Friday, January 24, 2003

New powers boost 'dirty' cash seizures. Seizures of crime related cash have risen sharply since tough new powers were introduced, official figures suggest. [BBC News | Front Page | UK Edition] I'd say this is an ominous sign for the UK. Letting cops take money from people who haven't been convicted of a crime (or even arrested) just leads to the cops arbitrarily looting anyone they like. comment () trackback ()  7:14:54 PM     The price of gold reached $370/ounce, just two days after reaching $360. The value of the dollar has dropped like a rock--when I started buying gold about a year ago, the price per ounce was almost $100 lower. comment () trackback ()  6:04:16 PM     Seen in James Taranto's Best of the Web Today on the Wall Street Journal web site: An al Qaeda Connection? "A senior al Qaeda leader may provide a link between that terrorist group and Iraq," CNN reports. Abu Mussab al Zarqawi, a Jordanian who stands accused of murdering U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman, left Afghanistan after its liberation, then "traveled through Iran to Baghdad, then to Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq, where Ansar al-Islam, a group linked to al Qaeda, operates." Taranto has been a vocal cheerleader for the conquest of Iraq, frequently accusing Iraq of being associated with al Qaeda. Yet here he's linked to an article saying that there's an al Qaeda group in Kurdish territory and a prominent al Qaeda member is hiding out there. For those who haven't been paying attention, the Kurds are rebelling against Saddam Hussein and are supported by the US (albeit halfheartedly, to avoid annoying Turkey). comment () trackback ()  2:07:19 PM     Palestinian Christian Leader in Praise of Martyrdom Operations and the Formation of a Muslim and Christian Human Shield to Defend Iraq [Middle East Media Research Institute] A series of speeches supporting terrorism and opposing peace with Israel. I'm still waiting for the Crusaders to proclaim that all Christians are the enemy because every Christian in the world hasn't issued a ritual denunciation of this priest. I expect I'll have a long wait, since the Crusaders are apparently all Christians themselves. But since they use that kind of "reasoning" to proclaim all Muslims are enemies, I figure it's only fair to apply the same standard to Christians. comment () trackback ()  12:14:48 PM

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