IRS Docs Detail Ties Between Syria and Iraq

From an article on FNC:

Following the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s government in 2003, IRS criminal investigators opened an inquiry into Iraqi operations of Oil-for-Food and interviewed numerous mid-level government officials, former Iraqi ministers and other imprisoned officials and supplied information to Congress, CIA and IRS.

Commercial transactions and deposits were uncovered that implicated the Syrian government in the Oil-for-Food scandal.

The IRS learned through its interviews that Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) maintained accounts at the Commercial Bank of Syria (CBS) that received funds from the oil sales to Syria. Beginning in June 2000 and lasting until March 2003, Iraq and Syria set up a border trade protocol, which ultimately resulted in $3 billion worth of Iraqi oil being imported by Syria.

IRS investigators have concluded that the money was funneled through these accounts. About 40 percent was paid in cash while the other 60 percent came in “goods” such as arms.

Both the imports of oil and the exports of military supplies were illegal under U.N. sanctions imposed after the first Gulf War.

Funds in these accounts were used to purchase merchandise through Syrian suppliers, transferred in cash to Baghdad using a diplomatic courier, and used to pay the 10 percent kickback demanded by Iraq of all companies involved in the U.N. program, according to the House International Relations Committee.

And some of the highest officials in the Syrian government were part of the illegal trade, according to the probe.

IRS investigators have also determined that Syrian Defense Minister Mustapha Tlas received a “tribute payment” in return for permitting trade between the two countries in violation of U.N. sanctions. Tlas’ son, Firas, and other officials with personal ties to Assad, also received commissions for acting as intermediaries in military procurement contracts. Another intermediary was Thualhima Shaleesh, chief of the presidential bodyguard and cousin of the Syrian president.

One document details how Iraq’s Military Industrialization Commissio used intermediaries to arrange for arms imports. Another document says that a source at the Iraqi Ministry of Trade told the U.S. agents, “the majority of the Iraqi trade with Syria was transacted through [a company called] SEAS … belonging to Dr Asef Shaleesh. He mentioned that Shaleesh was related to the president of Syria.”

The Bush White House and previous administrations have known that Syria was violating the sanctions and importing enormous amounts of oil illegally from Iraq. In fact, one of former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s first trips was to the Middle East, including a stop in Syria, to urge Iraq’s neighbors to strengthen the sanctions against Saddam.

So what are we going to do about it? I predict nothing will be done about it.

Read the Documents

Wells Fargo Opens Bank Accounts For Illegals

From an article in Tidings Online:

The grassroots leaders from the South East Cluster of One LA-IAF (Industrial Areas Foundation) zeroed in on four broad areas — consulate identification, education, safety and immigration rights — affecting seven cities, including Lynwood, South Gate, Huntington Park and Maywood.

Community leaders praised Well Fargo Bank for being the first local financial institution to let individuals use consulate identification to open accounts. And Chris Rommel, a Wells Fargo officer, reported that more than 500,000 checking accounts using matriculas consulares as a valid form of identification had been opened to date. Then, to cheers, he presented a blown-up check to the community organization.

Do you believe this nonsense? Allowing illegal immigrants to use Consular Ids, issued by the Mexican government, to open bank accounts? What the heck, why don’t we just get rid of the border and all learn Spanish! Let’s just completely give up our countries sovereignty since it seems so unimportant to so many people in this country. Forget about the U.S. Let’s just be North America! Then eventually we can get rid of all borders and just be America; North and South! What the heck, every other country’s problems seem to be ours anyway; right? While we are at it forget about English, we will revert to an older language called Spanish; actually Hispanic since most Hispanics have problems passing Spanish.

Ya know, some times I just get so frustrated at people in this country, and our government, that it makes me want to throw in the towel and leave people and the country to its own devices.

Hat tip to Chris Kelley on Michelle Malkinâââs Blog

12 Dozen Win Citizenship at Camp Victory

Reprinted from the American Forces Information Service:

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, July 25, 2005 âââ One hundred forty-three U.S. servicemembers from 42 different countries held up their right hands and became U.S. citizens today in the Al-Faw Palace rotunda here.

“Before they were its citizens, they were willing to fight for it, risk everything for it and be required to spend a portion of their lives away from a country that they’re dedicated to,” said Vines, who presided at the ceremony.

Hawaii Army National Guardsman Spc. Richard Soriano started filing for citizenship one year ago. The 23-year-old infantryman, almost halfway through a year-long deployment with 2nd Battalion, 299 Infantry Regiment, left a brother in the Philippines and his parents, five more brothers and a sister in Kahului, Maui, when he came to Camp Victory here. “It feels great,” he said of his new citizenship. “I called (my family) the other day and they were very proud. They said, ‘Good for you, you got it.'”

Another new American, Pablo Perez, traveled from Mosul, Iraq, to participate. A private first class with 25th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade, Perez had been trying to obtain citizenship for five years. “I think (the ceremony) is outstanding, said the 23-year-old soldier from Managua, Nicaragua. “I think every soldier out here feels like they’re being taken care of by the military. It’s a good thing for us.”

More than half of the new citizens joined the military after Sept. 11, 2001, Vines said, commenting that they knew exactly what they were risking when they agreed to serve. “They’re so committed to the concepts of democracy and freedom that they’re sacrificing much of their own to ensure that America remains free,” Vines said.

After the remarks from Vines and presiding USCIS officer Karen Landsness — as well as a recorded message from President Bush — Perez, Soriano, and 141 of their newly naturalized brothers and sisters in arms were given certificates of citizenship from Vines and Landsness and an American flag from Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Carey, MNCI’s command sergeant major.

Including Landsness, three USCIC officers had been on hand since July 21 to interview the new citizens-to-be, said Linda Dougherty, an 11-year USCIS veteran who also participated in a like ceremony in Bagram, Afghanistan, on Oct. 1. “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the people willing to serve the U.S. before it was their own country,” she added.

“We’re in the presence of some great young men and women that are about to receive a title that is perhaps one of the most desired titles in history: American Citizen,” Vines said.

(Army Staff Sgt. Mark St. Clair is assigned to Multinational Corps Iraq public affairs.)

These are immigrants that love our, and now their, country.

Minuteman Project Update

From the Minuteman Project homepage:

Join fellow Patriot-Minutemen in October for a four state month-long Border Patrol to observe, report and protect the US from illegal immigration in all southern border states.

MinutemanHQ.com is the new National Organization for the original Minuteman border project. It is the only group authorized by Chris Simcox and Jim Gilchrist who organized the first border watch.

Contact us immediately to learn about upcoming missions. We are expanding to California, Texas and New Mexico on the southern border. Requests from activated volunteers on the northern border with Canada âââ Maine, Vermont, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Idaho and Washington State are creating new operations, this is truly an exciting time for Patriots!

ââÅCongress and the U.S. Senate continue to drag their feet on securing our borders with U.S. military and National Guard troops. Meanwhile, thousands of illegal immigrants cross our southern border every week.

These are true patriots folks. Don’t listen to those out there that try and tear them down by calling them vigilantes; not that I am against vigilantes. I will explain this later. They never take the law into their own hands, they call the authorities. They carry guns but can only take them out of their holsters for self defense; which has not yet been necessary. They are actually Vigilantes using the Spanish definition: watchman. That is what they are actually doing watching; and bringing much needed attention to the problem. We have to secure our borders; period.

We need to contact your Senators and Congressman and tell them we expect our borders secured so that no one can cross without going through the proper border crossings.

Now to explain about not being necessarily against Vigilantes, the modern definition of Vigilante is negative, but Montana has a history of Vigilantism that was a positive force in the State. They were the good guys fighting the Road Agents, the bad guys. Also, as pointed out above, the Spanish definition is watchman and literally Vigilante means one who is vigilant; nothing wrong with those definitions.

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin for reminding me to do an update.

Illegal Immigration: Punish the Employers

Michelle Malkin seems to agree with me, and so makes a good point about illegal immigration; crack down on the employers. If there are no jobs they’ll go home.

One aspect that seems to be overlooked in the article is that we also must stop providing welfare services to illegal immigrants. No free services of any kind. No free education, medical, housing etcetera. Not for them and not for their children. I know this sounds harsh, but they don’t have to come here illegaly if they don’t like it, or they can go home.

We need to secure our borders with real numbers.

We need to stop people from hiring illegals

We need to stop using tax dollars to provide services to illegals.

We need to stop providing signs, books, etcetera in foreign languages of any kind. You immigrate to America it is time to jump in the old melting pot and learn english.

Rebuilding Iraq

More information you are not getting from the MSM.

The following is taken from the Iraq Project and Contracting Office website:

Baghdad’s Power Grid Upgraded

Improving electricity supply is a high priority across Iraq. Electrical power projects are focused on upgrading the power grid to increase availability and consistency of electrical service. PCO has already completed the rehabilitation of the Al Ameen substation, a large electrical substation in East Baghdad.
Read More

250,000 Iraqi Children Benefit from Newly Refurbished Schools

PCO has completed construction on 80% of its planned school construction projects throughout Iraq. Of the 800 planned school projects, 696 have broken ground, and 635 have been completed. The school projects consist of repairs to badly maintained structures including: roofs, walls, windows, floors , plumbing and electrical work. The projects also include security for the schools to make sure students have a safe environment in which to learn. 250,000 Iraqi students are expected to benefit from PCO’s school projects.

Mail Call: Iraq
Baghdad, Iraq Regular, timely and efficient mail delivery has always been a sign of successful blending of public bureaucracy and infrastructure. The Iraqi mail delivering agency never quit operating through the Iran and Iraq War, Persian Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Iraqi Post continued to deliver the mail. A delay of a couple weeks here and there was the only result for Iraq’s Post during the past three decades of the volatile Saddam regime. All those conflicts and still the mail continued to be delivered.
read more

Gas Oil Separation Plant (GOSP) Projects
PCO has completed two GOSP projects and is currently working on six more. Saralu and Bai Hassan South GOSPs have increased their gas/oil separation capacity by 173,000 barrels per day. The weekly average oil production for the week of June 16-22 was over 2.1 million barrels per day.

The Zayd Border Fort

“Thanks to the generosity of the American people, Iraq is getting a much needed boost in infrastructure construction,” said Major General Daniel Long, PCO Director. “The border forts are essential components that will help the Iraqi government secure their borders from external threats. It is great to see these coming on line.”
read more

PCO Recues the “Sweet Water Canal”

Often referred to as the cradle of civilization, the Basrah region is south of the two great rivers in Iraq — Tigris and Euphrates. The water source for the city of Basrah originates 238 kilometers upstream via a canal that meanders through the desert. This canal, affectionately referred to as the Sweet Water Canal (SWC), has been under siege from poor maintenance and improper construction since inception. Many believe if nothing is done to the repair the deteriorating canal, it will eventually dry up. Repairs to inoperable pumps, replacement of water inlet screens, and removal of sand sediments from SWC reservoirs are just some of the solutions included in PCO’s plan for the Canal’s overhaul.
read more

Project Phoenix Adding Power to the Grid

PCO developed Project Phoenix to augment the power supply for Iraq in time for the summer heat and surging demand. Project Phoenix consists of 7 power generation projects across Iraq. Six have been completed the most recent located in Qudas. The final project is expected to be completed by the end of July. Almost 90% of PCO planned power generation projects have broken ground, and 65% of planned power generation projects have been completed across Iraq.

Women’s Conference

Iraqi businesswomen are increasingly taking the lead in helping re-build their country. ââÅWe recognize the key contribution Iraqi women-owned businesses will make in the countrywide efforts to rebuild critical infrastructure like water, electricity, roads and bridges, said Col. Edwin Martin, who heads reconstruction contracting for JCC-I. That’s why we recently instituted a policy whereby the use of Iraqi women-owned businesses as subcontractors will be a positive evaluation criteria in selecting contractors for award.
read more

PCO Building New Health Clinics

The PCO is also paying to equip PHCs with equipment laboratory items, medical supplies and medicine, said Dr. Raad. It will be wonderful to be able to open the PHCs and have a complete operational facility with everything our health care professionals need. Schaper, the Go to Guy in the south describes the PHCs as being built by locals for locals. Several Basrah contractors and hundreds of Iraqi laborers from the communities in and around the clinics are busy building the facilities in neighborhoods where they live. Many are only a stone’s throw away from the homes where their patients live.
read more

A Week in Review:

Ongoing Work: As of: 7/13/05
IRRF Construction Starts: 2,121
AIRP Construction Starts: 358

——————————————————————————–

Total Construction Starts: 2479
Total Project Completions: 1450
Work in Place: $2.57 Billion
# of Iraqi Workers: 41,355
Obligated Funds: $9.376 Billion

Ebonics is Back

Tillman hoped the new policy would increase the number of black students going to college and participating in advanced courses.

How can ebonics help them get into college yet alone get them through college?

“Everybody has prejudices, but we must all learn to control that behavior,’ Texeira said. She said a child’s self confidence is tied to his or her cultural identity.

She compared the low performance of black students to starvation.

Yup, I am very prejudiced against ignorance and stupidity and this idea falls into both categories. They are failing because the teachers are not sticking to the basics right from the beginning. The first hurdle is learning to communicate and understand your teachers. This requires understanding English. Without this skill you cannot learn the others. How can you learn from someone when you do not understand what they are saying to you?

When did getting left behind become such a big problem? When I was growing up there was always someone in the class who was left behind. If it takes you longer to graduate public school than another individual so what; as long as you learn what your supposed to learn.

People the goal is to teach the student the skills they need to succeed in life, not make them feel good about themselves and push them to the next grade.

Will you trust your stock portfolio to someone who speaks ebonics? Or even has an ebonic accent? I personally would have a problem with hiring an individual who has a heavy Brooklyn or Bronx accent for a job that dealt with the public outside that region.

I know a bit about what I am talking about being born in NY and having worked the ghettos as a NYC paramedic for 7 years. This is by far the worst idea I have heard in a long time in how to deal with helping Black Americans with their educational needs.

Look the neighborhoods they live in is a detrimental influence on achieving anything worth while, so there are going to be allot of failures in their schools. This is a factor that cannot be controlled by the public school system. It is a cultural problem. Yes the ghettos are a subculture, and it puts down people that try and make it in the white man’s world. It is extremely oppressive and destructive, and I don’t know what if anything we can do about that except to make them all find work by kicking their butt off welfare using job training programs. But, if you refuse to try and get off welfare we have to give them some tuff love and kick their butts off welfare. Some people will not help themselves until they hit rock bottom and have absolutely no choice. But you can bet as long as we are willing to pay for them to do nothing productive, they will do nothing productive.

So until that time, and during, We are going to have to help those that are struggling against the negative influences in their environment to claw their way out of the ghettos. You have to recognize those that are lost causes and not let them take your attention from those who wish to work and get an education or else everyone looses.

You want a program that helps in black neighborhood public schools? Take the lost causes and place them into a special program. Separate them from those who are willing to work to get an education and deal with the lost causes in a special way. Boot Camp style, you don’t want to pay attention in class? You must have too much energy! It’s time for calisthenics, or nice long run, or maybe wind sprints. Now let’s try again. No? More exercise! Try again etcetera.