Crime in Progress

Let's be Good

It is better to do good towards humanity, then do that which make’s a person sad or hurt them.
One may think doing something to a person that may seem small to the person doing the harm, but the person that is being hurt, may think it is not just a grain of sand but a boulder.

One thing to remember, when one harm’s another; Allah tends to send the harm back home, as a lesson to be learned.

In addition, if you make a person cry, Allah counts each and every tear.

-HRM Deborah

Write Adel Hamad with an Update from his Lawyers

29 October 2007

This is a letter from the Adel Hamad Project; this organization is trying to get him released from illegal detention at Guantanamo Bay.

I really encourage people to step foreword and help the innocent at this illegal detention center:

We recently sat down with the lawyers of Adel Hamad to get an update on his situation. We learned that the newest head of Guantanamo has moved the vast majority of the detainees into 22 hour total lock down. This is complete isolation from human contact with a mere 2 hours of "recreation time" occurring in a small concrete room, not outdoors, and often in the middle of the night. Needless to say, more and more cases of psychosis and other significant psychiatric conditions are arising from indefinite detention under these conditions.

Fortunately Adel Hamad is one of about 50 detainees not in lockdown but morale is still at an all-time low. He has watched many detainees, some of whom have actual evidence against them, get released simply because the United States has good relations with their home countries (Britain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc.). Others like him—where the government has produced no evidence-- hospital administrators, fruit vendors, people turned in because of bounties offered by the U.S. or Pakistanis simply for being foreigners or looking different-- remain at Guantanamo for no other reason than the U.S. is not friendly with their country of origin.

Hamad's lawyers have just now learned, from their recent trip to Sudan, that he was cleared for transfer in November of 2005, TWO YEARS AGO. The U.S. government never shared this information with his own defense team and obviously do not seem to feel any obligation to expedite the release of a man that they have charged with no crime.

But we aren't writing you to share yet another piece of depressing news you can do nothing about. For the last 10 months we have been encouraging Project Hamad members to write Adel Hamad at Guantanamo, to make sure the U.S. government knows he has not been forgotten. We were operating under the assumption that he might never see the letters. But he mentioned them to his lawyers as the only bright spot in an otherwise grim existence.. A parish from the midwest that had organized a letter writing campaign on his behalf, has received letters back from Hamad, thanking them, and wishing them well.

We are hoping that you will take a moment, with the two year anniversary of his "transfer approval" approaching, and write Adel Hamad.

Adel Hamad (ISN 940)
Camp Delta
P.O. Box 160
Washington DC 20053
USA

Thanks,

Laura, David and Ben
Project Hamad
http://projecthamad.org

Giuliani Resembles Bush on Terror War

28 October 2007

WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani, to quote a Democratic rival, would be like President Bush on steroids in the way he would go about protecting the U.S. from terrorists. In reality, Giuliani doesn't seem very different from Bush on the issue.

The former New York mayor says the government shouldn't be shy about eavesdropping on citizens. He is prepared to use military force to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons and root out terrorists in Pakistan. And he opposes a U.S. pullout from Iraq.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, a Giuliani friend and adviser on homeland security issues, said in an interview: "I would say they're very much joined at the hip on these policies, and particularly the mind-set and commitment of both the president and Mayor Giuliani to stay on offense."

Giuliani sounds more muscular.

Bush talks about terrorism, while Giuliani doggedly refers to "the terrorists' war on us." It is the first item on a little card he carries with him listing 12 things he would do as president: "I will keep America on offense in the terrorists' war on us." He constantly accuses Democrats of being afraid to use the term "Islamic terrorists."

His tough talk prompted Democrat John Edwards to quip that Giuliani would be George Bush on steroids.

Many Republicans like that idea, although the party's libertarians find it alarming that a GOP president would vigorously pursue expanded government power.

Giuliani's message is, "'I'm a tough SOB; you give me the power, and I'll protect you,'" David Keene, who heads the American Conservative Union, said of the former New York mayor. "I'm not overly pleased with Bush, but I get the impression Rudy would be far more enthusiastic about it than some in the Bush administration."

"They might argue that it's necessary," Keene said. "He might argue that it's fun."

Keene acknowledges he is in the minority among Republicans. Most, he says, are willing to give the government more power in times of war.

That is an argument made by retired federal judge Michael Mukasey, a longtime friend of Giuliani's who was advising the campaign until Bush picked him to serve as attorney general.

Both Mukasey and Giuliani back the Patriot Act, which expanded law enforcement's access to private telephone, e-mail, financial and other records, among many other provisions.

Giuliani also argues against limits on domestic spying and what he calls legal interrogation, although he hasn't said just how far he thinks CIA interrogation tactics should go before they are considered to be torture.

He said Wednesday he wasn't sure if waterboarding, which simulates drowning, is actually torture.

"It depends on how it's done. It depends on the circumstances. It depends on who does it," he said, adding that he didn't know if "liberal media" had accurately described the technique.

"Americans should never be for torture, he said. But "we can't abandon aggressive questioning of people who are intent on coming here to kill us or killing us overseas," he said.

Giuliani has surrounded himself with foreign policy advisers who, like several Bush advisers, are neoconservatives — less skeptical of government than traditional conservatives and more interested in foreign intervention and spreading U.S. values abroad.

Among them is author Norman Podhoretz, who argues for bombing Iran to stop it from building a nuclear arsenal. Podhoretz says Iran, like Iraq and Afghanistan, is another front in the same war sparked by the Sept. 11 attacks. He calls this World War IV, the Cold War being World War III.

Fear of terrorism among GOP voters is an advantage for Giuliani, who is seen as the calm, decisive leader who guided a New York devastated by the Sept. 11 attacks.

The image has helped Giuliani stay ahead, or close to the top, in polls, both nationally and in some early primary states, despite a record on social issues that might otherwise alienate social conservatives.

"I probably have one of the strongest arguments to make about executive experience and handling crisis and getting results," he said in an interview last month with The Associated Press. "So in an era in which we're concerned about terrorism, I would think that would give me a strong argument to make."

Among Republicans who care most about terrorism, rating it "very" or "extremely" important, Giuliani gets the most support — 26 percent to Fred Thompson's 18 percent and John McCain's 17 percent — according to an AP-Ipsos poll conducted in June.

Yet Sept. 11 also provokes heated criticism of Giuliani.

Some firefighter unions and family members of those killed are campaigning against him, distributing an anti-Giuliani video and holding protests outside Giuliani events.

Those critics say that he should never have put the city's emergency command center inside the World Trade Center when the complex was already a potential target for terrorists, and that he failed to make sure firefighters had working radios, making it impossible to learn the complex's towers were about to collapse.

"Virtually the whole thing goes back to him with the radios," Jim Riches, a deputy fire chief whose son was killed on Sept. 11, says in the video. "And my son is dead because of it."

Critics also say Freeh is a poor choice for an adviser since the FBI under his leadership was faulted by the Sept. 11 commission for being ill-prepared for the terror attacks.

And foes say Giuliani is exaggerating when he claims, as he often does, to have studied Islamic terrorism for 30 years, because as a federal prosecutor, Justice Department official and mayor, Giuliani's primary focus was crime.

That criticism is "both revisionist history and just not true," said Joe Lhota, a former deputy mayor and a Giuliani adviser. "His terrorism credentials go back to the '70s during the Ford Administration, when he was on then-President Ford's task force on counterterrorism."

Lhota said the World Trade Center offered several advantages over other potential emergency command center sites, and he points out the Secret Service and CIA had facilities there.

Giuliani allies say much of the criticism is political, pointing to the firefighters unions' endorsement of Democrats.

"He's not somebody new coming into this game. Rudy Giuliani did not wake up to terrorism on 9/11," Lhota said. "He's lived through it. His experience is hands-on experience."

Giuliani Gets Exposed As Fraud by New York Firefighters

Stepping Back to Muhammad's (PBUH) Time

In Muhammad’s (PBUH), time their came about a pact which was to commence and established regular and clearly defined relations with non-Muslims. All these efforts were exerted solely to provide peace, security and prosperity to all mankind at large as well as to bring about a spirit of rapport and harmony within his region in particular.

At this time, their was mutual respect between the Muslim’s and non-Muslims, to the extent that they shared and fought side by side to gain there freedom with prosperity to be agreed upon what was fair and just for all; this included religious freedom.

At this time, it must be understood, that pure righteousness was imperative, because the forces that the two side’s were fighting against where people that where not with Allah.

With the relationship of this pact, all prospered and took care of each other within the region and this became one of the foundations to the building of prosperity within the Middle East.

There is a more lengthy description to this time, but, the situation became known as a Non-Aggression Pact with the Jewish people and this was during the time Muhammad (PBUH) was in Madinah.

Olmert Announced he has Prostate Cancer

29 October 2007

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer requiring surgery in the coming months but he vowed to stay in office, confident of a full recovery.

"Following the results of a regular check-up, I was diagnosed with initial signs of prostate cancer," the 62-year-old prime minister told a packed news conference in Jerusalem, looking slightly pale but otherwise healthy.

Olmert, who has always prided himself on his good health and is a renowned sports fanatic, said the surgery was scheduled for the coming months as he and his medical team stressed that his condition was curable.

"I will be able to fully carry out my duties before the treatment and several hours after it," he said. "My doctors told me there is a full chance for a complete recovery.

"This is a microscopic growth, removable through short surgical treatment. According to the medical assessment, there will be no need for chemotherapy or radiation," Olmert said.

"The treatment may have side effects, but they will not limit his duties as prime minister," said Professor Kobi Ramon, Olmert's personal physician and a specialist oncologist.

The biopsy was carried out on October 19 and surgery could not take place for at least six weeks afterwards. The procedure will require three days in hospital, Ramon said, followed by a period of convalescence at home.

"This is a malignant tumour detected at a very early stage. It's treatable and curable," said Shlomo Segev, another of Olmert's personal doctors.

U.S. Economic Sanctions on Iran

Fatah Attempt's More Act's of Terrorism Towards Palestine

29 October 2007

by HRM Deborah

It has been brought to my attention that Mahmoud Abbas wishes to speak to Hamas, with one precondition; that I am murdered.

Before, those who are now known as Hamas, they had another name which was blessed for centuries by Allah, they where royal guards to my family at one time and have always been as far as I know the most impeccable people in Palestine society.

One precondition in the past to be a royal guard, was you had to be a very good person within Islam as well as in your personal life.

As for Abbas wishing to speak to Hamas and murder me, it is just another attempt at criminal activity on Mahmoud Abbas’s part; after all no matter who’s hand’s, it is still murder and Abbas is trying to be the advocator of this crime.

Abbas in his failings, is plugging himself into an Abyss that he will never recover.

Something that should be know about the PLO, which later became known as Fatah, this organization was created in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy in Palestine and try to set up their own government.

Otherwise, from their inception, they have always been traitors to Palestine and her people.

As far as Fatah’s religious affiliation as Muslim’s, this open’s up a whole new bucket of worms, for they are classified as secular; which has became a watershed word for atheism.

Furthermore, I have often wondered if they are not partly the real blame, as why there where never any actual peaceful negotiations to stop the war.

Hamas sources: “Fatah Security forces continue to arrest Hamas members"

28 October 2007

by IMEMC News

Sources close to Hamas movement reported on Sunday that Palestinian Security Forces, loyal to Fatah movement in the West Bank, continued their arrest campaigns against members and supporters of Hamas, and arrested seven members of Hamas on Saturday.

In Nablus city, in the northern part of the West Bank, Palestinian security forces arrested Moath Al Sarkaji, a student at Al Najah University in Nablus, as he was leaving the new university campus in the Al Jneid area of the city.

Al Sarkaji is the son of Yousef Al Sarkaji, leader of the Al Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, who was assassinated by the Israeli army in 2002.

In Saida town, north of Nablus, security forces arrested Bilal Hosny when he headed to a security center after he was called in for questioning. Hosny is a local reporter affiliated with Hamas.

On Sunday, security forces arrested Abdul-Hadi Al-Bishkar, in Rafidia area in Nablus, and his cousin Hisham Bishkar.

In Ramallah, north of Jerusalem, security forces arrested Talha Abu Al Haj, from Dir Al Sudan village, west of the city. Talha was ordered to head for a security center for questioning and was arrested there.

In Tulkarem city, in the northern part of the West Bank, security forces arrested Mahmoud Freij as he was leaving a local mosque in Al Shouka area, north of Tulkarem.

In Salfit city, Palestinian security men arrested Sa’ed Aassy, from Qarawa Bani Hassan village, after he was ordered to head to a local security center for questioning.

Small Venerable Neighborhood Window

28 October 2007

by HRM Deborah

From the time, I can first remember, I have always believed in the existence of Allah and I will even admit it was not because my mother told me He existed, but it was just that He was there and I always knew it in my heart.

When I got to the age of schooling, I had a teacher ask the class because this was the time to start learning to read, if we learned to read and we ended up on an island what one book would we take with us and which book in this life was most important to us.

For me, it was to be able to learn to read the Quran, because I felt if I knew as much as I can in this life about Allah, that I would learn the most important things in this life.

The teacher was so surprised because she had never heard a child pick any type of Holy book before and I can say, I did not understand her thoughts.

However, I have always had one problem living in exile, especially in a Christian country and this went before even 9/11, that you tended to be a little shy when it came to talking about what was really in your heart. Because people would think you were odd or ask where I came from as if I was from another planet.

Most people think the hardship’s for Muslim’s not withstanding Palestinian’s came after 9/11, but I can attest this is not so. I grew-up at time when the idea of Muslim’s let alone Arab in a place other then the Middle East was more unheard of even though we where everywhere, but mainly in isolated pocket’s like neighborhood’s; not like many people see today.

This was done more for self-protection and anything outside of the neighborhood could be any number of hardships.

Every once in awhile, someone would wish very much to live in our neighborhoods because usually the crime rate was almost nonexistent because as far as I know their was only one murder and furthermore, everything seemed peaceful.

Mainly, in these neighborhood’s were Muslim’s and Jew’s, the people that wanted to live inside the most was Christian’s, to this day; this has always been another question of why?

I have spent a lot of time on this question and one day, I will know the whole answer.

Around the corner from my Grandmother Dora’s home was a Jewish market, the market was in the front and their home was attached to the back of the market. We were told if we went to this market, we were always supposed to be nice and respectful to the man that ran the market. My Grandmother always said, they were very nice, good people and deserved respect.

Until one very sad day, the market was robbed at gunpoint and the man was murdered. The Jew’s and Muslim’s in the neighborhood mourned for this family and if I remember correctly, my Grandmother even took food and her kindness to the wife of the man that had been murdered.

So you know, the robber was not from the neighborhood.

Again, what I did not understand is I never heard anything from the few Christian’s that lived in our neighborhood, except for one black family that were friends with my grandmother.

When this all occurred, I was still a very young girl and thing’s like this you just never forget.

Finally, to not be misunderstood, these Jewish people where not Zionist, but where true to Judaism.

Note:
I thought I should add a little note, at the time of these events; my Grandmother Dora was Palestine’s Queen.

Iran's Mission at UN Condemns US Sanctions

27 October 2007

United Nations-The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, in a press release on Saturday, condemned US unilateral sanctions against Iran.

The following is the full text of the press release:

"Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations wishes to state the following with regard to the recent move by the United States on 25 October 2007 in labeling baseless allegations and imposing illegal unilateral sanctions against certain Iranian nationals as well as financial, military and other institutions:

The aforesaid unilateral measures imposed by the US Government against Iranian nationals as well as military, financial and other institutions, yet again put on display the unilateralist approach of the United States and is doomed to fail because of its illegal, illegitimate, and hegemonic nature. Undoubtedly, labeling sovereign nations and aspects of their national institutions as terrorist is against the most basic principles of international law, international relations and the UN Charter .

To the knowledge of all, and despite the massive misleading political and propaganda campaign orchestrated by the United States and its proxies, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) is an essential part of the Iranian national military force which has made immense sacrifices in defending the Iranian territorial integrity, including by its heroic defense of the country visa-vis the US- instigated aggression by Saddam Hussein against Iran.

Because of their heroic contribution in defending the country, including through offering hundreds of thousands of martyrs and wounded who have sacrificed their lives in this regard, the IRGC has its roots down in the hearts and minds of the Iranian nation .Through targeting the IRGC and Iranian defense forces and institutions, the US is therefore targeting the whole Iranian nation.

As stressed, time and again, by the IAEA officials and reports, the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Iran is purely peaceful and there is no single evidence or indication to the contrary. Whereas the US has failed to provide the slightest evidence with regard to "proliferation concerns " in Iran, our country has demonstrated the peaceful nature of its nuclear program through complete transparency and full cooperation with the IAEA and its robust inspections.

Equally baseless are the absurd allegations on the so-called "support for terrorism "leveled against certain Iranian entities or nationals. Iran is one of the first victims of the terrorist activities by the extremists and other terrorist groups which have been created, financed, harbored and supported by the United States, and has always rejected terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

The US unilateral sanctions against Iranian banks are also a clear showcase of its animosity towards the ordinary Iranian depositors. How can such moves be reconciled with the hypocritical claims by the US officials who pretend to be mindful of ordinary people?

At a time when the cooperation between Iran and the IAEA is proceeding well and the international community is supporting a negotiated solution for the issue, such an unilateral move by the US well indicates that it seeks to undermine the negotiations and cooperation in this regard. The said US move is a purely politically motivated and illegal measure which disrespects other important international players. The said US unilateral measures are also a clear indicative of the US opposition to the peaceful settlement of the issue.

The preliminary reaction of various countries across the globe and their rejection of the most recent US unilateral sanctions against Iran, testifies to the fact that these measures and policies will not be effective and their failure is sure in advance. These illegal unilateral measures well explain that the United States, from a helpless position and as a result of its isolation, has resorted to unilateral sanctions, rather than appreciating the positive atmosphere created by Iran's cooperation with the IAEA .

The peace-loving Iranian nation which seeks a world free from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, considers the current US warmongering as a threat against the whole international community."

The Most Grateful

(Click to enlarge picture.)

Rice consults Clinton, Carter in run-up to Annapolis summit

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaking on Thursday at the State Department in Washington. (Reuters)

27 October 2007

By The Associated Press

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is looking to the past for lessons on how to make next month's Mideast peace conference a success.

As she prepares to host the international meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, Rice has delved into the history of U.S. attempts to mediate peace in the region, plunging into the diplomatic annals and seeking out the major players responsible for both successes and failures.

"She's trying to draw on the historical record and the experiences of others to see what she can glean and how that may be applicable to the current day," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday, ahead of Rice's Nov. 4-6 trip to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, her second in three weeks to organize the Annapolis gathering.

Most recently, she met this week with Jimmy Carter, sitting down in her office on Wednesday for a talk with the former president who brokered the 1978 Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt, the first between Israel and an Arab nation.

Carter has been a vocal critic of the Bush administration's Middle East polices and wrote a recent book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, that some believe is anti-Israeli. McCormack said the differences in approach were not a subject of her conversation.

Rice has also spoken by phone with former President Bill Clinton about his work on the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace deal. She discussed with both Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright the unsuccessful 2000 attempt in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, to mediate an Israeli-Syrian agreement and their bid later that year at Camp David to forge an Israeli-Palestinian pact.

Others she has reached out to include former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and James Baker, and to one-time U.S. peace negotiators like Dennis Ross, who played a key role in the Clinton administration and the administration of former President George H.W. Bush.

In addition, Rice, whose background is in Soviet studies, asked the State Department historian's office to prepare a voluminous, and classified, compendium of its records on the U.S. role in Middle East peacemaking.

McCormack declined to offer details of her private readings and conversations or discuss any conclusions she may have drawn from them. But he noted that Rice, especially given her background as an academic, has intense interest in studying past diplomacy for clues about what might work as the Annapolis meeting approaches.

"We view the situation as qualitatively different than it has been, the history moves on, people change roles, situations," McCormack said.

"That said, you can take the lessons of history and apply them," he said. "She is a student of history and has a keen appreciation for how we can apply the lessons of history, what we can learn from those who have gone before us."

Rice faces serious obstacles in organizing Annapolis, with both Israel and the Palestinians far apart on a joint statement to be presented to the meeting that she and President George W. Bush hope will launch the start of formal peace talks.

The two sides have fundamental differences over how detailed the document must be and whether it should contain a timeline for progress in the eventual negotiations.

The Israelis want the statement to be as vague as possible while the Palestinians are pushing for deadlines and specific references to the key issues in the conflict, among them the borders of a Palestinian state, the status of disputed Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Rice's last trip to the region, a furious four-day shuttle diplomacy mission earlier this month, produced little apparent progress on bringing the two sides together.

However, she did win at least public support for the Annapolis conference from Egypt and Jordan, two critical Arab allies of the United States that had both expressed skepticism about the utility of the meeting.

Condoleezza Rice on the Summit