Twelfth Bough

i run my own damn think tank

Archive for January 26th, 2010

ju$tify

Jan 26

Posted by A. Peasant in Corruption & Crime, Iraq, Military, Psychopaths, Terrorism | No Comments

What if this was your beautiful little daughter?

General Ray Odierno blames a changing al qaeda:

Following Monday’s suicide bombings of three major hotels in Baghdad, the attacks were widely seen as an escalating attempt to destablize the country ahead of key parliamentary elections in March. The top US general in Iraq said that while there was no definitive proof, he believed Monday’s attacks were conducted by Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) – an organization whose leaders appear to be increasingly well-educated and increasingly Iraqi, he said.

…At security checkpoints – including those surrounding Baghdad – the Iraqi government has relied heavily on an explosive detection device manufactured by a British private company that is being investigated for fraud. Last week, the British government stopped the export of the hand-held devices, which the US military has determined to be “totally ineffective,” but they are still widely in use in Baghdad.

…Odierno said the explosives detonated on Monday were much less powerful than those seen in previous high-profile bombings, but at least one of the audacious attacks marked a change in tactics. Gunmen outside the Hamra Hotel, popular with Western journalists, opened fire on the compound’s security guards before the suicide truck bomb drove through the barrier and detonated. “It’s the first time we’ve seen it executed this way,” Odierno told journalists. “As time goes on, their ability to impact becomes less and less, so they are trying to get the biggest outcome.”While the US and Iraq had made great progress, they should not underestimate the difficulty of dealing with a sophisticated and constantly shifting organization, he said.

But exactly how clever does “al qaeda” have to be to outwit a totally useless, fraudulent bomb-detecting device?

Iraqi officials said they would begin an investigation into why their Government paid at least $85 million to the British company, ATSC, for at least 800 of the bomb detectors, called ADE 651s.

Official doubts about the device were first reported in November, citing US military officials and technical experts who said the ADE 651 was useless.

”We are conducting a criminal investigation, and as part of that a 53-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of fraud by misrepresentation,” a spokesman for the Avon and Somerset Constabulary in England said. The suspect’s identity was widely reported as Jim McCormick, the managing director of ATSC.

Another company, Global Technical, also makes these useless devices. They have been sold to many countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, for tens of thousands of dollars A PIECE, God only knows how many innocent people have died as a result.

Bomb sniffing devices are not a new scam. ATSC, Ltd. has been operating over in the UK for a decade, and Global Technical had been falsely claiming since 1999 that the bomb detectors were given the approval of the British Military. Early last year, the UK government told Global Technical to stop claiming the GT200 had been given the Ministry of Defense’s approval– but other than requesting that their name not be used to endorse the product, they took no action.

Unfortunately, not only is the UK’s “prohibition” on exports of the ADE-651 device not particularly timely, it is not particularly comprehensive either:

“We will be making an order, under the Export Control Act 2002, banning the export of this type of device to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The reason the ban is limited to these two countries is that our legal power to control these goods is based on the risk that they could cause harm to UK and other friendly forces.”

So essentially they are only banning the ADE-651 in places where it might kill NATO forces. But as for the citizens of Thailand, civilian and police alike, that have been killed as a result of reliance on the GT200? Well, they can just go on continuing to be killed by the fake bomb detectors, that’s just too bad for them.

Click here to watch a 10 minute BBC on this fraud. The BBC wanted to ask Mr. McCormick how he could JUSTIFY selling these so-called bomb detectors when independent experts say they can’t possibly work.

Presumably, if he dared to answer the question, it would be simply because he made lots and lots of money. Presumably, the innocent deaths are of no concern to him.

Found: blogger devoted to exposing such frauds.

passenger of interest

Jan 26

Posted by A. Peasant in Africa, Angola, Drug Trafficking, Lebanon, Terrorism, UK | No Comments

According to reports*, one of the people killed in the Ethiopian plane crash off the coast of Lebanon was Hassan Tajideen, the administrator of Angolan-based food import company Arosfran.

A short report in PropertyWeek.com, (UK) 12/17/07:

Trocadero boss in $20m fraud suit
http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storycode=3102458#ixzz0dll7KIat

In documents filed at the High Court, Golfrate’s new owners, Hassan Tajideen, his brother Kassim and Nasser Eid, allege that Aziz – whose company Criterion Capital is worth £620m – doctored accounts, invented false expenses claims and used company money to pay for luxury trips.

In 2003 Kassim Tajideen was arrested in Belgium in connection with fraud, money laundering and diamond smuggling, although he was never charged.

Aziz declined to comment, other than to say that he was fighting the case and would file a counter-claim.

Asif Aziz is the Chief Executive of Criterion Capital. From Criterion’s website:

Asif’s career began in 1992 at Morgan Grenfell Laurie, where he advised international clients on their real estate strategies. In 1995, he founded an FMCG distribution company and negotiated exclusive territory distribution agreements with Nestle, Unilever and Kraft. {See this post at aangirfan for recent activity regarding Kraft Foods. Kraft Foods is very pro-Israel.} This business was sold in 2005, allowing Asif to focus full time on his role as investment advisor.

A list of the ten wealthiest Muslims in the UK, dated 6/25/06, in the Islamic Times, included Asif Aziz and family:

7- Asif Aziz and Family - Born in Malawi - 39 year old Asif and his Golftrate Group bought the Trocadero in Piccadilly for 200 million pounds. The Golftrate group owns assets worth at least 620 million pounds, and with interests in Africa, the family is said to be worth many millions more. Asif himself, is said to be worth around 100 million pounds.

A Telegraph.co.uk story expanded on the allegations against Aziz, 12/16/07:

Asif Aziz, the property magnate who owns the Trocadero, is being sued for $20m over claims that he defrauded a Lebanese businessman once alleged to be involved with the trade in African “blood diamonds”. [ 4 years earlier -- he was not charged ]

Aziz is accused of illegally ramping the price of Golfrate Africa and Ovlas Trading, two Angolan food manufacturing businesses he sold in 2005, just before he bought the Trocadero, a vast building on London’s Piccadilly Circus that houses shops, restaurants, a cinema and Funland, an indoor fairground.

In documents filed at the High Court and obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, Golfrate’s new owners, Hassan Tajideen, his brother Kassim and Nasser Eid, allege that Aziz - whose company Criterion Capital is worth £620m - doctored accounts, invented false expenses claims and used company money to pay for luxury trips. In 2003 Kassim Tajideen was arrested in Belgium in connection with fraud, money laundering and diamond smuggling, although he was never charged.

Aziz declined to comment, other than to say that he was fighting the case and would file a counter-claim.

The Lebanese claim that Aziz, who is personally worth more than £100m, asked his company accountants to exaggerate the value of the companies, which package and distribute food in Angola.

The High Court claim form refers to a series of e-mails sent by Aziz to his chief accountant, Clifford Gundry.

In one e-mail Aziz allegedly asks: “Will they check each figure - can we not bullshit the numbers another way? Food for thought.”

In a further e-mail littered with spelling mistakes to another executive, Aziz allegedly says: “This morning I had a discussion with Clifford on BULSHITTING [sic] issue. There are following thing [sic] which could be maneuvered [sic] but possibilities are little. STOCK: Easiest thing to manipulate.”

The new owners also claim that Aziz falsified a series of expenses claims or spent money on expensive luxury clothes and trips just before selling the company on.

…The claim also details $51,200 spent on car hire, according to a voucher in the companies’ accounts.”Attached to the said voucher was a copy of a purported ‘agreement’ dated 1 May 2005 between Mr Aziz (purportedly signing in his capacity as “Honorary Consul of Malawi”), and Mr Rehman [another company executive], who signed on behalf of Golfrate. Under the terms of the ‘agreement’ Golfrate purportedly rented four vehicles at a rate of US$6,400 per month from the Malawi Consulate.”

Malawi-born Aziz was forced to abandon plans for a 503-bedroom hotel in the Trocadero last month when Westminster councillors criticised his redesign for the building. They branded as “hideous” a planned new glass façade that was to be lit up with different colours.

It was the second time Westminster Council had turned down Aziz’s redevelopment plans, which he can resubmit early next year.

^^^^^^^

On January 25, 2010, the BBC very helpfully reported on the history of the Lebanese in West Africa, so you would know these following important things:

The crash…has highlighted the strong ties between Lebanon and Africa.

Many passengers are believed to have been on their way to West Africa, where Lebanese are the biggest non-African migrant community.

…Nevertheless, the Lebanese community across West Africa, thought to be between 80,000 and 250,000 strong, has not only continued to do business but has thrived.

…The Lebanese in West Africa have always been merchants, using their connections abroad to source goods for import, and - like other migrant groups - they use their family networks to keep their costs down. As a result they have built a strong economic presence across the region.

Nowadays, the Lebanese community has interests in many areas and are the backbone of most markets - car importing, mining, oil services, defence contracts - and the more shadowy worlds of gun-running, diamond-smuggling and crude-oil theft.

…Many Africans say openly how much they hate the Lebanese in their respective countries. But the Lebanese tenacity, aptitude for business and drive to succeed mean they have been sown into the fabric of West African economics, politics and culture.

You may also recall that DEA director Jay Bergman recently said the following, as reported on 1/4/10 by Reuters:

“As suggested by the recent arrest of three alleged al Qaeda operatives, the expansion of cocaine trafficking through West Africa has provided the venue for an unholy alliance between South American narco-terrorists and Islamic extremists,” Bergman said in an interview over the weekend.

Several prominent people were asserting various connections between Venezuela, Iran, FARC, Hamas, Hezbollah, al qaeda, Europe, drugs, airports, etc. a few weeks back. Around the same time — a flurry of visitors to Lebanon, including David Johnson, assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs.

So we see the narrative setting up. First we heard that the drugs were coming from West Africa, and now we learn that the Lebanese are in West Africa, playing a long-standing dominant role.

And now someone has died in the plane crash, who, you will see, fits into this narrative.

^^^^^^^

On 5/27/09, the US Treasury issued a press release about Kassim Tajideen:
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/tg149.htm

WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Kassim Tajideen and Abd Al Menhem Qubaysi, two Africa-based supporters of the Hizballah terrorist organization, under E.O. 13224. E.O. 13224 targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism by freezing any assets the designees have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with them.

“We will continue to take steps to protect the financial system from the threat posed by Hizballah and those who support it,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey. “Not only is Hizballah itself a terrorist organization with global reach, it also recently acknowledged publicly that it provides support to Hamas.”

Kassim Tajideen is an important financial contributor to Hizballah who operates a network of businesses in Lebanon and Africa. He has contributed tens of millions of dollars to Hizballah and has sent funds to Hizballah through his brother, a Hizballah commander in Lebanon. In addition, Kassim Tajideen and his brothers run cover companies for Hizballah in Africa. In 2003, Tajideen was arrested in Belgium in connection with fraud, money laundering, and diamond smuggling. [Though he was never charged. !! They FORGOT to mention that. And they don't name his brother either.]

Abd Al Menhem Qubaysi is a Cote d’Ivoire-based Hizballah supporter and is the personal representative of Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. Qubaysi communicates with Hizballah leaders and has hosted senior Hizballah officials traveling to Cote d’Ivoire and other parts of Africa to raise money for Hizballah. Qubaysi plays a visible role in Hizballah activities in Cote d’Ivoire, including speaking at Hizballah fundraising events and sponsoring meetings with high-ranking members of the terrorist organization.

Qubaysi also helped establish an official Hizballah foundation in Cote d’Ivoire which has been used to recruit new members for Hizballah’s military ranks in Lebanon.

This information was then gleefully and promptly echoed through the echo chamber by chaps like Matthew Levitt at WINEP, etc.

Although it appears that nobody tracks down Kassim’s brother’s name. They just refer to him as “his brother, a Hizbollah commander in Lebanon.” What, no name?

So is Hassan Tajideen, who died in the plane crash, the brother of Kassim Tajideen, who the US Treasury has designated an “important financial contributor to Hizbullah?” It would seem so from the lawsuit against Asif Aziz.

But whether he was also a Hizbollah commander in Lebanon… ???

He must have had excellent time management skills.

Ovlas Trading SA

We are an import and export company with several branches, wholesales and supermarkets all over West and South Africa. Our operations are mainly in Angola “Grupo Arosfran” & “Golfrate Holdings”, D.R. Congo “Congo Futur” & “ATCOM”, Sierra Leone “Tajco” & “Tradex”, Ghana “Taj Investment” & “SRG Factories”, Gambia “Kairaba Supermarkets” & “HT Stores”, Mozambique and last but not least South Africa. With offices in Lebanon, China, Brazil and Belgium.

* attempts to confirm lead to dead ends

it doesn’t add up to “accident”

Jan 26

Posted by A. Peasant in Africa, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Terrorism, UK | No Comments

1. the pilot acted strangely, nobody knows why he didn’t respond

Defense Minister Elias Murr and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi, meanwhile, pointed a finger on the Ethiopian pilot, blaming him for failing to follow instructions from a flight control tower for unknown reasons.

“A command tower recording shows the tower told the pilot to turn to avoid the storm, but the plane went in the opposite direction,” Murr said in an interview with LBC television late Monday. “We do not know what happened or whether it was beyond the pilot’s control,” he added, stressing that the reason as to why the pilot did not respond remains unknown.

…Aridi, in turn, said the control tower sent the pilot a second warning when he failed to heed the first one.

“The pilot, however, continued to fly the same route, then he made a sudden, strange turn before disappearing from the radar,” Aridi said, stressing that control tower officials did their job.

It was not clear why the pilot ignored the control tower or perhaps it was beyond his control. Being 737, like most other airliners, also is equipped with its own onboard weather radar which the pilot may have used to avoid flying into cumulonimbus, which is a rounded mass of cumulus cloud often appearing before a thunderstorm.

“We’d better wait until the black boxes are recovered to determine what really went wrong,” Aridi added.

Navigation sources told the daily As-Safir in remarks published Tuesday that air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane only four minutes after takeoff. While they declined to confirm whether or not the jetliner exploded into a huge fireball or burst into flames before plunging into the sea or bad weather was cause of the crash, they ruled out any terrorist attack. Until the two black boxes are recovered, many scenarios and assumptions were put forward which included that the plane was struck by lightning, caught fire or encountered engine failure immediately after takeoff.

more @ naharnet

reminiscent of Egypt Air 990

who was on the plane?

2. birds?

Aviation safety analyst Chris Yates said reports of fire on the Ethiopian Airliner that crashed in the Mediterranean sea Monday could suggest “some cataclysmic failure of one of the engines” or that a bird or debris had been sucked into the engine.

He noted that modern aircraft are built to withstand all but the foulest weather conditions.

“One wouldn’t have thought that a nasty squall in and of itself would be the prime cause of an accident like this,” said Yates, an analyst based in Manchester, England.(AP-Naharnet)

naharnet

3. bad weather?

A fierce storm appears to have caused the crash of an Ethiopian Airline jet that plunged in a ball of fire into the sea with 90 people on board, Defense Minister Elias Murr said on Monday.

“Bad weather was apparently the cause of the crash,” Murr told reporters.

“We have ruled out foul play so far,” he added.

The fact that soldiers combing the Lebanese shoreline had recovered pieces of the plane supported the belief that the crash was caused by the storm rather than an explosion, Murr said.

“When there is an explosion (on board an airplane) nothing is usually left.” [?????? really ??????]

“We will continue search operations in the hope of finding survivors,” Murr said, adding that no deadline had been set.

“We are seeking to recover the black box and the recording between the control tower and the pilot to determine what happened.”

more @ naharnet

4. ‘plane tumbled out of sky’

BEIRUT - THE first sign of trouble was a flash of light on the horizon on Monday - and then witnesses said the Boeing 737 tumbled like ‘fire falling down from the sky’ into the stormy Mediterranean Sea….’We saw fire falling down from the sky into the sea,’ said Khaled Naser, a gas station attendant who saw the plane plunge into waters that had reached 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) by Monday afternoon.The Lebanese army also said the plane was on fire shortly after takeoff. A defense official said some witnesses reported the plane broke up into three pieces. — AP

more @ straits times


5. 20 Lebanese on plane lived and worked in Angola

Luanda - Twenty of the Lebanese nationals on board the Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed into the sea this week lived and worked in Angola, state media in Luanda reported on Tuesday.

The government-owned Jornal de Angola named one of the victims as Hassan Tajideen, who was the administrator of Angolan-based food import company Arosfram. Four other Arosfram staffers also died in the crash, the company’s general administrator Kito dos Santos told the newspaper. Dos Santos was due to travel to Beirut on Tuesday to attend the victims’ funerals, it said.

A large number of Lebanese nationals work in oil and diamond-rich Angola, mostly running food import businesses but with some involvement in the diamond industry.

- AFP source: news 24

6. bodies severely burned

Investigators were Monday night carrying out DNA tests on severely burned bodies recovered from the sea after an Ethiopian Airlines flight carrying 90 people caught fire during a lightning storm and crashed into the Mediterranean minutes after taking off from Beirut.

As darkness fell no survivors had been found in the stormy waters off Lebanon, despite search and rescue efforts by the country’s military, U.N. naval peacekeepers and units from nearby Cyprus who were tonight joined by British and French helicopter teams.

The plane’s 83 passengers included 56 Lebanese - two with dual British nationality - 22 Ethiopians and individuals from Canada, Syria, Iraq and Russia, as well as the American-born wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon. By tonight at least 34 bodies had been recovered.

Lebanon’s National News Agency tonight confirmed that 57-year-old Afif Karshat was one of two Lebanese with dual British nationality among the casualties.

more @ free internet press

7. other passengers:

One of the Britons on board was Afif Krisht, 57, whose ex-wife and family live in Plymouth, Devon. The name of the other Briton has not yet been confirmed.

…The others included 20 Ethiopians and two French citizens, one of them Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of Denis Pietton, the French Ambassador to Beirut. Her body was among those recovered.

Mr Krisht’s uncle, Mohammed Tajieddine, said that he was travelling with two others to Angola, where he had a business. The father of six had dual British-Lebanese nationality. His former wife, Tania, said that he was based in Lebanon but visited his family in Britain.

Mr Krisht owned a haulage company and has three sons with Tania Krisht: Mike, 26, Alex, 20, and Adam, 18. He also has three sons with his second wife, Ahlam, in Lebanon.

…The majority of the Lebanese passengers were Shia Muslims from south Lebanon, many of them en route to Angola where they lived and worked.

more @ times online

8. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP leader MP Assaad Hardan has announced that one of the crashed Ethiopian plane is party member Faris Rashid Thibyan

9. the other Brit: Kevin Grainger


10. others yet to be identified

“Flight ET-409 carries 82 passenger plus eight Ethiopian crew members. Out of the total passengers 23 are Ethiopian, 51 Lebanese, one Turkish, one French, two British, one Russian, one Canadian, one Syrian and one Iraqi national.”

more @ trend news