials reacted furiously on Saturday to Gingrich’s assertion, accusing the Republican presidential hope-ful of incitement and staging a “cheap stunt” to court the Jewish vote. As Gingrich has risen to lead in national and early-voting-state polls, he has come under criticism from his party rivals for making inflammatory statements. The Pal-estinian comments intensified that scrutiny with less than four weeks until Iowa’s precinct caucuses kick off the nominating contests on Jan. 3. In footage released Friday, the former House speaker told the Jewish Channel, a U.S. cable TV network, that the Palestinians were an “invented people.” “Remem-

ber, there was no Palestine as a state — (it was) part of the Otto-man Empire. I think we have an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs and historically part of the Arab community and they had the chance to go many places,” Gingrich said according to a video excerpt posted online. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestin-ian negotiator, accused Gingrich of incitement. “Mark my words ... these statements of Gingrich’s will be the ammunitions and weapons of the bin Ladens and the extrem-ists for a long, long time,” Erekat told CNN. The Palestinians have never had an independent state of their own. The region was ruled by the Ottomans for several centuries, and when the Ottoman Empire col-lapsed after World War I, the Brit-ish took control of the area. It was known as the British Mandate for Palestine, and Muslims, Christians and Jews living there were all re-ferred to as Palestinians. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., sharply criticized Gingrich’s comments as cynical attempts to curry support with Jewish voters and unhelpful to the peace process. “The vast majority of American Jews (including this one) and the Israeli Government itself are committed to a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side as neighbors and in peace,” Levin said in a statement. “Gingrich of-fered no solutions — just a can of gasoline and a match.”

NEW YORK (AP) — A man in custody in Canada was indicted on Friday on U.S. charges that he helped coordinate Tunisian ji-hadists believed responsible for separate suicide attacks in Iraq in 2009 that killed five American soldiers outside a U.S. base and seven people at an Iraqi police complex. Faruq Khalil Muham-mad ‘Isa, a 38-year-old Canadian citizen and Iraqi national, was ar-rested in January on a U.S. war-rant after an investigation by au-thorities in New York, Canada and Tunisia. Muhammad ‘Isa is being held in Edmonton, Alberta, where he’s fighting extradition to federal court in Brooklyn to face charges of conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists. Muhammad ‘Isa never left Canada as part of the alleged conspiracy, and his attorney said Friday that the United States has no jurisdiction. “All the evidence was gathered here,” said the Ed-monton lawyer, Bob Aloneissi, said in a phone interview. “There’s just no tie. ... This should be done for a legal reason and not a politi-

cal reason.” An extradition request made public Friday offered fresh details on wiretap evidence and an interview of Muhammad ‘Isa that U.S. authorities claim link him to the terror network. Authorities say the group used a suicide bomber to detonate an explosives-laden truck outside the gate of the U.S. base in Mosul, Iraq, on April 10, 2009, killing the five soldiers, and it also staged a suicide bomb-ing on the Iraqi police station on March 31, 2009. The evidence shows that “the goal of the attacks was to compel the United States government to remove its armed forces from Iraq,” the extradition request says. A U.S. Department of Justice investigator interviewed Muhammad ‘Isa on Jan. 19 with an FBI agent and a Royal Cana-dian Mounted Police corporal present, the request says. The in-terview “was conducted in com-pliance with United States law,” with Muhammad ‘Isa signing a waiver before voluntarily answer-ing questions, it says. During the interview, Muhammad ‘Isa admit-ted he corresponded by email from

Canada with two of the terrorists while they were in Syria, and knew that they were on a mission to kill Americans, the paperwork says. The documents allege he corre-sponded with “facilitators” who were trying to get the attackers into Iraq, and wired one of them $700. On wiretaps, Muhammad ‘Isa was overheard last year discussing with someone in Iraq how he used code words when discussing the Iraq operation, the papers say. “For ex-ample, when I want to name the brothers, I say the farmers — be-cause they plant metal and harvest metal and flesh,” the papers quote him as saying. He also explained that he used the term “married” to mean “in the afterlife.” U.S. au-thorities alleged that the day after the attack that killed the five sol-diers, Muhammad ‘Isa asked in an electronic communication, “Did you hear about the huge incident yesterday? Is it known?” He also identified the bomber as “one of the Tunisian brothers,” to which a fa-cilitator responded, “Praise God.” Muhammad ‘Isa told investiga-tors in the interview that by “huge

incident” he meant an explosion, the papers say. The papers add: “When asked if he believed that it was a religious duty for Muslims to travel to Iraq and fight Ameri-cans, (Muhammad ‘Isa) stated that he believed it was the duty for ev-ery Muslim who lived in Iraq to fight American ‘invaders.’” The indictment comes at a time when Congress, over Obama administra-tion objections, is pushing policies to ramp up the military’s role in the handling of captured terror-ism suspects. A House-passed bill would require military tribunals to try suspected terrorists. A Senate-passed bill would mandate military custody for those captured, even in the United States, and linked to al-Qaida or its affiliates. Members of the House and Senate are negotiat-ing a final version of the bill that could include those provisions. They hope to complete their work by early next week. If convicted in a civilian court, Muhammad ‘Isa faces life in prison.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court stepped into the fight Monday over a tough Ari-zona law that requires local police to help enforce federal immigra-tion laws — pushing the court deeper into hot, partisan issues of the 2012 election campaign. The court’s election-year docket now contains three politically charged disputes, including President Barack Obama’s health care over-haul and Texas redistricting. The debate over immigration already is shaping presidential politics, and now the court is undertaking a review of an Arizona law that has spawned a host of copycat state laws targeting illegal immigrants. The court will review a federal appeals court ruling that blocked several provisions in the Arizona law. One of those requires that po-lice, while enforcing other laws, question a person’s immigration status if officers suspect he is in the country illegally. The case is the court’s biggest foray into im-migration law in decades, said Temple University law professor Peter Spiro, an expert in that area. The Obama administration chal-lenged the Arizona law by arguing that regulating immigration is the job of the federal government, not states. Similar laws in Alabama,

South Carolina and Utah also are facing administration lawsuits. Private groups are suing over im-migration measures adopted in Georgia and Indiana. “This case is not just about Arizona. It’s about every state grappling with the costs of illegal immigration,” Ari-zona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Repub-lican, said following the court’s announcement Monday. Fifty-nine Republicans in Congress, including presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, filed a brief with the court backing the Arizona law. The immigration case, like the challenge to Obama’s health care overhaul, pits Republican-led states against the Democratic ad-ministration in an argument about the reach of federal power. The redistricting case has a similarly partisan tinge to it, with Republi-cans who control the state govern-ment in Texas facing off against Democrats and minority groups that tend vote Democratic. In the immigration arena, the states say that the federal government isn’t doing enough to address a major problem and that border states are suffering disproportionately. The issue has been widely discussed by the Republican candidates for president. They have mostly em-braced a hard line to avoid accusa-

tions that they support any kind of “amnesty” for the some 12 million illegal immigrants estimated to be living in the U.S. Newt Gingrich was most recently criticized by his opponents for saying he would grant legal status to some with longstanding family and commu-nity ties, and Gingrich has since endorsed the South Carolina law that allows police to demand a person’s immigration status. That law is among the four state laws that have been challenged by the administration. Brewer signed the Arizona immigration measure into law in April 2010. The adminis-tration sued three months later to block it from taking effect. In April, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a federal judge’s ruling halting enforcement of several provisions of the law. Among the blocked provisions: requiring all immigrants to obtain or carry immigration registration papers; making it a state criminal offense for an illegal immigrant to seek work or hold a job and allow-ing police to arrest suspected ille-gal immigrants without warrants.In October, the federal appeals court in Atlanta blocked parts of the Alabama law that forced pub-lic schools to check the immigra-

tion status of students and allowed police to file criminal charges against people who were unable to prove their citizenship. Lawsuits in South Carolina and Utah are not as far along. The administration ar-gued that the justices should have waited to see how other courts ruled on the challenges to other laws before getting involved. Still, following the court’s announce-ment Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, “We look forward to arguing our point of view in that case when the time comes.” Spiro, the Temple Univer-sity immigration expert, said the court easily could have passed on the Arizona case for now. “They could have waited for the more ex-treme case to come from Alabama, which really outflanked the Arizo-na law,” Spiro said. He predicted the court would uphold the police check of immigration status but perhaps not the measure making it a crime to be without immigration documents. Arguments probably will take place in late April, which would give the court roughly two months to decide the case Justice Elena Kagan will not take part case, presumably because of her work on the issue when she served in the Justice Department in the Obama administration.

High court to review tough Arizona im-migration

law

Gingrich: Palestinians ‘invented’ people is truth

Canadian “Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa “accused of conspiring in US terror case

Michigan student accused of ethnic intimidation

against a Muslim student

Att’y: NYC terror case in-formant has own legal woe

“Mohammad Younis “Bro-ker for would-be Times

Square bomber sentenced

Michigan companies clos-er to part in Iraq projects

SALINE, Mich. (AP) — Authori-ties in Michigan say a 17-year-old high school student called another student a terrorist and punched him in the face. AnnArbor.com reports that Daryl Larkin was arraigned Tuesday in Washtenaw County District Court on charges of ethnic intimidation and assault. Police say Larkin was in a car last Thursday and called out to the other Saline High School student on foot. Police

say the other student replied, so the driver of Larkin’s vehicle returned.Police say the student told Larkin he didn’t appreciate being called a terrorist before Larkin punched him. Larkin didn’t have an attor-ney assigned as of Wednesday. The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Michigan chapter says it welcomes the charges and is as-sisting the other student, a Muslim. Larkin’s next hearing is Dec. 15.

NEW YORK (AP) — A confiden-tial informant who helped build a terror case against a man charged with crafting homemade bombs to attack post offices and police sta-tions has legal trouble of his own, the terror suspect’s new lawyer said Tuesday. A person familiar with the matter said it was a minor marijuana charge. Attorney Lori Cohen said she’d been appointed to represent terror suspect Jose Pi-mentel, an American who authori-ties have described as an al-Qaida sympathizer arrested as he pieced together a pipe bomb in the infor-mant’s apartment. Pimentel initial-ly was represented by a Legal Aid Society lawyer, but Cohen said she was told Legal Aid had represent-ed the informant in an unspecified other case, creating a conflict of interest. The informant’s case is “a low-level marijuana arrest,” a person familiar with the mat-ter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the information hadn’t been made public. Pimentel and the informant smoked marijuana together dur-ing the investigation, according to two other people briefed on the probe. They also spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss matters not made public.The change of lawyers came after Pimentel expressed reservations about his representation. Pimentel said he didn’t want to be represent-ed by his Legal Aid lawyer, Joseph Zablocki, the attorney told a judge at Pimentel’s arraignment Sunday. Zablocki said he wasn’t comfort-able disclosing why because it “could prejudice the jury pool.”A Legal Aid spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a telephone message seeking comment Tues-day. The Manhattan district attor-ney’s office declined to comment.Pimentel, 27, is being held without bail on charges including weap-ons possession and conspiracy as terror crimes. Zablocki had said Pimentel wasn’t a clandestine op-erator planning a true threat, not-ing that authorities say Pimentel had a website detailing his belief in holy war, or jihad, and advo-

cacy of violence against U.S. army installations, police stations and other locales in the United States. Pimentel also posted an article, from an online al-Qaida magazine, with instructions on how to make a bomb, according to a criminal complaint. The Dominican-born Pimentel has spent most of his life in the U.S. and is a naturalized citizen, authorities said. Raised Roman Catholic, he converted to Islam in 2004 and went by the name Muhammad Yusuf, authori-ties said. The informant had been helping police watch Pimentel for the past year, authorities said. Pi-mentel told the informant he was interested in building small bombs and targeting banks, government buildings and soldiers returning home from abroad, the criminal complaint says. The informant ac-companied Pimentel as he bought pipes, Christmas lights and other supplies for bomb-making, and the informant’s apartment served as a laboratory for it, the complaint says. Prosecutors have said they have “countless hours” of audio and video recordings in the case, some showing Pimentel scrap-ing the heads from matches and drilling holes in the pipes. After seeing him drill the holes, police moved in, the complaint says. Pi-mentel told police he was about an hour from finishing his bomb, according to the complaint. The investigation has produced one of relatively few terror cases brought by New York state authorities, rather than federal ones. Some law enforcement officials have said police sought to get the FBI involved but the federal investiga-tors felt Pimentel didn’t have the inclination or ability to act without the informant’s involvement. New York Police Department Commis-sioner Raymond Kelly has said the NYPD kept federal authorities in the loop all along before circum-stances forced investigators to take swift measures using state charges.Pimentel is due in court Friday to learn whether he has been indicted, though the date could be extended.

NEW YORK (AP) — A man un-wittingly swept up in a failed terror plot to bomb Times Square last year was sentenced on Thursday to three years’ probation. Mohammad Younis had pleaded guilty to charges he ar-ranged an illegal transfer of $7,000 to Faisal Shazad — money Shazad claimed that the Pakistani Taliban provided to fund his one-man strike against New York City. Younis and his brother in Pakistan were part of underground money transfer system known as hawala, authorities said. When the Times Square attack was in the planning stages, Younis’ brother

sent him the cash that he delivered to Shazad at a Long Island railroad station. Prosecutors in federal court in Manhattan acknowledged that Younis never knew about Shazad’s plot. But they argued that a potential sentence of up to six months would be appropriate to deter money trans-missions that could fund terrorism. Attorneys for the Pakistan-born You-nis asked for leniency, describing him as a working-class immigrant who posed no danger. “I’m really sorry,” Younis told the judge before he was sentenced. “It will not happen ever, ever again.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A con-sortium of Michigan companies says it’s eager to oversee the build-ing of a new city near Baghdad that draws on the skills of Iraqi im-migrants living in Michigan. Offi-cials from the National Investment Commission of Iraq announced a memorandum of understand-ing Tuesday with the consortium, MICH Development, to plan and build a city for 500,000. That means the consortium can start

raising the $5.5 billion needed from banks and private investors to get the project under way by late 2012. Beyond raising the money, no one is sure about the security situation after U.S. troops withdraw, and negotiating the convoluted Iraqi bureaucracy can be difficult. Al-though much of the building is ex-pected to be done by Iraqi workers, Michigan companies could win up to $1.5 billion in contracts.

Dec 15 2011 - Jan 5 , 2012


8 International & Business

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A Syria-based TV station that pro-vided an outlet to late Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi and strongly criticized U.S. forces in Iraq has gone off the air, the owner said Tuesday, because of the American withdrawal from Iraq and improved Syrian-Iraqi relations. Mishan al-Jabouri, a former Iraqi lawmaker and Da-

mascus-based exile, said it was “no longer suitable” to have a Damascus-based channel run by Iraqi opposition figures and so he has closed Al-Rai TV. Established in 2004, Al-Rai rose to prominence after broad-casting late night messages from Libyan dictator Moam-mar Gadhafi during the final days of his regime. Although

al-Jabouri denies the channel had links to Gadhafi, he said he enjoyed good relations with the man who ruled Libya for more than 42 years as well as with his family. The station gave the late Libyan leader a platform to air his views from hiding be-fore he was captured by Libyan revolutionary forces and killed on Oct. 20. Al-Jabouri has long touted himself as an Arab na-tionalist opposed to U.S. in-terventions in the Middle East and a supporter of Iraqi Sunni insurgents against American troops. But now, with the last U.S. soldiers to leave Iraq by the end of the month, al-Jabouri said there was no longer a need for the station, which went off the air Dec. 5. “This page has been closed, thus resistance in Iraq should come to an end as a result,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Al-Jabouri said he also made

his decision in light of the “pos-itive development” in Syrian-Iraqi relations and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s re-cent stance in support of Da-mascus. The Iraqi government was one of two countries that opposed sanctions imposed by the Arab League against Syria last month over Damascus’ bru-tal crackdown on a nine-month uprising that the U.N. says has killed more than 5,000 people. Asking about future plans for the station, al-Jabouri said he would be ready to grant it to Gadhafi’s daughter, Aisha, to be a “voice for the Libyan op-position.” In an audio mes-sage broadcast on Al-Rai sta-tion from her exile in Algeria late last month, Aisha urged Libyans to overthrow their new rulers whom she said “arrived with the planes of NATO.”

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Azim Mai’s husband allegedly threw acid in her face last year after she refused to sell their two boys to a man in Dubai to use as camel racers. The 35-year-old mother of five can no lon-ger find work as a maid because her deeply scarred face scares potential employers. Acid burn-ings are among the most hor-rific crimes against women in Pakistan that are now criminal-ized in a landmark set of laws passed by the parliament. They stand to protect millions of women from common forms of abuse in a conservative, Muslim country with a terrible history of gender inequality. Rights activists praised the laws Tuesday while stressing their passage was just the first step, and likely not the hardest one. It could be even more difficult to get Pakistan’s corrupt and inefficient legal system to pro-tect women’s rights that many men in this patriarchal society likely oppose. “This is a big achievement for the women of Pakistan, civil society and the

organizations that have been working for more than 30 years to get women friendly bills passed,” said Nayyar Shabana Kiyani, who has lobbied for the legislation as part of The Aurat Foundation, a women’s rights group. “We can’t really get good results until the laws are implemented at the grassroots level,” she added. The two bills containing the new laws, which received final approval from the Senate on Monday, stiffened the punishment for acid attacks and criminalized practices such as marrying off young girls to settle tribal disputes and preventing women from inheriting property. Mistreat-ment of women is widespread in Pakistan, a nation of some 175 million where most people are poor, only half the adults can read and extremist ideolo-gies, including the Taliban’s, are gaining traction. In 2010, at least 8,000 acid attacks, forced marriages and other forms of vi-olence against women were re-ported, according to The Aurat Foundation. Because the group

relied mostly on media reports, the figure is likely an under-count. Women are discrimi-nated against in other ways as well. Pakistan ranked third to last in 2011 in the World Eco-nomic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, only beating Chad and Yemen. The report captures the magnitude of gender-based disparities in things like health and education. The new laws explicitly criminalized acid at-tacks and mandated that con-victed attackers would serve a minimum sentence of 14 years that could extend to life, and pay a minimum fine of about $11,200. Other new laws man-date a minimum prison sen-tence of three years for forcing a woman to marry, including to settle tribal disputes; five years for preventing a woman from inheriting property; and three years for a practice known as “marriage to the Holy Quran.”Feudal families in rural areas of Pakistan engage in this practice so that women won’t receive marriage proposals and their share of the inheritance will

stay in the family, said Farzana Bari, head of the gender studies department at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. “This legislation addresses the patri-archal traditions that have been used against women to violate their rights,” said Bari. “People have been doing these kinds of things for so long that they don’t even think it’s unjust. Past bills aimed at protecting wom-en have met resistance from Is-lamists and other conservatives in parliament. But the latest measures were passed unani-mously by both the Senate and the National Assembly and will go into effect once the president signs them. Mai, the acid at-tack victim who also has three daughters, was happy with the passage of the laws but favored even harsher punishment, in-cluding for her husband, who she said was in jail awaiting trial. It was unclear whether the new laws would affect her hus-band’s case, since the alleged crime occurred before their passage.

TORONTO (AP) — New Ca-nadian citizens must remove any face coverings, such as the Islamic niqab or burqa, while they take the oath of citizen-ship, the country’s immigration minister said Monday. Jason Kenney said most Canadians have misgivings about Islamic face coverings and said new Canadians should take the oath in view of their fellow citizens. He said he has received com-plaints from lawmakers and citizenship judges who say it’s difficult to ensure that individu-als whose faces are covered are actually reciting the oath. The

Conservative minister called the issue a matter of deep prin-ciple that goes to the heart of Canada’s identity and the coun-try’s values of openness and equality. He said women who feel obliged to have their faces covered in public often come from a cultural milieu that treats women as property rather than equal human beings “I do think that most Canadians find that disquieting to say the least,” Kenney said in a telephone in-terview with The Associated Press. “Most Muslim Canadian women I know find the practice of face covering in our society

disturbing, indicative of an ap-proach to women that is not consistent with our democratic values,” Kenney added. Ken-ney made the announcement in the French-speaking prov-ince of Quebec, which has ex-perienced heated debates over how much Canada should bend to accommodate newcomers. Kenney said his government would not go further by draft-ing laws to ban women from wearing veils that cover their faces in public. France became the first country to enact a law designed to forbid face-cov-ering veils such as the niqab

or burqa anywhere in public. Violators risk fines or being or-dered to take citizenship class-es. “We shouldn’t have the state using its power to dictate what people choose to wear in their private lives, but when there are important points of intersection with the state in obtaining state services I think it’s entirely rea-sonable for people to show who they are,” Kenney said. There are no laws banning veils or headscarves in the U.S., though there have been unsuccessful attempts in some states to ban “Sharia law.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — About 18 months before the Egyptian uprising that would doom Hosni Mubarak, a U.S. diplomatic cable was sent from Cairo. It described Mubarak as the likely president-for-life and said his regime’s ability to in-timidate critics and rig elections was as solid as ever. Around the same time, another dispatch to the State Department came from the American Embassy in Tuni-sia. In a precise foreshadowing of the revolts to come, it said the country’s longtime leader, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, had “lost touch” and faced escalating an-ger from the streets, according to once-classified memos posted by Wikileaks. So what was it? Was America blindsided or bunkered down for the Arab Spring? The case is often made that Wash-

ington was caught flatfooted and now must adapt to diminished influence in a Middle East with new priorities. But there is an al-ternative narrative: that the epic events of 2011 are an opportunity to enhance Washington’s role in a region hungry for democracy and innovation, and to form new strategic alliances. There is no doubt that Washington was jolted by the downfall of its Egyptian and Tunisian allies. The revolu-tions blew apart the regimes’ os-sified relationships with the U.S. and cleared the way for long-suppressed Islamist groups that eye the West with suspicion. But declaring a twilight for America in the Mideast ignores a big ca-veat: The Persian Gulf. There are deep U.S. connections among the small but economically pow-erful and diplomatically adept

monarchies, emirates and sheik-doms, which so far have ridden out the upheavals and are in-creasingly flexing their political clout around the Arab world. The Gulf Arabs and America are, in many ways, foreign policy soul mates. Both share grave mis-givings about Iran’s expand-ing military ambitions and its nuclear program. The Gulf hosts crucial U.S. military bases — including the Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain — and is an essential part of the Penta-gon’s strategic blueprint for the Mideast after this year’s U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. In sum-mary: America’s influence took blows from the Arab Spring, but also remains hitched to the rising stars in the Gulf. “America has lost the predictability of friends like Mubarak,” said Sami Alfar-

aj, director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies. “But, at the same time, its allies in the Gulf are on the rise. So I would call it a shuffle for America. Maybe a step back in some places, but not in others.” Led by hyper-wealthy Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the Gulf rulers have stepped up their games in various ways as the region’s political center of gravity drifts in their direction. NATO’s airstrikes in Libya got important Arab credibility from warplane contributions by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf’s six-nation political bloc also has tried to negoti-ate an exit for Yemen’s protest-battered president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and has taken the lead in Arab pressures on Syria’s Bashar Assad, one of Iran’s most crucial partners.

Arab uprisings

reshape map of US

influence

Anti-American Syria-based TV channel closes

New laws protect women from abuse in Pakistan

Canada bans burqa at citizenship swearing in

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Private equity firm The Carlyle Group says it has bought 42 percent of a Saudi company that op-erates Domino’s Pizza and Wendy’s restaurants in the Middle East. Car-lyle said Wednesday it bought the stake in Alamar Foods from the des-ert kingdom’s Al Jammaz family,

which will retain a majority stake.Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Alamar operates 176 Domino’s res-taurants in 11 countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It also runs nine Wendy’s stores in the United Arab Emirates, and a food processing company that supplies restaurants in the region.

JERUSALEM (AP) — In new research, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics is predicting that the fast-growing ultra-Orthodox Jew-ish community will make up nearly a third of the country’s population within 50 years. The figures have great implications for Israel, which is struggling with the high cost of supporting the largely impoverished ultra-Orthodox population. The fig-

ures released Monday predict that Israel’s population of almost 8 mil-lion will more than double by 2059. It projects that 30 percent of the population will be ultra-Orthodox, up from the current level of 10 per-cent. Ultra-Orthodox Jews observe strict interpretations of Jewish law. They generally shun modern soci-ety, don’t serve in the military and are often unemployed.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emir-ates (AP) — An opulent Abu Dhabi hotel which went overboard with an $11 million Christmas tree last year is now opting for a more modest display. The Emirati capital’s Na-tional newspaper reported Monday that this year’s tree at the Emirates Palace hotel is decorated with foil ornaments wrapped with cloth rib-bons, and with custom-made balls designed to represent the country’s

former pearl trade. The beachfront hotel was criticized for bad taste last year when it loaded a 43-foot (13-meter) tree with ornaments that included gold, diamonds and sap-phires. It later said it regretted “at-tempts to overload” the Christmas tree tradition. Although officially Muslim, the United Arab Emirates has a large foreign population and features many Christmas displays.

CAIRO (AP) — Islamists are dominating Egypt’s elections and some of them have a new message for tourists: welcome, but no booze, bikinis or mixed bathing at beaches, please. That vision of turning Egypt into a sin-free vacation spot could spell doom for a key pillar of the economy that has already been bad-ly battered by this year’s political unrest. “Tourists don’t need to drink alcohol when they come to Egypt; they have plenty at home,” a veiled Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Azza al-Jarf, told a cheering crowd of supporters on Sunday across the street from the Pyramids. “They came to see the ancient civiliza-tion, not to drink alcohol,” she said, her voice booming through a set of loudspeakers at a campaign event dubbed “Let’s encourage tourism.” The crowd chanted, “Tourism will be at its best under Freedom and Jus-tice,” the Brotherhood’s party and the most influential political group to emerge from the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Since their success in the first round of parliamentary elec-tions on Nov. 28-29, the Brother-hood and the even more fundamen-talist party of Salafi Muslims called Al-Nour have been under pressure from media and the public to define their stance on a wide range of is-

sues, especially those related to Is-lamic law, personal freedoms, the rights of women and minorities, the flagging economy and tourism. The Salafis of Al-Nour are up front about seeking to impose strict Islamic law in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood says publicly that it does not seek to force its views about an appropriate Islamic lifestyle on Egyptians. Crit-ics say remarks by members of both parties meant to reassure the nation that they don’t seek to damage tour-ism are having the opposite effect. Egypt’s year of political upheaval has hit the economy hard and shak-en investor confidence. On Sunday, the new interim prime minister, Ka-mal el-Ganzouri, broke into tears in front of journalists as he spoke about the state of the economy, saying it was “worse than anyone imagines.”Turning around the decline in tour-ism is key to breathing life back into the economy. But tourism presents something of an ideological conun-drum for the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Nour. The two parties came in first and second, respectively, in first-round results in the voting, which is staggered and continues through January. Together, they’ve won an overwhelming majority of votes.

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops bat-tled army defectors Sunday in clash-es that left several military vehicles in flames. The fighting and other violence around the nation killed at least five people, activists said. The 9-month-old uprising against Syria’s authoritarian President Bashar Assad has grown increasingly violent in recent months as once-peaceful pro-testers take up arms and rebel sol-diers joining the uprising fight back against the army. The U.N. says more than 4,000 people have been killed since March. Opposition activ-ists called for a general strike starting Sunday to add to the pressure on the

government to stop its bloody crack-down. Assad has refused to buckle under Arab and international pres-sure to step down and has shown no signs of easing his crackdown, which has included assaults by the military on unarmed protesters. Now, fight-ing between loyalist forces and de-fectors calling themselves the Free Syrian Army threatens to push the confrontation into civil war. In one of Sunday’s clashes, which took place before dawn in the northwestern town of Kfar Takharim, two of the military’s armored vehicles were set ablaze, said the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Carlyle buys 42 percent of Mideast

restaurant firm

Israeli ultra-Orthodox projected to triple by

2059

Abu Dhabi hotel tones down blinged-out tree

Egypt Islamists of-fer vision for sin-free

tourism

Syrian troops clash with army defectors

english issue 34

Documents

Transcript of english issue 34